Spell Check does not work after installing InDesign 15.0.2

Hi Charlie,

Thanks for reaching out. It could be a document specific issue if it is happening with just one document. Try converting document to IDML and then see if spellcheck works for you. Let us know how it goes.

Regards,

Ashutosh

Is there a language assigned to your text? If so, try quiting InDesign and reopening it. (I have had spell check fail to check anything once in a while, and this has always fixed it)

This was just acknowledged as a bug in 15.0.2.

Take a minute to follow this link and vote up the bug: https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign/indesign-cc-spell-check-not-working/td-p/10965448. By voting, you will also get updates on the progress Adobe makes on this bug.

~Barb

This is normal for documents that have no suspect words. If you don't think that this is the case then try trashing your InDesign preferences. Hopefully, setting the program back to its defaults will fix the problem.

To do so:

For Macintosh Users: The User Library folder in which InDesign’s preferences are stored is hidden by default on most Macintoshes. To access it make sure that InDesign is closed and click on the desktop to launch a Finder Window (Command-N). With this window in column view follow the path User>Home folder (it’s the folder with an icon that looks like a house—it may have the user’s name rather than “Home”) and click on the Home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. “Library” will now appear within the Home folder. Within the Library folder find the folder called Preferences and within it find the folder called “Adobe InDesign” and the file called “com.adobe.InDesign.plist” and delete both that folder and that file. When InDesign is next launched it will create new preference files and the program will be restored to its defaults.

For Windows Users: You can try the quick way of resetting on a PC which is to hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift when launching InDesign and respond affirmatively when asked if you want to reset. There have been some recent reports that the window asking if you want to reset is not popping up but that the prefs are being reset anyway. If this works great but if it doesn’t you may have to manually delete them.

To do so: On Windows 7 and above the preference files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\InDesign\<Version #>\<Language>. Make sure that InDesign is closed when you do this. When you relaunch the program it will create new preference files and the program will be at its default settings.

The advantage of manually deleting preference files is that after you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, you can create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.

EDIT: Before following the above suggestion check in the Spelling section of your InDesign preferences that "Mispelled Words" is checked as shown in the screen shot. If it isn't try checking it and see if that fixes the problem. Do this with no documents open and then quitting the program. When you relaunch it will be the default for the program.

Hunspell is a better choice for dictionary. Do you paragraph styles call for English: USA?

Please tell us what operating system (exactly) you're running. What happens when you attempt to check spelling? Does it happen with one file or all files?