Spelling Checker Flags Words Formatted with All Caps
  
PSS ID Number: Q102708
Article last modified on 10-13-1994
 
2.00 2.00a 2.00a-CD 2.00b 2.00c | 3.00 3.01 3.02 4.00 5.00 5.10
 
WINDOWS                         | MACINTOSH
 

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The information in this article applies to:
 
 - Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 3.0, 3.01, 3.02, 4.0,
   5.0, 5.1
 
 - Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b,
   2.0c
 - Windows operating system versions 3.0 and 3.1
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SYMPTOMS
========
 
Word's Spelling command may flag a word formatted in All Caps as
improperly capitalized. For example, if All Caps character formatting is
applied to the word "teSt" to appear as "TEST", the Spell Checker will
flag it as misspelled. The specific error message in the Spelling dialog
box will be
 
   Capitalization: teSt
 
or in Word for the Macintosh versions 3.x/4.0:
 
   Unknown Word: teSt
 
Similarly, misspelled words formatted in All Caps will be flagged even
if the Ignore All Caps feature is on. For example, if All Caps character
format is applied to the word "city" to appear like "CITY", the Spell
Checker will flag it as misspelled. The specific error message in the
Spelling dialog box will be
 
   Not in Dictionary: city
 
or in Word for the Macintosh versions 3.x/4.0:
 
   Unknown Word: city
 
WORKAROUND
==========
 
Changing the case of the characters to true uppercase allows the
spelling checker to perform as expected. To change the case of
characters, follow the appropriate steps outlined below. (Note: Word for
the Macintosh versions 3.x and 4.0 have no method to change lowercase
characters into uppercase characters.)
 
Word for Windows
----------------
 
Select the characters to be changed, and then press SHIFT+F3 to change
the case of the selection to all capital letters. For more information
on SHIFT+F3, refer to page 151 of the Word for Windows "User's Guide."
 
Word for the Macintosh
----------------------
 
In Word 5.0 and 5.1, select the characters to be changed and choose
Change Case from the Format menu. Select Uppercase and choose OK.
 
MORE INFORMATION
================
 
Word's spelling checker identifies uppercase and lowercase characters by
their ASCII value. For example, the ASCII value of "a" is 97, and the
ASCII value of "A" is 65. The All Caps character format does not change
the ASCII value of lowercase characters. If All Caps is applied to a
lowercase character, although the character appears uppercase in the
document, the characters still retain their lowercase ASCII values.
 
To ignore words in uppercase during a spelling check, select
Options/Preferences from the Tools menu, select the Spelling category,
and select Words In UPPERCASE in the Ignore section. Choose the close
box.
 
REFERENCES
==========
 
Word for Windows "User's Guide," version 2.0, page 151
Word for the Macintosh "User's Guide," version 5.0/5.1,
pages 140-141
 
KBCategory: kbproof
KBSubcategory: kbfont
Additional reference words:    3.00 winword macword
3.01 3.02 4.00 5.00 5.10 2.00 2.00a 2.00a-CD 2.00b 2.00c speller
checking wrongchecked ignored
 
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Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1994.
