PUB: Can't Load Speller or Dictionary

When you attempt to run the Spell Checker, you may receive the following error message: If you click OK, the Spell Checker continues to check spelling in the publication.

This problem may occur for either of the following reasons:

• The Custom.dic file has become corrupted. -or-
• The registry key for custom dictionaries is incorrect or is missing.

To resolve this problem, use either of the following methods.

Method 1: Corrupted Custom.dic File

1. Open Custom.dic in a text editor such as WordPad. By default, this file is in the following folder: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Proof NOTE: This file can be located elsewhere. If it is not in the folder previously listed, use the Windows 95 Find File feature to locate it.

1. Copy and paste the words to a text frame in Publisher.
2. Close the text editor, and rename Custom.dic.
3. In Publisher, click Check Spelling on the Tools menu. NOTE: Add is available. Use Add to add the words into the new Custom.dic.

Method 2: Incorrect or Missing Registry Key

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
If you suspect that the problem is related to incorrect registry settings, use the following steps to edit the registry.

1. Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\Custom Dictionaries.
2. Export the Custom Dictionaries key. NOTE: If the key is missing, skip to step 4.
3. Delete the Custom Dictionaries key.
4. On the Windows Start menu, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon, and run Publisher Setup.
5. Select the option to reinstall the program. This will force the re-registration of the custom Dictionaries key.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Publisher 98.