# Saving and Compiling the User Dictionary

Click here to see a numbered graphic illustrating the following procedures.

After you create the .tab source file, you compile the .tab source file to produce a .dic file. This file is loaded into a DECtalk Software session through the Speak applet or an API call.

To save and compile a new dictionary:

Task/Location |  | Action | Result
File pull-down menu (1) | Step 1 | Display the File menu. If you have not yet given your file a name, choose one of the following: Compile Dictionary (2) Save (3) Save As... (4) | The Save dialog box is displayed in all three cases. (5)
Save as dialog box | Step 2 | Navigate to the location where you want to save the dictionary session and enter a file name. (6) | A success message (7) is displayed, indicating that both the text file (in .tab format) and a dictionary file (in .dic format) have been saved.

To save and compile an existing dictionary:

Task/Location |  | Action | Result
File pull-down menu (1) | Step 1 | Choose Open from the File menu to open an existing file. | The Open a File dialog box is displayed (not shown). The dictionary file (.tab file type) you choose is displayed in the edit window.
| Step 2 | Edit the file as described in the topic To build a user dictionary. |
File pull-down menu (1) | Step 3 | To save the changes you have made to the .tab file without compiling the dictionary, pull down the File menu (1) and click Save (3). | The changes you have made are saved.
File pull-down menu (1) | Step 4 | To save your changes and compile the dictionary, pull down the File menu (1) and click Compile Dictionary. (2) | A success message (7) is displayed, indicating that both the text file (in .tab format) and a dictionary file (in .dic format) have been saved.

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