Open your Custom Dictionaries window and highlight StyleGuide.First, you will need to send the file to your colleagues by email or a shared workspace. StyleGuide can be downloaded and distributed to the rest of your organization once it is complete. Share the Custom Dictionary File with Colleagues You can switch the default back to CUSTOM if you want future terms added to that file. ![]() Once you are done, you can navigate back to Custom Dictionaries and recheck CUSTOM and any other dictionaries you want to be active. These terms will be added to StyleGuide, not to CUSTOM, and changes are saved automatically. This is because CUSTOM has been unchecked temporarily.įinally, scan through your style guide, right-click on the red-underlined terms, and click Add to Dictionary. Once you return to the style guide, you should see that Word is marking all your unusual terms as spelling mistakes. Uncheck (temporarily) the other style sheets under All Languages.įigure 4: List of custom dictionaries available in Word (including the one set as default) ( Enlarge image).In the Custom Dictionaries window, highlight StyleGuide and click Change Default.Next, set the new file as your default custom dictionary: Click New and create a new file with whatever name you like (let’s call ours StyleGuide).Navigate to the Custom Dictionaries window, as described above.But there’s a little bit of work to do first.įirst, create a new blank custom dictionary file: The trick to adding all of the unusual terms in your style guide to a custom dictionary is to run spellcheck on the style guide itself. Create a New Custom Dictionary File and Run Spellcheck on Your Style Guide However, the file marked as the default will be where new terms are placed through Add to Dictionary. You can view your existing CUSTOM file by selecting File → Options → Proofing → Custom Dictionaries.įigure 3: Word list in CUSTOM.DIC (example) ( Enlarge image)Īn important point here is that you can enable more than one custom dictionary to run at a time, so there is no need to delete or modify CUSTOM. When you right-click and select Add to Dictionary, Word adds the term to this file, not to its main dictionary. Word comes with a default custom dictionary called CUSTOM.DIC. Use Your Style Guide to Create a Custom Dictionaryīefore we talk about creating a custom dictionary, a little background might help. Build a PerfectIt style sheet from the custom dictionary to help you identify additional errors ( which can also be shared with your colleagues).Share the custom dictionary file with your colleagues.Use your style guide to create a custom dictionary in Word that includes all your complex and unusual terms.And the process is easier than you ever imagined. The good news is that you can address these issues proactively. But what happens if your style guide contains dozens, even hundreds, of such terms, many of which you have never encountered? And what if you’re just one of many editors and writers in your organization who will encounter the same issue, perhaps many times over? In short, wasted time and inconsistency. The solution above seems easy and quick enough. The red underline disappears because Word now recognizes the term in this document and other documents you might open afterward.įigure 1: Using Add to Dictionary after checking your style guide and right-clicking ( Enlarge image) Beyond Right-Clicking Then right-click on the red-underlined term, and select Add to Dictionary. The solution is simple, right? Just check the spelling of perfectitumab in your style guide to make certain you’ve got it right. ![]() But when you open a document, Microsoft Word flags that term as a spelling mistake because it’s not found in Word’s main dictionary. Let’s say your organization recently started discussing the drug perfectitumab, and the term has been added to your style guide. So what can you do to address these issues proactively? Below, we’ll look at a way to enhance Microsoft Word’s spellcheck function using your style guide and then build on it using PerfectIt. ![]() It’s easy to see how this might result in wasted time and inconsistency across an organization. In those instances, the editor or writer can just check the term against the style guide or a dictionary, right-click, and add the term to the dictionary, right? For one or two terms, that makes sense.īut consider that scientific documents contain many of these terms, organizations handle many documents at once, and those documents are handled by many individuals. But those same editors and writers will tell you that spellcheck doesn’t always know what to do with complex or unusual terms like drug names. Spellcheck is one of the most basic checks that editors and writers run on their documents. How to Ensure Correct Spelling of Complex or Unusual Terms Across Your Entire Organization
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