PC Win: Err Msg: ...While Loading the Spelling Dictionary

Last reviewed: June 2, 1995
Article ID: Q122850

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Mail for Windows, versions 3.0, 3.0b, and 3.2

SYMPTOMS

If you do a spell check in versions 3.0, 3.0b, or 3.2 of Microsoft Mail for Windows, you can receive the following error:

   An error has occurred while loading the spelling dictionary.

CAUSE

The most common cause of this problem is a difference between the label defined in the MSMAIL.INI file and the label used in the WIN.INI file.

The following example shows the entries for the two files:

      MSMAIL.INI
      [MS Proofing Tools]
      Spelling=Spelling 1033,0
      Custom Dict=Custom Dict (Mail)

      WIN.INI
      [MS Proofing Tools]
      Spelling (Mail) 1033,0=C:\WINDOWS\MSAPPS\PROOF\MSSPEL2.DLL,
                             C:\WINDOWS\MSAPPS\PROOF\MSSP2_EN.LEX
      Custom Dict (Mail)=C:\MSMAIL\CUSTOM.DIC

   NOTE: In the above WIN.INI examples, the Spelling entry should
   be on one line.

Another cause of this error can be more than one Spelling or Custom Dict statement in the WIN.INI [MS Proofing Tools] section. Sometimes when you install an application, the installation will append new information to this section. As a result, the installation can create two or more references to the spell checker.
Finally, some applications, notably Microsoft Office, use what are called universal naming convention (UNC) connections. As a result, the installation replaces the statement below in the WIN.INI,
```
      Spelling 1033,0=C:\WINDOWS\MSAPPS\PROOF\MSSPELL.DLL,
      C:\WINDOWS\MSAPPS\PROOF\MSSP_AM.LEX
```
with the following statement:
```
      Spelling 1033,0=C:\WINDOWS\MSAPPS\PROOF\MSSPELL.DLL,
      \\SERVER\SHARE\PROOF\MSSP_AM.LEX
```

RESOLUTION

The labels that the MSMAIL.INI point to in the WIN.INI must be exact or you will receive this error message. The labels in the MSMAIL.INI are everything after the equal (=) sign. The dynamic link library (DLL) and the dictionary (LEX) files should exist in the specified subdirectories.
The labels in the MSMAIL.INI and WIN.INI must be the same. Check the WIN.INI for duplicate Spelling or Custom Dict entries.
If you have a Novell network, the use of UNC connections is not accepted. To resolve this problem, change the following part of this statement,
```
      \\SERVER\SHARE\PROOF\MSSP_AM.LEX
```
to a persistent connection,
```
      M:\path\filename
```

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   Article-ID: Q92805
   Title     : PC Win: Spelling and Custom Dict Entries in WIN.INI

Additional reference words: 3.00 3.00b 3.20
KBCategory: kbother kberrmsg
KBSubcategory: MailPCWin

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Last reviewed: June 2, 1995
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