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 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."