Microsoft KB Archive/46894

Word: How to Convert Text Files into User Dictionaries

PSS ID Number: Q46894 Article last modified on 03-07-1997

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= SUMMARY =

To create a user dictionary in Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, each unique word must be in a separate paragraph, and the file must be saved in Text Only format. In Word version 3.x and 4.0, the file must be sorted so that words in caps are sorted and located at the top of the document, initial-capped words are sorted next in the file, and all lowercase words are sorted at the end of the file. The file in Word version 3.x and 4.0 will have three regions of alphabetically sorted words: all capitals, initial capitals, and lowercase. Word 5.0 and 5.1 dictionaries do not need to be sorted.

Once the text file is created in the above manner, do the following to convert it to a user dictionary:


 * 1) Start any desk accessory (DA) or application that can change the Type and Creator attributes of a file; for example, ResEdit, Desktop, Filetools, FileManager, and so on.
 * 2) Change the Type attribute to WDCD (in Word 3.x and 4.0, the Type is DICT).
 * 3) Change the Creator attribute to WDSE (in Word 3.x and 4.0, the Creator is MSWD).
 * 4) Quit the application or DA and save the changes.

Word Verson 5.0 and 5.1
To use this dictionary in Word versions 5.0 and later, do the following:


 * 1) From the Tools menu, select Preferences.
 * 2) Choose the Spelling icon and select Open from the Custom Dictionaries box.
 * 3) Locate the dictionary created in steps 1-4 above.
 * 4) Open the dictionary. It will appear in the dialog box with a check mark beside it to show that it is an active dictionary.
 * 5) Close Preferences.

Word Versions 3.x and 4.0
To use this dictionary in Word 4.0 and 3.x, do the following:


 * 1) From the Utilities menu, choose Spelling (Document menu in Word 3.x).
 * 2) From the File menu, choose Open.
 * 3) Locate and open the dictionary created in steps 1-4 above.
 * 4) The name of the dictionary appears in the Open Dictionaries scroll box.

Note: Word 4.0 User Dictionaries can be used in Word 5.0, however, Word 5.0 Custom Dictionaries can’t be used in 4.0.

= MORE INFORMATION =

The maximum number of words allowed in a user dictionary is limited by the amount of memory allocated to Word 5.0, the recommend limit is 30,000 characters. (In Word 4.0 and 3.x, the limit is 64,000 words but no more than 1,000 are recommended). The maximum number of dictionaries open is limited by the amount of memory allocated to Word 5.0 (in Word 4.0 and 3.x, the limit is five including the Main or MS Dictionary).

For more information on spelling, see pages 262-269 and 709-710 of the “Microsoft Word User’s Guide,” version 5.0, pages 336-338 and 397 of the “Reference to Microsoft Word” version 4.0 manual, or pages 337-343 of the “Reference to Microsoft Word” version 3.0 manual.

KBCategory: kbusage kbhowto KBSubCategory: kbproof Additional reference words: macword macword5 3.00 3.01 3.02 4.00 5.00 ====================================================================== Version : 3.00 3.01 3.02 4.00 5.00 5.10 ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1997.