Outlook signature disables spell check

microsoft-outlook

When I use a signature in Outlook email, spell check gets disabled for parts of my document. I believe this occurs when I am editing the email and enter text into lines that were originally part of the signature. Is there a way to avoid this? Can I set my signature to have spell check enabled?

I am using Office 365 and have Outlook 2016 (16.0.9126.2282) 32-bit, but I know this is an old problem and has affected me for years.

Here are steps to reproduce:

create a signature in Outlook
Write your email message and enter text in the line that was part of the signature. Notice that even though the text is not spelled correctly, Outlook does not highlight it as a spelling error.
Select the new text added. Go to Review->Language->set proofing language. Notice that the "do not check spelling" option is checked.
Clear that check box and click OK. Notice now that spell check is working correclty

Best Answer

Very simple-minded advice :

Start the signature with two dashes and a space ("-- ") above the actual signature, as is actually recommended in the standard RFC and supported by many email clients.

This will help you see where the signature begins and prevent typing in the signature area, and also make it clear to the email client where is the signature. Some email clients will display the signature a bit differently if they know where it starts.

Related Solutions

Outlook – How to force Outlook to use a given proofing language all the time

It's because the automatic language detection feature is turned on. To switch it off:

Open a new e-mail message.
On the Message tab, in the Proofing group, click the arrow under Spelling.
Click Set Language Button image.
Un-check the Detect language automatically check box.

Outlook – How to send programming code snippets in Outlook

I've had similar frustration when sending configuration output from a router or switch in an email, and I fixed it by creating a new style, and "stealing" the HTML of code snippits on Stack Exchange.

For example:

{master:0}
user@switch> show configuration chassis 
alarm {
    management-ethernet {
        link-down ignore;
    }
}

Steal a Sample and Create a New Style

I liked how the above looked so much that I simply copied the text above, and pasted it in a new email in outlook. Then, select it, click styles, then "Create a New Style":
Name it, and Modify it

Then I gave it a name and clicked "Modify" to look at the more advanced options:

You want to disable Spell Check, for example. Go to "Format" then "Language" then check "Do not check spelling or grammar":
Save It

Anyway, from there you opt check the option for "New documents based on this template". Click "OK".

IMPORTANT

This will NOT SAVE for future emails unless you save it as a "Style Set"

Go to "Format Text" on the ribbon, then within "Styles", click "Change Styles" > "Style Set" > "Save as a New Style Set". After naming and saving it, you'll have a style set you can return to. If you want this as your default style set (you probably do), click the "Change Styles" button again, and click "Set as Default".

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Outlook – How to force Outlook to use a given proofing language all the time

Outlook – How to send programming code snippets in Outlook

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