Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: Adjusting Spell Check for Internet Addresses.

Adjusting Spell Check for Internet Addresses

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 28, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365

If you use the spelling checker to examine the text in a worksheet, you might want it to ignore Internet-related data, such as URLs and e-mail addresses. You can instruct the spelling checker to ignore anything that looks like an Internet address by following 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 of the Excel Options dialog box.

  3. Make sure the Ignore Internet and File Addresses check box is selected.
  4. Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6212) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Adjusting Spell Check for Internet Addresses.

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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