Check Spelling in OneNote – Instructions

Check Spelling in OneNote: Video Lesson

            This video lesson, titled “Checking Spelling,” shows you how to check spelling in OneNote. This video lesson is from our complete OneNote tutorial, titled “Mastering OneNote Made Easy v.2016-2013.”

Check Spelling in OneNote: Overview

            You can check spelling in OneNote to quickly identify and correct misspelled words in your notes. The “Spelling” feature works by identifying words in your notes that it thinks are misspelled. It then compares the words within the note to an internal dictionary. As you type, you may notice that a red wavy line appears under some words in your note. This indicates words Microsoft OneNote has marked as misspellings.

            The second function of the Spelling feature lets you open the “Spelling” pane. To check spelling in OneNote using the “Spelling” pane, click the “Review” tab in the Ribbon. Then click the “Spelling” button in the “Spelling” group. You then step through your note, from your insertion mark downward, identifying misspelled words.

            OneNote then displays the errors in the Spelling pane. For each error, it also shows a selection of words it thinks you meant to type in the “Suggestions” list. You may click one of these words to select it and then click the “Change” button to change it.

Check Spelling in OneNote – Instructions: A picture of the “Spelling” pane shown at the right side of OneNote.

            If the word that OneNote thinks is misspelled is truly spelled correctly, you can ignore the word. To ignore the misspelled word, click the “Ignore” button in the Spelling pane. This can sometimes happen with proper names and technical terms.

            If OneNote misidentifies a word as misspelled when it is not, and you use the word frequently, you can click the “Add” button in the Spelling pane to add the selected word to Microsoft internal dictionary. This is helpful for words like a company name or your own last name that OneNote marks as misspelled words. The other Office applications installed on your computer also share the internal dictionary. In the future, OneNote will not identify the added word as a misspelling in your notes.

            When you check spelling in OneNote, it not only identifies misspelled words, but also identifies oddly capitalized words (lIKE tHIS, oR ThIs) and repeated words. However, it is only a tool to assist you in editing and proofreading your notes. It is not a substitute for your own editing.

            Another way to easily fix spelling errors is to right-click any word OneNote identifies as misspelled within the note. At the top of the pop-up menu that OneNote displays, a few of the same spelling options we just explored appear. You can accept a suggested replacement word, ignore the word, add it to the dictionary or click the “Spelling…” command to launch the Spelling pane by selecting a choice from the pop-up menu.

Check Spelling in OneNote: Instructions

1. Microsoft OneNote places a red wavy line under potentially misspelled words within your notes.
2. To check spelling in OneNote using the “Spelling” pane, click the “Review” tab in the Ribbon.
3. Then click the “Spelling” button in the “Spelling” group.
4. You then step through your note, from your insertion mark downward, identifying misspelled words.
5. OneNote then displays the errors in the Spelling pane.
6. For each error, it also shows a selection of words it thinks you meant to type in the “Suggestions” list.
7. To change the misspelled word into one of the suggested words, click one of the suggested words to select it.
8. Then click the “Change” button.
9. To ignore the misspelled word if the word is truly spelled correctly, click the “Ignore” button in the Spelling pane.
10. To add the misspelled word to an internal dictionary so OneNote will not identify the word as a misspelling in the future, click the “Add” button in the Spelling pane.
11. Alternatively, to immediately correct a misspelled word, right-click any word OneNote identifies as misspelled within the note.
12. At the top of the pop-up menu that OneNote displays, a few of the same options from the “Spelling” pane appear.
13. You can accept a suggested replacement word, ignore the word, add it to the dictionary or click the “Spelling…” command to launch the Spelling pane by selecting a choice from the pop-up menu.