Spell Check Lesson

Spell Checking Overview

Word processors have evolved over time, along with methods of spell checking documents.  One common spell checking key command for most versions of Microsoft Word and OpenOffice Writer is the F7 key.  When the F7 key is tapped one time the spell checker pops up.  In Word 2003, 2007 and 2010 a dialogue box appears with buttons for "Add, Change, Ignore," and others--the same is true for OpenOffice Writer.  In Microsoft Word 2013 a panel appears on the right side of the screen when the F7 key is tapped.  This panel is different, but usable for spell checking.  Another key that can bring up a type of spelling checking list of words is the Applications key.  If the cursor is on a word that is incorrectly spelled, and the Applications key is tapped one time, a list of alternate words appears.  If the word the cursor is on is spelled correctly, and the Applications key is tapped one time, a list of synonyms appears.  In OpenOffice Writer, when the Applications key is tapped on a correctly spelled word, the list of synonyms appears, along with a Thesaurus menu item.  The following set of lessons will cover spelling checking with the dialogue box (older versions of Word and OpenOffice Writer), the panel (Word 2013), and how to use the Applications key as a modified spell checker.

Spell Checking with the Applications Key

Spell Checking with the Applications key allows you to quickly check a word that you think you misspelled. For example, you can type the word "kitttty" (without the quotes), then left arrow one time.  Tap the Applications key (the key just left of the right side Control key on a standard QWERTY keyboard).  Immediately after you tap the Applications key one time a list of alternate words appears.  Down arrow through this list to find the word "kitty," and then tap the Enter key one time.  Your original word "kitttty" is now changed to the correct spelling "kitty."  Do the following to develop this skill.  You will need to Alt Tab to move between your document and this lesson.

 

1.  Open your word processor.

2.  Type the word "caaar" (without the quotes).

3.  Left arrow one time.

4.  Tap the Applications key one time.

5.  Down arrow through the list of alternate words until you hear or see the word "car."

6.  Tap the Enter key one time to change the original word "caaar" to the correct spelling "car."

7.  Tap the End key one time to be sure you are at the end of the line.

8.  Tap the Enter key one time to move to a new line.

9.  Type the sentence, "I have a neeeew coat" (without the quotes).

10.  Tap the Home key to be sure you are at the beginning of the line.

11.  Tap the F7 key one time and you will be immediately taken to the misspelled word "neeeew."

12.  Tap the Escape key (top left key on the standard QWERTY keyboard).

13.  Arrow onto the word "neeeew."

14.  Tap the Applications key one time.

15.  Down arrow through the list of alternate words until you hear or see the word "new."

16.  Tap the Enter key one time and the original word "neeeeew" is changed to the correct spelling "new."

NOTE:  The method of tapping the F7 key one time, which moves to the first incorrectly spelled word, and then tapping Escape, is a quick way to find misspelled words, and then use the Applications key to aid in making corrections.

 

NOTE:  If you spell a word that is not shown in the list of alternate words, tap the Escape key, highlight and retype the original word with a different spelling, and try again.  There will be times when the spell checker cannot find an alternative word--you may have to use an online search for the word, and then spell it in the document.

 

Spell Checking Using the Older F7 Dialogue Box

 

In earlier versions of Word, prior to Word 2013, tapping the F7 key brought up a dialogue box for spell checking.  OpenOffice Writer (word processor) continues to use this type of dialogue box.  This dialogue box at the top left shows the incorrect word in red, with the cursor being placed next to the word.  Just below this box is a "Suggestion" list of alternate words.  To the right side of the box are buttons for "Change, Change All, Ignore, Ignore All Add (to dictionary).  Following are simple key commands you can use, or you can Tab to the button you want and tap Enter one time (just one time).

 

Alt C change the word

Alt l change all spellings of the word in question

Alt i ignore the word one time

Alt g ignore all instances of the word

Alt a add the word to your word processor dictionary

 

There are other items in the spell checker dialogue box, but the above are the most common key commands.

 

You can also do Control Shift and left or right arrow (depends on where the cursor is) to highlight the word, type a different spelling of the word, and then press Alt c to change the word.  Another method is to tap the Escape key to go out of the spell checker, then highlight the word, and then type a different spelling of the word, followed by a space if it is not connected to a punctuation such as a period.

 

Do the following to learn this skill.  You will need to Alt Tab between your document and this lesson.

 

1.  Open your word processor.

2.  Type the sentence, "I haaave a laaarge cat" (without the quotes)--have needs to be incorrectly spelled with three "a's" and large needs to be incorrectly spelled with three "a's."

3.  Press Control Home to be sure you are at the top of the document.

4.  Tap the F7 key one time.  Listen to what the screen reader is saying, or look for a highlighted word if you are using vision.

5.  Hit the Tab key one time to move to the "Suggestion" list of words.

6.  Practice using your down and up arrow keys to see what words are in this list.

7.  When you hear or see the word you want in the list, press and hold Alt and tap the letter c just one time.

8.  Your spell checker has now moved to the next word.  You are probably to the right of that word.  Try pressing and holding down Alt Shift keys and tapping the left arrow one time.  If you do not hear the word, try Alt Shift right arrow.  When you do have the word highlighted, type the word you want, followed by a space, if the word is not connected to punctuation.

9.  Press and hold down the Alt key and tap the letter c to change the word to what you have just typed.

10.  Tap the Control End keys to move to the bottom of the document.

11.  Tap the Enter key one time.

12.  Type the acronyms (use your right arrow key one tap at a time to hear how the following acronyms are spelled)  "NAACP AER AFB NFB ACB AFB AER AFB AFB" (without the quotes).

13.  Tap the Home key one time to be sure you are at the beginning of the line.

14.  Tap the F7 key one time to bring up the spell checker.

15.  If you hear or see "NAACP" highlighted, press and hold the Alt key and tap the letter a to add this to your word processor dictionary--you spell checker will no longer flag this as incorrect.

16.  Your spell checker will now be on "AER."  Press and hold down the Alt key and tap the letter i to ignore "AER."  This will only ignore "AER" one time, and will continue to flag "AER" if is is present somewhere else in your document.

17.  Your spell checker will now be on "AFB."  There are four other instances of "AFB" in your document.  You could use Alt i to ignore "AFB" one instance at a time, but this is slow and inefficient.  Press and hold down the Alt key and tap the letter g to ignore all instances of "AFB."  This is much quicker and productive.

18.  Your spell checker will now be on "ACB."  There is only one instance of "ACB" in your document, and you decide that you want this "ACB" added to your dictionary.  Press Alt a to add "ACB" to your dictionary.

19.  Tap the Escape key one time to be sure you are out of your spell checker--you probably had a box pop up telling you that you were done, and have already tapped the Enter or space bar to close that box.

20.  Press Control End to make sure you are at the bottom of the document.

21.  Type "caaat caaat caaat" (without the quotes).  Each instance of the word needs to be incorrectly spelled with three "a's."

22.  Tap the Home key to be sure you are at the beginning of the line.

23.  Tap the F7 key one time and you will hear or see the first flagged word "caaat."

24.  Hit the Tab key one time to move to the "Suggestion" list.

25.  Down or up arrow until you hear the word "cat."

26.  Press and hold down the Alt key and tap the letter l to change all three identical misspellings to the correct spelling "cat."

Make up your own words and acronyms and then practice the above key commands until you feel comfortable.

 

 

Using the F7 Panel Spell Checker in Word 2013

Using the F7 Panel Spell Checker brings up a panel in Microsoft Word 2013, on the right side of the Word screen. The word "Spelling" is at the top left of this panel, and just under it is the word in question. This word is generally written in large blue font.  Some screen readers may not read this flagged word, so you may need to rely on the list of alternate words, or tap Escape one time to read what word has been flagged, and then tap F7 again to resume the spell checker.  Under the word that is in question, or has been flagged as possibly incorrect, are three buttons, going left to right.  These buttons are "Ignore", "Ignore All", and "Add."  If you add the word to the Word Dictionary it will not be flagged as possibly incorrect in the future.  Just under the three buttons is a list of alternate words.  Sometimes there might be just one alternate, sometimes there will be no alternates, and in some cases there will be a longer list of possible words.  Under the list of alternate words are two more buttons, going left to right.  These buttons are:  "Change," and "Change All."  Just under the "Change" and "Change All" buttons is the word from the alternate list that has the cursor over it.  Under this word are Synonym words.  Under the list of synonyms is a combo box word selecting languages. 

Alt c to change and other Alt commands do not work in the Word 2013 Spell Checker.  When a word is moved to on the list of alternate words, whatever button you were last on, is the button still highlighted.  For example, if you were on the “Change All” button, that is the button that will be used when you change the next word.  If you want a different button, either Shift Tab to move to the three buttons above the list of alternate words, or Tab to move to the two buttons below the list, and then use your arrow keys to select the button you want, and then tap the Enter key one time to activate the button and change the word.  When all of the words have been checked, the spell checker will indicate that it is finished and will close.

Parts of the spell checker panel can expand, depending on what is being done.  It is important to remember where you are in the panel to avoid confusion and mistakes.  If you have Word 2013, open it and type three words incorrectly, tap F7, and explore this panel--become very familiar with how the arrow keys, Tab and Shift Tab work.  Also experiment with the buttons for changing, adding and ignoring words.

Using the Word 2013 Spell Checker Panel with Key Commands

Using the Word 2013 Spell Checker panel with key commands can be difficult when you are first learning.  One example for screen reader users is when the flagged word does not read, and you suddenly find yourself at the combo box for selecting your native language.  The following is an attempt to make this process as easy as possible, with the idea that each screen reader may have its own quirks.  Practice the following to familiarize yourself with the Word 2013 Spell Checker panel.  You will need to Alt Tab between your document and this lesson.  Each time you do this you will need to tap the F7 key to go back into the spell checker in your document.

1.  Open your word processor.

2.  Type the words "kittty" "cooow" and "dooog" (without the quotes, and with three t's in kitty, three o's in cow and three o's in dog).

3.  Tap the Home key one time to move to the beginning of the line.

4.  Tap the F7 key one time to bring up the Spell Checker panel (it will appear on the right side of the Word document/screen).

5.  The word "Kittty" is highlighted in the document, and you are ready to experiment.

6.  You are probably on the "Ignore" button.  Your screen reader might have spoken the flagged word and spelled, or it might not have done this.  Tap the left arrow one time and you will probably hear "Language Combo Box..."

7.  Right arrow one time and you will once again hear the "Ignore" button.

8.  Tap the right arrow key to move through the three buttons and onto the list of alternative words.  Down arrow through this list.  Notice, at the end of the list you are not able to move to the two buttons below the list.  Hit the Tab key one time to move onto the first of these buttons.  You can now Tab or right arrow to move to the second button.

9.  Shift Tab until you are back in the list of alternative words, up arrow to the top of the list, and then press Shift Tab to move to the three buttons above the list.  You can then left arrow to move backwards through these buttons.

Practice Using the Word 2013 Spell Checker

Remember that the Alt c, Alt g, and other Alt short cut keys do not currently work in Word 2013.  This may change over time, but for now you will need to use the buttons to do tasks in the spell checker such as change a word, ignore a word, add a word, and so on.  Do the following to make actual word corrections in Word 2013, using the spell checker.  You will need to Alt Tab between your document and this lesson.

1.  Open Word 2013.

2.  Type the words "kitttty cooow dooog" (without the quotes, and use the letter t four times in kitty and the letter o three times in the words cow and dog.

3.  Tap the Home key one time to go to the beginning of the line.

4.  Tap the F7 key one time to go into the spell checker.

5.  You may hear the incorrect "k i t t t y" spelled out.  You will be on the ignore button.  Either Tab or right arrow until you get to the alternate word list--there will be only one word "kitty" on this list.

6.  Tab one time and you will be on the "Change" button.

7.  Tap the Enter key one time and the word will be corrected and you will be moved to the next word "c o o o w," and the cursor will be on the change button.

8.   Shift Tab one time to move to the alternate words list.

9.  Use the up or down arrow key to find the word "cow."

10.  Tab one time to the "Change" button.

11.  Tap the Enter key one time and the word is corrected and you are moved to the word "d o o o g," and placed on the "Change button.

12.  Shift Tab one time to move to the alternate words list.

13.  Use your up or down arrow to find the word "dog."

14.  Tab one time to move to the change button.

15.  Tap the Enter key one time to change the incorrect "d o o o g" to the correct spelling "d o g."

16.  The spell checker is finished and will close.

NOTE:  One area of confusion with Word spell checker 2013 is that sometimes, when you are on the "Change" button you can actually up arrow one time to get into the alternative words list, while at other times you cannot.  Therefore, Shift Tab from the "Change" button going up to the alternative words list seems to be best practice as far as consistency.

17.  Press Control a to highlight all three words in your current document.

18.  Type "d o o o g" with a space between each word, three times.

19.  Tap the Home key to move to the beginning of the line.

20.  Tap the F7 key one time to go into the spell checker.

21.  Tab or right arrow to get to the alternate words list.

22.  Use your up or down arrow key to fine the word "dog."

23.  Tab to the "Change All" button.

24.  Tap the Enter key one time and all three incorrect spellings "d o o o g" will be changed to the correct spelling "d o g."

 

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