Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Hiding Errors.
Word includes handy spelling and grammar checkers that can take the hard edges off some of your writing. Sometimes, however, it is nice to turn those features off so you aren't distracted by the red and green squiggly lines as you are feverishly typing your masterpiece. If you want to turn off the red and green squiggly underlines, then follow these instructions:
Figure 1. The proofing options of the Word Options dialog box.
With the checkboxes clear, Word will no longer check for spelling and grammar inline and those squiggly lines won't appear. To turn them back on, simply follow the instructions, but check the checkboxes.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6085) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Hiding Errors.
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2017-02-04 05:53:50
Ken Endacott
It may be preferable to set “Hide spelling errors…” rather than “Check spelling as you type”. They both will suppress squiggly underscores but differ in their application.
“Check spelling as you type” and “Mark grammar as you type” apply to the current user’s Word installation and will apply to any document opened by that user. If the document is subsequently opened by another user then the settings for the new user's Word installation will apply.
“Hide spelling errors in this document only” and “Hide grammar errors in this document only” apply only to the current document and the settings travel with the document. If another user opens the document then the settings for that document will apply.
Irrespective of the settings, the spell checker continues to run in background, you cannot turn it off. A list of spelling and grammar errors is maintained as you make text changes but are not visible (no squiggly underscores are shown) if “Check spelling as you type” is cleared or “Hide spelling errors… “ is set. However, you can still see the errors one by one in Review tab > Spelling & Grammar.
Incidentally, there are a total of 9 conditions that must be met before a squiggly lines appears under a word.
2017-02-03 09:29:13
Larry
Great tips, but having Word for Mac 2011, a lot of the features are different.... no option box (that I can find), and no file tab in the ribbon....
So, would be nice to have something for Mac.....
Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: 
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