Google and Microsoft Collaborate on Improved Spell Checking in Chrome and Edge

Google and Microsoft have teamed up to integrate Windows Spellcheck into Chromium browsers. Previously, these browsers used the open source spell checker Hunspell. According to Microsoft, an advantage of Spellcheck is that it supports more languages.

Windows Spellcheck has been in the browser since Microsoft Edge Chromium version 83, Microsoft writes. Microsoft released this version at the end of April. The feature was a collaboration between developers from Google and Microsoft in the Chromium project. As a result, all Chromium browsers, including Google Chrome, can use the Windows Spellcheck integration. It is not clear whether and when Google will use Microsoft’s spell check as standard on Chrome. Users can enable the feature themselves at chrome://flags/#win-use-native-spellchecker.

The advantages of Windows Spellcheck over Hunspell, according to Microsoft, include support for additional languages ​​and dialects and better support for URLs, acronyms and email addresses. Windows Spellcheck also allows users to share their custom dictionaries across devices.

For ‘most’ Microsoft Edge users, no additional steps are required to use Windows Spellcheck. The feature automatically uses the Windows language settings. Users can customize the languages ​​to spell check via edge://settings/languages, or via the Language menu in the Settings menu of the operating system. If a user does not have the necessary language pack installed, or it is not available, Microsoft Edge uses the Hunspell spell check.