Spelling References

The References pane shows a list of the various files Spell Catcher uses during spell checking, organized by language. Think of it as the main “control centre” for your own customized word lists and shorthands, and for the default lists and databases that Spell Catcher comes with. Because it’s such a common place to visit, there is a Spelling References command in both Spell Catcher’s Input menu and Dock menu that opens the Preferences window straight to the References pane.

Understanding and Using the References List

• This list shows only spelling-related references, those used by the Look Up command are shown in the Look Up window’s sidebar.
• The order of languages in the list corresponds to your preferred ordering in the Language tab of Language & Text System Preferences.
• Click the disclosure triangle to the left of a language item to view the references available for that language. Note that some types of reference documents can be configured for use with multiple languages, and appear in the list below each of those languages.
• A icon in the right-most column means the reference can’t be edited. Main Spellings and Additional Spellings references can’t be edited (they are specially-formatted compressed databases). Other types of references would be considered “not editable” because either the file is locked in the Finder, or the ownership and permissions of the file are set such that you have read access only.
  Tip: To edit a file that is locked in the Finder, select it in the list, choose Show in Finder via the Action button, in the Finder choose File > Get Info, and deselect the Locked checkbox.
• To find out where a particular reference document exists on your hard disk, hover the mouse over an item in the list to see it’s path, select it and view the path control below the list, or select it and choose Show in Finder from the Action button.
• Select a single reference in the list to see a summary of its contents (below the list).
• Open a reference document to view or edit it (add new Learned Words or Shorthands for instance) by double-clicking it, select it in the list and press Return or Enter, or choose Edit from the Action button.
• Control which references should actually be examined when checking spelling and making shorthand expansions by selecting or deselecting the checkbox in the Use? column.
• Control which references should be Synced with MobileMe by selecting or deselecting the checkbox in the (Sync) column.
• The list will always show references that are built-into the Spell Catcher application, and those that are in the Additional Languages, Additional References, and References folders inside Spell Catcher’s Application Support folder (home Library/Application Support/Spell Catcher). These references cannot be removed from the list with the [-] button.
• You can add references that reside outside the specific folders mentioned above by choosing Add References… from the action button, or dragging them to the list from the Finder. You can add Spell Catcher X, Spell Catcher 8, and Spell Catcher Plus format reference files. Reference files added this way can be removed from the list using the [-] button.
• To use a reference document that resides on a network volume, make an alias to it in the Finder, and place the alias into the References folder in Spell Catcher’s Application Support folder. If multiple users are sharing a reference this way, it’s best to limit the write access to the file to the person that maintains its contents.
• Control-click references in the list for a shortcut menu with the available actions for those references.

Other Options

• Ask before saving changes to documents. Controls whether reference documents are automatically saved when you close the document’s window when you’re finished editing it.
• Autosave modified reference documents: Choose how often Spell Catcher should automatically save a reference document after being modified.

Creating New References

Create new Learned Words, Shorthand Glossary, and Omitted Words reference documents by choosing the corresponding type from the New menu in the action button, or the File > New menu in the Spell Catcher application.