Spelling

[woodscooter]

I'm posting about the spell-check features on this forum. Although this is an English-language forum, for some of our members English is not their first language. Accurate spelling is a great help for good understanding of posts.

Spell-checking is done by the browser you are using. Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer 10 upwards have spell checkers.

Any words that are not recognised by the dictionary are highlighted with a wavy red underline, as you type.

Generally you can right-click on one of these words to see a list of suggested corrections. You can click on one of the corrections to automatically substitute it for the mis-spelled word.

On Safari, if you press Control-Click while pointing to a marked word, you'll see a list of suggested corrections or you can add the word to your dictionary.

Mobile phones using Android or iOS have a similar built-in spell-check.

The dictionary does not know about syntax, so it will not distinguish between 'practise' and 'practice' for instance. It will not find fault with the phrase 'nights in shining armour', although it might pick up on 'armour' if the dictionary is set to US English, and it would suggest 'armor'.

If your spell check is not currently active, I would urge you to spend a few minutes to find out why not. Here are a few suggestions:

The window where you compose a post has a choice of two formats. One format shows the normally hidden codes for bold, italic and image inclusion. The other format is 'wysiwyg' (what you see is what you get). In other words, bold or italic text is shown as that, and images appear as they would be seen by anyone else. Spell check is only active in 'wysiwyg' mode. You can switch between modes by clicking on the A/A icon, top left of the editing window.

If you are in that wysiwyg mode and there's still no highlighting of mis-spelled words, then maybe the feature is not switched on in the browser.

If using Firefox, go Edit > Preferences (or click on the 3-line symbol on the right of the Firefox screen), then Advanced > General > Check Spelling as I type. That option should be ticked. You can also look at Language, because selection of the language also selects the right Dictionary for the spell checker.

If using Chrome (Google Chrome) it's Edit > Preferences (or click on the 3-line symbol on the right of the screen, then Settings), > 'Show advanced settings' (it's right at the bottom of the Settings page) > Languages >'Language and Input settings' > select your language and then put a tick in the check-box at the bottom of that window 'Enable spell checking' > Finished

Safari on Mac uses the OS X spell checker and marks words that need attention. To enable it if not already on, click Edit on the menu bar and select Spelling->Check Spelling as You Type. If you press Control-Left-Click while pointing to a marked word, you'll see a list of suggested corrections or you can add the word to your dictionary.

I don't have step-by-step instructions for Internet Explorer 10 and above. If any forum member can post further information on this thread, then please do so.

If you are using an older version of Internet Explorer, there's a download that will add spell checking. It's called 'ieSpell'. If it's not already installed, you get a message about it after clicking on the spell-check icon (visible only to Internet Explorer users). The spell-check icon is made of the letters ABC and a green tick. Instructions on how to use it are on the ieSpell web site.

Any difficulties or problems, please post about them here. Above all, take notice of what the spell-checker is telling you. Don't ignore it. It's always good practice to read what you've written before posting, just to make sure it says what you intend. And polishing up the spelling at the same time takes no longer.

[slowjohn]

Much needed advice, thanks Woodscooter