Don't worry, we all make mistakes when we type. Luckily, PowerPoint includes an easy-to-use
spell check that can help you create professional, error-free presentations. All you have to
do is go to Review, then click the Spelling command.
The spelling pane will appear on the right. PowerPoint will cycle through every error
in your presentation, giving you the chance to type the corrections yourself... or select
one of their suggestions. Click Change to accept the correction and move on to the next
error.
Spell check isn't perfect, though. Sometimes it'll say something is spelled wrong when
it isn't - like people's names, or proper nouns. If that happens, you have a couple
options. Ignore will skip the word one time without changing it... Ignore All will skip
the word every time it appears in your presentation... and Add will add the word to the PowerPoint
dictionary so it never comes up as an error again. Just make sure the word is spelled
correctly before you go with this option.
Let's close the spelling pane for now, and look at some of the other errors on this slide.
They're easy to spot because PowerPoint marks spelling errors automatically, using these
red wavy lines.
Let's see, here I spelled the word "June" correctly, but forgot to capitalize it. To
correct the error, all you have to do is right-click... and choose the proper spelling here... Looks
like I also misspelled "spectacular."
If you're curious about changing the spell check settings, just go to the Backstage View...
then Options... and Proofing... Here, PowerPoint gives you the ability to change the way it
addresses spelling errors, including the auto-check (or Check spelling as you type), and the use
of Grammar Check, which helps you find and correct contextual spelling errors. Contextual
spelling can help you find words that are spelled correctly, but may be used in the
wrong way - like the word "then," as in "first this then that," versus "six is more than
five."
If you decide to turn on grammar check it's important to know that it isn't looking for
all grammatical errors, only contextual spelling errors. So you'll still need to proof read
your presentation to make sure no grammar errors are left behind.
Check the box here if want PowerPoint to hide the red wavy lines that mark any spelling
errors in your presentation. This is the same as turning off the auto-check; notice how
the box is checked and disabled now? In this mode, you can still find and correct spelling
errors using the command on the Review tab. I prefer to leave the auto-check on, however,
because it's just a really helpful tool.
Click OK when you're finished to return to your presentation. It's still a good idea
to have someone look over your work before you present it to an audience, just to be
safe. Happy proofing!