Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Extracting Proper Words.

Extracting Proper Words

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 18, 2019)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Vanita has a worksheet that contains different combinations of letters in each cell of column A. He is looking for a way to extract the words from that list that are "proper," meaning that they are found in a spell-check dictionary.

Assuming that the column contains only words (no spaces, punctuation, or phrases), you can manually check the list in this manner:

  1. Make a copy of column A into column B. You now have two identical columns.
  2. Select column B and run spell check.
  3. Every time a spelling change is suggested, accept it. When done, you should have column A as your original and column B as a spell-checked version of column A.
  4. In column C, enter the formula =IF(A1=B1,B1,"") and copy the formula down. This formula only shows a word in column C if the original word matches the spell-checked version of the word.
  5. Copy all the words in column C and use Paste Special to paste Values into another location. You now have a list of validly spelled words.

If you need to perform the validation process regularly, you may want to use a macro to instead create your final list. The following macro steps through the word list in column A and clears any cells that contain words not in the dictionary. After checking all the words, it then deletes all the cleared cells.

Sub ExtractDictionaryWords()
    Dim rWords As Range
    Dim rCell As Range

    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    Set rWords = Range(Range("A1"), _
      Range("A65536").End(xlUp))
    For Each rCell In rWords
        If Not Application.CheckSpelling(rCell.Value) Then
            rCell.Clear
        End If
    Next
    On Error Resume Next
    rWords.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeBlanks). _
      Delete (xlShiftUp)
    On Error GoTo 0
    Set rCell = Nothing
    Set rWords = Nothing
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
End Sub

Remember—this macro is intentionally destructive in its behavior, meaning that it clears out cells. If you have any need for the original data, you'll want to run the macro on a copy of the data, not on your only copy.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2834) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Extracting Proper Words.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Checking for a Security Certificate

Although Word macro viruses haven't been commonly used for some time now, hackers often try old, known techniques just to ...

Discover More

Maintaining Text Formatting in a Lookup

Want to maintain the formatting used in one cell when you use formulas to reference that text in another cell? The answer ...

Discover More

Merging and Printing

When you merge information into a document, Word provides two different ways you can create your output. Here's an ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Swapping Two Strings

Strings are used quite frequently in macros. You may want to swap the contents of two string variables, and you can do so ...

Discover More

Selecting the First Cell In a Row

When creating macros, you'll often have a need to select different cells in the worksheet. Here's how to select the first ...

Discover More

Hiding Excel in VBA

Want to have you macro completely hide the Excel interface? You can do so by using the Visible property for the Excel ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is seven more than 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.