Checking Your Spelling and Grammar

I know you’re a word whiz and probably aced all your spelling exams in seventh grade, but just in case you can’t remember whether accommodation has two M’s or two C’s (yes to both), your favorite teacher will never know because Scrivener has a built-in spelling guru.

You can either have Scrivener check your spelling and grammar while you type or only when you ask it to:

Automatic: To turn instant spell checking on or off for the current project, choose Edit⇒Spelling and Grammar⇒Check Spelling While Typing. (Windows users, choose Tools⇒Options to open the Options window. Select the Auto-Correction tab, and then select Check Spelling as You Type in the Spelling section at the top of the window. This setting affects all projects.)

To change the spelling and grammar settings for all projects on the Mac, go to Scrivener⇒Preferences, select Corrections at the top of the window that opens, and select the desired options in the Spelling section.

Manual: If you have instant spell checking turned off, then when you’re ready to have Scrivener check your spelling, choose Edit⇒Spelling and Grammar⇒Show Spelling and Grammar (Windows users go to Tools⇒Spelling).

A window pops up — similar to the one in most word processors — that lets you step through the document error by error and add unique words to the personal dictionary.

To spell check the entire manuscript, select the Manuscript (Draft) folder in the Binder and go to Scrivenings mode by choosing View⇒Scrivenings. Then activate the Spelling and Grammar window.

For more Spelling and Grammar options, such as auto-capitalization, auto-completion, and substitutions, choose Scrivener⇒Preferences, and then select Corrections at the top of the Preferences window that appears. (Windows users, choose Tools⇒Options, and then select the Auto-Correction tab at the top of the Options window.) These options affect all Scrivener projects.