Every language version of the 2007 Microsoft Office system includes proofing tools, such as dictionaries and grammar rules, for more than one language. With the appropriate proofing tool languages available and installed, you can change the dictionary language so that you can check the spelling of a word or a document written in a different language.

To see which languages are included with your version of 2007 Office release, see The 2007 Microsoft Office suites localized versions. If your version of the 2007 Office release does not include the language that you want to use you may need to get a language pack. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack.

To change the default language and dictionary to a specific language for all your 2007 Office release programs, see Change the default language for Office programs. To use a particular language location, such as English (United Kingdom) or English (Australia), see Set the display and editing languages.

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• Check the spelling and grammar in another language

• Add additional dictionary languages

• More information

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Check the spelling and grammar in another language

How does the spelling checker work with multiple languages in a single document?

The spelling checker uses the language dictionary that matches the language associated with the text in your document. Therefore, if you have text in different languages in a single document, you must set the language for the text to the appropriate language.

For example, if you have a document that contains text in both English and Spanish, and you want to check the spelling of all the text by using the appropriate dictionaries, you must set the language of the English text as English and the Spanish text as Spanish.

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• Access

• Excel

• InfoPath

• OneNote

• Outlook

• PowerPoint

• Publisher

• Visio

• Word

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Access

Set the dictionary language

 Important   The dictionary language applies to the entire database and cannot be defined for individual records or fields. To check the spelling in a multilingual database, you must change the dictionary language for each language that is in the database and serially check the spelling for each language used in each record.

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Access Options.

   Where is the Access Options button?

   The Access Options button is located in the lower part of the menu that opens after you click the Microsoft Office Button .
2. Click Proofing.
3. In the Dictionary language list, click the dictionary language that you want to use, and then click OK.

Check spelling and grammar

 Note   The Spelling command on the Ribbon may not be available in all views. If the Spelling command is not available, try pressing F7 to start the spelling checker.

• On the Home tab, in the Records group, click Spelling or press F7.

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Excel

Set the dictionary language

 Important   The dictionary language applies to the entire workbook and cannot be defined for individual worksheets or cells. To check the spelling in a multilingual workbook, you must change the dictionary language and serially check the spelling for each language used in each worksheet.

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Excel Options.

   Where is the Excel Options button?

   The Excel Options button is located in the lower part of the menu that opens after you click the Microsoft Office Button .
2. Click Proofing.
3. In the Dictionary language list, click the dictionary language that you want to use, and then click OK.

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Check spelling and grammar

The spelling checker uses the specified dictionary language, if available, to check the spelling in the selected cells or worksheet.

• To check the spelling of an individual cell or collection of cells, select the cells that you want to check, and then on the Review tab, in the Proofing group, click Spelling or press F7.
• To check the spelling of the whole worksheet, on the Review tab, in the Proofing group, click Spelling . You do not need to select a cell or collection of cells.

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InfoPath

Set the dictionary language

1. Place your cursor anywhere in the form.
2. On the Tools menu, click Set Language .
3. In the Language dialog box, click the language that you want to use for the dictionary and other proofing tools.

Check spelling and grammar

 Important   InfoPath can check the spelling in a form for only one language at a time. To check the spelling in forms that have text in more than one language, you must complete steps 1-4 in the Set the dictionary language section for each language for InfoPath.

• On the Tools menu, click Spelling, and then click Spelling again or press F7.

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OneNote

Set the dictionary language

1. Select a note you want to check.
2. On the Tools menu, click Set Language.
3. In the Set Language task pane, verify that the correct language is associated with the note. If it is not, select the language you want to use for the dictionary and other proofing tools.
4. Click back in the note.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for each note that you want to check.

Check spelling and grammar

• On the Tools menu, click Spelling, and then click Spelling again or press F7.

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Outlook

Set the dictionary language

 Important   If you have Outlook Express 6.0 and installed Microsoft Office 2007 but French is the only available spell check language, you need to use a third-party spell checker. For more information, see Spell checking issues with Outlook Express 6.0.

1. In a new e-mail message, select the text that you want to check.

 Tip   You can specify the dictionary language for a new message before typing any text. Just position your cursor in the message body of a new message and complete steps 2 and 3, type your message, and then check the spelling as described in the Check spelling and grammar section for Outlook.

2. On the Message tab, in the Proofing group, click the arrow under Spelling, and then click Set Language .
3. In the Language dialog box, verify that the correct language is associated with the text. If it is not, select the language that you want to use for the dictionary and other proofing tools. If you don't see the language that you want, scroll to the end of the list.

    Note   If the language that you want is preceded by the Spelling & Grammar icon , it means that the proofing tools, such as spelling checker, are installed for that language. If the language that you want is not preceded by the Spelling & Grammar icon , the dictionary for that language is not available and you cannot check the spelling and grammar for that language.

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Check spelling and grammar

The spelling checker uses the specified dictionary language, if available, to check the spelling and grammar of the selected text or Outlook item.

• On the Message tab, in the Proofing group, click Spelling or press F7.

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PowerPoint

Set the dictionary language

1. Select the text that you want to check.
2. On the Review tab, in the Proofing group, click Language .
3. In the Language dialog box, verify that the correct language is associated with the text. If it is not, select the language you want to use for the dictionary and other proofing tools.

    Note   If the language is preceded by the Spelling & Grammar icon , it means that proofing tools, such as spelling checker, is installed for that language. If the language is not preceded by the Spelling & Grammar icon , the dictionary for that language is not available and you cannot check the spelling and grammar for that language.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 for each section of text that you want to check.

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Check spelling and grammar

 Note   The spelling and grammar can be checked for only one slide at a time.

• On the Review tab, in the Proofing group, click Spelling , or press F7.

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Publisher

Set the dictionary language

1. Select the text that you want to check.
2. On the Tools menu, click Language, and then click Set Language.
3. In the Language dialog box, verify that the correct language is associated with the text. If it is not, select the language you want to use for the dictionary and other proofing tools.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for each piece of text you want to check.

Check spelling and grammar

• On the Tools menu, click Spelling, and then click Spelling again or press F7.

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Visio

The spelling checker uses the language dictionary that matches the language associated with each text block. Therefore, if you have text blocks in different languages that you must set the language for each text block to the appropriate language. For example, if you have a page that has text blocks in English and Spanish and want to check the spelling of all text blocks on the page by using the appropriate dictionaries, you must set the English text blocks as English and the Spanish text blocks as Spanish. If your version of the 2007 Office release does not include the dictionary for the languages that you want to use, see Determine if you need a language pack.

Set the dictionary language

1. Select the text block that you want to check.
2. On the Format menu, click Text.
3. In the Language box, verify that the correct language is associated with the text block. If it is not, select the language you want to use for the dictionary.
4. Complete steps 1-3 for each text block you want to check.

Check spelling and grammar

The spelling checker uses the specified dictionary language, if available, to check the spelling of each text block.

• On the Tools menu, click Spelling, and then click Spelling again or press F7.

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Word

Set the dictionary language

1. Select the text you want to check.
2. On the Review tab, in the Proofing group, click Set Language .
3. In the Language dialog box, verify that the correct language is associated with the text. If it is not, select the language you want to use for the dictionary and other proofing tools.

   If the language is preceded by the Spelling & Grammar icon , it means that proofing tools, such as spelling checker, are installed for that language. If the language is not preceded by the Spelling & Grammar icon , the dictionary for that language is not available and you cannot check the spelling and grammar for that language.

4. Complete steps 1-3 for each section of text that you want to check.

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Check spelling and grammar

The spelling checker uses the specified dictionary language, if available, to check the spelling of each piece of text.

• On the Review tab, click Spelling & Grammar or press F7.

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Add additional dictionary languages

The dictionary languages included with the proofing tools depend on the languages included with the language of your 2007 Office release. If the language that you want is not listed in the Set Languages dialog box with a before its name, the dictionary is not available and you may need to get a language pack. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack.

To see which proofing tool languages are included with your version of 2007 Office release, see The 2007 Microsoft Office suites localized versions.

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More information

• Change the default language for Office programs
• Set the display and editing languages
• Insert ASCII or Unicode Latin-based symbols and characters
• Change the default language for Office programs
• Switch between different languages by setting the language

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