Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. 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: Turning Off Proofing for Superscripts.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 6, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021
Superscript text can be used for many purposes in a document. For instance, it is routinely used for footnote and endnote references. Some people use superscript text for "reference cues." These are not the same as regular footnote or endnote marks. For instance, the document may contain the text "productgreen" where "product" is normal text and "green" is superscript. The spell-check feature sees "productgreen" as one word and marks it as incorrect. If you use superscript in this manner frequently, this can result in an avalanche of spell-check errors in the document.
The easiest way to get around this problem is to simply search for all the superscript text in your document and turn off proofing for it. Follow these steps:
Figure 1. The Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
Figure 2. The Font tab of the Find Font dialog box.
Figure 3. The Replace Language dialog box.
Word goes through the document and changes the language associated with any superscript text so it is exempt from the spell check or grammar checking features of Word.
For those of you who use styles, the even simpler approach is to set up a style for your reference cues, and then use it to format them. Follow these steps to set up the style:
Figure 4. The Create New Style from Formatting dialog box.
Figure 5. The Font dialog box.
With your new style defined, you simply need to apply it to any reference cue in your document. The style then takes care of superscripting your cues, as well as turning off proofing for them.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6109) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Turning Off Proofing for Superscripts.
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