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Summary: This blog provides practical solutions to ensure your professional emails and reports remain error-free. Learn manual strategies to troubleshoot the problem and explore the importance of expert utility tools when manual methods fall short. Keep your Outlook spell check working seamlessly and maintain your professional reputation.

In today’s blog, we will delve into the topic of Spell check is not working in Outlook. It’s not uncommon for users to encounter situations where they need to verify the spelling and grammar of an email message before hitting send. Unfortunately, there are instances when the auto spelling and grammar check feature in Outlook may not function as expected, leading to situations where users overlook spelling errors, assuming they are being corrected automatically.

Sending an email riddled with spelling and grammatical mistakes can create an unprofessional impression. To prevent such awkward scenarios, this blog will outline various methods to address the issue of Spell check is not working in Outlook.

Causes of the Spell Check not Working Issue in Outlook

Outlook’s automatic spell check feature plays a crucial role in maintaining the professionalism of our emails and reports. However, when this spell check function fails to work, it can lead to inadvertent and potentially embarrassing mistakes that we might overlook. The sudden cessation of spell checking can occur for various reasons, which we’ll explore in this article.

  • The feature has been turned off.
  • The language of the email is not supported by the grammar checker.
  • The Outlook version is old.
  • An update is pending for Outlook.
  • Any other third-party add-ins have stopped the grammar checker from working.
  • Malware attacks.
Manual methods

Here are several methods to help you resolve issues with the Spelling & Grammar checker:

Please note: While using Excel, the spelling and grammar checker doesn’t highlight as you type. You will have to manually initiate checking by selecting Review >> Spelling or pressing the F7 key on your keyboard.
Method 1- Check Manually for Spelling and Grammar Before Sending

You can check for spellings with the F7 shortcut key on your keyboard or you can click the Review tab from the menu bar and click on the Spelling & Grammar.

Check Manually for Spelling and Grammar

Another way to set up spelling and grammar check in Outlook is given here in simple steps:

For Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010

Step 1– Open Outlook and go to File

Step 2– Now go to Options and click on Mail.

Step 3– Under Compose Message, select Always check spelling before sending. And click on the OK.

Always check spelling before sending

For MS Outlook 2007:

Step 1– Click Tools and go to Options.

Step 2– Click the Spelling tab and select Always Check Spelling before Sending

Method 2- Enable Proof Reading at Template Level Using Language Options

You can also enable or disable spelling and grammar checking at the template level for every email message you send. Here’s how to do it:

For Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010

Step 1– Click on New Email.

Step 2– Now click Review and go to Language.

Step 3– In the language set Proofing Language.

Step 4– Now uncheck Do not check spelling or grammar and click Set as Default.

Step 5– Hit the OK button to finalize the settings.

uncheck Do not check spelling or grammar

For MS Outlook 2007:

Step 1– Click on New and Select Mail Message.

Step 2– In the Home tab in the Proofing group, go to Spelling.

Step 3– Now in Set Language, uncheck Do not check spelling or grammar.

Step 4– Click the Default button.

By following the above steps, you can disable and enable spelling and grammar check for different languages as required and apply the changes at the template level.

Final Words:

We hope you find this blog helpful, and the manual strategies discussed above can prevent the embarrassment caused by the issue of Outlook spelling and grammar check not working. However, there are instances where manual solutions may not yield the desired results, especially if the steps are not followed precisely. In such cases, it is advisable to consider using expert utility tools to ensure data integrity and preserve the original content.