Word 2008 Spell Check Not Available

[birdieman63]

Whenever I try to use the spell checker in MS Word for Mac 2008 the "add" button is grayed out. I have verified the U.S. English and other settings yet the app does not allow me to add a word. Any ideas on how to fix this?

 

[ooninay]

Weird... I don't use Word 2008 that often but I've been using it more lately and I've noticed the exact same thing on both my Macs. Your message prompted me to try to get to the bottom of it, and after a little digging around I discovered that the file Word creates to save your own "creations" (words that you tell it to learn the spelling for) was missing on both my computers. Maybe the same for you? To check, go into Word's Preferences, then click "Spelling and Grammar". If "Custom Dictionary" is blank, like mine was, that's the problem. Click "Dictionaries", then "New"... etc., to define a new custom dictionary. After I did that I was able to Add words that Word didn't recognize.

 

[birdieman63]

Seems to be the solution, thanks. By the way, it was for both my Mac as well as my wife's. Strange! Again, thanks