Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

There is no bug.
What format do you save in? ODF (.odt) or something else?
Have you checked the tutorial linked at the beginning of this topic?

Thank You for solving the problem It is appreciated

I couldnt get the spellcheck to work either and I read this thread which did point me in the right direction.

tools/options/language settings/languages

From there under "default languages for documents" I noticed that only 2 of those language options had the "abc-tick"
next to them - "English UK" was one of those - so I selected that and then the spell checker was working.

Yes, but why does it suddenly stop working ?

I don't know. Mine has never stopped working.

When doing spelling check with F7, if the spelling window that opens indicates no language for "Text Language" just close it.
Firstly, go to Tools/Language and select option "For all text", for example.
Secondly, spell grammar with F7
That workerd for me
Cheers

Yeah OpenOffice gives open source software a bad name. Someone should put this piece to bed. Im currently also receiving this issue and will never bother with OO again, and dont bother replying I am lying about using 3.1.

I created an account just to say the following...
I read this whole thread because I have the same issue.
1. IT DOES NOT "JUST WORK"
2. There is a bug. Don't say there's not a bug
3. YES, MY LANGUAGE IS SET CORRECTLY. YES MY LANGUAGE IS SET CORRECTLY. YES MY LANGUAGE IS SET CORRECTLY. Jesus.. say it one more time people. The dictionary language is not the problem!
4. There is a problem and it needs to be fixed.
5. I shouldn't have to recode the damn software just to make something as simple as spell checker work.

There's not a bug. The OP had an incorrect setting.

neilbearfk wrote:I created an account just to say the following...
I read this whole thread because I have the same issue.
1. IT DOES NOT "JUST WORK"
2. There is a bug. Don't say there's not a bug
3. YES, MY LANGUAGE IS SET CORRECTLY. YES MY LANGUAGE IS SET CORRECTLY. YES MY LANGUAGE IS SET CORRECTLY. Jesus.. say it one more time people. The dictionary language is not the problem!
4. There is a problem and it needs to be fixed.
5. I shouldn't have to recode the damn software just to make something as simple as spell checker work.

The fact that only the few people who start topics about spell checker problems or post questions in such topics have this problem, and that the people who help to solve the problem don't have it proves that it's not a bug. If it were a bug, everybody would have that problem.

Well I've tried every solution listed in this thread so far with no luck. I haven't ever had a problem with it on my computer or my wife's, but I installed it on the kids laptop and it doesn't work. Why would it "just work" for some people and you have to jump through hoops for others? Call it what you want, but I'm sticking with bug.

All the screenshots are the same as your system?

neilbearfk wrote:Well I've tried every solution listed in this thread so far with no luck. I haven't ever had a problem with it on my computer or my wife's, but I installed it on the kids laptop and it doesn't work. Why would it "just work" for some people and you have to jump through hoops for others? Call it what you want, but I'm sticking with bug.

Is it more important to stick with your "bug" assumption or fix the problem? The choice is yours. You can submit a bug report if you want to, but you'll have to submit more information than "it doesn't work" if you expect anything to be "fixed".

I'm not that concerned about it. I'd rather just complain at this point. I've already invested in enough time trying to get it to function properly by attempting all solutions listed throughout this thread.

When you deleted (or renamed) your User Profile, were you prompted for your name and initials on next log on to OpenOffice?

For anyone still having issues with this problem - you will find (as I did) that opening an old file will perpetuate the spell checking problem - even after you have followed the instructions to reset your user profile. The only way I could solve my problem was to copy/paste the text from the old file into a new one created in version 4.1.1 - and then the spell check immediately picked up on any errors.

It's also worth making sure you are resetting the user profile in the correct folder. Mine was in 'C:\Users\(your username)\AppData\Roaming\OpenOffice\4 but there was also a folder left over from OpenOffice.org that contained a user profile. Perhaps that was just on my system but it could confuse others if they have it too.

Hope this helps

If what GrahamH.UK describes is the case, then the language for the text in the original file is almost certainly not the language of the selected dictionary. Language of the text at current cursor position is indicated to the left middle of the Status Bar at OpenOffice window bottom. A quick cure may be to choose /Tools /Language /For all text and select the correct language from the popup menu.

GrahamH.UK wrote:For anyone still having issues with this problem - you will find (as I did) that opening an old file will perpetuate the spell checking problem - even after you have followed the instructions to reset your user profile.

Which spell checking problem? Resetting the user profile isn't a universal fix for all spell checking problems. There are different problems being discussed in this topic.

I don't have a spellchecking issue! However, after reading these posts I've got a suggestion or two.

It seems like there's a gap between what the developers are suggesting users with problems try to do, and the amount of time those users are willing to spend on the problem before they get pissed. They are giving up before being able to fix the problem.

1) Why don't the developers make it easier for users to change ALL their languages at one time? I'd suggest that upon installation / first startup of a new version of the programme users are asked what language they want their writing experience to be in. They choose their language then and there, and the programme sets itself up with the right settings, including altering User Profile, and maybe even OS language if that has an effect.

2) RE: GrahamH.UK: When opening documents that aren't using the user-defined language file, why don't the developers build in a prompt message asking the user whether they want to convert the document language to the user-defined one? For advanced users, there could be a tick-box saying "Don't display this prompt again."

Well, you see many posts here but for most of the cases, it works out of the box. So, yes there is a glitch somewhere but if the devs had to look at it, it would be to find out what triggers this problem. It used to work perfectly fine in the past. And it always worked for me, either on xubuntu or Windows (whatever the version).

bignoise wrote:I couldnt get the spellcheck to work either and I read this thread which did point me in the right direction.

tools/options/language settings/languages

From there under "default languages for documents" I noticed that only 2 of those language options had the "abc-tick"
next to them - "English UK" was one of those - so I selected that and then the spell checker was working.

The above reiteration of the respective solution worked for me. Switching to English UK instead of what I had specified upon installation, resolved the issue and I can confirm that my spell-check is now working as expected.

I struggled with this until I discovered that the downloaded language I use [English (USA)] is not the same as the default language [English (default)]. After selecting the language I downloaded, spell checking as I typed was activated. Point: Disregard the default language, install your preferred language, and select that language in TOOLS, OPTIONS, LANGUAGE SETTINGS.

There is most definitely a bug with spell checking, or at the very least with AutoSpellcheck. I came to this thread because I was happily typing along, when I noticed OpenOffice was no longer underlining my misspelled words. I though that was odd, because AutoSpellcheck was still on, and it was working just a moment ago. I turned it on and off a few times. Nothing. Read the suggestions about the default language and stuff on here, and my default language was fine--I just installed OpenOffice on this laptop for the first time this afternoon, and I'm not confused about which language I speak. The language listed at the bottom of the screen said "English (USA)." Yup, that's my language. Before giving up, I tried right-clicking on "English (USA)," and selected "Rest to Default Language" just for the hell of it. And magically, that worked! All the red squiggles magically appeared! And it reset my default language to..."English (USA)." I had the correct default language the whole time. I didn't have quite the same issue (my spellcheck still worked, but the auto didn't) as others, but it seems to me that there's almost certainly a problem with the default language setting and spellcheck. My AutoSpellcheck stopped working literally right in the middle of me typing a sentence without the AutoSpellcheck button being turned off or me even touching the settings.

So, c'mon guys. It doesn't make sense to dismiss something like this as not a bug when OpenOffice is notoriously buggy. It may just not be easy to replicate. I can't see any rhyme or reason to why my AutoSpellcheck stopped working out of the blue, but I certainly didn't hallucinate it or accidentally screw up the settings in the middle of typing a sentence. It was working, then it was not working while I was doing nothing but typing. That's a problem, and it'd be nice if the developers would take a look at the language settings to see what may be causing them to spontaneously stop recognizing the default language, or whatever's going on here.

Don't forget that AOO will be doing house keeping while you are typing away. Considering how sloppy AOO is with maintaining the user profile, it might just corrupt the user profile that way.
Honestly, the only problems I can remember having with the spell checker could always be solved by installing the proper dictionaries and/or resetting the user profile. And that seems to be the case for all experienced users in this forum. It would be better if the developers could find a real fix for user profile corruption, but as long as they fail to do so, I can get along with the current workaround.

I have experienced no problems with User Profile corruption in eight years of heavy use of OO. My suspicion is that such corruption may relate to the operating system or to finger trouble. I find linux considerably more stable than Windows.

Similar to you, RoryOF, I've only had one occurrence where resetting the user profile was the only option that worked, and that's in 7 years of using OO on various versions of Windows.. and that was over a year ago that I reset the profile.

I have now spent too many hours trying to make the spellchecker work, to no avail.

Every year, I give Wikipedia a significant donation, but never to OpenOffice.

Here is a proposal to anyone who might be interested

Supply me with either a very simple set of instructions to make OO 4.1.1 spellchecker work or a file of more complicated instructions that will be more or less automated. I'll try out the instructions or the file. If it works, I'll give the OO Foundation when it appears $250. Or to you. Meanwhile, I won't use the spellchecker and I'll stop worrying about it. I can get by quite easily.

I have Windows 8, OO 4.1.1, and believe me, I have tried lots and lots of fixes. Not [Tutorial] The OpenOffice User Profile written by Hagar Delest. The folder names for Windows 8 have changed and I can't seem to get into Documents and Settings as suggested.

Email me if you like: henrytow@gmail.com.

henrytow wrote:The folder names for Windows 8 have changed and I can't seem to get into Documents and Settings as suggested.

You're using the instructions for XP. "Documents and Settings" went out with Vista. You should be using the instructions for "Vista and later".

Thank you.
I now have a spell checker.
Will send $250 to OOFOundation or to you.
Where?