XL5: GP Fault Checking Spelling in Worksheet

Last reviewed: September 12, 1996
Article ID: Q112027

The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0, 5.0a

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel, you may receive a general protection (GP) fault when you check the spelling in a worksheet if a cell on the worksheet contains text in the following format

   <recognized word><period><space><unrecognized word>

   -or-

   <recognized word><space><unrecognized word>

where <recognized word> is a word that is in the spelling dictionary, and <unrecognized word> is a word that is not in the spelling dictionary.

For example, if you select a cell that contains the following text

   Dr. Einstein

and press F7 or choose Spelling from the Tools menu to run the spelling checker, you may receive a GP fault because the word "Dr" is in the dictionary, the word "Einstein" is not (unless you added it previously), and the two words are separated by a period and a space.

CAUSE

This error occurs because of the way that Microsoft Excel handles data that is returned from its spelling system. When you check the spelling of a cell that contains a recognized word followed by a period, a space, and an unrecognized word as described above, Microsoft Excel may be unable to properly establish the conditions for an Undo of the Spelling command, and you receive the GP fault.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Excel for Windows version 5.0c.

WORKAROUNDS

To avoid losing data when you check the spelling in a worksheet, do the following:

Before you run the spelling checker, save the workbook that contains the worksheet. If possible, save the workbook to a second location (make a backup of the workbook) also. This ensures that you have a saved copy of the file in case you receive a GP fault while checking spelling in the worksheet.

To avoid receiving the GP fault under the circumstances described above you can use one of the following solutions:

Add any unrecognized words to the custom spelling dictionary BEFORE you use them with abbreviations or a period in a cell. For example, if your worksheet contains the following information
```
      Dr. Einstein
      Ms. Earhart
      Gen. Eisenhower
```
do the following to add the names Einstein, Earhart, and Eisenhower to the custom spelling dictionary:
1. Create a new worksheet in a new workbook.
2. In the new worksheet, enter the names or words that you want to add
```
      to the custom spelling dictionary (do not enter the titles such as
      Dr., and so on).
```
3. From the Tools menu, choose Spelling. If you are prompted to
```
      "Continue checking at beginning of sheet?" choose Yes.
```
4. Each unrecognized word appears in the Spelling dialog box as not
```
      being in the dictionary. For each word, choose the Add button.
      Continue until all words are added to the custom dictionary.
```
5. When you receive the message "Finished spell checking entire
```
      sheet," choose OK.
```
You can now check the spelling of the worksheet that contains the words "Dr. Einstein", "Ms. Earhart", and "Gen. Eisenhower", without receiving a GP fault.

KBCategory: kbother kbfixlist
KBSubcategory:
Additional reference words: 5.00 gpf abbreviation etc. i.e.

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Last reviewed: September 12, 1996
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