Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Setting Spell-Checking Options.

Setting Spell-Checking Options

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 25, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365

Excel includes a spelling checker that you can use to proof the text in your worksheets. There are a few options that you can set for the spelling checker. For instance, you can make sure the spelling checker doesn't check words that are all uppercase or those that have numbers in the word.

To change the spelling checker options, follow these steps:

  1. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (In Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. In Excel 2010 or a later version display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left side of the dialog box click Proofing. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Proofing options in the Excel Options dialog box.

  3. Make changes in the options, as desired.
  4. Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6151) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Setting Spell-Checking Options.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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