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Outlook 2003 Misc - Edit the Custom Dictionary

When spell-checking e-mail messages in Outlook 2003, you can choose to add words to the custom dictionary. This way, technical terms, acronyms, business names, etc. that Outlook 2003 normally thinks are misspelled words will now be treated as valid spellings.

This dictionary can be modified using Notepad or any text editor in two ways:

A) Open the file directly from the following folder:

c:\documents and settings\[YOUR USER NAME]\Application Data\Microsoft\Proof\CUSTOM.DIC

Replace the text [YOUR USER NAME] with your actual user name.

An easier way, B):

1. From Outlook 2003, click "Tools" and select "Options".
2. When the "Options" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, click the "Spelling" tab.
3. Underneath "Edit custom dictionary", click the button "Edit".

Either way, once your document is opened in Notepad or your plain-text editor, each word should be placed one per line. Re-save the file, and Outlook 2003 will now treat all words in the CUSTOM.DIC file as valid spellings.

NOTE: If you have any open e-mail draft messages and you edit the custom dictionary, the changes in the dictionary may not be reflected when spell-checking these open e-mails! Close all open-emails before editing the custom dictionary.