Word Hacks [Electronic resources]

Hack 33 Quickly Create a Custom Dictionary

Adding items to a custom dictionary one by one is a tedious exercise. Here's how to add an entire list of words to your existing custom dictionary, or as a separate, new custom dictionary.

When Word performs a Spelling and Grammar check on your document, it uses whichever dictionary is available for your language. You can select ToolsLanguageSet Language to change the dictionary, as shown in Figure 4-11. Any language listed with a checkmark next to it has a dictionary installed on your computer.

For example, if you're working on a document for a client from the United Kingdom, and you change the language to "English (U.K.)," Word marks words such as "color" as misspellings and prompts you to change them to their English counterparts, as shown in Figure 4-12.

But often a document or set of documents uses a very specialized set of terms not included in any of the installed dictionaries. Although you can add words to the dictionaryor, rather, to the default custom dictionary file (in most cases, CUSTOM.DIC)if the project exists for only a short time, you may not want those new entries for future documents. Rather than temporarily adding the terms to your standard custom dictionary, which you may prefer to reserve for items you use all the time, you're better off adding a new custom dictionary for your project or client, which you can later remove when the project's finished.

The method for creating and populating a custom dictionary from within Word involves the use of a lot of dialogs, and it can become a real pain if you want to enter a long list of words at once.

Fortunately, there's an easier way. A custom dictionary is nothing more than a text file with a .dic extension, saved in a special folder. In Word 2000, 2002, and 2003, the folder is typically C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Microsoft\Proof.

4.8.1 Creating the Custom Dictionary

To create your new custom dictionary, create a list of the words you want to add using your favorite text editor, such as Notepad, and save the file with a .dic extension in the Proof folder.

As an example, let's say that while writing a book about Word macros, you want the Spelling and Grammar check to ignore certain terms, such as "AutoExec" and "DocumentBeforeClose." After you enter the list of terms in a text editor, save the file in the Proof directory described above, as shown in Figure 4-13.

4.8.2 Activating the Custom Dictionary

To tell Word to start checking your new custom dictionary during the Spelling and Grammar check, you must first activate it.

Select ToolsOptions and click the Spelling and Grammar tab. Click the Custom Dictionaries button to display the Custom Dictionaries dialog shown in Figure 4-14.

Any .dic files in the Proof directory will be included in the dictionary list. To activate your new custom dictionary, just check the box next to its name and click the OK button. When you're finished with the project, use the same dialog to deactivate the custom dictionary.