Install and use the LanguageTool add-in for Microsoft Word

LanguageTooler GmbH supplies a LanguageTool add-in for Microsoft Word. If you have a Premium account at https://languagetool.org, you can use the add-in to connect to the TechScribe term checker.

Before you get a LanguageTool Premium account, install the term checker for ASD-STE100.

To install the LanguageTool add-in for Microsoft Word

The add-in is for Word 2016 and later versions.

1. Get the LanguageTool add-in for Microsoft Word from https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-US/product/office/wa104381727 and install it.
2. On the Word Home tab, click LT Check Text.
3. Click Free trial > Check current paragraph to make sure that the add-in is installed correctly. (You will get an analysis that uses the LanguageTool rules.)
   
   When you know that the add-in operates correctly, you can make the LanguageTool add-in use the STE term checker.

To make the LanguageTool add-in use the STE term checker

1. For each person who will use the LanguageTool add-in with the STE term checker, get a Premium account for https://languagetool.org.
2. After you get your password from LanguageTooler GmbH, start the LanguageTool server (https://dev.languagetool.org/http-server#starting-from-command-line):
   1. Open a Command Prompt window.
   2. Navigate to the folder in which you installed LanguageTool.
   3. At the command prompt, type:
      java -cp languagetool-server.jar org.languagetool.server.HTTPServer --port 8081 --allow-origin "*"
   4. Wait until you see the message: Server started
      
3. Open a document in Microsoft Word.
4. On the Word Home tab, click LT Check Text.
5. On the LanguageTool Login panel, enter your e-mail address and the LanguageTool Premium password that you received.
6. Click Login.
   The LanguageTool Home panel appears.
7. On the LanguageTool Home panel, click Options.
8. In the Options panel, enter these values:
   E-mail [case-sensitive]: local
   Password: This field must be empty
   Server: http://127.0.0.1:8081/v2
9. Click Save.
   The Word add-in will use the rules from the STE term checker. The Word add-in will keep your settings until you change them or until you log out. The bottom of the LanguageTool panel tells you the server and your login status:
   
10. Click Check Document.
    The Error List shows possible STE errors:
    
11. Close Microsoft Word.
12. Stop the server (In the Microsoft Command Prompt window, use Ctrl+C).

To use the term checker with Microsoft Word

1. Start the LanguageTool server. For details, refer to To make the LanguageTool add-in use the STE term checker.
2. Open a document in Microsoft Word.
3. On the Word Home tab, click LT Check Text.
4. Click Check Document.

Differences between the STE analysis with the Word add-in and the stand-alone version of LanguageTool

For the best analysis, use the stand-alone version of LanguageTool (as shown on the installation page). When you use the Word add-in, the analysis has these limits:

• In the text, only one term is highlighted at a time (when you click a message in the Error List).
• The highlighted text does not show different colours for different types of error.
• If a term has more than one possible problem, the Word add-in shows only one message.
• Links for 'more information' are not available.
• There are no 'correct' and 'incorrect' examples.
• You cannot select or deselect categories of error.
• You cannot see information about parts of speech, except if a message contains that information.
• You cannot see information about the disambiguation of terms.

© TechScribe, Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Page updated 2020-12-04