Spell Check | Castellini on Computers - Computer help for beginners

Posts Tagged: spell check

The spell checker in Firefox works everywhere!

Firefox Spell Checker

If you are a Mozilla Firefox user, and you should be, you may be overlooking one of its greatest features…the built-in spell checker. It works on any web page, in any text box you need to enter text. Look for any words that have a red, squiggly line underneath them for misspelled words. To correct the word, RIGHT click one time on the underlined word, then click the proper spelling from the list of suggestions. If you need a spell check in smaller text box like an email subject, you might need to RIGHT click in the text box, then click Check Spelling from the menus to force a spell check for that text box

Riding Shotgun with Adam — 9 Comments
27
Aug 07

Outlook Express Spell Check – pardon my french

Many people are installing Office 2007 and then discovering that their spell check for Outlook Express is set for French. This is fine if you are writing emails in French, but most of us aren’t.

Microsoft is aware of the problem and their solution is the upgrade to Windows Vista.

Our solution is do download and install this free spell check program.

Another less than elegant solution is to:

Close all programs
Start Microsoft Word 2007
Click the Office Orb
Click Word Options
Click Proofing
Click Custom Dictionaries
Change the spell check language to any other language
Click OK
Click OK
Close Microsoft Word
Reopen MS Word
Click the Office Orb
Click Word Options
Click Proofing
Click Custom Dictionaries
Change the spell check language back to English
Click OK
Click OK
Close Microsoft Word

Email Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
17
May 07

Woo Hoo…new feature in Microsoft Office 2007 – French Spell Checker!

I ran into a strange problem today with a client using Windows XP and Outlook Express. They had to install a new copy of Office 2007 because they lost their certificate of authenticity for their old copy (don't lose those folks). Subsequently, their spell checker in Outlook Express now only uses the French dictionary. Thanks Microsoft!! Once again, fabulous upgrade to the "new" Office 2007.

After some investigation it turns out that the only viable option for Windows XP users using Outlook Express and Office 2007 is to download a free spell checker for Outlook Express. We have been recommending this one for years . Click here to download and install the spell checker and your Outlook Express spell checking errors will be history…unless you are French.

Application Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
20
Feb 07

Microsoft Word Features You Might Have Overlooked

Most computer users (myself included) never get close to using everything a piece of software has to offer. Microsoft Word is a great example of this theory. You could work with Word for years and never know all the power that it is possible of yielding. This week, I'm going to point out what I think are some of the features you are likely to use if you knew about them. Thesaurus

Sure you know how to use Word's spell check, but did you know you have access to a pretty good thesaurus as well. Here's how:

1. Highlight a word
2. RIGHT Click on the word
3. Click Synonyms from the menu
4. If you like one of the suggestions, click on it and it will replace the original word for you.

Moving around your Word Document

1. You can always use the vertical scroll bar on the right to move up and down in a document, but you can also:
2. Push Page Up and Page Down on your keyboard to move up or down one screen at a time
3. Push Ctrl+Home to get to the beginning of your document or Ctrl+End to get to the end of your document
4. Use your up and down arrow keys to move up or down one line at a time
5. Push the Ctrl key with your up and down keys to move up or down one paragraph at a time

Get an automatic word count

Word can provide you quick statistics on your document including number of words, lines, characters, pages and paragraphs. Here's how:

1. In all Word version, Click File and Properties from the menus. Then Click the Statistics tab.
2. In Word XP and 2003, Click Tools –> Word Count These are but a few of the gems Word has to offer.

Look in the Tip Archives for tips on customizing bullets, using auto-complete and more or use our site search and search for "Microsoft Word".

Riding Shotgun with Adam — 2 Comments
21
Nov 06

How to buy a computer book

When teaching my basic computer classes, I often get the question, "What is a good computer book?"

This is also followed or preceded by the complaint that the individual's computer did not come with a manual.

As strange as it may seem, there is a very good reason why the average computer doesn't come will a full instruction book. The reason is that there is too much to know about a computer to fit in a single manual.

Most computers come with a small user guide that shows how to turn it on and what numbers to call for tech support. Strangely this little guide is often a file on the computer, so you must turn the computer on in order to read it.

Another reason why your computer doesn't come with a manual is because most questions people have about their computer have nothing to do with the computer itself, the questions are all related to the programs on the computer.

For example, "How do I spell check my email?" or "How do I make a greeting card," are in no way related to the computer in general. Those questions are all about a particular piece of software.

Here are a few tips on buying a good computer book:

1. Make a list of every question you can think of (regarding your computer).

2. Break the questions into groups. Some of the questions will be about email, some will be about writing letters, digital photography, etc.

3. Go to the book store and look up the answers to your questions in books related to your subjects. For example, your questions about how to write letters and create documents will be in a book about Microsoft Word, Works, or Corel WordPerfect. Email questions will be in a book about Outlook Express, AOL or Thunderbird.

4. If you can find answers to your questions and the answers seem fairly easy to understand, you have found your book.

Every person learns differently. Some people learn by looking at pictures and illustrations, others like lists and a few folks like reading large paragraphs. Pick a style that fits your way of learning.

No matter what program you need help with, anyone with a new computer should probably buy a book on Microsoft Windows. Since all of the programs on your computer are controlled my Microsoft Windows, a book on the topic will have all kinds of tips and tricks that will help you make it through the learning stages.

Email Tips — No Comments
2
Jul 06

Spell Check in Outlook Express

Faithful listener, Roger, shared a great program with us to add spell checking to Outlook Express. If you don't have Microsoft Word installed on your system, then the spell checker won't work in Outlook Express. This small utility takes care of that problem. Thanks Roger!Spell checking for Outlook Express from SnapFiles

General Computer Tips — No Comments
31
Dec 05

Spell Check Help

Do you find yourself having to click on the Ignore or Skip button in your spell checker more than you would like?

When you use spell check, the Ignore or Skip functions work great to skip a name or technical word you use in your industry. However, if you want to make your spell check sessions even shorter, try this tip to allow your spell checker to learn the words you often type.

The next time your spell checker comes across an unknown word that is correctly spelled (like a person’s name or name of a place or a technical, legal, or medical word), don’t automatically click the Ignore or Skip button. Instead, click on the Add or Learn button.

Clicking on the Learn or Add button forces your spell checking program to remember that word so that it doesn’t stop on the word the next time you use the spell checker.

If you don’t want to add a word to your spell checker’s list, you can also save time by using the Ignore All or Skip All functions when spell checking a document.