28 replies to this topic

[Mike Ihnat]

I know that there are a number of threads on SC and Chrome, even a few in the Mac section. For my work I have to use Google docs, Gmail, Wave, etc and logically the browser that works best is Chrome. Until a few weeks ago I could get SC to work with Chrome but in one of the Chrome updates it suddenly stopped working totally in Google docs (actually it does unspeakable things like delete a paragraph and move the cursor to a new fun point in a 100 page document when triggered) and for Gmail it does the “expand the word but leave the first letter of the abbreviation behind” trick. Yes, I know that Chrome is evil as is Google and that neither are truly Mac (sort of like Ron Paul’s son being not quite Republican and never Democrat). I am wondering if anyone else has seen this and other than using the feature laden dog called Safari (did Mac learn that trick from MS?) or go back to that early 2000s sensation Omniweb (like I am doing currently) whether there is ever a chance for Chrome and SC to get along? Shalom!
Mike

[Evan Gross]

Mike Ihnat, on 24 July 2010 - 02:57 PM, said:

I know that there are a number of threads on SC and Chrome, even a few in the Mac section. For my work I have to use Google docs, Gmail, Wave, etc and logically the browser that works best is Chrome. Until a few weeks ago I could get SC to work with Chrome but in one of the Chrome updates it suddenly stopped working totally in Google docs (actually it does unspeakable things like delete a paragraph and move the cursor to a new fun point in a 100 page document when triggered) and for Gmail it does the “expand the word but leave the first letter of the abbreviation behind” trick. Yes, I know that Chrome is evil as is Google and that neither are truly Mac (sort of like Ron Paul’s son being not quite Republican and never Democrat). I am wondering if anyone else has seen this and other than using the feature laden dog called Safari (did Mac learn that trick from MS?) or go back to that early 2000s sensation Omniweb (like I am doing currently) whether there is ever a chance for Chrome and SC to get along? Shalom!
Mike

I installed Google Chrome version 5.0.374.86 (dated June 16, 2010) to do some testing, and Spell Catcher seemed to work fairly well with it.

Any chance you can remember what version of Chrome you were using when Spell Catcher worked for you?

What version of Chrome are you using now, where you're having problems with Spell Catcher? Is it the most recent version of Chrome?

Since Spell Catcher apparently worked fine with a previous version, there's most certainly a chance that it can get along with Chrome. But if the latest version does indeed have problems, it should be reported to the Chrome developers as a bug/regression.

[Mike Ihnat]

Evan Gross, on 26 July 2010 - 11:06 PM, said:

I installed Google Chrome version 5.0.374.86 (dated June 16, 2010) to do some testing, and Spell Catcher seemed to work fairly well with it.

Any chance you can remember what version of Chrome you were using when Spell Catcher worked for you?

What version of Chrome are you using now, where you're having problems with Spell Catcher? Is it the most recent version of Chrome?

Since Spell Catcher apparently worked fine with a previous version, there's most certainly a chance that it can get along with Chrome. But if the latest version does indeed have problems, it should be reported to the Chrome developers as a bug/regression.

Thanks Evan! Figured it out based on your questions! For some reason I had developer versions of Chrome, not stable ones! When I downloaded the last stable version of Chrome (5.0.375.125) SC worked just fine - whew! I just hope those developer versions never see the light of day. Thanks SO much for your help!
)
Mike

[Mike Ihnat]

Interesting update to this stuff. SC doesn’t work with Google docs in the stable version of Chrome (whereas it had worked before) but it does work with Google docs in FireFox. Ugh! At least SC works with gmail, gcal, etc.

[Tomnibus]

I'm running version 5.0.375.125 (latest stable as of today).

The problem described initially was my problem but I found I was on the dev version too so I went to the stable. However, I do have an ongoing problem with the address/search bar at the top.

I typed in: wierd (incorrectly) into the bar at the top to start searching and it replaced it with wierdweird

Now, I just went into the prefs and turned off the option in the preferences to try to replace without backspacing. and it's fine now. I guess that was it?

[Evan Gross]

Tomnibus, on 06 August 2010 - 06:12 PM, said:

I'm running version 5.0.375.125 (latest stable as of today).

The problem described initially was my problem but I found I was on the dev version too so I went to the stable. However, I do have an ongoing problem with the address/search bar at the top.

I typed in: wierd (incorrectly) into the bar at the top to start searching and it replaced it with wierdweird

Now, I just went into the prefs and turned off the option in the preferences to try to replace without backspacing. and it's fine now. I guess that was it?

Guess so…

[MRubenzahl]

Quote

I just went into the prefs and turned off the option in the preferences to try to replace without backspacing. and it's fine now.

Not for me. What's odd is that this started, out of the blue, a few weeks ago. On two different Macs. I can't think of anything I am doing that is different except that at that time, I tried placing my Reference Files in Dropbox, to share them between the two machines. But I undid that change and the problem remains.

Makes me crazy because it WAS working for a long time and suddenly stopped.

I tried changing input methods, tried the option to replace without backspacing. Guess I'll have to drive over to Google and whine until they fix the way they handle keyboard input.

[jgmccue]

TThe same pproblem has bbeen hhappening to me, too, as yyou ccan see. II’m using Chrome 6.0.472.55. I’ve only recently begun to hhave this hhappen nand ddidn’t realize it was Chrome. TThought it wwas Facebook since that’s about tthe only place iI do much typing in Chrome.

The other comments seem mostly to relate to an earlier version of Chrome. Is there any solution to this, or just wait tuntil a bbetter, newer vversion comes out?

[Evan Gross]

jgmccue, on 16 September 2010 - 12:41 PM, said:

TThe same pproblem has bbeen hhappening to me, too, as yyou ccan see. II’m using Chrome 6.0.472.55. I’ve only recently begun to hhave this hhappen nand ddidn’t realize it was Chrome. TThought it wwas Facebook since that’s about tthe only place iI do much typing in Chrome.

The other comments seem mostly to relate to an earlier version of Chrome. Is there any solution to this, or just wait tuntil a bbetter, newer vversion comes out?

Only the developers of Chrome can fix it. Please report it to them.

[MRubenzahl]

Evan Gross, on 17 September 2010 - 09:44 PM, said:

Only the developers of Chrome can fix it. Please report it to them.

Evan, how do I describe it? If I report it as an incompatibility with SC, I don't imagine it getting much priority. I don't understand the Mac mechanisms well enough to say something like "Chrome uses a non-standard method of keyboard input that ((what?))"

And what else would it affect? Can they see the problem without SC or do they have to have SC?

[LWL]

I was having many problems with Safari (had to do force quits too often) so switched to Google Chrome version 7.0.517.24 beta. I am using SC 10.3.6 on a Mac Mini (Intel 1.83 Ghz Core duo) and OSX 10.3.6.
Google doesn't play nice. it insists on adding part of the shortcut when expanding my internet address. It asks me to correct spelling when I do a Google search for a second item by adding the two search words together.
Unfortunately Firefox is glacially slow. I'm between the proverbial rock and hard place. Can I simply not let SC play with Google Chrome?

lLloyd (that was supposed to be just Lloyd but Google added the first "l" in the shortcut).

[Evan Gross]

LWL, on 30 September 2010 - 08:21 PM, said:

I was having many problems with Safari (had to do force quits too often) so switched to Google Chrome version 7.0.517.24 beta. I am using SC 10.3.6 on a Mac Mini (Intel 1.83 Ghz Core duo) and OSX 10.3.6.

Do you actually mean Mac OS X 10.6.3?

What triggers these "many problems" you're having with Safari? We are aware of a bug in WebKit where having Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Spelling While Typing selected can cause a hang when Spell Catcher expands a shorthand or corrects a spelling error. There is a semi-effective work around for this built into Spell Catcher, but the only real solution is to deselect Check Spelling While Typing in Safari (or Mail or any other app that uses WebKit for text editing).

Other than this one WebKit issue, you shouldn't be having any trouble with Safari and Spell Catcher.

Quote

Google doesn't play nice. it insists on adding part of the shortcut when expanding my internet address. It asks me to correct spelling when I do a Google search for a second item by adding the two search words together.
Unfortunately Firefox is glacially slow. I'm between the proverbial rock and hard place. Can I simply not let SC play with Google Chrome?

lLloyd (that was supposed to be just Lloyd but Google added the first "l" in the shortcut).

I think the actual problem with Chrome is that it fails to backspace over the entire abbreviation or error word before inserting the expansion or correction. Does that not describe what you're seeing?

You can always turn off Spell Catcher's interactive features in Chrome simply by deselecting "Interactive Checking" in Spell Catcher's Input menu (yellow checkmark) when Chrome is the active application.

Anyway, I will try to take a look at these issues with the latest Chrome in the next few days. But Safari should be fine provided you turn off Check Spelling While Typing. Not a big deal, as Spell Catcher's interactive checking does this for you.

And I'm not sure why you're finding Firefox's performance so poor - this isn't something I've noticed or heard of before...

[Evan Gross]

MRubenzahl, on 26 September 2010 - 11:58 AM, said:

Evan, how do I describe it? If I report it as an incompatibility with SC, I don't imagine it getting much priority. I don't understand the Mac mechanisms well enough to say something like "Chrome uses a non-standard method of keyboard input that ((what?))"

And what else would it affect? Can they see the problem without SC or do they have to have SC?

You'll have to give me a few days to investigate exactly what's going on. It may well be an issue with other input methods, but I'm not sure at this point. It would be best if I could find a way to reproduce the problem with one of Apple's own input methods that ship with Mac OS X - I'll let you know what I discover.

[MRubenzahl]

LWL, on 30 September 2010 - 08:21 PM, said:

IUnfortunately Firefox is glacially slow. ...

Off topic, but while Chrome is faster, Firefox should not be "glacially slow." Start Firefox in"Safe mode" (hold cmd and option as you start Firefox) and see if it is faster. If so, disable add-ons until you figure out what's slowing it. If safe mode is slow, uninstall and reinstall Firefox.

[LWL]

Evan Gross, on 01 October 2010 - 03:20 AM, said:

Do you actually mean Mac OS X 10.6.3?

What triggers these "many problems" you're having with Safari? We are aware of a bug in WebKit where having Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Spelling While Typing selected can cause a hang when Spell Catcher expands a shorthand or corrects a spelling error. There is a semi-effective work around for this built into Spell Catcher, but the only real solution is to deselect Check Spelling While Typing in Safari (or Mail or any other app that uses WebKit for text editing).

Other than this one WebKit issue, you shouldn't be having any trouble with Safari and Spell Catcher.


I think the actual problem with Chrome is that it fails to backspace over the entire abbreviation or error word before inserting the expansion or correction. Does that not describe what you're seeing?

You can always turn off Spell Catcher's interactive features in Chrome simply by deselecting "Interactive Checking" in Spell Catcher's Input menu (yellow checkmark) when Chrome is the active application.

Anyway, I will try to take a look at these issues with the latest Chrome in the next few days. But Safari should be fine provided you turn off Check Spelling While Typing. Not a big deal, as Spell Catcher's interactive checking does this for you.

And I'm not sure why you're finding Firefox's performance so poor - this isn't something I've noticed or heard of before...

I did mean 10.6.3. Sorry. And my problems with Safari have nothing to do with SC. They work very well together. It simply hangs for very long periods instead of promptly opening whatever, requiring a force quit. Not certain why, and haven't the chops or the time to research what is going on. Perhaps some kind of plug-in or extension. FireFox seems very slow loading, and again I'm not certain what is doing it. I like Chrome except for its behavior with expansions and spell checking. Thanks for your work on our behalf.

[jgmccue]

Evan,

II'm hhaving a hard ttime ffiguring why this would be a pproblem wwith Chrome.

Quote

Only the developers of Chrome can fix it. Please report it to them.

Your ddescription of what it's doing seems accurate.

Quote

I think the actual problem with Chrome is that it fails to backspace over the entire abbreviation or error word before inserting the expansion or correction. Does that not describe what you're seeing?

You can always turn off Spell Catcher's interactive features in Chrome simply by deselecting "Interactive Checking" in Spell Catcher's Input menu (yellow checkmark) when Chrome is the active application.

However, it seems like something that Spell Catcher would be more likely to deal with.

Furthermore, turning off Spell Catcher's interactive features would be the last thing II would want to do. As uyou ccan see iI use a lot of glossary wwhen iI type and iI wwould rather use another browser. Except that II rreally like Chrome. When it's not hhaving its pproblems wwith SC.

[MRubenzahl]

I sent the following to Google Chrome's feedback facility today:

Quote

Unfortunately, it is incompatible with Spell Catcher (http://www.rainmakerinc.com/), a system-wide spell corrector and glossary typing engine.

Spell Catcher works with just about everything else on the Mac, including Firefox and Safari. The problem is only with Chrome. (And it used to work with Chrome -- started failing a few months ago, probably with an upgrade.) Machine and rev details below.

The issue is with Spell Catcher's glossary feature which allows the user to type a shortcut and Spell Catcher substitutes a defined phrase. For instance, I type 'esp' and it replaces it with 'especially'. The issue is that when typing anywhere in Chrome, e.g. in a form, the backspacing and replacement fail and I get either the first letter repeated, or I get just the first letter. For instance, if I type 'esp', I get either 'eespecially' or just 'e'.

The developer, Evan Gross, is very good about support and upgrades and will surely work with you.

More: See the following thread:

http://goo.gl/UONk

Machine and rev: This happens for me on -two- different Macs, both using the latest revs: OS X 10.6.4; Chrome 6.0.472.63; Spell Catcher 10.3.6. It still happens when I disable all Chrome plug-ins.

[Evan Gross]

MRubenzahl, on 03 October 2010 - 06:08 PM, said:

I sent the following to Google Chrome's feedback facility today:

Thanks for sending that. A closer look just now reveals that they are probably committing one of the cardinal sins of text input handling on the Mac OS: failing to suppress a keyboard event when an input method tells the application to do so. This fouls up Spell Catcher in a number of ways. There is an application-specific setting in the input method that informs it of this fact, and the input method works around it by posting an extra backspace. This is a reasonably effective solution, but not at all perfect. The only true solution is for the app to be fixed to behave properly.

I have a preliminary build of an Input Method Tuner that can be used with Spell Catcher X 10.3.6 so this work around gets applied while working in Chrome.

Send an email to our feedback address and I can set you up with it so you can give it a try (and report back, of course).

[MRubenzahl]

Evan Gross, on 08 October 2010 - 03:09 PM, said:

I have a preliminary build of an Input Method Tuner that can be used with Spell Catcher X 10.3.6 so this work around gets applied while working in Chrome.

Send an email to our feedback address and I can set you up with it so you can give it a try (and report back, of course).

I tried it and it worked -- intermittently. I sent you a screencast to show exactly what I see but haven't heard back. Any thoughts?

[Evan Gross]

MRubenzahl, on 27 October 2010 - 06:42 PM, said:

I tried it and it worked -- intermittently. I sent you a screencast to show exactly what I see but haven't heard back. Any thoughts?

Well, all I can say is that it's a less-than-perfect (but better than nothing) work around for a very imperfect application…