WD97: Spelling Check Deletes Tab/Spaces from Start of Paragraph (185156)

SYMPTOMS

When you correct a misspelled word in the Not in Dictionary box of the Spelling and Grammar dialog box and then click Change, tabs or spaces that were typed at the beginning of the paragraph may be deleted.

RESOLUTION

To prevent this problem from occurring, turn on the "Tabs and backspace set left indent" option. When you use this option (which is turned on by default), when you type a tab at the beginning of a paragraph, the tab is converted to a left paragraph indent. When you check the spelling of your document, the indents are not deleted.

NOTE: Tabs that are typed at the start of a paragraph before this option is turned on will not be affected by this option. Any new tabs typed at the start of a paragraph will be changed to a left paragraph indent.

To turn on the Tabs and backspace set left indent option, use the following steps:

On the Tools menu, click Options.
On the Edit tab, select the Tabs and backspace set left indent check box, and then click OK.

WORKAROUND

To correct the spelling mistake, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Use One of the Suggestions

In the Spelling and Grammar dialog box, select one of the words in the Suggestions box, and then click Change.

Method 2: Make the Spelling Correction in the Document

With the Spelling and Grammar dialog box open, click in your document, correct the spelling mistake, and then click Resume to continue to check the spelling of your Word document.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Word 2000.