How do I get Word 2007 to spell check Hebrew?

Question

I have bought a laptop with Windows 8 installed. I installed Office 2007, but for some reason I can't get Word to check spelling in Hebrew, even though I've added it. In the language screen, English has a blue V but Hebrew does not.

How do I get Word 2007 to check spelling in Hebrew?

Solution

Do you have a Hebrew MUI language pack for Office 2007? Did you purchase this separately? The thing is that MUI language packs are usually fully localized, and they cost like 25 USD, and they are purchased separately. I am not sure if these were available at the time that Office 2007 was released. If so, and you purchased one, you should be able to install it and use it.

These are no longer available for purchase online since July 2011. If you purchased yours before that then you are in luck. You will be able to use it normally.

If this is a LIP language pack (language interface pack) for Hebrew, then chances are that you will not be able to do spell-checking with it. Unlike MUI packs, the LIP packs are for free, and are usually available for minority languages for which there is no full localization, and they don't include a spell-checker. Only the MUI packs have the spell-checker.

Also, I am not sure if there were any MUI packs released for Hebrew for Office 2007. What I can tell you for sure is that a Hebrew MUI pack is available for Office 2010. If has a spell-checker and it costs 25 USD.

Scenario A: You have Hebrew MUI for Office 2007

There should be a spell-checker included. If you can't make it work the chances are there is something wrong with the installation or the configuration. You can provide us with more information to try to troubleshoot the problem.

Scenario B: You have Hebrew LIP for Office 2007

These packs don't include spell-checkers. So if this is the case then you should be able to translate the interface and dialog boxes of Office 2007 programs into Hebrew. But you will not be able to do spell-checking. So in this case, this is all normal.

The route you have to take to make this work if you really want that spell-checking ability is to upgrade to Office 2010, and then purchase the 25 USD Hebrew MUI pack for Office 2010. I am not absolutely sure that this pack includes the spell-checker. So I can't stress this enough that you verify this for yourself before you purchase. You should find more information about it on the product description page.

Update:

I think I fully understand the situation now. This user has added Hebrew as an "editing language". But no language pack or proofing tool kit (spell-checker) has been installed. No MUI, LIP, or PTK, nothing. The "blue V" refers to the blue checkmark icon that appears when a proofing tool is available for a given language.

This is what it looks like in Office 2010.

Go to start menu, All programs, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office 2010 Tools, Microsoft Office 2010 Language Preferences. A dialog box will open up.

Click the drop down menu list and select Hebrew. Then click the Add button.

If a proofing tool kit (PTK) for Hebrew is not installed it will say "Not Installed" under the Proofing column.

To install it, you would normally click this link and it will take you to a Microsoft Office web page where you can either purchase and download the language tools for the selected language or you can get it for free. It depends on the language. Proofing tools seem to be free for Office 2013. Right now, if I click this link it takes me to the download page for Office 2013 because this is the most current Office suite.

As you can see from the image below you can see that Hebrew is not available for Office 2013 at the moment.

If I select Hausa (yes, it's a language spoken in Africa) I am given the option to download Language Interface Pack (LIP) for free, and the proofing tools are also free.

However, if I select Polski (Polish) I am given the option to buy a "Language Pack". So unlike the LIP packs, these "Language Packs" (also known as MUI language packs) are not for free. And if you skim through the description text you will see that it says "Proofing tools for Polish, English, and German".

So if you decide to purchase one of these "language packs" or "MUI packs" you will not only get the ability to change the interface and dialog boxes of Office programs to that language (aka display language) you will also get the proofing tools for that language, all in one installable package.

This applies to Office 2010 and 2013. There should be another page I think where you can purchase Office 2010 language tools. Because this suite is still supported by Microsoft. The same thing (steps, language options, etc.) should apply to Office 2007 but since this is an old version of Office ti may be difficult or impossible to obtain the tools you need.

This is the message you will get if you select Hebrew as editing language in Word 2010 and then click the Spelling & Grammer button under the Review section.

As the message says you need to make sure you have the proofing tool installed for this language.

Comments

[Samir]

Can you provide us with a screen shot of the dialog box you mention?

[Samir]

Were there no separate Hebrew proofing tools available for free for Office 2007? Like they have for most languages right now for the Office 2013? If one only wants and needs the proofing tool and not the ability to change the display language and help language, the proofing tools should be made free, in my opinion.

[Karan]

@Ramhound: Were proofing tools for each language available for free separately? Perhaps, but I'm not so sure; although I can confirm that Proofing Tools for Office 2003 was a separate purchase, and Proofing Tools Kit (PTK) for Office 2007 was sold bundled with the Office 2007 Multilanguage Pack (MLP).

[Ramhound]

@Karan - Honestly I think it entirely depends on which language we are talking about. What applies to Office 2007 is likely closer to 2010 than 2003 in terms of additional costs. I just realized the user is using Office 2007 not Office 2010. Office 2007 is getting to end of its support so the user will be hard pressed to find any additional packages unless he has an MSDN subscription.

[Ramhound]

@Karan - I was just repling to your question if it was "free" its hard to tell if Hebrew was a paid or free package with Office 2007 if all the online documentation only primarly reflects Office 2010 and office 2013.

[Karan]

@Ramhound: Ok, no point prolonging this debate further, although TBH I only asked because you replied to Sammy's comment above about the Hebrew proofing tools being free and said you were "sure" they were.

[Ramhound]

@Karan - I was able to find the following information: "The Office Proofing Tools Kit 2007 is only available as part of the Microsoft Office Multilanguage Pack 2007. The Office Multilanguage Pack 2007 contains all of the single language packs for the 2007 Office system, in addition to the Office Proofing Tools Kit 2007." one could take this as being free with the purchase of the MLP :-)

[Karan]

@Ramhound: Ha, now that is a really creative interpretation of the word "free"! :)