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No spell checker in Outlook Express
Spell checking does not work and cannot be enabled in Outlook Express 6. When you try to spell check a message, you may receive the message "An error occurred while the spelling was being checked."
Cause
Outlook Express does not have a spell checker. It can make use of the spell checker in Microsoft Office 95 or later, or Microsoft Works (later versions, which include Microsoft Word) if present. However, a system file csapi3t1.dll, which is required in order to make use of the spell checker, is not installed by Windows XP.
Solution
If you have a compatible Microsoft word processor that has a spell checker which can be used, you can resolve the problem by obtaining a copy of the missing file csapi3t1.dll and place it in the folder C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Proof. Go to Method 1.
If you do not have a compatible Microsoft word processor, go to Method 2.
Method 1
Close Outlook Express.
Extract a copy of the file csapi3t1.dll from your Windows installation files and restore it to the folder C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Proof. You will find the Windows installation files in a folder named i386 on your Windows XP CD, or on your hard drive. Click the link for instructions on how to extract the file.
If you can't find an i386 folder, you might have a copy of csapi3t1.dll somewhere on your Microsoft Office CD. Copies may also be extracted from the file mailnews.cab in an Internet Explorer 5.0 or 5.5 distribution set, the file win98_27.cab on a Windows 98 CD, or the file Win_10.cab on a Windows Me CD. If none of these options are available, download a copy of the file csapi3t1.dll by clicking on this link. To install it, run the file you downloaded.
After have done this, you may need to restart Windows. Verify that Always check spelling is enabled in Tools, Options, Spelling.
If spell checking still doesn't work
If the file csapi3t1.dll is present in the folder C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Proof and yet the spell checker is still not enabled, perform the following checks:
- Open Control Panel, Regional Settings. Check under Regional Options that the language selected is the same as that used by Microsoft Office, i.e. English (United States) or English (United Kingdom).
- Open Outlook Express, Tools, Options, Spelling tab and check that the language selected there is the same as selected above. (One reader from an English-speaking region outside the US found selecting English (United States) solved the problem.)
- Using the Registry Editor, expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools and check that the value SharedFilesDir contains "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\". It is important that the full long filename is used and the backslash at the end of the path is present. To make this change, download oeproof.reg (right-click the link and select Save Target As...) and then double-click it. Note: only use this file if your Proof folder is in C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\.
Method 2
Buy a spell checker that works in Outlook Express such as:
- isota ABCSpell for Outlook Express (works in Outlook Express only)
- As-U-Type (works in all applications)
Applies to
- Microsoft Windows XP
two comments:
I have recently made 2 changes and am not sure which one caused my problem.
Change #1 made 12-8-06 – downloaded an update to Windows Explorer.
Change # 2 replaced MS Office 2003 with 2007 on 1-3-07 (that is when I first noticed the problem)
My problem is when I spell check my e-mail in Outlook Express 6 it is checked in language other than English.
Spell checking works OK in Word and Excel. Have checked the language setting in Office 2007 and English is the only one checked. When I send an e-mail with Hotmail, Comcast or Yahoo the spell checking is OK.
Any suggestions on what I can do to spell check my email in English again? My spelling is very bad and I use this feature all the time.
Thanks,
Don Suszko
Don Suszko () - 06 01 2007 - 21:01
Re: Problem of Don Suszko - Outlook Express 6 will not spell check in English after installing Office 2007.
Solution is to install proofing tools from an earlier version of Office (eg 2000).
Richard Holmshaw - 23 01 2007 - 16:02