Outlook & Outlook Express - Where can I find spell checker

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 Most email programs can run through your messages for spelling errors that escaped your notice. After you finish writing an email and before sending it, click the Spell Check button, which is located to the right of the Send button. It's a red check mark icon in Outlook Express; in Outlook, the check mark is blue. As in your average word processing program, the spell checker displays a dialog box that offers choices to replace the word when it finds an incorrectly spelled word. If the checker offers the word you intended, make sure it is highlighted and click Change. Click Change All if you think you might have repeatedly made the same mistake.
 
 Three buttons can make your spell check run more smoothly. Oftentimes the checker is flummoxed by proper names, technical jargon, and other words that are spelled correctly but don't appear in the rather limited dictionary these programs use. When the spell checker finds such a word, click Ignore or Ignore All. The former tells the program to move on; the latter tells it to skip all other instances of that word, as well.
 
 The third option is to add the word to your personal dictionary. Both Outlook and Outlook Express include this option, and, as both are Microsoft products, they use the same customized dictionary as Microsoft Word. Add a word to it, and all of these software packages will stop hassling you-not only in this particular email, but in all future emails that include the term in question, as well. Just click the Add or Add To Dictionary button, depending on your email app.
 
 NOTE: Outlook Express 6 doesn't include a spell-check program. It relies on the spell-check component from Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. If you're using a different office suite, such as OpenOffice or Lotus SmartSuite, you'll experience problems. Installing Office 2000's proofing component satisfies Outlook Express 6.
 
 If you don't own a copy of the required programs, you have two options. The first option is an add-on program such as CompuBridge's AutoSpell for Outlook Express ( www.spellchecker.com ). However, WinXP doesn't yet support AutoSpell. You can download a 30-day evaluation copy if you want to take it for a spin. Your second option is to replace Outlook Express with an email client that has built-in spell-checking support. Netscape 7 ( www.netscape.com ) and its Open Source cousin Mozilla ( www.mozilla.org ) have built-in mail clients that include spell-checking support. Best of all, both are free.