5 replies to this topic

[dbnfred]

I've been shopping for a solution in this category of software lately. Out of 6 apps, I came up with 2 finalists; SCP and As-u-type (AUT). It is hard to make a decision. However, I can tell you SCP seems to be winning so far and I may end up acquiring it. On the plus side, SCP is far more developed, has more features. On the minus side, it is more buggy and I found some idiosyncrasies that concern me. First, with AUT, it is very easy to include/execlude applications based on app name or window title (within same app.). As good as I wished SCP to be, it has a very awakward and poorly-thought of logic implemeting this feature. This can be risky. I can imagine myself working on a telnet windows managing a critical application and NOT being able to disable SCP. I could not get SPC to exexclude DOS window. I was able to do it for Putty, though. SCP just never recognized DOS window as active and therefore, was out of reach. For those apps that added successfully, I was able to disable shorthand expansion, phrase completion, but could NOT disable spell checking. The later was saved in same session, but will get lost when you reboot or restart the app.

To be fair, I must highlight the unique featueres that I could not find in all other apps. The ability to check existing text and thesaurus is truly useful.

So, in nut shell, I would like to to get some input on why could not SCP recognize DOS window so I can exclude it? Why disabling spell check did not save between reboots (all others did) for the selected app?, and finally, how can I set SCP to accept enter key as similar to hitting the correct spelling index on the pop window?

Thanks

[John Tytler]

Hi,

Thanks for your post, glad to hear you are considering Spell Catcher.

Your concerns about turning Spell Catcher on/off for any particular application are easily addressed. What you can try is to assign a hot key (F2 works for me) to Spell Catcher's Interactive Checking menu item. Then, when I want to turn Spell Catcher on or off when I'm working with a particular application - I can press F2 to toggle Spell Catcher's Interactive Checking features. Use another key if you are currently using F2 to invoke something in one of the apps you are using.

The checkmark in the taskbar is yellow if Spell Catcher is watching as you type and red when it is not. Spell Catcher does remember these settings from session to session - be sure that you are using the latest build #1792 - since a previous build was released earlier this spring that did have a problem with saving settings.

About DOS windows, Spell Catcher doesn't work in them because it uses a Windows API to track what keys you have pressed... so Spell Catcher is never aware that you are typing in a DOS window. Spell Catcher only helps you with your typing in Windows applications.

When an error is detected and the yellow (you can change this color) correction popup appears, you can either:

Press the corresponding number to select a correction

- or -

Use the up/down arrow keys to select a correction and then press the enter key once you've selected the correct word.

NOTE: You can configure Spell Catcher to require that you use the up/down arrow keys to activate the popup correction list. This allows you to type a number after an error has been reported without the number being used to select a correction - instead the number you typed is inserted into your document.

Hope all this is clear... get back to me here if you have further questions.
Thanks for asking,
John Tytler
Author - Spell Catcher Plus
Rainmaker Research, Inc.

[dbnfred]

Thanks for the prompt response. Let me be more specific with my issues.

1- By design, you have created SCP with 'applications' settings pannel so that users case customize its behavior per application. In this panel, you have a READ ONLY control with label 'The current application is'. I have no idea when you made it ready only. Almost all other apps (autotyping and as-u-type) give you drop down box that is populated dynamically of all currently running apps. You can easily and elegantly choose any app and customise it accordingly. I use Putty for as my telent client, I just could NOT know how to get this app to show as the current app. There is no documented way to do this. SCP started auto-correcting my Unix commands and really it needed no business with it. I just wanted to turn it off once and for all for this app.

2- With as-u-type app, I was able (when I was testing it) to customize it so that it stops checking certain windows within same app. E.g. I use Editplus as my scripting tool (php, perl,...). I also use it to write quizes for my kids. I can tell as-u-type to NOT check any windows where there '.pl' extension but be active with any '.txt. Files, all within same text editor. SPC is in many ways a mature product and you would expect to see these features in it.

3- After I read you reply I did another test. After trial and error (I really did not know how) SCP finally recognized notepad in 'the current application is' control. For this app., I disabled phrase completion, sound, shorhad exapnsion, and error detection. Then I exited SCP and upon restarting it, it retained all above settings EXCEPT for disabling error detection (i.e. detect spelling errors was checked again). It does that all the time. Initially, I thought this was a restriction in the trial version. I'm using 3.0.0 build 1792.

Despite all this, I thing you have done a marvellous job making this product available with such a vast array of features.

Thanks.

[dbnfred]

Hi all,
May I ask for a response please?

[John Tytler]

Hi Fred,

The Applications panel in the Settings dialog lets you create unique settings for any particular application. However, as you pointed out, this process is not as intuitive as it should or could be and is not fully discussed in the documentation.

To create settings for a particular application you have to do the following:

1: Begin working with the application that you want to have custom settings. The best way to do this is to type into a window in that application.

2: Go immediately to Spell Catcher's checkmark in the system tray (without clicking on any other windows) and open the settings dialog, then go to that applications panel. You should see the name of the application that you were using most recently in the READ-ONLY box.

3: From there, it's simple to create settings for that specific application.

NOTE: If all you want to do for a specific application is turn Spell Catcher off completely - there is no need for specific application settings - just select "Interactive Checking" from Spell Catcher's menu when working with that application to alternately turn Spell Catcher on/off for that application. As suggested earlier, I assign a hot key to this menu item to be able to quickly turn Spell Catcher on and off when I want too.

Currently Spell Catcher doesn't let you have it on or off based on the extension of the file you are editing, as does As-U-Type, admittedly a nice touch. Assigning a hot key as described above is almost as easy - though not as elegant.

Finally, I have to thank you for finding a bug pertaining to the "Error Detection" panel -> Detect Spelling Errors checkbox - I'll have to look into this today.

Thanks for your post... I always appreciate reports such as yours that detail issues so well that it is easy to track them down.

John Tytler,
Author - Spell Catcher Plus
Rainmaker Research, Inc.

[dbnfred]

Just for the record...
The issues to SCP not retaining 'disable error checking' has been fixed. I thank John for his adept intervention.