[Solved] Odd Spell Check Disaster after update

[sanford]

Hi everyone. I have OO3 on XP. When I turned on OO writer today a little popup appeared saying there are updates for extensions. It mentioned something about updating the dictionary and something else. I did not look closely (am I stupid or what?) and I said okay. Somehow it screwed up my dictionary. Suddenly it started marking every word as incorrect. Its as if OO started using a foreign language dictionary. So I went to options, language settings, writing aids. When I clicked on edit for hunspell, it says I am using US English. I tried changing the dictionary to, say, Australian English, but it would not take. (Maybe that is not installed?) Any help would be much appreciated. (I did a search on spell check problems and did not find this one.) Sanford

[Hagar Delest]

Does it help: [Tutorial] Spell check and Language configuration?

Thanks to add '[Solved]' at beginning of your first post title (edit button) if your issue has been fixed.

[sanford]

Thanks for the suggestion. I had actually already looked at that tutorial but I looked again and found that dictionaries are now treated as extensions. I looked in my extensions, and there was no English dictionary there. For some reasons, the "update extensions" button I pushed removed it for some reason. I downloaded and installed the extension, and removed various other language dictionaries that somehow got in there, and it worked. Thanks for the help! Sanford

[Daiwe01]

I had the same problem today with the automatically-found update "English spelling and hyphenation dictionaries and thesaurus Version 2008.11.20".
I confirmed permit installation. The current (default) "English spelling and hyphenation dictionaries and thesaurus Version 2008.07.01" was replaced with Australian English. Every word in a document was then flagged as incorrect spelling.
I ran a Repair Installation to correct the problem.
OOo webmaster/QA should correct their site.

Edit:  added version info

[bobban]

This is a problem with the latest update to the English(Australia) dictionary. When checking for updates in the extension manager, it will replace the original English dictionary, yet still indicate that a English(US) or English(UK) dictionary is installed (which is why it displays errors on every word).

To reinstall the original English dictionary simply run the following file (location is for Win XP):

C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\share\extension\install\dict-en.oxt

Restart your OO after this (and don't forget to quit the quickstarter if you use that).

Allow it to replace the update you just got (Australian English spelling and hyphenation dictionaries and thesaurus 2008.11.20), and do not check for updates on this extension again until this issue is resolved. I have contacted the author of the extension and will post back here when there is a solution.

Edit: This update has been removed from the OO Extensions website and should no longer be detected by Extension Manager.

[Just A Begineer]

As you can see fom my screen name, I'm hopeless with computers, may I ask how do I do this please?

This C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\share\extension\install\dict-en.oxt

Restart your OO after this (and don't forget to quit the quickstarter if you use that).

Allow it to replace the update you just got (Australian English spelling and hyphenation dictionaries and thesaurus 2008.11.20), and do not check for updates on this extension again until this issue is resolved. I have contacted the author of the extension and will post back here when there is a solution.[/edit]

[bobban]

1) Open Windows Explorer
2) Navigate to the following directory (it may be slightly different if your system drive is not C, or you installed to a custom location):

C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\share\extension\install

in that directory should be three files, one of which is called "dict-en.oxt"

3) Double click that to run it. The OO Extension Manager will run. Just press OK.
4) Restart Open Office (including the quickstarter if you have one - in the bottom right corner near your system clock).

Your dictionary for English(US), English(UK) and English(ZA) should be restored.

[Daiwe01]

...This update has been removed from the OO Extensions website and should no longer be detected by Extension Manager.

It now tells you updates are available on starting but finds no updates when you click the update icon.

[bobban]

It now tells you updates are available on starting but finds no updates when you click the update icon.

hmmmm....I am not seeing that personally...

[Jamesff]

Had exactly the same problem as above - inadvertently installed that English dictionary update, found it marked every word as misspelled, tried to correct it by removing it and reinstalling the English dictionary that came with Open Office 3.0 - only for me, Open Office won't recognize ANY English dictionary right now (i,e,, misspelled words are NOT marked at all). How do I fix that?

[bobban]

Try the dictionary tutorial.

[Daiwe01]

It now tells you updates are available on starting but finds no updates when you click the update icon.

hmmmm....I am not seeing that personally...

Phantom "updates available" persists after Remove Program and New Installation.
I guess I'll be ripping the registry & tracing OOo Extension Updating tomorrow rather than starting the weekend off.

[Just A Begineer]

Hi

I'm having difficulty, when you say

1) Open Windows Explorer

Do you mean >Start > My computer > C: drive?

2) Navigate to the following directory (it may be slightly different if your system drive is not C, or you installed to a custom location):

C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 3\share\extension\install

[bobban]

Yes, I do. After "C", click "Program Files" (you may need to tell windows to show the files in here, if it nags you just say yes), then find and click "OpenOffice.org 3" and so on.

[Just A Begineer]

Bob

You know I'm a novice, I'm worried about what I'm doing, but following your advice, OK, I've opened up programme files then it says something along the lines of "This files should not be modified as they my harm your computer"

Am I OK to do as you say?

I can see OO 3, but as yet I've not touched it

[Just A Begineer]

in that directory should be three files, one of which is called "dict-en.oxt"

I don't have a file listed "OXT"

I have 3 files - dict-en, dict-fr, dict-es

[bobban]

I have 3 files - dict-en, dict-fr, dict-es

That's because you don't have file extensions showing, which would display the ".oxt" part. It doesn't matter, just double click the dict-en file.

[Just A Begineer]

OK, this is what I've done bob

Start > My Computer > C: > Programe Files > OO.3 > Share > Extension > Install > dict-en > OK on the pop up to replace the installed extension > Rebooted my system.

Now opened OO, and the spell check is still not working

Sorry about this.

[bobban]

Try the dictionary tutorial.

[Just A Begineer]

Try the dictionary tutorial.

As per "This is the first place to look at: open the Stylist (F11) and right click the Default entry, then Modify and go to the Font tab. Make sure there is the blue ABC✓ check"

OK, I have a blue tick as and where described above.

Due to my disability, I sometimes have difficulty understanding the most basic of instructions, this has beat me, I'm just going to uninstall the whole lot of OO, and reinstall it from scratch

Thanks for your help.

[bobban]

It's not a problem. Dictionaries have been the source of a lot of trouble for many users. I hope your reinstall fixes the problem for you, and if it doesn't, feel free to private message me and I can give you a more direct assistance (just click the little "PM" symbol under my name to the right).

[Just A Begineer]

Hello

OK, I uninstalled OO, used CC the rebooted my system, reinstalled OO and the spell check is still not working.

I've never had a problem with it until I downloaded the latest update on Thursday, OK, I will PM you.

Thanks

[bobban]

OK, I got it, and I replied to your PM.

[Daiwe01]

It now tells you updates are available on starting but finds no updates when you click the update icon.

hmmmm....I am not seeing that personally...

Phantom "updates available" persists after Remove Program and New Installation.
I guess I'll be ripping the registry & tracing OOo Extension Updating tomorrow rather than starting the weekend off.

SOLVED. The problem is rooted in OOo code interaction with the registry.

[bobban]

Great work tracking that down. I wonder if it is a Win2K specific bug. Would you mind posting the specific registry key(s) that you had to manipulate to fix this. Thank you.

[Daiwe01]

... Would you mind posting the specific registry key(s) ...

My apologies for the previous incomplete, and therefore misleading, problem resolution post.
Because I was charged only with healing the installed executable, and not with correcting the installation code, I dissected with a sword rather than a scalpel. To wit,

• The problem persisted after Remove Program, clean the Win2K registry, complete install and open without an Internet link. So the flag was set somewhere in the Application Data tree.
• A quick tree traversal revealed the nested subdirectory .../registry/cache.
• Recall the cross-platform nature of the code. Deftly wielding the sword, I neutralized the /registry subtree.

Problem eliminated.
I do not know whether the flag was set in a /data subtree xcu file or a /cache dat file. But if I had to correct the installation code, I would first dissect the update code writing in the /registry subtree.

[bobban]

lol, well you've struck a blow for freedom there Sir Daiwe01, and thanks for posting back.

[milomak]

Hi,

Is there a solution for OOo3 in Linux (Debian if it makes a difference)

[Hagar Delest]

I do not know whether the flag was set in a /data subtree xcu file or a /cache dat file. But if I had to correct the installation code, I would first dissect the update code writing in the /registry subtree.

I would bet it's the linguistic.xcu file in .../user/registry/data/org/openoffice/Office.

Is there a solution for OOo3 in Linux (Debian if it makes a difference)

Download again the extension from the web page. Remove the current one from OOo, reinstall the new one. Maybe you'll have to delete the linguistic.xcu file above.

[Office_User]

This problem with the spell checker (showing all text as incorrect) is either a recurring fault in Open Office or a virus which targets Open Office software. The fault (which makes it seem as if there is no dictionary or no words in it) suddenly started yesterday (I may have mistyped a few key but I didn't reset any profiles or dictionary settings) and I have done all the reasonable things that might be expected to try and cure it. I have re-installed OO - updated to 4.1 in the process, and when this failed I deleted every trace of OO and re-installed again from scratch. I have checked all the dictionary settings (it's nothing to do with setting my profile - if I had one I certainly didn't change it) and the dictionary and language settings are all fine. Either the dictionary is not there (although it says it is) or its contents have been erased or something is stopping OO from accessing it although all the language and writing aid settings are all correct.

When I tried installing the English (UK) dictionary extension I was unable to install it and when I try a solution suggested by other forum users (like manually locating the .OXT file in the Programs folder and double clicking it I am told that some other file (C:\Documents and Settings\Steve\Application Data\OpenOffice\4\user\uno_packages\uno_packages\sv3wbq0.tmp_\dict-en.oxt) does not exist.

I strongly suspect a virus targetting OO, even thought my anti-virus software cannot detect it. This basically makes OO unusable as I can only get rid of the red squiggly lines by stopping it from checking the spelling as I type, but I still have no spell checker except the custom dictionary and adding in the thousands and thousands of words I use will take me forever. I am very reluctant to go back to using MS Word and strongly support the concept of Open Source software but it has to work and be fixable when stuff like this happens to be a viable alternative.

Any suggestions?