Introduction
Before sharing a workbook, you'll want to make sure it doesn't include any spelling errors. Fortunately, Excel includes a
Spell Check
tool you can use to make sure everything in your workbook is spelled correctly.
If you've used the Spell Check feature in Microsoft Word, just be aware that the Spell Check tool in Excel, while helpful, is not as powerful. For example, it won't check for grammar issues or check spelling as you type.
Optional: Download our
practice workbook
.
To use Spell Check:
-
From the
Review
tab, click the
Spelling
command.
-
The
Spelling
dialog box will appear. For each spelling error in your worksheet, Spell Check will try to offer
suggestions
for the correct spelling. Choose a suggestion, then click
Change
to correct the error.
-
A dialog box will appear after reviewing all spelling errors. Click
OK
to close Spell Check.
If there are no appropriate suggestions, you can also enter the correct spelling manually.
Ignoring spelling "errors"
Spell Check
isn't always correct
. It will sometimes mark certain words as incorrect even if they're spelled correctly. This often happens with names, which may not be in the dictionary. You can choose
not
to change a spelling "error" using one of the following three options:
-
Ignore Once:
This will skip the word without changing it.
-
Ignore All:
This will skip the word without changing it and also skip all other instances of the word in your worksheet.
-
Add:
This adds the word to the dictionary so it will never appear as an error again. Make sure the word is spelled correctly before choosing this option.
Challenge!
-
Open our
practice workbook
.
-
Click the
Challenge
worksheet tab in the bottom-left of the workbook.
-
Run the
Spell Check
to correct any spelling errors in the workbook.
-
Correct the words
coffe
and
medum
using the
suggested spelling
.
-
Ignore
the spelling suggestion for the word
Amanecer
.
-
When you're finished, your worksheet should look like this:
-
Bonus Step!
There is one error Spell Check didn't catch. Can you spot it?
Hint:
It's in one of the item descriptions.