How to enable Windows spell checker in Chrome
Spell check as a feature is available on most desktop and mobile platforms. In some cases, apps that are multi-purpose and exceptionally popular will add their own spell checker. Chrome has one, and it’s pretty good considering it uses the same AI that is used on Android.
Chrome runs on all three major desktop operating systems; Windows, macOS, and Linux, and its spell checker works just as well across all three. That said, if you’re not satisfied with Chrome’s built-in spell checker, you can use the Windows spell checker in Chrome instead. You can also use both the Windows spell checker and Chrome’s own spell checker.
Windows spell checker in Chrome
Make sure you’re running Chrome 77 or later.
- Open Chrome and enter the following in the URL bar. Tap Enter.
chrome://flags/
- On the Chrome flags page, enter ‘Use the Windows OS spell checker’ in the search bar, and tap Enter.
- Open the dropdown next to the flag, and select Enabled.
- Relaunch Chrome.
- Chrome will now use the Windows spell checker.
- Open the Settings app.
- Go to Devices>Typing.
- Turn on ‘Autocorrect misspelled words as I type’, and turn on ‘Highlight misspelled words’.
Hybrid spell checker in Chrome
The Windows spell checker may not always be the best. In some cases, it may work well for some languages but as well for others. In that case, you can have Chrome use the Windows spell checker when it can but revert to the Chrome spell checker tool if the Windows tool isn’t available for a language.
- Make sure you’ve already enabled the Windows spell checker in Chrome by following the steps in the previous section.
- Open Chrome, and in the URL bar, enter the following and tap Enter.
chrome://flags/
- Look for a flag called Use hybrid spell checking on Windows. Open the dropdown next to it, and select Enabled.
- Relaunch Chrome.
- The hybrid spell checker is now enabled in Chrome.
How hybrid spell check works
Hybrid spell check will not let you jump between the Windows spell checker and the Hunspell engine that Chrome uses. The Chrome engine will only kick in if you’re using a language that the Windows spell checker tool doesn’t support. You cannot switch spell-checking tools on the fly but enabling or disabling the Windows spell checker is easy.
Conclusion
The Chrome spell check tool isn’t bad, but if you write a lot of documents on your desktop and the Windows spell checker tool comes in handy, then it already knows quite a bit about your typing habits. Enabling it in Chrome can give you a better experience simply because it knows you better.
