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How to Change Spelling and Proofreading Settings in New Outlook for Windows

By Freedom251 Team · · 12 min read

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In New Outlook for Windows, spelling and proofreading controls are opened from the draft itself. Select Editor (inside the … overflow menu when necessary), open Editor Settings, and use Manage spellcheck languages to add a proofing language. Those language choices apply to the current draft, not every future message. The app’s interface language is a separate setting under Settings > General > Language and time.

First, identify which language setting you need

New Outlook has two similarly named but separate controls. Choosing the wrong one is the most common reason a change appears not to work.

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Setting Where to change it What it affects Scope
Proofing language Open a draft, then Editor > Editor Settings > Manage spellcheck languages Spelling, grammar and other Editor checks in the message you are composing The specific draft in which you make the choice
Outlook display language Settings > General > Language and time Menus, buttons and other parts of the Outlook interface The New Outlook application setting

If your menus are in the wrong language, change the display language. If words in an email are being marked according to the wrong language, change the proofing language in that draft. Changing one does not automatically change the other.

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Change the proofing language for an email draft

The proofing-language selection is made while a message is open. It controls how Editor checks that draft and does not serve as a permanent account-wide language preference.

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  1. Open or start a draft. Create a new message or open a saved draft in New Outlook for Windows.
  2. Open Editor. Select Editor on the message ribbon. In the simplified ribbon, the control can be hidden in the … overflow menu; open that menu and choose Editor.
  3. Open the settings panel. In the Editor pane, select Editor Settings.
  4. Open the language manager. Choose Manage spellcheck languages.
  5. Add a proofing language. Under Proofing languages, select + Add another language.
  6. Choose the language. Select or type the language you want, choose Add, and then select Done.
  7. Wait for rechecking. Give Editor time to scan the draft again. Existing underlines may not change instantly while the message is being rechecked.

Microsoft describes this selection as applying to the email composition in which it is made. If you begin another message later, check that draft’s Editor settings rather than assuming the previous choice carried over.

What happens when you add a language

Adding a proofing language tells Editor which language rules to use while it examines the open message. It does not translate the draft, change the recipient’s language, or change Outlook’s menus. The language is simply added to the list used for that composition.

After you select Done, the service needs to recheck the text. A short delay is normal, particularly in a long draft or a message containing many existing marks. Keep the draft open while the check runs so you can see whether the underlines and panel results update. If the old marks remain immediately, wait before repeating the language setup.

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The draft-level scope is important when several people use one account or when you write in different languages. A language selected for one message should not be described as a permanent account preference. Start each new multilingual message by opening its Editor settings and confirming the intended proofing language.

Turn individual proofreading suggestions on or off

Editor separates its checks into suggestion types, so you can keep spelling checks while reducing other kinds of prompts, or disable a category temporarily.

  1. With the draft open, select Editor. Use the … menu first if the simplified ribbon does not show the control.
  2. Select Editor Settings.
  3. Use the switches beside the available suggestion types to turn each category on or off.
  4. To restore the original configuration, select Reset to default.

The exact placement of controls can differ between simplified and classic ribbon layouts, but the settings are reached through the draft’s Editor control. Turning a suggestion category off changes what Editor reports; it does not change the text already in your message.

Use these switches when you want a deliberate balance between review and interruption. For example, spelling can remain enabled while another available category is disabled for a draft containing names or specialized wording. If you are unsure which controls were changed, Reset to default provides a known starting point; then turn only the categories you need back on.

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Review, ignore and restore Editor suggestions

Editor can flag spelling, grammar and style issues with entries in its panel and with underlines in the message body. To act on one, select the suggestion or the underlined text and choose the correction offered by Editor.

  • Apply a suggestion: select the proposed replacement in the Editor panel or the inline suggestion menu.
  • Ignore Once: dismisses that occurrence without changing the rest of the draft.
  • Don’t check for this issue: tells Editor to stop flagging that suggestion type.

If you used Don’t check for this issue and want Editor to look for it again, close and reopen the document, then return to Editor. This reloads the checking experience so the previously dismissed issue type can be offered again.

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Do not treat every underline as a mandatory correction. A proper name, technical term, code fragment or a word from another language can be intentional. Review the proposed change in context before accepting it.

Editor groups its feedback conceptually into three areas:

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  • Spelling identifies likely misspelled words and other word-level errors.
  • Grammar points to sentence construction and grammatical patterns.
  • Refinements offer style or wording guidance beyond basic correctness.

The panel and inline marks are two ways to reach the same review work. Opening the panel gives you a list to work through; selecting an underline lets you inspect an issue where it appears in the sentence. Either route can result in accepting a suggestion, ignoring one occurrence, or choosing not to check that issue.

Hide the suggestions count without disabling Editor

The number of detected suggestions can be removed from the ribbon while leaving Editor available for on-demand review.

  1. Open the message draft.
  2. Select the … overflow menu on the New Outlook ribbon.
  3. Choose Editor.
  4. In the adjacent Editor list, choose Hide suggestions count.

Hiding the count does not turn off spelling or grammar checks. The Editor icon and panel remain available when suggestions exist, and they can still be opened when no suggestions are identified. If you still need to inspect the message, open Editor directly rather than looking for a number in the ribbon.

Change New Outlook’s general display language

Use this route when you want Outlook’s interface—rather than the language used to inspect a particular message—to appear in another language.

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  1. Select Settings in New Outlook.
  2. Open General, then select Language and time.
  3. Under Language (Country/Region), choose the language for the Outlook interface.
  4. Select Save.

This setting is independent of the proofing language chosen inside a draft. You can, for example, keep the Outlook menus in one language while checking an individual email in another. Conversely, changing the display language will not automatically select that language for the draft currently being composed.

Use the display-language route only for interface text such as menus, buttons and labels. If the problem is that a correctly spelled word is being underlined, return to the open draft and use Editor Settings; changing Language (Country/Region) is not a substitute for selecting a proofing language.

Use the spelling checker with the keyboard and a screen reader

New Outlook for Windows provides a keyboard path for users who do not want to navigate the ribbon with a mouse. Microsoft’s accessibility instructions describe the following sequence:

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  1. With the message open, press F6 repeatedly until the screen reader announces Ribbon tabs.
  2. Open Options.
  3. Choose Editor.
  4. Choose Open editor, then select Spelling.
  5. The checker moves to the first misspelled word and opens the Spelling suggestions window.

Keyboard focus and announcements can vary with the screen reader and the New Outlook build. If the spoken labels do not match, use the same named commands from the ribbon rather than guessing at a different command.

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This path is for reviewing spelling with the keyboard. It does not replace the draft-level language setup: if the checker is using the wrong language, return to the draft’s Editor > Editor Settings > Manage spellcheck languages path first.

Know what each language supports

Language support is not all-or-nothing. Microsoft lists spelling, grammar and refinements separately, and a language can have one level of support without having every other Editor capability.

Editor capability What it checks Availability caveat
Spelling Likely misspellings and word-level errors Support is language-dependent.
Grammar Sentence construction and grammatical patterns Not provided at the same level for every proofing language.
Refinements Style and wording suggestions beyond basic correctness Coverage varies by language and should not be assumed from spelling support alone.

If a newly added language produces spelling marks but no grammar or refinement suggestions, that may reflect the language’s feature coverage rather than a malfunction. Do not expect identical Editor behavior across all languages. A missing refinement category is not evidence that the language was added incorrectly.

When comparing languages, compare each capability separately. A language may support spelling while offering limited or no grammar and refinement checks. Set expectations from the features that actually appear in Editor Settings instead of assuming that every language has the same full set of controls.

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Troubleshoot when the controls are missing or ineffective

The menu path does not match

Confirm that you are using New Outlook for Windows, not classic Outlook. New Outlook uses the draft’s Editor control and the … overflow menu. Classic Outlook has a different configuration model, including a File > Options workflow. Applying classic-Outlook instructions to New Outlook will lead you to screens that do not exist in the new app.

Editor is not visible on the ribbon

Open the … overflow menu in the draft and look for Editor. The simplified ribbon hides commands that may be visible in a classic ribbon layout. Once Editor is open, use Editor Settings rather than searching the main Outlook settings page for proofing-language controls.

The draft still shows the old language

After adding a language, allow the system time to recheck the message. Large drafts or messages with many existing marks can take a moment to refresh. Verify that the language was added under Proofing languages and that you selected Done before returning to the message.

Only some kinds of suggestions appear

Check the switches in Editor Settings. A category may have been turned off, or the selected language may not provide grammar or refinement features. Use Reset to default if you are unsure which controls were changed, then review the switches again.

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A dismissed issue keeps staying dismissed

If you chose Don’t check for this issue, close and reopen the document and open Editor again. Microsoft says this is the way to make Editor look for that issue type again.

The proofing language changed unexpectedly

Microsoft recorded a service-side issue in which proofing-language settings could change unexpectedly. Its notice says the issue was fixed worldwide in December 2024; that notice was last updated on January 29, 2025. Treat this as historical troubleshooting context. If unexpected changes continue, record the account, draft and language involved and check current Microsoft service advisories rather than repeatedly changing the same setting.

Accessibility commands or account behavior differ

Microsoft’s screen-reader guidance includes account and deployment qualifications specific to New Outlook for Windows. Availability can depend on how the account and service are deployed, so do not assume that a command documented for one organization or rollout is present in every account.

The interface changed after saving

If the menus remain in the previous language after selecting Save, confirm that you changed Language (Country/Region) under Settings > General > Language and time, not the draft’s proofing-language list. These settings have different scopes and solve different problems.

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A reliable workflow for multilingual messages

When you regularly write in more than one language, separate interface preferences from message-level proofing so each draft is checked intentionally.

  1. Leave Language (Country/Region) set to the language you prefer for Outlook’s menus.
  2. Start the message and open Editor Settings before writing a long draft.
  3. Add the language that matches the message under Proofing languages.
  4. Confirm the relevant suggestion switches are enabled.
  5. Write or paste the message, then wait for the draft to be rechecked.
  6. Review each suggestion in context, using Ignore Once for intentional terms.
  7. If Editor stops flagging a category after you dismiss it, close and reopen the draft before the final review.

This workflow avoids changing the application interface merely to proofread one message and makes the draft-specific scope explicit to anyone sharing or revising the message.

For a message that contains more than one language, choose the proofing language that matches the main text, then inspect names, quotations and inserted passages manually. Editor’s language capabilities differ, so a language that handles spelling may not provide the same grammar or refinement feedback as another language. Do not infer that an unmarked sentence is perfect simply because one category is unavailable.

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What to verify before sending

  • The message is open in New Outlook for Windows, not classic Outlook.
  • The intended language appears under Proofing languages for this draft.
  • The draft has had time to complete its recheck.
  • Suggestion categories you want are switched on in Editor Settings.
  • Names, product terms, code and other intentional wording have been reviewed rather than accepted blindly.
  • Hiding the suggestions count has not been mistaken for disabling Editor.
  • The interface language was changed separately, if that was your actual goal.

Once those checks are complete, the spelling and proofreading behavior is configured for the message you are about to send, while the general Outlook interface remains governed by its separate language setting.

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Quick decision guide

Use this short test before changing anything:

  • Menus and buttons are wrong: open Settings > General > Language and time.
  • Words in one draft are marked incorrectly: open that draft’s Editor > Editor Settings > Manage spellcheck languages.
  • You want fewer prompts: use the individual suggestion switches in Editor Settings.
  • You only want the number hidden: choose Hide suggestions count; this leaves Editor active.
  • You need to repeat a dismissed check: close and reopen the document, then open Editor again.
  • The commands are absent: verify that the app is New Outlook for Windows and check the … overflow menu.

Keeping these cases separate prevents a display-language change from being used to solve a proofing problem, and prevents a draft-level language choice from being treated as a permanent Outlook preference.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does changing the proofing language change every future email?

No. Microsoft describes the language selected during email composition as applying to that specific draft. Check Editor settings again when you start another message.

Why can’t I see Editor on the ribbon?

In the simplified ribbon, open the … overflow menu in the draft and choose Editor. The command may be hidden there even when it is not shown directly on the ribbon.

Why are spelling marks still using the old language?

Confirm the language appears under Proofing languages, select Add and Done, and allow time for Editor to recheck the draft.

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Will changing Language (Country/Region) change spellchecking?

No. Settings > General > Language and time controls the Outlook interface. Proofing language is selected inside the open draft through Editor settings.

Can I disable grammar but keep spelling?

Yes, when those controls are available, use the switches for individual suggestion types in Editor Settings. Use Reset to default to restore the default configuration.

How do I make a dismissed issue appear again?

If you selected Don’t check for this issue, close and reopen the document and return to Editor. Microsoft identifies that as the way to have the issue checked again.

Does every language support grammar and refinements?

No. Microsoft lists spelling, grammar and refinements separately, and support varies by language. A language can provide spelling checks without the same grammar or refinement coverage.

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How do I hide the suggestions number without turning proofreading off?

Open the draft’s … menu, choose Editor, then select Hide suggestions count. The Editor icon and panel remain available.

What if these instructions look different from my Outlook?

Verify that you are using New Outlook for Windows. Classic Outlook uses a different workflow, including File > Options, so its screens will not match New Outlook.

Was there an issue that changed proofing languages unexpectedly?

Microsoft’s historical notice says a service-side issue was fixed worldwide in December 2024. The notice was last updated January 29, 2025. For continuing problems, check current Microsoft service advisories.

The Bottom Line

For a message-specific spelling or proofreading change, open the draft and use Editor > Editor Settings > Manage spellcheck languages; the choice applies only to that draft. Use the suggestion switches, Reset to default, and Hide suggestions count for review behavior. Change Outlook’s menus separately at Settings > General > Language and time, and allow time for Editor to recheck after any language change.

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