[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

I usually begin by answering the user's exact question... then let them
discover why what they asked for isn't really what they want once all of the
caveats have been set forth.

Personally, though, I'm fond of the free-for-all approach to custom.dic.
Reading through it can be loads of fun. :-)

Another approach in the current question would be for someone to collect up
all of the users' different custom.dic files, concatenate them, sort them,
purge the dupes and any errors, and then make the resulting file available
as a resource.

--
Herb Tyson MS MVP
Author of the Word 2007 Bible
Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com
Web: http://www.herbtyson.com


"Terry Farrell" wrote in message
...
Correct. That's why I suggested this route. One would not want ordinary
users making changes to a shared template or custom dictionary. Where
would it end

Terry

"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message
...
With Terry's suggestion, though, the corporate dictionary could be
read-only. It would be loaded for every user, but each user would have
his own local Custom.dic set as the default, so words added would go into
the personal one. Users could perhaps suggest additions to the corporate
one periodically.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

"Herb Tyson [MVP]" wrote in message
...
Right... although, someone will then need to take on the responsibility
to periodically review and consolidate additions into the different
department dictionaries.

Another caveat that occurs to me with the shared one is that if someone
adds an incorrect word, it will affect everyone's "ok" until someone
edits the list & removes it.

--
Herb Tyson MS MVP
Author of the Word 2007 Bible
Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com
Web: http://www.herbtyson.com


"Terry Farrell" wrote in message
...
To overcome that difficulty, you can have more than one custom.dic. So
the best solution would be let users continue using their own
custom.dic for their own spell settings.

Create a new set of dictionaries for the departments - such as
Finance.dic - and place on the server in its own folder. Add the
Finance.dic to the Custom Dictionaries in Word Options, Proofing. You
are able to add many custom dictionaries because you may need
scientific or medical specific dictionaries.

Terry

"PA" wrote in message
...
Terrific stuff, thanks Herb.

"Herb Tyson [MVP]" wrote:

You can do it, but you won't 100% perfect results. The .dic file is
loaded
when you first open Word. During the current session, anything you
add is
automatically stuffed into memory, so that such words are in your
personal
"ok" list. And words that I add, are also stuffed into my personal
"ok"
list.

But, your "ok" list won't show up on my Word session until the next
time I
close Word and re-open it. Similarly, my "ok" list won't show up on
your
Word session until the next time you close Word and re-open it.

When you click Add to Dictionary, it is added instantly. So, unless
two
people happen to do it at the exact same time, there shouldn't be any
sharing conflicts. You also don't have to worry about changes getting
lost,
since it's not like a regular Word document when one person's changes
can
wipe out someone else's if they're saving over the same master copy
without
some kind of file coordination system supervising the changes. It's
like a
dart board that's sittting in a central area. Each person's dart gets
to the
dart board. The only problem would be if two people try to throw
darts at
the exact same moment, in which case there would be a momentary
sharing
violation for one of the two (I would think... but I can't be sure
since I
can't seem to get things to happen at the exact same moment).

At worst, if you & I add the same word, it can show up twice in the
.dic
file. No big deal. But, just so you know.

Otherwise, it can work fine. I keep my default .dic file on my
desktop
computer's public folder so that if I add words while writing on my
laptop,
they get added to my main .dic file. That way, I accomplish the aim
you
seek.

First, copy the most complete .dic file you have to a shared
location. I
named mine shared.dic to prevent confusion. But, you're not so
constrained.

Then, choose Tools - Options - Spelling and Grammar - Custom
Dictionaries -
Add. Navigate to the shared location and click OK. Back in the custom
dictionaries dialog, with that dictionary selected, click Change
Default.

--
Herb Tyson MS MVP
Author of the Word 2007 Bible
Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com
Web: http://www.herbtyson.com


"PA" wrote in message
...
We have a Department that deals with State oversite offices, and
the rules
are quite stringent. They also have quite a selection of
terminology that
must be employed within a "properly" formatted document. Thus we
are
constantly adding words to the (custom) dictionary.
In Word 2003, how can I set up a dictionary for them that is shared
so
that
all the words not found in the standard dictionary need only be
added
once,
by one individual. We do have many shares available to accomplish
this,
if
possible.