Custom Dictionary in Word 2008

[nadyne]

That is PRECISELY what happened to me. I tried every "fix" that has been posted here and elsewhere and could solve the problem until I opened the document with German words in it. I routinely use documents with German words in them AND I still really need a Custom Dictionary for English. There was never any problem with this using Office 2004, and I would dearly love to just go back to it. I have tried to do that, but then a problem with Entourage surfaces, and I cannot get the 2004 version to use or import all my addresses, emails, and calendar from the 2008 version (also having tried multiple things posted by others). I am at a total loss am hoping for guidance with either fixing the "Custom Dictionary Bug" in Office 2008 or being able to successfully go back to Office 2004 without losing everything from Entourage. Yes, I know where all the Entourage files are, and I even have them backed up, but I still cannot get the 2004 version to recognize or use the 2008 Main Identity. Pardon me if this has gotten long, but this problem has been going on for a long time, and I cannot seem to get any answers that work. Thank you!

Option 1: Call tech support. You get two free calls to tech support with your legal retail purchase of Office 2008. They should be able to help you figure out what's going on with your custom dictionary issue. You'll just need your Product ID when you call, which you can get from any Office app in its About box.

Option 2: If you do decide to go back to Office 2004, you're going to need to do some work to get your Entourage 2008 data back into Entourage 2004. We did a lot of work on the database in Entourage 2008 to improve performance and reliability, so an Entourage 2008 database can't be read by Entourage 2004. So you'll need to export stuff.
* For your mail folders, drag them from the Entourage 2008 folder list to somewhere in your Finder. This creates .mbox files, which can be read by Entourage 2004. If you have subfolders, you'll have to drag those out separately -- the .mbox format doesn't support subfolders.
* For your address book, you have two options: enable Sync Services in Entourage 2008, and then let your Entourage contacts be read by Address Book. Then, in Entourage 2004, make sure you update to 11.2 or later (current version is 11.5.4, if I recall correctly), and enable Sync Services in there. Entourage 2004 will see the contacts in your Address Book, and will download them automatically. Alternately, if you don't want to go through Sync Services, you can drag your contacts from Entourage to somewhere in your Finder. This creates .vcf files, which can be read by Entourage 2004.
* For your calendar, you can do the Sync Services thing. Or you can drag all of your calendar events to somewhere in your Finder, which creates .ics files that can be read by Entourage 2004.
* For your tasks and notes, drag them to your Finder.
* For things like rules, the mailing list manager, and Projects, I'm not sure off the top of my head how to get those from Entourage 2008 and into Entourage 2004. If you're using those, I can try to figure out if it's possible or not.

Regards,
Nadyne.

 

[aarild]

Different problems leading to the same symptom?

I also get this message, and I have also tried all your suggestions. But here's a twist: My custom dictionary is available although word doesn't seem to realise it's there...

• It registers new words
• It allows for special characters
• It apparently works in all languages (I write in four different ones)

I have the latest update of Apr. 14 2009

 

[fabiotavora]

Still nothing works for me

I dont have anything to add, only that I tried every single solution and cant get it to work. I have the Custom dictionary file from the previous version with hundreds of medical words I have added throughout the years, and really need it to work, but nothing does. If somebody comes with a new idea, please post here.

 

[SuisseTB]

Call tech support

Please take a look at the reply posted by nadyne on April 8. I did indeed make 1 of my 2 free tech support calls, and they did indeed find a work-around for my problem. I won't bother to explain it here as mine had to do with the use of English and a foreign language.

Being a medical transcriptionist myself, I can understand you needing access to the older version, but if Office 2008 won't import it, PLEASE call tech support - this is all assuming that you have a legitimately purchased copy!

 

[Wizardhouse]

Still happening!

Please take a look at the reply posted by nadyne on April 8. I did indeed make 1 of my 2 free tech support calls, and they did indeed find a work-around for my problem. I won't bother to explain it here as mine had to do with the use of English and a foreign language.

Hi I am new on this forum - but surely we shouldn't have to do a work around for this problem. I had been running happily for 3 months when the custom dic. problem appeared. If its caused by a microsoft update then they should issue a fix. If its a mac problem then they should issue a fix. It is widespread - I know 5 other mac users with Word and they all have it. All work in a single language (UK English) and none of the fixes shown here have worked!

Somebody in Mac Tech Support sort it please as it will save you a lot of incoming phone calls.

Thanks John.

 

[muffinmix]

This is getting annoying.

So like all of you I am having an issue with the custom dictionary. I went through many process on how to fix the issue (new dictionary, checked for odd characters that would screw it up, etc.). So I have gotten to the point where I no longer get "The Custom Dictionary cannot be blah blah blah" that error has stopped. But words I purposely misspell do not come up as errors, and words I have in the dictionary come up as incorrect in entourage (using the same dictionary)

I do agree this shouldn't be a "Work around" solution this is an issue that should be solved.

Thanks for listening to my Rant

 

[Efrem]

I had the same problem. My Custom Dictionary was there, but with no file name extension. Added ".docx" to it, confirmed as usual that I really meant what I told it to do, and all was well.

 

[ginnycase]

Figured it out - no work around

I got into Library/Preference/Microsoft and saw a custom dictionary. Then I got into Library/Preference/Microsoft/office2008 and saw another custom dictionary. I deleted the empty one located in the Microsoft folder and replace it with the custom dictionary that was in office2008.

I tested it twice and the warning box is gone.

Whew - I thought I was going to wipe the drive!

 

[Malakite]

Hi guys, does anyone know of the number to call the support (I presume its 2 free calls to support per purchase of Office 2008 for Mac is that correct?? - or the fact I purchased three licenses for it as a package - would that allow 6??!). I have tried everything you have all suggested on here and none of the above works, Im really desperate, thanks guys

 

[nadyne]

Hi guys, does anyone know of the number to call the support (I presume its 2 free calls to support per purchase of Office 2008 for Mac is that correct?? - or the fact I purchased three licenses for it as a package - would that allow 6??!). I have tried everything you have all suggested on here and none of the above works, Im really desperate, thanks guys

You can get the right number for your area here.

Regards,
Nadyne.

 

[kirvent4]

*solution* "#" in the Custom Dictionary

Thanks SwissMacUser,

Your solution worked for me. Good job!


TK4

Hi

I got the same bug and interestingly found the error causing the problem:

my custom dictionary worked until the very moment when I added a particular word that included special characters. My word started with a # and a 4 digit number (which is used as an internal code of Endnote, an bibliography addon for MS Word). When I deleted the whole word with special character from the custom dictionary, then saving the custom dictionary, everything worked as before.

So I recommend to check the content of the dictionary and scan for unusual words, delete them, and everything should work again. In principle the issue might also be solved by Microsoft: just allowing special characters to appear in the Custom Dictionary.

Is there someone with similar problems/solutions?

 

[justanothermib]

I've had similar problems (i.e., removing the old custom dictionary doesn't work, Add button in spell-checker still dimmed, Edit button dimmed in custom dictionary options). I also received an error message about the path when I tried to remove the old custom dictionary, and add a new one to replace the old one. I added the file extension .dic to the filename of the new dictionary and now all is right once more. I can add words without issue.

 

[vmostyn]

Solution that worked for me....

Thanks justanothermib.
Just by adding the .dic extension it fixed my problem. Mine was located in Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office2008. I opened Word and Entourage Preferences and re-selected the "new" Custom Dictionary file. Quit both apps and then re-opened them. It fixed the problem and I can now add freely and it doesn't keep picking up all my old added words. Cheers

 

[lawcodename]

Hi all,

I found this post (below) elsewhere, and it worked for me. Good luck!

Cheers,
Lawcodename

On 11/09/09 6:37 AM, in article 59b7c318.-1@webcrossing.caR9absDaxw,
"srl@officeformac.com" <srl@officeformac.com> wrote:

> Version: 2008
> Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
> Processor: Intel
>
> I have searched forum posts for the last year or so (since Word 2008 was
> mentioned); I've tried everything suggested and nothing has worked for me.
> When I try to spell check a document, I get a warning:
>
> The custom dictionary "Custom Dictionary" is not available. If I click OK, I
> can still spell check the document but the Add button is greyed out, so I
> can't add to the dictionary.
>
> I've opened the Custom Dictionary file in Finder and it appears to be ok. As
> many suggested in older posts, making a small change and exiting the file does
> not help; I still get the same warning.
>
> Dragging the Custom Dictionary icon from Finder to the Word icon in the Dock
> to open the file doesn't help.
>
> Preferences are set correctly, unless there is something weird to set that I
> don't know about. Next to Custom Dictionary, Custom Dictionary is chosen.
> Clicking Dictionaries, Custom Dictionary is chosen and appears.
>
> Does anyone know why I am getting this error and how to fix this?
>
> Thanks very much.

We're tracking a new bug where the content of the custom dictionary seems to
be being converted to the wrong version of Unicode. This would potentially
produce the problem you are reporting.

To resolve it, create a new, blank custom dictionary, then edit the new one
and paste the entries from the old one into it. Make sure you do not assign
a "Language" to the new dictionary: it should be set to "No Language".

When you paste, make sure you use Edit>Paste Special>Unformatted Text to
ensure that you do not bring across any formatting that would cause Word to
express the dictionary in a different character set.

Delete or remove the old dictionary.

That should resolve the issue. If it does, please tell us.

Hope this helps

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd

 

[TofuGirl]

Hi, I had very similar problems to budsimrin

I opened user/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008/ and dragged the custom dictionary onto my desktop (and later the trash).

Once that was done, I opened Word. I chose Word>Preferences>spelling and grammar panel. There I "removed" the old custom dictionary and then a made a "new" one.

That created a new file named "custom dictionary" in user/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008/ and all was fixed.

This worked for me, after a dozen other efforts failed. THANK YOU benbryce.

 

[sarkku]

No space in the file/folder name

I followed the instructions about deleting and re-creating the dictionary. For me, that wasn't enough -- I also had to rename the the dictionary (default) file name to CustomDictionary (without the space).

Never use spaces in your file or folder names, unless you're after problems!

 

[VStenger]

How do I transfer Auto Correct dictionary?

Choose Word>Preferences>spelling and grammar panel. Click on Dictionaries Button, tick on Custom Dictionary you want to use. You can click on edit to make amendments.Your custom dictionary is located at user/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008/Custom Dictionary.

Fine for spelling, but what about AutoCorrect? 2008 gave me about 10 entries, I had hundreds in my previous version, many I had not even set up myself.

 

[Tigramber]

Format

Hey all, I have run into this issue on numerous occasions. However, I find that the formatting of the Custom Dictionary is extremely important! If you are like me and enjoy manually editing the file, opening the .dic file in a program like TextEdit can cause the addition of "invisible" characters (like line breaks and such) that render the file unreadable as a dictionary file. To delete the invisibles, try opening the custom dictionary file in a program like TextWrangler (don't worry, it's free: http://www.barebones.com/products/TextWrangler/) and follow the Help file's instructions for viewing invisibles. In my case, I end up with lots of red upside-down question marks all over the place. If you see similar oddities within your Custom Dictionary file, highlight that character and hit apple-F (for Find). The highlighted "invisible" character will automatically be entered into the Find field, but you won't see it of course because it's invisible. Then REMOVE everything that may be in the Replace field and click "Find and Replace." That should replace all odd invisibles with NOTHING. Then save the file and see if Word can read it. Good luck!

 

[neutragirl]

Custom Dictionary + Disappearing Formats

On my Intel Mac Book I started getting the message Custom Dictionary not available when I opened Word 2008 and so I couldn't add words. I finally deleted the custom dictionary and created a new one and the problem seems to have gone away. Strangely this problem hasn't occurred with the Word 2008 installation on my G5.
Is this a bug or what?

Thank you, how does one delete the custom dictionary? Also, might anyone know why a format in a text box (one part larger type and bold than the remaining text) doesn't 'hold" the larger/bold but reverts? Why do text boxes not remain in the same place on reopening document? Thank you, neutragirl

 

[admanb]

How I solved my problem

Like many here, I was getting the Custom Dictionary error every time I opened Word and I couldn't 'Add' new words in Word or Entourage. I tried many of the solutions here one by one including removing the #LIC xxxx at the beginning of the file (turns out that's a normal tag and can be left there), deleting and creating a new Custom Dictionary with the same contents (this process is much described in prior posts on this thread), renaming the file to not have spaces, tried with and without Languages, etc.

What finally worked was the copy and Paste Special into a new dictionary. I also moved it out of my User folder and into the system Library folder, but I don't believe that's what fixed the issue.

So somehow the dictionary got corrupt hidden characters embedded in it and when I copied the existing dictionary content and did Paste Special, it defaulted to HTML but I selected Unformatted Text and saved that as my new Custom Dictionary. Lo and behold, problem solved. Note that I also had Language set to "No Language". I hope this helps others with this persistently annoying issue! Kudos to lawcodename for providing the resolution tip.

 

[kilauea88]

Custom Dictionary

Same problem here, it was a word that started with a #.

Be careful when you go looking to edit your dictionary, old versions of Word kept the Custom Dictionary at the level of ~/Library/Preferences/Microsoft, starting with Word 2008, the Custom Dictionary is found one level deeper at ~//Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008.

You can waste a lot of time editing the dictionary stored at the parent directory level to no effect...

 

[matcieou7th]

A probable solution?

I think I have found the solution. Please comment if it works for you as well. I have been having the same problem for probably a year or more now.

How I came up with the solution:

1. Tried looking for "spell-check language solutions"

Tried switching to English (US) but it was reverting back to French.

2. Tried looking for "ms word mac 2008 language default french problem"

Saw a suggestion that said something about the Normal template being corrupt, or needs editing.

3. Tried looking for a way to "fix" the Normal template.

Could not find a way to "do" it. But under the "None of those fixes worked" part, stumbled upon a solution that suggested that the default language for Microsoft Word (or Office) is automatically set to the your Keyboard's language (link: http://word.mvps.org/mac/spellcheck.html).

So I changed the settings at: Word > Preferences > Edit > Uncheck "match font with keyboard".

I just did this, and seems to be working fine. I hope it doesn't recur.

 

[justhaveago]

Word 08 won't add

Hi all. I am no expert, but I looked at the feedback and did the following to fix the problem. Word, preferences, spelling and grammar, dictionaries, then click edit. A list of words comes up. Look for the one with the hash (#) and delete it,THEN SAVE - problem fixed!

 

[AndrewNielsen]

You have to have the dictionary saved as a dictionary

Word would not recognise my custom dictionary until I saved it as a dictionary. Simply putting ".dic" at the end of a normal word file is not enough. Now, I have my custom dictionary in my Dropbox folder. That *should* mean that if I add a word at one location, that it can be used at the other locations.