"Dictionary is damaged!" whenever I open my Screenwriter file or try to type

This is a Windows Screenwriter 6 problem that indicates the default user dictionary file has become corrupted and needs to be deleted so that it can be rebuilt.

There are several possible causes of this.  One common cause is that Screenwriter was not installed with administrator privileges, so when Screenwriter goes out to write the user dictionary files, they are denied access. The second common cause happens when adding non-English language words to the English dictionaries, especially when adding compound words with non-breaking spaces.

Please follow the steps below. Any words that were learned into the default dictionary will have to be learned again:

STEP ONE:  REMOVE ALL DAMAGED USER_ DICTIONARIES

1. Exit Screenwriter if it is running.
2. Double-click My Computer.
3. Double-click the C: drive.
4. Double-click the Movie Magic Screenwriter folder and open the User Dictionaries folder -- \Documents\Screenwriter Documents\User Dictionaries. (If you don't see it, look in the Program Files folder).
5. Highlight USER_US.LXA and hit Delete on the keyboard.
6. Click Yes to delete.
7. If there are any other USER LXA files, delete those as well.
8. Open Screenwriter.

If the problem persists, use the Windows file search command and search for *.LX.  Remove all USER dictionaries (.LXA, .LXB, etc.) found and Restart Windows. 

LOCATING FILES IN WINDOWS 10 LINK:  https://www.windowscentral.com/how-search-files-windows-10-cortana

STEP TWO:  ADMINISTRATOR PRIVILEGES

To set (or check) Screenwriter's administrator's privileges:

1. Exit Screenwriter if it is running.
2. Press Win + E to open Windows File Explorer
3. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the Screenwriter application (scwriter32.exe) folder located in the following location on your computer:
          C:\Program Files (x86)\Write Brothers\Screenwriter\scwriter32.exe
4. Right click on the Screenwriter application or icon: scwriter32.exe.
5. Click Properties.
6. Click on the Shortcut tab
7. Go to Advanced.
8. Check Run as Administrator checkbox
9. Click Apply.
10. Click OK

IF THAT STILL DOES NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM...

• If you have antivirus or security apps, such as Norton, AVG, or BitDefender, you must let them know that Screenwriter is okay to run on the computer by adding Screenwriter to each of the apps "allowable" list (also known as whitelist).  You may need to visit the app developer's website for directions how to do this.  It differs from app to app.
• Make sure you do not have your documents on OneDrive or cloud drives.  Screenwriter does not do well with cloud drives.  If you do have your documents mirrored on OneDrive, Dropbox, or some other cloud drive, here is a FAQ about OneDrive use.
  LINK:  Windows Screenwriter 6 problems with OneDrive
• If that STILL does not solve the problem, then we recommend uninstalling Screenwriter and re-installing Screenwriter:
  1. Go to your Downloads folder in Windows
  2. Locate the Screenwriter installer file:  MovieMagicScreenwriter6.exe
  3. Right-click on the Screenwriter installer and choose the Run as Administrator option
  4. Select the Uninstall option
  5. When that is completed, re-install Screenwriter

...and you should be good to go.

Possible prevention

First, follow the steps above in the Fixing the Dictionary File section.

One issue that can cause this issue to happen is if there is a soft (non-breaking) space next to a word that you have added to the document. Most of the time these soft spaces are inserted unintentionally using Shift+Spacebar rather than just the regular spacebar.

To replace soft spaces with regular spaces in your document:

1. Open the document that caused the dictionary to become damaged.
2. Click on View > Show Format Codes (Alt+F3).
3. Scroll through and find any instances of a symbol that looks like the one near the text Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro shown in the screenshot below.
   
   
4. Erase that symbol and replace it with a normal space by pressing the Spacebar by itself. Repeat that for any of those symbols you find.
5. Click on View > Show Format Codes (Alt+F3) again to hide them.
6. Click on File > Save to save your changes.

Tag:  Movie Magic Screenwriter 6, Windows