Optimizing Word for German
German with Office/Word
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Compared to earlier versions, both the Windows XP and Mac OS X operating systems are much more foreign-language friendly. As a result, the Office suite (for both Mac and Windows) also has much better multilingual support. While in the past only French and Spanish (but no German) proofing tools were included in the English-language versions of Word, the XP and Mac OS X versions of Office/Word now come with a German dictionary and other proofing tools as a standard option that can be installed from the program's CD-ROM.
Even if you have an older version of Office or Word, you can download updates and tools for Office 2000 or 2002. If you want to work with languages not included in the standard US or UK versions, you can purchase the Office Proofing Tools package that includes support for 48 languages (including Asian languages) and six localized user interfaces. (See the links below.)
Office XP Professional
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Office/Word (Mac & Windows)
Thanks to the German dictionary, thesaurus and grammar checker now included on the Office/Word CD-ROM, you now can check a German or a mixed English-and-German document for grammar and spelling. But because Microsoft hasn't really automated the process very well, you'll find a how-to guide to proofing German in Word below.
Proofing German and Other Languages in Word
Even if you have installed the optional German proofing tools (with both the new and old German spelling rules), if you just click on the spell-check button while working on a German document, the default English dictionary will come up and be totally confused. To check a German document or the German portions of a document for spelling and grammar, you first have to select the text and then the appropriate proofing language. The following steps work in both the Mac and Windows versions of Office/Word:
For an all-German documentNOTE: Do not make German the default language unless you use German for most of your work in Word, in which case you would follow the above procedure for selecting English portions of a document in German.
1. Use "Select All" (under the Edit menu) to select the entire document.
2. Choose "Language" in the Tools menu.
3. Scroll down to "German" and select it (it will be highlighted when selected).
4. Check "OK" and close the dialog boxes.
(Also see "For New Documents" below for a way to avoid these steps when creating new documents in German.)
For a bilingual document
1. Select the first portion of the document that is in German.
2. Choose "Language" in the Tools menu.
3. Scroll down to "German" and select it (it will be highlighted when selected).
4. Check "OK" and close the dialog boxes.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for any additional portions in German.
For New Documents in German
If you don't want to go through this laborious process every time you write a document in German, here is a clever work-around that some people use:
Create a template formatted in German. Each time you want to write a document in German, select your German template and begin your work. (On the Mac, select Project Gallery and My Templates.) Each new document created from the template will automatically use the German proofing tools.If you really want to get into a total German frame of mind, set your computer's language to German so your menus and dialog boxes will also be auf Deutsch! If you don't know how to do that, see our tips in Windows XP or Mac OS X.
If you want more information, see the related links below.
MORE > Windows XP
MORE > Mac OS X
Related Links
Proofing Tools for MS Office XP
From Microsoft Office Online.
MS Office - Tools on the Web
You can download updates and tools for Office from Microsoft.
Mactopia - MS Office:mac
Using Office or Word for Mac. From Microsoft's Mactopia.
Office for Students and Teachers
A special price for educational users. Do you qualify?
Office XP in a Multingual Environment
From Microsoft.
Sample Customizations for Office with the MUIP
Worldwide deployment - from Microsoft.
Björn's Online Spellchecker
A German spellchecker - with new and old German spelling options.
DeKey Download
Freeware that simplifies typing German and other foreign-language characters with Win XP.
The Key Connection
Foreign-language keyboards and keyboard covers.
HermesSoft - Multilingual Support for Mac and Windows
Support for OpenType, PostScript and TrueType fonts for many languages.
Björn's Online Spellchecker
A German spellchecker - with new and old German spelling options.
GlobalWriter
A multilingual word processor with spell checker for German and over 75 other languages. "Global Writer lets you express yourself in your own language. It's so easy to use, you'll be typing letters, business documents, e-mail, school lessons and more in no time. And you can do all this without learning a new keyboard layout." But you still have to know German or the language you're typing!
Spellink 2002 German
Enter German text and click "Check!" to check to spell check under the new or old rules. Also checks English and Latin.