This article is for people with visual or cognitive impairments who use a screen reader program such as Microsoft's Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with the Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Microsoft 365 screen reader support content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support home or Fixes or workarounds for recent office issues.
Use Word with your keyboard and a screen reader to review and fix spelling, grammar, and writing style errors in a document. We have tested it with Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. You'll also learn how to recheck your document for issues you previously ignored and turn on or off the automatic checking for spelling, grammar, and writing style errors.
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New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
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To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
In this topic
Check and correct spelling, grammar, and style
Word automatically checks for spelling, grammar, and writing style errors as you type. You can use the Editor pane to go through the errors one by one.
Check and correct spelling, grammar, and style in the Editor pane
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In your document, press F7. The Editor pane opens. You hear "Editor," followed by the editor score.
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To review the errors, do one of the following:
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To review spelling errors, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Corrections," followed by the category in focus and the number of findings. If you hear "Spelling," press Enter. If you hear "Grammar," press the Up arrow key once, and then press Enter.
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To review grammar errors, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Corrections," followed by the category in focus and the number of findings. If you hear "Grammar," press Enter. If you hear "Spelling," press the Down arrow key once, and then press Enter.
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To review writing style issues, press the Tab key until you hear "Refinements," followed by the refinement category in focus and the number of findings. Press the Down arrow key until you hear the category you want, for example, "Conciseness," and then press Enter.
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You hear the reason why the issue was flagged as an error, followed by the location of the error in the sentence, and the original sentence with the spelling, grammar, or style error. Press the Tab key until you hear "Suggestions," followed by the first suggestion on how to correct the error.
: To hear the original sentence again, press Shift+Tab until with Narrator and NVDA you hear: "Button, read context." With JAWS, you hear: "Button, to activate, press Spacebar." Then press Enter.
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Do one of the following:
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To correct the error in focus, press the Down arrow key until you hear the suggestion you want to use, and then press Enter. The error is corrected.
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To correct all occurrences of a spelling error in the current document, press the Down arrow key until you hear the suggestion you want to use, and then press Alt+Down arrow key. You hear: "Change all." Press Enter. The spelling error is corrected.
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If you think that the issue Word identified is not an error and you want to ignore it everywhere in your document, do one of the following:
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When checking spelling, press the Tab key until you hear: "Ignore all." The finding is not corrected.
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When checking grammar or writing style, press the Tab key until you hear "Stop checking for this," and then press Enter. The finding is not corrected.
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If you want to ignore the finding only once, press the Tab key until you hear: "Ignore once." The finding is not corrected.
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After you correct or ignore an error, the focus moves to the next error in the category. Repeat step 4 for each issue.
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When there are no more issues in the category in focus, you hear "Zero issues" or the editor score. Repeat steps 2-5 for each category you want to check.
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When Word finishes reviewing the document, you hear: "You have finished reviewing editor's suggestions." To return the focus to your document, press Enter.
Check and correct spelling while reading a document
: Reviewing spelling errors while reading a document works best with Narrator and NVDA. With JAWS, use the Editor pane to check and fix spelling. For checking grammar and writing style, use the Editor pane.
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Use your screen reader to start reading the document you want to check for spelling. For the frequently used keyboard shortcuts for reading text, refer to Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word.
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When your screen reader comes across a spelling error, you hear with Narrator: "Misspelled." With NVDA, you hear: "Spelling error." Press Ctrl to stop reading. If necessary, navigate back to the error in the text.
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When on the error, press Alt+Down arrow key. The list of correction suggestions opens, and you hear: "Suggestions to choose from." With NVDA, you might have to press the SR key+Spacebar to change the navigation mode before you press Alt+Down arrow key.
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Do one of the following:
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To correct the error in focus, press the Down arrow key until you hear the suggestion you want to use, and then press Enter. The error is corrected, and the focus is at the end of the corrected word or phrase.
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To correct all occurrences of an error in the current document, press the Down arrow key until you hear the suggestion you want to use, press Alt+Down arrow key, press the Down arrow key until you hear "Change all," and then press Enter. The error is corrected, and the focus is at the end the corrected word or phrase.
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If you think that the issue Word identified is not an error and you want to ignore it everywhere in your document, press the Tab key until you hear "Ignore all," and then press Enter. The finding is not corrected, and the focus is at the end of the word or phrase that was flagged.
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To ignore the finding only once, press the Tab key until you hear "More options, button," and then press Spacebar. You hear: "Ignore." Press Enter. The finding is not corrected, and the focus is at the end of the word or phrase that was flagged.
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Continue reading the document, and repeat the above steps for each issue.
Recheck issues that you previously chose to ignore
If you chose to ignore some findings in your document, you can return to the ignored findings even after you've finished checking the document.
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In your document where you want to recheck previously ignored errors, press Alt+F, T, P. The Proofing pane in the Word Options window opens.
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Press the Tab key once. The focus moves to the Proofing pane.
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To recheck the document, press K. You are prompted to confirm the recheck. Press Enter to confirm.
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To close the Word Options window, press the Tab key until you hear "OK, button," and then press Enter. The focus returns back to the document and you can now start checking the document for the errors you previously ignored.
Keyboard shortcuts for changing the grammar and spelling options
The following table provides a summary of keyboard shortcuts that can help you to check grammar and spelling in your Word documents:
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To do this |
Press |
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Open the Proofing pane in the Word Options window. |
Alt+F, T, P, and then the Tab key |
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In the Proofing pane, open the AutoCorrect dialog box. |
A |
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In the AutoCorrect dialog box, open the AutoCorrect Exceptions dialog box. |
E (If the focus is on the Replace text field, press Shift+Tab first.) |
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In the Proofing pane, start rechecking the spelling and grammar. |
K |
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In the Proofing pane, select or clear the Check spelling as you type checkbox. |
P |
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In the Proofing pane, move to the Mark grammar errors as you type checkbox. |
M twice |
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In the Proofing pane, select or clear the Hide spelling errors in this document only checkbox. |
S |
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In the Proofing pane, select or clear the Hide grammar errors in this document only checkbox. |
D |
Turn the automatic checking for spelling, grammar, and style on or off
You can turn off the automatic spelling, grammar, and style checking while you're working on your document, and then turn it back on again to check your document after it's completed. Checking all the spelling, grammar, and style in your document at the same time is useful when you want to quickly proof your text.
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In your document, press Alt+F, T, P. The Proofing pane in the Word Options window opens.
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Press the Tab key once. The focus moves to the Proofing pane. Do one or both of the following:
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To clear or select the Check spelling as you type checkbox, press P.
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To move the focus to the Mark grammar errors as you type checkbox, press M twice. To clear or select the checkbox, press Spacebar.
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To apply your changes and close the Word Options window, press the Tab key until you hear "OK, button," and then press Enter. The focus returns to your document.
See also
Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word
Use a screen reader to track and review changes in a document in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
What's new in Microsoft 365: Release notes for Current Channel
Use Word for Mac with your keyboard and VoiceOver, the built-in MacOS screen reader, to review and fix spelling, grammatical, and writing style errors in a document. You'll also learn how to recheck your document for issues you previously ignored and turn on or off the automatic checking for spelling and grammar.
:
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New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
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This topic assumes that you are using the built-in macOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, go to VoiceOver Getting Started Guide.
In this topic
Check spelling, grammar, and style
Word for Mac automatically checks for spelling, grammatical, and writing style errors as you type. You can use the Editor pane to go through the mistakes one by one. Alternatively, to quickly review and fix errors while you're reading your document, use a keyboard shortcut to bring up the correction suggestions menu and select the correction you want.
Check and correct spelling, grammar, and style in the Editor pane
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In your document, press F7 or Option+Command+L. The Editor pane opens. You hear: "Editor pane opened," followed by the total number of issues found.
: To check the spelling, grammar, and style in just a sentence or paragraph in your document, select the text you want to check and then press F7 or Option+Command+L.
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Do one of the following:
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To review all spelling, grammar, and writing style issues, press Control+Option+Spacebar.
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To review only spelling errors, press the Tab key until you hear "Spelling," followed by the number of spelling issues, and press Control+Option+Spacebar. If you hear "Corrections, grammar," press Control+Option+Left arrow key until you hear "Spelling," and press Control+Option+Spacebar.
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To review only grammar errors, press the Tab key until you hear "Corrections, grammar," followed by the number of grammar issues, and press Control+Option+Spacebar. If you hear "Corrections, spelling," press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Grammar," and press Control+Option+Spacebar.
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To review only writing style issues, press the Tab key until you hear the style category in focus, for example, "Conciseness." To select the category, press Control+Option+Spacebar. To browse the list of categories, press Control+Option+Up or Down arrow key until you hear the one you want, and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
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A list of correction suggestions opens in the document body. You hear the reason why the issue was flagged as a mistake. Do one of the following:
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To correct the error in focus, press Control+Option+Right arrow key once. You hear: "Suggestions to choose from." Press Control+Option+Shift+Down arrow key. You hear the first correction suggestion. To browse the list of suggestions, press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear the suggestion you want. Once on the right suggestion, press Control+Option+Spacebar to apply the correction. The error is fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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To correct all occurrences of the error in the current document, press Control+Option+Right arrow key once. You hear: "Suggestions to choose from." Press Control+Option+Shift+Down arrow key. You hear the first correction suggestion. To browse the list of suggestions, press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear the suggestion you want. Once on the right suggestion, press Control+Option+Shift+M. The context menu opens. Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Change all," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. If there's only one suggestion, this option is not available. The error is corrected, and Word moves to the next error.
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If you think that the finding is not an error and you want to ignore it everywhere in the document, press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Ignore all," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar. The finding is not fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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If you want to ignore the finding only once, press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "More options, button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. You hear: "Menu item, Ignore. " Press Control+Option+Spacebar. Alternatively, press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Ignore," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar. The finding is not fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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To check if you've reviewed all findings, press F6 until you hear "Editor, selected," and press the Tab key until you hear "Entering scroll area," followed by the number of remaining issues. When you hear "Zero issues found," you've reviewed and acted on all issues. To close the Editor pane, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Leaving scroll area, Close editor button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar.
Check and correct spelling, grammar, and style while reading a document
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Use your screen reader to start reading the document you want to check for spelling, grammar, or writing style mistakes. For the frequently used keyboard shortcuts for reading text, refer to Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word.
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When your screen reader comes across a spelling, grammar, or writing style mistake, you hear "Misspelled," or "Annotation," followed by either "Grammatical error" or "Writing issue." Press Control to stop reading. If necessary, navigate back to the mistake in the text.
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Press Option+Down arrow key or Fn+Option+F7. The list of correction suggestions appears. Do one of the following:
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To correct the error in focus, press Control+Option+Right arrow key once. You hear: "Suggestions to choose from." Press Control+Option+Shift+Down arrow key. You hear the first correction suggestion. To browse the list of suggestions, press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear the suggestion you want. Once on the right suggestion, press Control+Option+Spacebar to apply the correction. The error is fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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To correct all occurrences of the error in the current document, press Control+Option+Right arrow key once. You hear: "Suggestions to choose from." Press Control+Option+Shift+Down arrow key. You hear the first correction suggestion. To browse the list of suggestions, press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear the suggestion you want. Once on the right suggestion, press Control+Option+Shift+M. The context menu opens. Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Change all," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. If there's only one suggestion, this option is not available. The error is corrected, and Word moves to the next error.
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If you think that the finding is not an error and you want to ignore it everywhere in the document, press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Ignore all," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar. The finding is not fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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If you want to ignore the finding only once, press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "More options, button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. You hear: "Menu item, Ignore. " Press Control+Option+Spacebar. Alternatively, press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Ignore," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar. The finding is not fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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Recheck words and grammar that you previously chose to ignore
If you chose to ignore some findings in your document, you can return to the ignored findings even after you've finished checking the document.
: When you reset the list of ignored words and grammar, the list is cleared only for the currently open document. Any spelling or grammar issues you skipped in other Word documents won't be affected.
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In the Word document you want to recheck, press Control+Option+M. You hear: "Menu bar, Apple."
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Press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Tools," press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Spelling and grammar, submenu," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
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Press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Reset ignored words and grammar," and press Control+Option+Spacebar.
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You are prompted to confirm the reset. Press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear "Yes, default button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
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To recheck the spelling and grammar, press F7 or Option+Command+L.
Keyboard shortcuts related to checking spelling, grammar, and style
The following table provides a summary of keyboard shortcuts that can help you to check spelling, grammar, and style in your Word documents:
: Word for Mac uses the function keys for common commands and actions. Depending on the type of your keyboard, to use a function key in a VoiceOver command, you might also have to press the Fn key. To learn more how to use the function keys in Word for Mac, refer to the section "Use function key shortcuts" in Keyboard shortcuts in Word.
|
To do this |
Press |
|---|---|
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Open the Word Preferences dialog box. |
Command+Comma (,) |
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Open the Editor pane. |
F7 or Option+Command+L |
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When on an error in the document body, show the correction suggestions list. |
Option+Down arrow key or Option+F7 |
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Look up a selected word in Thesaurus task pane. |
Shift+F7 |
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Look up selected text on the internet. |
Command+Shift+L |
Turn on or off the automatic checking for spelling, grammar, and style
You can turn off the automatic spelling, grammar, and style checking while you're working on your document, and then turn it back on again to check your document after it's completed. Checking all the spelling, grammar, and style in your document at the same time is useful when you want to quickly proof your text.
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In your document, press Command+Comma (,). You hear: "Word preferences."
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Press the Tab key until you hear "Spelling and grammar, button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar to select.
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Do one or more of the following:
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To turn on or off the automatic checking for spelling, press the Tab key until you hear: "Check spelling as you type, checkbox." You hear whether the checkbox is checked or unchecked. To check or clear the checkbox, press Control+Option+Spacebar.
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To turn on or off the automatic checking for grammar, press the Tab key until you hear: "Check grammar as you type, checkbox." You hear whether the checkbox is checked or unchecked. To check or clear the checkbox, press Control+Option+Spacebar.
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To turn on or off the automatic checking for both grammar and writing style, press the Tab key until you hear: "Check grammar and refinements on editor pane, checkbox." You hear whether the checkbox is checked or unchecked. To check or clear the checkbox, press Control+Option+Spacebar.
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To go back to your document, press Esc.
See also
Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word
Use a screen reader to track and review changes in a document in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
What's new in Microsoft 365: Release notes for Current Channel
Use Word for iOS with VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, to review and fix spelling errors in a document.
:
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New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
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This topic assumes that you are using the built-in iOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, visit Apple accessibility.
In this topic
Check the spelling in a document
Word for iOS automatically checks for potential spelling errors as you type.
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In your document, tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe right until you hear "Page one content," and double-tap the screen. You hear: "Page one, text field, is editing."
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Slide one finger down the screen to review the content until VoiceOver announces a misspelled word.
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Switch the VoiceOver rotor to Words, and then swipe down until you reach the misspelled word. The focus is on the word.
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Swipe up once, and then double-tap the screen with two fingers. The context menu opens. You hear: "Show more items."
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Swipe left until you hear "Select, menu item," and double-tap the screen. The misspelled word is selected.
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Double-tap the screen with two fingers. The context menu opens. You hear: "Show more items."
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Double-tap the screen. The list of correction suggestions appears. Slide one finger near the right side of the screen until you hear "Show more items," swipe left until you hear the correction suggestion you want to use, and double-tap the screen to apply the correction.
Turn on or off the automatic checking for spelling
You can turn off the automatic spellchecking when you're working on your document. When you're done, you can turn the automatic checking back on and check the spelling in the whole document.
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In your document, tap at the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe right until you hear "Show ribbon," and double-tap the screen. You hear the currently selected tab, for example, "Home tab."
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Double-tap the screen, swipe left or right until you hear "Review tab," and double-tap the screen.
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Swipe right until you hear "Proofing tools button," and then double-tap the screen.
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Swipe right until you hear: "Spelling, switch button."
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Do one of the following:
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If the automatic spellchecking is on, you hear: "On." To turn it off, double-tap the screen.
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If the automatic spellchecking is off, you hear: "Off." To turn it on, double-tap the screen.
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See also
Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word
Use a screen reader to share a document in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
What's new in Microsoft 365: Release notes for Current Channel
Use Word for Android with TalkBack, the built-in Android screen reader, to review and fix spelling and grammar errors in a document.
:
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New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
-
This topic assumes that you are using the built-in Android screen reader, TalkBack. To learn more about using TalkBack, go to Android accessibility.
In this topic
Check the spelling in a document
Word for Android automatically checks for potential spelling and grammar errors as you type.
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In your document, swipe right or left until you hear "More options button," and double-tap the screen. You hear "Tab menu," followed by the currently selected tab, for example, "Home tab."
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Double-tap the screen, swipe left or right until you hear "Review tab," and double-tap the screen.
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Swipe right until you hear "Check document," and double-tap the screen. The Editor pane opens, and you hear the total number of issues found.
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Do one of the following:
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To review both spelling and grammar mistakes, double-tap the screen.
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To review only spelling mistakes, swipe right until you hear the number of spelling issues, followed by "In spelling category," and double-tap the screen.
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To review only grammar mistakes, swipe right until you hear the number of grammar issues, followed by "In grammar category," and double-tap the screen.
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The list of correction suggestions opens. The focus is on the first suggestion. Do one of the following:
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If you want to use the first suggestion to fix the error, double-tap the screen. Otherwise, to browse the list of suggestions, swipe right until you hear the suggestion you want, and double-tap the screen. The error is fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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If you think that the issue Word identified is not an error, and you want to ignore the finding everywhere in your document, swipe right until you hear "Ignore all," and double-tap the screen. The finding is not fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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If you want to ignore only the finding in focus, swipe right until you hear "Ignore once," and double-tap the screen. The finding is not fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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When you've reviewed all issues in your document or in the selected category, the focus returns to the Editor pane, and you hear: "Zero issues remaining." To close the Editor pane and return the focus to the document body, swipe down-then-left.
Hide and show proofing marks
You can hide the proofing marks so that TalkBack won't announce spelling errors as you work on your document. When you're done, you can show the marks, and check the spelling with TalkBack.
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Swipe right until you hear "More options button," and then double-tap the screen. You hear "Tab menu," followed by the currently selected tab, for example, "Home tab."
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Double-tap the screen, swipe left or right until you hear "Review tab," and double-tap the screen.
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Swipe right until you hear "Proofing and language menu," and then double-tap the screen.
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Do one of the following:
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To hide all proofing marks in your document, swipe right until you hear "Not checked, Hide all proofing marks," and then double-tap the screen.
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To show the marks, swipe right until you hear "Checked, Hide all proofing marks," and then double-tap the screen.
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See also
Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word
Use a screen reader to share a document in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
What's new in Microsoft 365: Release notes for Current Channel
Use Word for the web with your keyboard and a screen reader to review and fix spelling, grammar, and writing style errors in a document. We have tested it with Narrator in Microsoft Edge and JAWS and NVDA in Chrome, but it might work with other screen readers and web browsers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques.
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If you use Narrator with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, you have to turn off scan mode in order to edit documents, spreadsheets, or presentations with Microsoft 365 for the web. For more information, refer to Turn off virtual or browse mode in screen readers in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.
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New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
-
To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
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When you use Word for the web, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because Word for the web runs in your web browser, the keyboard shortcuts are different from those in the desktop program. For example, you'll use Ctrl+F6 instead of F6 for jumping in and out of the commands. Also, common shortcuts like F1 (Help) and Ctrl+O (Open) apply to the web browser – not Word for the web.
In this topic
Check and correct spelling, grammar, and style
Word for the web automatically checks for spelling, grammatical, and style errors as you type. You can use the Editor pane to go through the mistakes one by one. Alternatively, to quickly review and fix errors while you're reading your document, you can use a keyboard shortcut to bring up the suggestions menu and select the correction you want.
Use the Editor pane to check and correct spelling, grammar, and style
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In your document, press F7. The Editor pane opens. You hear: "Editor score."
: To check the spelling and grammar in just a sentence or paragraph, select the text you want to check and then press F7.
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Do one of the following:
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To review only spelling errors, press the Tab key until you hear "Writing corrections," followed by the total number of issues and the category in focus. If you hear "Spelling," press Spacebar. If you hear "Grammar," with Narrator or JAWS, press the Up arrow key until you hear "Spelling," followed by the number of spelling issues, and press Spacebar. With NVDA, press Shift+I until you hear "Spelling," and press Spacebar.
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To review only grammar errors, press the Tab key until you hear "Writing corrections," followed by the total number of issues and the category in focus. If you hear "Grammar," press Spacebar. If you hear "Spelling," with Narrator or JAWS, press the Down arrow key until you hear "Grammar," followed by the number of grammar issues, and press Spacebar. With NVDA, press I until you hear "Grammar," and press Spacebar.
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To review only writing style issues, press the Tab key until you hear "Writing refinements," followed by total number of issues and the category in focus. With Narrator or JAWS, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the category you want, for example, "Conciseness," and press Spacebar. With NVDA, press I or Shift+I until you hear the category you want, and press Spacebar.
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You hear: "Suggested actions." The focus moves to a list of correction suggestions in the document body. Do one of the following:
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To use a suggested correction to fix the error in focus, press the Down arrow key until you hear the suggestion you want to use, and press Enter. The error is corrected, and Word moves to the next error.
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If you think that the issue Word identified is not an error and you want to ignore it everywhere in your document, press the Tab key until you hear "Ignore all," and press Enter. The finding is not fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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If you want to ignore only the error in focus, press the Tab key until you hear "More options," and press Spacebar. You hear: "Ignore." Press Enter. Alternatively, press the Tab key until you hear "Ignore," and press Enter. The finding is not fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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Repeat step 3 for each issue.
Check and correct spelling, grammar, and style while reading a document
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Use your screen reader to start reading the document you want to check for spelling, grammar, or writing style mistakes. For the frequently used keyboard shortcuts for reading text, refer to Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word.
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When your screen reader comes across a potential spelling, grammar, or style mistake, you hear with Narrator "Spelling error," "Grammatical error," or " Refinements." JAWS and NVDA announce the style issues as "Advance proofing issue." Press Ctrl to stop reading. If necessary, navigate back to the mistake in the text.
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When on the mistake, press Alt+Down arrow key. The list of correction suggestions opens, and you hear: "Suggestions to choose from." Do one of the following:
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To use a suggested correction to fix the error in focus, press the Down arrow key until you hear the suggestion you want to use, and then press Enter. The error is corrected, and Word moves to the next error.
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If you think that the issue Word identified is not an error and you want to ignore it everywhere in the document, press the Tab key until you hear "Ignore all," and press Enter. The finding is not fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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If you want to ignore only the finding in focus, press the Tab key until you hear "More options," and press Spacebar. You hear: "Ignore." Press Enter. Alternatively, press the Tab key until you hear "Ignore," and press Enter. The finding is not fixed, and Word moves to the next error.
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Repeat step 3 for each issue.
Hide and show proofing marks
You can hide the proofing marks so that your screen reader won't announce spelling, grammar, or style errors as you work on your document. Once you're done, you can show the marks, and check the spelling with a screen reader.
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To open the context menu, press Shift+F10 anywhere in your document. Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Set proofing language," and press Spacebar. The Language dialog box opens.
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Do one of the following:
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To hide the proofing marks, press the Tab key until you hear "Unchecked, Don't check spelling checkbox," and then press Spacebar. You hear: "Checked."
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To show the proofing marks, press the Tab key until you hear "Checked, Don't check spelling checkbox," and then press Spacebar. You hear: "Unchecked."
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To close the dialog box and move the focus to the document, press the Tab key until you hear "OK button," and press Enter.
See also
Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word
Use a screen reader to share a document in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word
What's new in Microsoft 365: Release notes for Current Channel
Technical support for customers with disabilities
Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.
If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.
