Is it possible to REPLACE the main dictionary in Word with a customized file . . . a small sub-set of the original? Or perhaps a way to direct Word not to use the main dictionary at all but rely solely on one or more custom dictionaries?

I'm working with a group of tech writers who are often widely separated from each other. Their work product is often sprinkled with words that do not add to meaning/understanding. Quite often, different words are used to describe the same object or idea.

The goal is to craft an editing tool that references a sub-set of the English language dictionaries for the purpose of gathering the thoughts of numerous writers into a tighter constellation of words . . .

This is not unlike the idea behind Technical Standard English for writing aircraft maintenance manuals. I've considered trying their tools but the audience is wrong. They write for a word-wide population of pilots, mechanics and technicians. The word-set is carefully crafted to foster understanding amongst individuals for whom English is not a first language.

My task addresses a much tighter population of programmers and designers who's vocabulary has little in common with the mechanics, pilots and technicians.

It would be VERY helpful if I could set up dictionaries that work under word to defined the preferred subset of language for this venue.

Just my thoughts...but, I would create a new customized dictionary to your specifications and make that dictionary the "default" dictionary (keeping the original "Custom.dic" in place). **This will be a tedious process.


To do so, click on "File" / "Options" to get te Word Options menu; then, click on "Proofing" / "Custom Dictionaries..." to get the Custom Dictionaries menu.


From the Custom Dictionaries menu, click on "New" and define your new dictionary name...then start adding your terms to the criteria you want to standardize. When complete, set this folder as your new "default" dictionary, leaving the former default folder in place.

Those are my thoughts. Other/Better solutions may be offered by resident Word MVPs/Experts/Users.

If I leave the standard dictionary in place, then words within that dictionary that are legitimate components of the English language would not be 'flagged'.

My sense is that 99.9% of the words necessary to accomplish the task would be contained in a dictionary of perhaps 1500 to 2000 words. The goal is to have control of that constellation of words. This would not be possible without either shutting off or editing Word's main dictionary.

You cannot shut off or edit Word's main dictionary. You can exclude words from it, but you have to list the words you want removed. For instance, as a lawyer, I find that the words "form" and "from" are easy typos and can cause problems. I added both of them to the exclude list and they are both marked as spelling errors so I can be sure that I am using the right word.

Mastering the Spelling Checker