How to tell Microsoft Word to not check spelling and grammar within quotation marks?

I'm writing a book in which the characters use a lot of slang. Microsoft Word keeps on marking grammar and spelling mistakes in dialogue, and it's getting kind of annoying. I do, however, want to see spelling and grammar corrections for normal text (not within quotes). How do I tell Microsoft Word to ignore spelling and grammar within quotation marks?

Solution 1:

This is pretty simple to do by marking all such text as "Do not check spelling or grammar" :

1. Type Ctrl+H
2. In the dialog, ensure that the cursor is in the Find what field
3. Click the More>> button
4. Click Use wildcards
5. Enter in the field "*" (ensure that the quotes are the same as used in the text)
6. Click inside the Replace with field
7. Click the Format drop-down list and choose Language...
8. Click on Do not check spelling or grammar
9. Click on Replace All (if 0 changes are reported - check your quotes)
10. Done. Click Cancel.

For the changes to be visible, recheck grammar or simply close and re-open the document. Also, take a backup of the document before starting, and afterward check the text following the last quote, in case you had an unpaired quote floating around.