# Custom dictionary

**Custom dictionaries** allow you to extend the standard spell-check vocabulary with words specific to your organization, industry, or personal workflow, such as brand names, acronyms, technical terms, and proper names.

Words added to a custom dictionary are treated as correct during spell check. With the algorithmic spelling engine, dictionary words also appear in the suggestions list when a similar word is misspelled. With AI-based spelling, dictionary words won't be flagged as incorrect but won't appear as suggestions.

### Types of custom dictionaries

WProofreader provides two types of custom dictionaries designed for different use cases: **user dictionary** and **organization custom dictionary**.

|                             | User dictionary                                                                                                                                                                                   | Organization dictionary                                                                       |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Purpose**                 | Personal wordlist owned by an end user                                                                                                                                                            | Shared wordlist managed by admins, intended to cover terminology used across the organization |
| **Scope**                   | Personal by default. Visible only to the user who created it. However, if an admin predefines the same dictionary name for multiple users via config, those users will share a single dictionary. | Applies to all users in the subscription or to targeted user groups                           |
| **Language dependency**     | Language-agnostic. Works across all enabled languages.                                                                                                                                            | Language-dependent. One dictionary per language.                                              |
| **Where managed**           | Product UI (WProofreader / SCAYT) or API                                                                                                                                                          | Cloud: admin panel (app.wproofreader.com) or API. Self-hosted: config files or API.           |
| **Can be enabled/disabled** | Yes. Via connect/disconnect in the product UI, or programmatically by setting/removing `userDictionaryName`.                                                                                      | Yes. Via status toggle in the admin panel, or programmatically via API.                       |
| **API command name**        | `user_dictionary`                                                                                                                                                                                 | `custom_dictionary`                                                                           |
| **Max dictionaries**        | Unlimited, but only one active at a time per user                                                                                                                                                 | 50 per account                                                                                |
| **Max dictionary size**     | 50 KB (approximately 10,000 words)                                                                                                                                                                | 500 KB per dictionary (approximately 100,000 English words; varies by language)               |
| **Word rules**              | Max 63 characters. No spaces. No dots at start or end. No punctuation or special characters.                                                                                                      | Same                                                                                          |
| **Dictionary naming**       | Latin characters and/or digits only. Must be unique.                                                                                                                                              | Same. Max 50 characters.                                                                      |

### Which one should you use?

**Use a user dictionary when the wordlist is:**

* Owned by an individual end user
* Managed and accessible by the user directly from the product UI (adding, deleting words, and so on)
* Modified at runtime as the user works
* Not tied to a specific language

**Use an organization dictionary when the wordlist is:**

* Shared across many users
* Managed by admins or automation
* Split by language
* Part of a structured workflow (create, enable/disable, audit, delete)


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