Purple underlines in MS Word?

DarkPrimus

You know when you're typing a document out in Word, and you make a spelling mistake? Or maybe you make a grammatical error (or the computer THINKS you did). You get a red or green dotted underline under the offending passages.

Well, what the flying fuck does a PURPLE dotted underline mean? Because I have one in my document right now, and running a spell/grammar check doesn't do anything to it.

Chief1138

It is a "smart" tag...more info here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HP030894821033.aspx (click on "underline")

DarkPrimus

So why did it flag this specific part of my document?

Chief1138

What do you mean? Does the document I linked not explain your question?

DarkPrimus

Purple wavy underlines (wavy vertical lines may also appear in the margin)

In an XML (Extensible Markup Language (XML): A condensed form of Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) that enables developers to create customized tags that offer flexibility in organizing and presenting information.) document, Word uses purple wavy vertical lines and underlines to indicate XML structure that does not adhere to the XML Schema that is attached to the document.

What I don't understand is why what I wrote is being considered XML structure.

Feral

In Primus' defense, that article really doesn't explain much.

Word places smart tags based on the type of data it thinks you typed in. So if you type in a telephone number, or something that looks like a telephone number, Word will smart tag it. According to Microsoft:

When you type in any of the following types of information in Microsoft Word, purple dotted lines appear under the text.
Person names
Dates
Times
Addresses
Places
Telephone numbers
Recent Outlook e-mail recipients
Stock ticker symbols
When Word recognizes these types of data, the data is marked with a Smart Tag indicator, a purple dotted underline.

DarkPrimus

So under what category does "Memory Process Storage Drive " fall under? :P

CailYoung

It's an address - Word thinks you're sending a letter to Memory Process Storage Drive.

DarkPrimus

Ah.

Hah, and I was just coming up with a bullshit acronym for a faux technical document I was writing. Guess it's not bullshit.

Feral

DarkPrimus wrote: »

Ah.

Hah, and I was just coming up with a bullshit acronym for a faux technical document I was writing. Guess it's not bullshit.

No, it is bullshit. Word just thinks that "Memory Process Storage Drive" is a street name like "Rodeo Drive" or "Mulholland Drive."

Chief1138

You weren't looking at the right part of the page i linked to...wavy purple lines have to do with XML, but if it's dotted like you said that means smart tags

The Cat

if you've got any underlining, right-clicking on it and telling Word to knock it off is generally possible. Sometimes it even obeys you...