As I type (e. g. in this compose window in Thunderbird, or in a webform
- but not, I've just checked, in Notepad!), words mis-spelt are
underlined in wiggly red; I presume this is something built-in to
Windows 10.
Right-clicking on such a word brings up a menu, including suggestions
and also Add To Dictionary.
I've always been wary of such, in case I add something that was just a genuine mistype, as I don't know where the dictionary is nor how to edit
it. Anyone know?
(I've just discovered that right-clicking on the word after adding - as
I just did with "webform" above - provides an Undo Add To Dictionary
option. But of course that will only work straight after the adding, not
much later, as for example might happen when you added a genuine
mis-spelling you thought was right and only much later discover wasn't.)
On Sun, 2/15/2026 8:53 AM, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
As I type (e. g. in this compose window in Thunderbird, or in a webform
- but not, I've just checked, in Notepad!), words mis-spelt are
underlined in wiggly red; I presume this is something built-in to
Windows 10.
Right-clicking on such a word brings up a menu, including suggestions
and also Add To Dictionary.
I've always been wary of such, in case I add something that was just a
genuine mistype, as I don't know where the dictionary is nor how to edit
it. Anyone know?
(I've just discovered that right-clicking on the word after adding - as
I just did with "webform" above - provides an Undo Add To Dictionary
option. But of course that will only work straight after the adding, not
much later, as for example might happen when you added a genuine
mis-spelling you thought was right and only much later discover wasn't.)
I got the hint on what to look for, from an MS Blog entry -- "spellcheck".
MsSpellCheckingHost.exe used by Notepad.exe
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Spelling\neutral\default.dic C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Spelling\en-US\default.exc
C:\Windows\Globalization\ELS\SpellDictionaries\MsSp7en-US.dub C:\Windows\Globalization\ELS\SpellDictionaries\MsSp7en-US.lex
*******
Thunderbird and Firefox have a third-party package (hunspell?). Pan NewsReader
also uses Hunspell.
"You can copy the two dictionary files (xx-XX.aff and xx-XX.dic) to the
dictionaries folder in the Firefox program folder (C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\)."
That gives me
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\dictionaries\en-US.aff 3,074 bytes
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\dictionaries\en-US.dic 576,688 bytes
The "Personal dictionaries" could be somewhere in the bigger (user) profile folder, but I cannot find them at the moment. I tried to use Procmon
to spot them, but didn't get a ReadFile event I needed.
As I type (e. g. in this compose window in Thunderbird, or in a webform
- but not, I've just checked, in Notepad!), words mis-spelt are
underlined in wiggly red; I presume this is something built-in to
Windows 10.
Right-clicking on such a word brings up a menu, including suggestions
and also Add To Dictionary.
I've always been wary of such, in case I add something that was just a genuine mistype, as I don't know where the dictionary is nor how to edit
it. Anyone know?
(I've just discovered that right-clicking on the word after adding - as
I just did with "webform" above - provides an Undo Add To Dictionary
option. But of course that will only work straight after the adding, not
much later, as for example might happen when you added a genuine
mis-spelling you thought was right and only much later discover wasn't.)
As I type (e. g. in this compose window in Thunderbird, or in a webform
- but not, I've just checked, in Notepad!), words mis-spelt are
underlined in wiggly red; I presume this is something built-in to
Windows 10.
Right-clicking on such a word brings up a menu, including suggestions
and also Add To Dictionary.
I've always been wary of such, in case I add something that was just a genuine mistype, as I don't know where the dictionary is nor how to edit
it. Anyone know?
(I've just discovered that right-clicking on the word after adding - as
I just did with "webform" above - provides an Undo Add To Dictionary
option. But of course that will only work straight after the adding, not
much later, as for example might happen when you added a genuine
mis-spelling you thought was right and only much later discover wasn't.)
As I type (e. g. in this compose window in Thunderbird, or in a webformYou can install WordWeb:
- but not, I've just checked, in Notepad!), words mis-spelt are
underlined in wiggly red; I presume this is something built-in to
Windows 10.
Right-clicking on such a word brings up a menu, including suggestions
and also Add To Dictionary.
I've always been wary of such, in case I add something that was just a genuine mistype, as I don't know where the dictionary is nor how to edit
it. Anyone know?
(I've just discovered that right-clicking on the word after adding - as
I just did with "webform" above - provides an Undo Add To Dictionary
option. But of course that will only work straight after the adding, not
much later, as for example might happen when you added a genuine
mis-spelling you thought was right and only much later discover wasn't.)
On Sun, 2/15/2026 9:46 AM, Paul wrote:[]
On Sun, 2/15/2026 8:53 AM, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
[]I've always been wary of such, in case I add something that was just a
genuine mistype, as I don't know where the dictionary is nor how to edit >>> it. Anyone know?
I got the hint on what to look for, from an MS Blog entry -- "spellcheck". >>
MsSpellCheckingHost.exe used by Notepad.exe
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Spelling\neutral\default.dic
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Spelling\en-US\default.exc
C:\Windows\Globalization\ELS\SpellDictionaries\MsSp7en-US.dub
C:\Windows\Globalization\ELS\SpellDictionaries\MsSp7en-US.lex
[]
*******
Thunderbird and Firefox have a third-party package (hunspell?). Pan NewsReader
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\dictionaries\en-US.aff 3,074 bytes
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\dictionaries\en-US.dic 576,688 bytes
"There are two ways of editing the Personal Dictionary.
Either via Thunderbird or by accessing the persdict.dat
file in the 'profile name' folder.
"
The file extension appears to be a different choice.
Paul
Thunderbird has its own dictionary. Ask in the
alt.comp.software.thunderbird newsgroup about its dictionary.
Your unidentified web browser has its own dictionary. In Edge, for
On 2026/2/15 16:52:36, Paul wrote:
On Sun, 2/15/2026 9:46 AM, Paul wrote:[]
On Sun, 2/15/2026 8:53 AM, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
[]I've always been wary of such, in case I add something that was just a >>> genuine mistype, as I don't know where the dictionary is nor how to edit >>> it. Anyone know?
I got the hint on what to look for, from an MS Blog entry -- "spellcheck". >>
MsSpellCheckingHost.exe used by Notepad.exe
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Spelling\neutral\default.dic >> C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Spelling\en-US\default.exc
C:\Windows\Globalization\ELS\SpellDictionaries\MsSp7en-US.dub
C:\Windows\Globalization\ELS\SpellDictionaries\MsSp7en-US.lex
I couldn't find (using Everything) any .dic, .exc, .dub, or .lex file
with a Date Modified of this year.
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Spelling\neutral\default.dic >> C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Spelling\en-US\default.exc
J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:[]
.dicI couldn't find (using Everything) any .dic, .exc, .dub, or .lex file
with a Date Modified of this year.
Don't look for a Date Modified, but just look at
[Rewind/repeat:]
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Spelling\neutral\default
xcC:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Spelling\en-US\default.e
and in your case (like in mine) probably (also) en-GB
On my (Windows 11) system most of the files are rather olda (2023),
but the .exc files are recent (14th and 16th of this month), probably
due to my use occasional use of Notepad. (I don't use any spelling
functions, but probably Notepad does by default.)
BTW, I just did a Google search on 'where are windows spelling dictionaries' and both Google's 'AI Overview' and the results gave quite
useful information.s
Anyway, as mentioned, there isn't just one single dictionary, which i
used by all programs.
As you've found, multi-platform programs like Thunderbird have to
implement their own spelling/dictionaries system, because there isn't a
multi-platform one which they can use.
[...]
On 2026/2/16 16:43:51, Frank Slootweg wrote:
J. P. Gilliver <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:[]
I couldn't find (using Everything) any .dic, .exc, .dub, or .lex file
with a Date Modified of this year.
Don't look for a Date Modified, but just look at
[Rewind/repeat:]
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Spelling\neutral\default.dic >>>>> C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Spelling\en-US\default.exc
and in your case (like in mine) probably (also) en-GB
As I said, I used Everything, and couldn't find _any_ - anywhere - .dic
or .exc - files with a recent-enough date.
On my (Windows 11) system most of the files are rather olda (2023),
but the .exc files are recent (14th and 16th of this month), probably
due to my use occasional use of Notepad. (I don't use any spelling
functions, but probably Notepad does by default.)
Just checked again - no .exc file dated later than 2025.
Maybe Windows 11 Notepad does use something, but W10 doesn't. Certainly,
when I tried typing some random character lumps into a text file, I
didn't get the wiggly red underline (which surprised me, as I'd thought
I would).
BTW, I just did a Google search on 'where are windows spelling
dictionaries' and both Google's 'AI Overview' and the results gave quite
useful information.
Anyway, as mentioned, there isn't just one single dictionary, which is
used by all programs.
No, that was my error; since they worked so similarly (between e. g. Thunderbird and Edge), I had thought they were using a common function
(I'm still fairly new to 10, so haven't learnt that much about it); I've learnt (in this thread) that they don't.
As you've found, multi-platform programs like Thunderbird have to
implement their own spelling/dictionaries system, because there isn't a
multi-platform one which they can use.
[...]
I suppose I'd thought they were using a common one where it was
available. Either they aren't, or W10 doesn't provide one.
As I type (e. g. in this compose window in Thunderbird, or in a webform
- but not, I've just checked, in Notepad!), words mis-spelt are
underlined in wiggly red; I presume this is something built-in to
Windows 10.
Right-clicking on such a word brings up a menu, including suggestions
and also Add To Dictionary.
I've always been wary of such, in case I add something that was just a genuine mistype, as I don't know where the dictionary is nor how to edit
it. Anyone know?
(I've just discovered that right-clicking on the word after adding - as
I just did with "webform" above - provides an Undo Add To Dictionary
option. But of course that will only work straight after the adding, not
much later, as for example might happen when you added a genuine
mis-spelling you thought was right and only much later discover wasn't.)
On 26/02/15 05:53 AM, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
As I type (e. g. in this compose window in Thunderbird, or in a webform
- but not, I've just checked, in Notepad!), words mis-spelt are
underlined in wiggly red; I presume this is something built-in to
Windows 10.
No, it's not. indows 10 does not have a comprehensive, built-in
dictionary app for looking up word definitions, though it includes a spell-check dictionary for autocorrect.
To edit your personal dictionary in Thunderbird, open a new message
"Write" window, click "Spelling," and select "Edit" in the personal dictionary area to remove or add words. Alternatively, close
Thunderbird, locate the persdict.dat file in your profile folder (Help >
More Troubleshooting Information > Open Folder), and edit it directly
with a text editor.
Methods to Edit Your Dictionary
- Via the Compose Window (Easiest):
1. Click Write to start a new email.
2. Click the Spelling button in the toolbar (or right-click a word and
select check spelling).
3. In the dialogue box, click Edit under the "Personal Dictionary" area.
4. You can then remove words or add new ones to your user dictionary.
- Via the Profile Folder (Direct Edit):
1. Close Thunderbird entirely.
2. Go to the menu (ƒ?) > Help > More Troubleshooting Information.
3. Under "Application Basics," click Open Folder (or "Show in Finder" on macOS).
4. Locate the file named persdict.dat.
5. Open this file with a text editor (like Notepad or TextEdit) to add, remove, or edit words manually.
-Adding New Languages:
If you need to change the dictionary language itself, navigate to
Settings > Composition > Spelling to select or install new language dictionaries.
- Important Notes
1. You can only directly edit your personal dictionary, not the main application dictionary.
2. Ensure Thunderbird is closed before editing persdict.dat directly to
avoid file corruption.
HTH.
John C. wrote:
J. P. Gilliver wrote:
As I type (e. g. in this compose window in Thunderbird, or in a webform
- but not, I've just checked, in Notepad!), words mis-spelt are
underlined in wiggly red; I presume this is something built-in to
Windows 10.
No, it's not. indows 10
does not have a comprehensive, built-in
dictionary app for looking up word definitions, though it includes a
spell-check dictionary for autocorrect.
Proofing > Custom Dictionaries.
Oh, I wasn't expecting a full dictionary with definitions; it was just--
that the behaviour when e. g. filling in a webform, and when composing
in Thunderbird, was so similar, that I thought they were using the same software and file. But, as I've discovered in this thread, Thunderbird
at least is using its own dictionary. (I'm interested that you say
"indows 10" _does_ have one for autocorrect; where is it? And what uses
it? Not Notepad, as I discovered.)
[]
To edit your personal dictionary in Thunderbird, open a new message
"Write" window, click "Spelling," and select "Edit" in the personal
dictionary area to remove or add words. Alternatively, close
Thanks - good to know that route!
Thunderbird, locate the persdict.dat file in your profile folder (Help >
More Troubleshooting Information > Open Folder), and edit it directly
with a text editor.
Methods to Edit Your Dictionary
- Via the Compose Window (Easiest):
1. Click Write to start a new email.
Or if you have the compose window open anyway (I just tried it while composing this).
2. Click the Spelling button in the toolbar (or right-click a word and
select check spelling).
3. In the dialogue box, click Edit under the "Personal Dictionary" area.
4. You can then remove words or add new ones to your user dictionary.
- Via the Profile Folder (Direct Edit):
1. Close Thunderbird entirely.
2. Go to the menu (ƒ?) > Help > More Troubleshooting Information.
3. Under "Application Basics," click Open Folder (or "Show in Finder" on
macOS).
4. Locate the file named persdict.dat.
5. Open this file with a text editor (like Notepad or TextEdit) to add,
remove, or edit words manually.
Or find it with Everything, if you have that (doesn't everybody!).
-Adding New Languages:
If you need to change the dictionary language itself, navigate to
Settings > Composition > Spelling to select or install new language
dictionaries.
Again, good to know. (Though I don't _think_ I'll be composing in
Thunderbird in other than English!)
- Important Notes
1. You can only directly edit your personal dictionary, not the main
application dictionary.
2. Ensure Thunderbird is closed before editing persdict.dat directly to
avoid file corruption.
HTH.
It does.
Windows 10 does not have a single, universal dictionary application.
Instead, it features a " Custom Dictionary" for spellcheck, accessible
via Settings > Privacy > Inking & typing personalization > Custom
dictionary, or a definition lookup tool within the Microsoft Edge
browser (right-click a word > "Define".
Here is where to find them:
- System/Typing Dictionary (Personalized): To view or clear words you've added to your Windows dictionary, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Inking & typing personalization > Custom dictionary.
- Microsoft Edge Dictionary: While reading in Edge (PDFs, Reading View), highlight a word and right-click to select Define to see definitions and synonyms.
- Microsoft Word/Office Dictionary: If you are looking for the
spellchecker dictionary, it is located within Word under File > Options
Proofing > Custom Dictionaries.
Note: The main system dictionary is a binary file and cannot be manually edited, but the "Custom Dictionary" allows you to manage words you have previously added to the spellcheck dictionary. ________________________________________________________________________________
I loath and refuse to use M$ Office programs of any kind, so on my
system that last one isn't available. In fact, since I use Edge Blocker
to hide that crappy M$ "Edge" browser, neither is the second one.
For an actual dictionary that provides definitions, I use WordWeb:
https://wordweb.info/free/
Oh, I wasn't expecting a full dictionary with definitions; it was just
that the behaviour when e. g. filling in a webform, and when composing
in Thunderbird, was so similar, that I thought they were using the same
software and file. But, as I've discovered in this thread, Thunderbird
at least is using its own dictionary. (I'm interested that you say
"indows 10" _does_ have one for autocorrect; where is it? And what uses
it? Not Notepad, as I discovered.)
[]
To edit your personal dictionary in Thunderbird, open a new message
"Write" window, click "Spelling," and select "Edit" in the personal
dictionary area to remove or add words. Alternatively, close
Thanks - good to know that route!
Thunderbird, locate the persdict.dat file in your profile folder (Help > >>> More Troubleshooting Information > Open Folder), and edit it directly
with a text editor.
Methods to Edit Your Dictionary
- Via the Compose Window (Easiest):
1. Click Write to start a new email.
Or if you have the compose window open anyway (I just tried it while
composing this).
2. Click the Spelling button in the toolbar (or right-click a word and
select check spelling).
3. In the dialogue box, click Edit under the "Personal Dictionary" area. >>> 4. You can then remove words or add new ones to your user dictionary.
- Via the Profile Folder (Direct Edit):
1. Close Thunderbird entirely.
2. Go to the menu (ƒ?) > Help > More Troubleshooting Information.
3. Under "Application Basics," click Open Folder (or "Show in Finder" on >>> macOS).
4. Locate the file named persdict.dat.
5. Open this file with a text editor (like Notepad or TextEdit) to add,
remove, or edit words manually.
Or find it with Everything, if you have that (doesn't everybody!).
-Adding New Languages:
If you need to change the dictionary language itself, navigate to
Settings > Composition > Spelling to select or install new language
dictionaries.
Again, good to know. (Though I don't _think_ I'll be composing in
Thunderbird in other than English!)
- Important Notes
1. You can only directly edit your personal dictionary, not the main
application dictionary.
2. Ensure Thunderbird is closed before editing persdict.dat directly to
avoid file corruption.
HTH.
It does.
John C. wrote:They're great if you want to use a web service, but sometimes I'm
[]
Whatever it's collecting about me, there are far worse spies.
For an actual dictionary that provides definitions, I use WordWeb:
https://wordweb.info/free/
Thanks, noted. (Though I'd probably use OED, Chambers, or Wiktionary.)
I've always been wary of such, in case I add something that was just a genuine mistype, as I don't know where the dictionary is nor how to edit
it. Anyone know?
J. P. Gilliver wrote:
John C. wrote:They're great if you want to use a web service, but sometimes I'm
[]
Whatever it's collecting about me, there are far worse spies.
For an actual dictionary that provides definitions, I use WordWeb:
https://wordweb.info/free/
Thanks, noted. (Though I'd probably use OED, Chambers, or Wiktionary.)
offline -I plug both my cable modem and router into a power strip with a button.
Sometimes I don't like having the TLAs spying on me.
On 2/15/2026 9:53 PM, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
I've always been wary of such, in case I add something that was just a
genuine mistype, as I don't know where the dictionary is nor how to edit
it. Anyone know?
I am interested in the answer as well. But....
I always disable this feature. :)
As I type (e. g. in this compose window in Thunderbird, or in a webform
- but not, I've just checked, in Notepad!), words mis-spelt are
underlined in wiggly red; I presume this is something built-in to
Windows 10.
Right-clicking on such a word brings up a menu, including suggestions
and also Add To Dictionary.
I've always been wary of such, in case I add something that was just a genuine mistype, as I don't know where the dictionary is nor how to edit
it. Anyone know?
(I've just discovered that right-clicking on the word after adding - as
I just did with "webform" above - provides an Undo Add To Dictionary
option. But of course that will only work straight after the adding, not
much later, as for example might happen when you added a genuine
mis-spelling you thought was right and only much later discover wasn't.)
On 2026/2/20 13:10:20, John C. wrote:
J. P. Gilliver wrote:Ah, I had assumed it was another online one; I hadn't realised you could
John C. wrote:They're great if you want to use a web service, but sometimes I'm
[]
Whatever it's collecting about me, there are far worse spies.
For an actual dictionary that provides definitions, I use WordWeb:
https://wordweb.info/free/
Thanks, noted. (Though I'd probably use OED, Chambers, or Wiktionary.)
offline -I plug both my cable modem and router into a power strip with a
button.
Sometimes I don't like having the TLAs spying on me.
get a whole definition-providing dictionary in less than 30M (download;
I don't know how much space it's occupying now I've installed it). Thanks!
Now you know the above (assuming you use Thunderbird), you may not need
I always disable this feature. :)
to. (The location/means of access to another dictionary is given in
another post in this thread; I haven't memorised that one.)
| Sysop: | Tetrazocine |
|---|---|
| Location: | Melbourne, VIC, Australia |
| Users: | 15 |
| Nodes: | 8 (0 / 8) |
| Uptime: | 234:21:05 |
| Calls: | 207 |
| Files: | 21,502 |
| Messages: | 83,204 |