Spell Checker

Monday, December 13th, 2004 at 10:00 AM | Category: Meryl's Notes Blog, Tech 9 comments

I’ve been looking for a spell checker to use with all of my programs, but have yet to find one I like. IE Spell is great, but it only works with IE and I don’t use it much. Mitch wrote about a spell check for Firefox (it also has a Mozilla version). Spell Bound works nicely and applies only to where you’re entering text (forms and emails). It doesn’t check for spelling on a general page. Not a big deal unless you’re checking for errors on your Web site or your enemy’s icon smile Spell Checker

I also tried Free Spell. This one checks spelling in all applications, not just a browser. It drives me nuts for several reasons:

* It doesn’t go into system tray yet and I don’t like having another item in my task bar.

* It opens a DOS-like window, which is clunky.

* It requires selecting the text to have it spellchecked.

As-U-Type (this is refers to v2.2) sits in the system tray and checks everything you enter. It works in Mozilla e-mail and Web site forms. It’s transparent as it makes corrections while you work.

Once I forgot As-U-Type was on and was trying to type “gid” (a file extension) in Google and I kept seeing it changed to “did.” When I realized it was As-U-Type, I clicked once on its logo in the system tray to turn it off and proceed with the search. I wish there was a faster and more simple way (by right-clicking rather than a keyboard shortcut) to tell it to add it to its dictionary and leave it alone rather than having to temporarily turn it off and back on.

I type a lot of non-dictionary words, abbreviations, and acronyms. It’s annoying to have things corrected all the time. It’s a good program, but I rarely use it.

I like how IE Spell works and if it worked with most applications, I think it’s my ideal solution.

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9 comments

  • Posted by Lockergnome's Windows Fanatics on December 13th, 2004, 10:10 AM

    Searchin’ for Mr. Good Spell Checker

    “I’ve been looking for a spell checker to use with all of my programs, but have yet to find one I like. IE Spell is great, but it only works with IE and I don’t use it much. Mitch wrote…

  • Posted by Dennis Hays on December 13th, 2004, 11:35 AM

    Meryl,

    I’ve been using QuickSpell for years now and absolutely love it. It’s non-intrusive, putting a small red or green dot above and to the right of the cursor, when you type. When red, it signals a word not in its dictionary and YOU CHOOSE to lookup/replace (hot key – Alt-S for me) or you can select word(s) and spell check.

    I can’t live without this little gem.

    Oh, where can you get a copy?
    http://www.fornada.com
    Shareware / $24.95 (Happily paid)

    Tell Bob, I said hello.

    Dennis

  • Posted by Gerard on December 14th, 2004, 12:29 PM

    I saw TinySpell listed on LockerGnome, http://www.megspace.com/computers/tinyspell/ and it sits in the system tray and changes color if you type something it does not recognize. I find it handy, maybe you will too.

  • Posted by Johan Kloosterman on December 15th, 2004, 4:10 AM

    The spell checker I use is As-U-Type. It works in every application that is running on my PC. I have been using it now for over 2 years and I am still very satisfied. What (amongst a lot of other features) I like very much about this program is the ease with which you add new dictionaries. I sometimes use words or abbreviations that I don’t want to enter into the main dictionary. I can keep those separate and turn it on and off in a way that is useful to me.
    The program is very stable; it never crashed on my PC. Recommended.
    You can find it here: http://www.fanix.com/

  • Posted by Eldad on December 15th, 2004, 7:24 AM

    Dear Meryl,
    Have been using TinySpell from http://www.numerit.com, it is free, works in all applications, has a few simple settings to adapt it to your style, and to my opinion is da best!
    To be fair, I did not try the other ones… ;-)
    Eldad

  • Posted by Ray on December 15th, 2004, 9:39 AM

    I use TinySpell for checking text as it is input. Works well within all applications I have used. A program by WinterTree Software called SpellCheckAnywhere (all one word) works really well for all text input documents including online forms – like it’s name, it checks and offers corrections for spelling anywhere you type..

  • Posted by Bob on December 15th, 2004, 4:43 PM

    I’ve been using this FREE script to spell check ALL applications — including a supposed Windows in-house program. You use the clipboard and YOUR dictionary in the Microsoft Word spell checker. You must have Microsoft Word on your computer to use the *.vbs program.

  • Posted by Bob on December 15th, 2004, 4:44 PM

    I’ve been using this FREE script to spell check ALL applications — including a supposed Windows in-house program. You use the clipboard and YOUR dictionary in the Microsoft Word spell checker. You must have Microsoft Word on your computer to use the *.vbs program. Find it at:

    http://www.pcnineoneone.com/tweaks/scripts8.html

  • Posted by Mark Howard on December 18th, 2004, 5:37 AM

    Meryl,

    You should turn the “automatic correction of unrecognized mistakes” of As-U-Type off and use only its AutoCorrect feature — that way As-U-Type will not correct things you don’t want it to. I’ve been using As-U-Type for almost 2 years and absolutely love it. It’s very stable and practical and works everywhere.
    Its

    -Mark

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