FireFox Spell Checker Not Working Due to Missing Dictionary

Firefox web browser has built-in inline spell checker which automatically checks for spelling mistakes as you type in forms or text boxes in web pages. However, after installing Firefox, especially if you’re installing fresh for the first time, the spelling check may not work, and Firefox won’t highlight with red dotted underline any word that is misspelled.

The not working spelling checker in Firefox is probably caused by missing dictionary, or no dictionary installed. This is especially if you already ensure and double check that Firefox spell checker is enabled in Check my spelling as I type option in “Browsing” section of “General” tab under “Advanced” heading.

Check and verify that properly dictionary in the typed language is installed and added to Firefox. To check, simply right click on any user type-able field, and if you see an option Add dictionaries… as shown in figure below, that’s mean no dictionaries existed in Firefox, so spelling check won’t work.

Firefox Add Dictionaries

To install and add dictionary, simply click on Add dictionaries… menu item. Firefox will launch a new window or tab to load Firefox Add-ons: Dictionaries page, where you can install various languages dictionaries that work with the spell-checking feature in Firefox. Restart Firefox after installing, and the spell checker should now works properly.

Ensure that Spell check this field is selected in right click context menu on the typing box that you want to check spelling. Another possible resolution if problem still exist is wrong or invalid language of dictionary is been installed. For example, only Portuguese or Spanish dictionary add-on is installed while you’re typing in English. To add dictionary, simply right click on any text field again, then go to Languages and select Add dictionaries…. Choose to install the correct language of dictionary in the web page loaded, and restart Firefox after installing.

Add more dictionary in Firefox

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 1st, 2007 at 3:59 pm and is filed under Web Browsers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

21 Responses to “FireFox Spell Checker Not Working Due to Missing Dictionary”

  1. Frankie
    October 12th, 2009 21:19
    21

    Thanx alot, funny how its always the simplest things that fix the most annoying problems.

  2. Yinzx
    July 26th, 2009 04:23
    20

    Thanks a lot, it really fixed the problem!

  3. booksnmore4you
    July 19th, 2009 13:45
    19

    For me, the problem was the 3D FoxTab Extension. It removed the spelling options from the right-click menu. Once disabled, they returned.

  4. Steve
    June 26th, 2009 23:34
    18

    Thank you for this. Great explanation and clear instructions. Of course it helps when Firefox makes it so easy. Now if only we could see IE catch up with the rest of the web.

    By the way, you can get an Australian English dictionary so that words like colourful are no longer underlined.

    Cheers

    Steve

  5. drew
    June 5th, 2009 16:48
    17

    wel don verry halpful

    yes i joke just seeing if the red line is there now and it is thanks

  6. Lisa
    May 29th, 2009 02:07
    16

    Thanks! wasn’t sure why my spellcheck wasn’t working when I reinstalled Firefox, and now I know why. Thanks again!

  7. Dijo
    April 8th, 2009 01:12
    15

    Hello sir,

    It is a very useful information for me.. i tried lot but not get a simple solution.. great..

    thank you

  8. Chris
    April 7th, 2009 23:10
    14

    Thanks – I needed that !! It now works fine

  9. Mohit Manocha
    April 3rd, 2009 02:58
    13

    GOD!!!

    Thanks Man!!

    I would have definitely not found it otherwise.

    You know what ??? I fixed a couple of spelling mistakes while posting this comment to your blog. hahaha.

    Thanks Again!!

    Mohit

  10. Doom
    February 18th, 2009 06:56
    12

    Thank you very much :)

  11. DaveCS
    January 16th, 2009 08:56
    11

    Your a lifesaver! Strange thing is the spell checker was working with dictionary suggestions.

    Prior to finding your site the word would just be underlined and my dictionary disappeared.

    I think it was an updated of DownloadHelper that killed it.

    Thanks for the fix non the less! Great work!

  12. John
    January 9th, 2009 02:19
    10

    Cheers, thanks for the quick fix

  13. Laure
    December 5th, 2008 01:47
    9

    You are a blessing to people like me. Thank you!!

  14. Joe Williams
    November 6th, 2008 07:00
    8

    This has bugged me for a while, thanks for sharing.

    BTW – The British directory worked for me fine!

  15. Jimmy
    September 10th, 2008 09:48
    7

    Thanks a lot for your tip!

  16. Phil
    August 30th, 2008 08:55
    6

    Cheers!!!

    Took me the best part of 20mins googling and reading various articles on how to get the spell checker working before I found this.

    Interestingly enough, the British dictionary is a no-go – read the comments to see other problems people have been having.

    Installed the Aus dictionary and hey presto.

    Thanks for the great article.

  17. Ben
    July 30th, 2008 19:47
    5

    Thanks, I wasn’t able to figure out where it went after the FF3 install, much obliged.

  18. Patrick
    June 25th, 2008 23:48
    4

    Thanks for posting this, it came up in google. I had been wondering why it wasn’t working in the new Firefox 3.0. Especially helpful as I am a proof reader!

  19. Krisz
    May 15th, 2008 15:46
    3

    Thanks, it did the trick!

  20. kit
    May 1st, 2008 00:36
    2

    Thank you for this. I wouldn’t have got it otherwise.

  21. lynn
    April 29th, 2008 00:50
    1

    Thanks very much for the tip about Firefox spell as you go not working on new installs! I would never have figured it out on my own.

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