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This is applicable to all versions of Spell Catcher X (and any other input method or keyboard), but not generally an issue with Spell Catcher X 10.1 and later. The 10.1.x and 10.2.x versions of Spell Catcher X will configure the input menu automatically whenever it installs or updates its input method component.
Tiger users: Make sure you are using Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later! An important bug related to the input menu (in general) was fixed in Mac OS X 10.4.3.
If you are using an Intel Macintosh, make sure that you have Spell Catcher X version 10.2.2 (or later) installed.
Open System Preferences from the Apple menu or Dock, click the International icon, select the Input Menu tab, scroll to find Spell Catcher in the list, then check the box next to Spell Catcher in the "On" column. You should see a menu appear (as a flag icon, representing your default or chosen keyboard), in the right-hand side of the menu bar. This is known as the input menu. If you pull down the input menu, you should Spell Catcher as an item in your input menu.
View this movie to see exactly how this is done. Note how the Input Menu appears (seen here as a US Flag added to the right side of the menu bar) as soon as you turn on Spell Catcher. Also note how to deactivate Spell Catcher's input method by choosing a keyboard (flag icon).
Two other features (new in Tiger) are demonstrated near the end of the movie. You can choose whether the name of the current input source is shown or hidden (the "Show Input Source Name" or "Hide Input Source Name" command near the bottom of the input menu). A more important setting appears in Input source options. This option is described in another FAQ - Set your International, Input Menu Preferences Appropriately.
Open System Preferences from the Apple menu or Dock, click the International icon, select the Input Menu tab, scroll to find Spell Catcher in the list, then check the box next to Spell Catcher. You should now see a small flag in the right-hand side of the menu bar (US flag if your default language is US English), that will have Spell Catcher as an option.
View this movie to see exactly how this is done. Note how the Input Menu appears (seen as a US Flag added to the right side of the menu bar) as soon as you turn on Spell Catcher. Also note how to turn Spell Catcher's input method OFF by choosing the US keyboard (flag), and the very handy Input Mode Palette.
Open System Preferences from the Apple menu or Dock, click the International icon, select the Input Menu tab, turn the check box next to Spell Catcher OFF, then turn it ON, and quit System Preferences. You should now see a small flag in the menu bar (US flag if your default language is US English), that will have Spell Catcher as an option.
View this movie to see exactly how this is done. Note how the Input Menu appears (seen as a US Flag added to the application's menu bar) as soon as you turn on Spell Catcher. Also note how to turn Spell Catcher's input method OFF, done at the very end of the movie.
The fact that Spell Catcher is initially ON in the list after installing, but the Input Menu is not visible is a (not tremendously serious, but possibly confusing) bug in Mac OS X 10.2 (all versions as of this writing).
Spell Catcher X, starting with version 10.2.2, is built as a Universal application and component, and will run natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macintosh computers. If you're using Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later, on an Intel or PowerPC Mac, this is the version you want.
Get it from our Downloads page.
See what's new in Spell Catcher X 10.2.3.
See what's new in Spell Catcher X 10.2.2.
All Spell Catcher products/versions require that you Quit or Exit Spell Catcher prior to uninstalling.
Spell Catcher X also requires you to deactivate its input method by choosing a different input source from the input menu. See our FAQs related to these topics if you're having trouble - How do I "Choose a Keyboard?" and How do I Quit Spell Catcher?.
Use the Uninstall Spell Catcher X application that's on the installation disk image or CD. If you no longer have the installer, you can download the uninstaller from our Mac OS X Downloads page.
Choose Exit Spell Catcher from the checkmark menu in the System Tray.
Use Window's Add/Remove Programs feature to uninstall Spell Catcher Plus.
Choose Quit Spell Catcher from the checkmark menu in the menu bar.
Use the Spell Catcher 8 installer, choose the Uninstall option from the main window.
At certain times, you must choose a keyboard (flag icon) from the input menu to deactivate Spell Catcher X's input method. This may be required to Quit the Spell Catcher X application so you can update, uninstall or re-install the software.
View the QuickTime movie below to see how to do this. There are other ways as well - Mac OS X has built-in keyboard shortcuts for switching between keyboards and input methods. Visit System Preferences, International, Input Menu tab, click the Keyboard Shortcuts (or Options) button.
Once you have chosen a flag, you can log out or restart and Spell Catcher's input method will not activate.
Starting with Spell Catcher X 10.1, you can also accomplish this (in most cases) directly from the Interactive pane of Spell Catcher's Preferences window.
Note: Deactivating Spell Catcher's input method in this manner is not equivalent to "Choosing a keyboard" as illustrated above. We're not exactly sure why this is (Mac OS X bug?), therefore we recommend using the input menu.
If you ever want to know what a particular button, control or other widget does, hover the mouse over the item in question for a few seconds. Spell Catcher X has help tags for almost every item in its user interface. Some are dynamically created - hover over the Shorthand button in the Check Selection window for instance.
First, read our FAQ about keyboard layouts and input methods if you aren't familiar with these Mac OS concepts.
If you're not a fan of interactive checking, or don't want it on because the task you're performing doesn't require it to be on, there's no need to activate Spell Catcher from the Input Menu. There are plenty of other ways to access Spell Catcher's commands.
Right-click, control-click, or click-and-hold Spell Catcher's icon in the Dock. Chances are good that the command you need is in the Dock Menu.
Spell Catcher X adds two items to the Services menu - Modify Selection and Spell Catcher. If the application you are using supports Services (all Cocoa apps, an increasing number of Carbons apps - MS Office v.X apps do not support Services) you should use Spell Catcher's services for commands that operate on selected text. This is more efficient than using either the Dock menu or the same command from the input menu.
There are numerous commands that can only be accessed from within the Spell Catcher application itself. This includes editing Spell Catcher documents (Learned Words, Shorthand Glossary, etc.), Modify Selection Macros, and more. Don't forget that Spell Catcher is an application just like any other, and that Spell Catcher documents are no different from other documents you create and manage. They can be opened from the Finder, the Open Recent menu, from various places within the Spell Catcher application itself, from the Dock (if you place them there), or using any utility that has the ability to open documents (too numerous to mention).
Spell Catcher X integrates fully with the standard Mac OS X Spelling Panel. The Spelling Panel is available in almost every OS X application written using Cocoa, and in a select few Carbon applications.
Using Spell Catcher X with the Spelling Panel is basically the same as using Apple's built-in spelling services, and provides more functionality than Apple's. Spell Catcher X will detect all types of errors (but can only detect Missing Capitals and Repeated Words when you use the Spelling... and Check Spelling commands), play your Error Signal sounds, and even allow you to make Shorthand expansions.
Quitting the Spell Catcher X application changed significantly in version 10.2.2. Do yourself a favor, make sure you're using Spell Catcher X 10.2.2 or later, and forget about all the "tips and tricks" related to quitting previous versions.
That's it! Unlike previous versions, there's no need to choose a keyboard from the input menu, and the Spell Catcher application will reliably "stay Quit".
Quitting the Spell Catcher application wasn't quite so straightforward prior to version 10.2.2. If you are still running one of these older versions, read on. If you're using Spell Catcher X 10.2.2 or later, the above is all you need to know.
Spell Catcher X 10.2.3 is compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard). There are some issues that you should be aware of (listed below). If you follow the advice given for each, you should be able to use Spell Catcher as always, without sacrificing any of the features you are accustomed to or require.
That said, we are working on a major upgrade to Spell Catcher X that will take advantage of many new-in-Leopard technologies, and offer a slew of new features for both Tiger and Leopard users. Sorry, it's too early to give a release date, however beta testing has (recently) begun.
First things first: Make sure you are using Spell Catcher X 10.2.3! You can always get the latest installer from our Downloads page.
The way Mac OS X locates applications that provide services (via the Services menu, or other services such as those used by the system-wide spelling service) has changed in Leopard. Because of this change (debatably a bug), the Spell Catcher application will not be automatically launched by the Mac OS when one of the services it provides is requested. This leads to timeouts, followed by alerts such as "Can't contact spell checker" (note that the alert says "checker" - not "Catcher" - as it is a generic alert), or "The "whatever" service could not be used because the "provider-of-whatever" application did not respond to a request for services". Here's an example of this alert:
If the Spell Catcher application is open when one of its services is requested, you won't run into this problem. Generally speaking, if you're using Spell Catcher's input method, the application will be open. For those that don't use interactive checking, or open the Spell Catcher application only as-needed, we have a 100% effective solution.
Attached to this article is an updated version of the Spell Catcher Services.service application, normally found in your home ~/Library/Services folder.
Now the Spell Catcher application should automatically launch when one of its services is requested, the timeout errors will no longer occur.
Another Services-related problem (this one is definitely a Leopard regression) can affect all services (not just Spell Catcher's) that are able to operate on more than one format of text. Spell Catcher's Check Selection and Modify Selection services can take plain text, rich text (RTF) or rich text with attachments (RTFD). The richest representation that the application provides is used in order to best preserve formatting. In Mac OS X 10.5 (I suspect this one will get fixed in a system update as it's quite nasty), only the first format in the list of the acceptable formats provided by the application is actually provided. So if the application can handle rich text, but the first format in its list is plain text, then it will only get plain text! Order has never mattered in any previous version of Mac OS X.
Apple's TextEdit application won't exhibit any problems with its "New Window Containing Selection" service. Luckily, it lists formats in richest-to-plainest order.
On the other hand, Apple's Stickies application lists formats in plainest-to-richest order. So if you choose Services > Make New Sticky Note on a selection of text with styles or embedded images, they won't appear in the new note - you'll only get plain text.
Unfortunately (at least for now, until this bug gets fixed) Spell Catcher's services don't list formats in richest-to-plainest order. So using a Modify Selection or Spell Catcher service from the Services menu will return you a plain text result. Fortunately, there are two other ways to perform a Spell Catcher service, and neither are affected by this problem. So for now, if you are operating on rich or styled text selections, you should choose the Modify Selection service from either Spell Catcher's input menu, or from the Spell Catcher application's Dock Menu. Send feedback to Apple that you want this one fixed!
This one's a bummer. So close...just not quite right yet. Many problems related to support for input methods in WebKit (used for composing messages in Mail, used for forms in Safari, used for text in Dashboard widgets) have been addressed, implemented and fixed in Leopard. I credit Spell Catcher owners for voting for these bugs to be fixed on WebKit's open source site! However, there's one problem with the way that direct replacement of text from an input method works (at this point in time, I suspect it will get fixed) that causes nasty things to happen - at least with Spell Catcher X 10.2.3. The symptoms are generally that the replacement text is inserted (not necessarily replaced), and then followed by what usually appears to be underlined Chinese-looking garbage Unicode characters. You don't really need to know the gory details (I only figured out what was really going on within the last 24 hours), but there is a 100% effective solution for this one as well. Maybe not a 100% optimal solution, but 100% effective.
Anyway, for now, with Spell Catcher X 10.2.3 on Mac OS X 10.5, you still have to turn off the Interactive preference to "Make replacements directly without backspacing". The same may applies to Safari and Dashboard widgets. Same applies for Pages (same problem, different text editing engine, though). The reason you still have to turn off direct replacements is entirely different from the reason it was necessary on Tiger. I do have a work-around that will appear in the upcoming upgrade to Spell Catcher X. Sigh.
There are a couple of issues with the Suggest Spelling window, specifically with the editable text (Use:) field. Apple made a pretty low-level, fundamental change to the way input methods interact with background applications. I reported that this was a very nasty change, and Apple did provide me with a semi-effective work around for Leopard. This work-around will be in the upcoming upgrade I'm working on.
Unfortunately (at least for now with Spell Catcher X 10.2.3 on Leopard) it's advisable to stay away from using the editable text (Use:) field in the Suggest Spelling window. In fact, it's probably best to avoid making the Suggest Spelling window the key window at all (clicking in the Use: text field or the title bar will do this). I'd recommend making sure that the "Keystrokes go to the Suggest Spelling window" preference is OFF (Spell Catcher preferences, Interactive pane, Spelling tab, Suggest Spelling window tab).
We are hearing from some customers about difficulties getting Spell Catcher's input method to activate, or even appear in International System Prefs. So far, most have been solved by trashing the preference file that contains your input menu configuration, restarting and then configuring it manually from scratch. To do this, navigate to your home ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost folder, trash all the files named like "com.apple.HIToolbox.#####.plist". Restart immediately. Empty the Trash once you're logged in again. Open System Preferences, International, Input Menu tab, and configure things manually.
Others report that simply toggling an input source on and off (any input source) is all that was needed to get things working properly. This makes sense as the above-mentioned preference file likely gets re-written to disk, and (hopefully) in the process any old or otherwise invalid contents or entries would be removed.
What often works is to navigate to home ~/Library/Components in the Finder, drag the Spell Catcher.component out to the Desktop, then drag it back into the Components folder, then Restart right away. This seems to get the system to "notice" the component, and that the Text Services and Component caches need to be rebuilt the next time the system starts up.
A recent posting in our forums from a customer that was having trouble in this area discovered that moving the Spell Catcher.component out of his home ~/Library/Components folder into the (top-level) /Library/Components folder was an effective solution. You'll need administrator privileges to do this, but it's worth a try if you can't find another solution.
For a few customers, the reasons they are having trouble with the input menu or input method are far more severe. I've seen two cases where incompatible-with-Leopard software is loading early (at system startup) or as a plug-in, causing all sorts of havoc. Be sure to check all your migrated-over Extensions, StartupItems, Frameworks, Components, Contextual Menu Items, PreferencePanes, ScriptingAdditions and the like. If you're seeing serious problems, clues usually appear in the Console log (/Applications/Utilities/Console).
If you perform an upgrade install, be aware that the Spell Catcher.component (input method, the item that appears in the Input Menu tab of International System Preferences, required for interactive checking) should be copied from your previous home folder, but will not be activated by default. You'll likely have to choose Spell Catcher from the input menu one time yourself. If, after upgrading to Leopard, you don't see Spell Catcher in the list of Input Menu items in International System Preferences, check to see that the Spell Catcher.component file exists in your home ~/Library/Components directory. If it doesn't exist, visit Spell Catcher's Interactive Preferences - there will be a button there you can click to install it. More about activating Spell Catcher's input method can be found in this FAQ.
You must use Spell Catcher X 10.2 on Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). Spell Catcher X version 10.2 was released in January, 2005, and is fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.4.x.
Apple changed the way that add-on (dynamic, changeable on-the-fly) services need to be implemented on Tiger (all in all, probably a good change IMO). Unfortunately, backwards compatibility for add-on services that work on 10.2 and 10.3 was not implemented in Tiger. Mac OS X 10.4 tends to choke on them, with "unexpected" results.
Spell Catcher X uses add-on services for the Services > Modify Selection menu, and for the languages it adds to the Mac OS X Spelling Panel.
The "Spell Catcher Services.service" application that's in your home Library/Services directory provides the "front-end" for these add-on services.
This app is created by Spell Catcher when you first launch it, and updated whenever you add a new language plug-in or change which Modify Selection Macros are to appear in the Services menu.
The Spell Catcher Services.service app that's created by older versions of Spell Catcher X (i.e. 10.1.3 and older) is NOT compatible with Tiger, and can be the cause of strange things happening.
Specifically, if you see messages in the Console one of the ones below,
-[NSCFArray addObject:]: attempt to insert nil
*** Assertion failure in -[NSMenu itemAtIndex:], Menus.subproj/NSMenu.m
Invalid parameter not satisfying: (index >= 0) && (index < (_itemArray ? CFArrayGetCount((CFArrayRef)_itemArray) : 0))
an old Spell Catcher Services.service app from Spell Catcher X 10.1.3 or earlier may be the cause. Some other similar service-providing app from other products have similar issues. All products that have dynamic add-on services are candidates.
It doesn't even matter where it is on your hard disk - it doesn't have to be in a Library/Services directory. It can even reside in a backup of your home directory on a non-bootable drive.
Basically, the OS X Spelling Panel and the various services it provides won't work. Try to open the Spelling Panel by choosing Edit > Spelling > Spelling, and nothing happens (except an error message to the Console). Checking spelling as-you-type via the Spelling Panel won't work, either.
These failures can manifest themselves in other unexpected ways, like when Mail tries to perform a spell check when you send a message. Perhaps it will be fine, perhaps the message will fail to send, hard to say exactly.
Use the Finder's Find command to search for applications with the name "Spell Catcher Services.service". If you find a copy with a version number earlier than 10.2, trash it!
You may have to log out and in again or restart to clear things up afterwards.
Even if you have Spell Catcher X 10.2 installed on your Tiger volume, if you have an old copy of a previous system around that contains a 10.1.3 or earlier version of the Spell Catcher Services.service application, you can be affected by this issue. Follow the above advice if you suspect this is the case.
After you install Spell Catcher X 10.2.1 (or later) on Mac OS X 10.4.x (Tiger), Spotlight will not index your Spell Catcher reference documents until you actually make a change to one of them and save the change to disk. There are a couple of ways you can force (ask?) Spotlight to index your references.
Third-party utilities are available that present a nice UI for controlling your Spotlight indices. Take a visit to VersionTracker and search for "spotlight".
If you're OK with entering commands using the Terminal app (Applications/Utilities), you can use these commands (copy and paste them into the Terminal, hit enter):
If you placed the Spell Catcher application in your startup drive's Applications folder, the following will tell Spotlight to index every file that Spell Catcher's Spotlight plug-in can handle (Learned Words, Shorthand Glossary and Omitted Words reference documents):
/usr/bin/mdimport -r /Applications/Spell\ Catcher.app/Contents/Library/Spotlight/Spell\ Catcher.mdimporter
If just want to index the Spell Catcher references in your own home directory (specifically, in Spell Catcher's Application Support folder, where most folks keep them):
/usr/bin/mdimport ~/Library/Application\ Support/Spell\ Catcher/
We've wrapped the above two commands in executable Terminal .command files that you can double-click to run in the Terminal. These don't require admin privileges, and you can view them in TextEdit to re-assure yourselves that there's nothing other than the above commands in them!
Here's the scoop: Mail's message composer (draft messages) is currently a pretty big mess. In lots of different ways. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Interactive features should work well in Mail with Spell Catcher X 10.2.1 and later. But there's more to this sad story...
Check Selection and Modify Selection: Not good. Mail's Services support is quite broken. To top it all off, draft Mail messages, when saved to disk as RTF or RTF with attachments, or copied to the clipboard, well, don't even remotely preserve the contents of the message you're composing. If you have attachments, say good-bye to them. They don't get saved to disk or written to the clipboard properly.
In fact, it's a simple matter to illustrate this to yourself (you'll crash the Finder). Create a new message in Mail, drag in an image (jpeg, png, pdf, whatever) attachment. Select All, Copy, switch to the Finder. Choose Show Clipboard from the Edit menu. Crash. Not good.
There's more, just go search the various Mac troubleshooting sites and Apple's discussion boards (and our own forums!) to see the kind of troubles that are waiting for you to run into.
For now, if you're not an interactive checking kind of person, we recommend using the Mac OS X Spelling Panel in conjunction with Spell Catcher X in Mail. Tread carefully when using Check Selection or other Services. This stuff just doesn't work properly yet in Mail and other apps that use the same text editing view. We sure hope Apple fixes this sooner than later.
Spell Catcher X 10.2.3 was just released, visit our Downloads page and grab it! You should also take a look at what's new.
There's a new text editing view on Tiger - an editable version of the view that Safari and many other applications use to display web content. Mail (on Tiger) uses these when composing messages. Some Dashboard widgets use these for user-editable content (Stickies for instance).
Unfortunately, these views don't yet support Spell Catcher's "Make replacements directly without backspacing" preference (in the Interactive pane, Typing tab). When Spell Catcher asks the view whether it supports this, the answer is "yes". But the reality is that they don't. Pages 1.x and Keynote 2.x (on Panther as well) also have this problem (which was actually fixed in Pages 2.x and Keynote 3.x).
So you must uncheck this preference specifically for Mail and for Dashboard (and Pages and Keynote as well).
Here's the easiest way to do it:
It gets a bit trickier for Dashboard widgets - you have to add a normally-hidden application to the list:
This bug in Mac OS X 10.4 - 10.4.2 was fixed in Mac OS X 10.4.3 (released Oct 31, 2005). If you are still using Mac OS X 10.4, 10.4.1 or 10.4.2, please update to Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later to eliminate this problem.
Use the Software Update feature or visit Apple's web site to get the latest 10.4.x update.
Even though Apple's installer should copy Spell Catcher's input method component over from your previous system (if you chose to restore users and groups), it's not going to be activated by default!
This is what you need to do:
Specifically, if an input method is active (any input method, including Apple's own that ship with OS X), you will be unable to type into most of the editable text fields (number of copies, page range, etc.) in the application-modal version of the Print dialog (not attached to the document's window). See Figure 1 below.
Figure 1. Application-modal Print dialog
This is not a problem in the document-modal (sheet) version of the Print dialog (attached to the document's window). See Figure 2 below.
Figure 2. Document-modal Print dialog (sheet)
To clarify the difference, the document-modal versions are "attached" to the actual document you are printing, while the application-modal versions appear in front of all document windows in the application.
The only work-around is to choose a keyboard (flag) icon from the input menu in order to input text. Enter the number of copies (or page range, etc.), then choose Spell Catcher again from the input menu once you're done. The easiest way to do this is via the Select the previous input source Input menu keyboard shortcut. We were recommending that you use the default command-space and command-option-space keyboard shortcuts for the input menu. Due to recent discoveries (see below), we're recommending different, very specific keyboard shortcuts instead.
What we've just discovered is that this bug is even worse than we first thought. So nasty, in fact, that you can't even use the default command-space and command-option-space shortcuts to change the input source when you really need to - when in one of these "unchangeable" editable text fields! Sure, you can always select your keyboard from the input menu with the mouse, but that's pretty sub-optimal. So, if you forgot to type command-space before choosing the Print command, you're (somewhat) out of luck - take your hands off the keyboard and use the mouse? No thanks.
The text input handling in these problematic Print dialog editable text fields is so bad, you can't even switch input sources with command-space or command-option-space (seriously - stealing the default input menu keyboard shortcuts such that they don't work?). Luckily, it's so bad that the bugs seem to have bugs. Anyway, there seems to be one set of magical keyboard shortcuts that will work, and the secret involves the tab character (but not the tab key). Tabbing is handled is some funky kind of way, making it possible to use keyboard shortcuts based on the tab character to switch input sources. But you can't use tab key - you have to use the equivalent control sequence - control-i == ASCII 9 == a tab character.
So if you choose keyboard shortcuts for the input menu that include control-i and a non-printing modifier (you can't use control-i alone - it generates a tab character), things work the way they should, even in these evil Print dialog fields.
Just one little thing to consider, at least if you haven't changed the keyboard shortcut for Spell Catcher's Interactive Checking command in the input menu. By default, it's command-control-i. So we steer clear to avoid a conflict with the "control-i" shortcuts we choose for the input menu.
If you run into this problem on a regular basis, and want the quickest and easiest way to work around it, we recommend changing your input menu keyboard shortcuts to the following:
Select the previous input source: control-shift-i
Select the next input source in the Input menu: control-option-i
There are a few others that will work, but not many. Your mileage may vary depending on your preferred keyboard layout as well.
Yuck. But it seems to work. Still. Yuck again.
Once again, this is not a bug in Spell Catcher. If the above fact related to the default (command-space, command-option-space) input menu keyboard shortcuts not working doesn't convince you, try changing the number of copies with (say) Apple's Korean (Hangul) input method active. The result - a total mess.
Again, we cannot fix or work-around this problem because it is a bug in Mac OS X (Tiger), and appears with almost all input methods. Tell Apple you'd like them to fix this if it's causing you grief.
Open System Preferences, click the International icon, take a look at the Input Menu tab. The age-old "Font and Keyboard" synchronization options have been replaced with something far more useful (and understandable!). Specifically, the "Allow a different input source for each document" option means that Spell Catcher's input method can be active only in those applications (and more precisely, in those documents within an application) that you need it to be active in. Give it a try - open TextEdit, make two new untitled documents. Activate Spell Catcher's input method in one of them. Choose a keyboard layout in another. Switch between documents, watch the input menu.
The first radio button (Use one input source) will give you behavior similar to what you're probably used to with previous versions of Mac OS X (not exactly, but similar). The second (Allow a different input source) gives you more flexibility if you're someone that uses different keyboard layouts and/or input methods in your normal workflow. Try them both, see what works for you best.
If you think that Spell Catcher's input method keeps "turning itself off" - well - it's not. Actually, it can't. Only the OS itself can properly deactivate an input method. There's no way for an input method to activate or deactivate itself (none that I'd consider using, at least - and even if there was, it's not something an input method should be doing, anyway!).
First thing to check if you believe this is happening, but don't want it to: Choose the "One input source in all documents" option (see above).
Realize that OS X enforces the fact that no input method can be active when in an authorization dialog or some other sort of secure (password, bullets) text entry field. It's perfectly normal to see the input source change to a keyboard whenever you have to authorize.
Spell Catcher X 10.2.1 and later are fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger).
First things first: Make sure you are using Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later! A bug related to the input menu (in general, not at all specific to Spell Catcher) was fixed by Apple in Mac OS X 10.4.3.
No - earlier versions of Spell Catcher X, including 10.1.3, should not be used on Tiger. The exact problem with earlier versions of Spell Catcher X is described in this FAQ. A number of other (perhaps old or otherwise outdated versions as well) service-providing applications have this exact same issue. See the May 4, 2005 issue of MacFixIt.
If you perform an upgrade install, be aware that the Spell Catcher.component (input method, the item that appears in the Input Menu tab of International System Preferences, required for interactive checking) should be copied from your previous home folder, but will not be activated by default. You'll likely have to choose Spell Catcher from the input menu one time yourself. If, after upgrading to Tiger, you don't see Spell Catcher in the list of Input Menu items in International System Preferences, check to see that the Spell Catcher.component file exists in your home ~/Library/Components directory. If it doesn't exist, visit Spell Catcher's Interactive Preferences - there will be a button there you can click to install it. More about activating Spell Catcher's input method can be found in this FAQ.
Tiger is chock full of new, cool, incredibly useful features. While somewhat mundane compared to Spotlight, Dashboard, Automator and the like, there are a few new things that you'll appreciate when using Spell Catcher X on Mac OS X 10.4.
Take a look at the Format -> Text menu in TextEdit. Notice anything new? Tables and Lists are the big additions. The built-in OS X RTF translators can now handle reasonably complex tables and other similar objects. If you use Spell Catcher's Check Selection feature, your tables and lists will now be preserved when pasting your changes back into the document. While copying and pasting complex tables into and out of Word documents works quite well, it's not a perfect translation. Still, a whole lot better than it was pre-10.4!
Open System Preferences, click the International Icon, take a look at the Input Menu tab. The age-old "Font and Keyboard" synchronization options have been replaced with something far more useful (and understandable!). Specifically, the "Allow a different input source for each document" option means that Spell Catcher's input method can be active only in those applications (and more precisely, in those documents within an application) that you need it to be active in. Give it a try - open TextEdit, make two new untitled documents. Activate Spell Catcher's input method in one of them. Choose a keyboard layout in another. Switch between documents, watch the input menu.
The first radio button (Use one input source) will give you behavior similar to what you're probably used to with previous versions of Mac OS X (not exactly, but similar). The second (Allow a different input source) gives you more flexibility if you're someone that uses different keyboard layouts and/or input methods in your normal workflow. Try them both, see what works for you best.
NOTE: This advice is very specific, and applies only to updating Spell Catcher X version 10.2, running on Mac OS X 10.4.x. Refer to our How do I Quit Spell Catcher? FAQ if you are using some other version of Spell Catcher X or Mac OS X.
Read this FAQ if you are updating Spell Catcher X 10.2.1.
There's really no reliable way to Quit the Spell Catcher X 10.2 application on Tiger - it will probably just re-open automatically right after quitting. You're going to have to choose a keyboard (flag) from the input menu, and log out and in again before you can update your copy.
It's important to be aware of the different way OS X 10.4 interacts with input methods. Even though you've chosen a keyboard in one app, it's quite possible that Spell Catcher's input method is still active in some other application, or even in some other document in the current application!
NOTE: This advice is very specific, and applies only to updating Spell Catcher X version 10.2.1, running on Mac OS X 10.4.x. Refer to our How do I Quit Spell Catcher? FAQ if you are using some other version of Spell Catcher X or Mac OS X.
Read this FAQ if you are updating Spell Catcher X 10.2.
Choose a keyboard (flag) from the input menu, then Quit the Spell Catcher application while holding down the shift key.
When you do this, the Spell Catcher application tells the input method to do its best to avoid launching the app. In most cases, that's just what will happen. However, if you subsequently choose a command from Spell Catcher's input menu (possible to do on Tiger, especially if you have the option to use different input sources in each document), it will then launch the Spell Catcher application in order to carry out that command.
It's important to be aware of the different way OS X 10.4 interacts with input methods. Even though you've chosen a keyboard in one app, it's quite possible that Spell Catcher's input method is still active in some other application, or even in some other document in the current application!
As if there weren't enough preferences in Spell Catcher X already, we've got some more that currently have no UI, but can be changed in the Terminal using defaults write, or by editing the com.rainmaker.SpellCatcher.plist file with PropertyListEditor.
Probably best to choose a keyboard, log out and in again before changing these!
| Key | Type | Default/Allowable Values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| SCMaxVisibleCompletions | Number | 20 (5-40) | Number of completions visible in the pop-up. |
| SCPopupListFontSize | Real | 12.0 | Font size used in the pop-ups. |
| SCScrollCompletionsByTen | Boolean | true/false | Whether page up/down scrolls only ten completions. |
| SCSuggestionsPopupEscapeIgnores | Boolean | true/false | Whether typing escape in the suggestions pop-up also Ignores. |
| SCMinAutoCapitalizeProperNamesLength | Number | 2 | Minimum length of a word or acronym before it??s automatically capitalized |
There are others as well, to control things like the maximum number of completions a specific completion item should generate. We'll get to documenting those later, thought I'd start with these.
If you decide not to purchase the upgrade to Spell Catcher X 10.2 after installing it and taking it for a test drive, you can downgrade to version 10.1.3 by following these steps:
Spell Catcher X 10.2.x has much improved performance in numerous areas, compared to version 10.1.x. To take full advantage of some of these improvements, you may need to do the following:
While Spell Catcher is launching, the majority of time is spent opening the various spelling, learned words, shorthand glossary and other reference documents. Spell Catcher X 10.2 will open most learned words, shorthand glossary and omitted words files much faster than version 10.1.x after they have been saved using version 10.2.
So if you simply open all of the (editable) learned words and shorthand glossary documents you use and save them (no need to even modify them), they will get written to disk in such a way that version 10.2 will (usually) open them faster.
Additionally, the more language plug-ins you have installed (whether as plug-ins or in the Additional Languages folder), the longer it takes Spell Catcher to launch. Removing unused languages and any learned words and shorthand glossary documents for that language will improve performance (not just launch-time, either).
Note that it's now possible to launch an application that's in the Applications drawer by double-clicking it (handy at times).
If you are still using Spell Catcher X 10.2, update your installation to the most recent version. Numerous simplifications and other improvements related to licensing the software were made in Spell Catcher X 10.2.1 and 10.2.2.
It's possible to license Spell Catcher X 10.2.1 (and later) with a couple clicks of the mouse. No copy and paste, no drag and drop, no typing whatsoever (these methods still work, of course, but why bother?). Spell Catcher X recognizes two different types of URLs so that you can simply click a special link to get your license key or use an existing key you've saved as a backup.
The e-mail you get when you purchase a license, the e-mail you send yourself from Lost License Codes, and the backup document containing your license information saved from the License Manager window now contain one or more Click here links to automagically enter your license information or add your license key.
Yes, you can actually click the above "Click here" link to see this in action, but it doesn't contain any valid license information!
If you need to add your "SCX" license code for some reason, click Help (?) in the License Manager window, then click Add "SCX" License.
If you chose to get your key via e-mail, and chose to attach it as a file, you can license your installation of Spell Catcher X 10.2 simply by double-clicking it (from most e-mail applications) or dropping it onto the License Manager window. The exact same goes for the attachment that's saved in a backup key document.
You must have some way to get a 2K file onto the non-connected machine - whether it's via file sharing, FireWire target disk mode, a brief Internet connection, wirelessly via Bluetooth, an external hard drive you can plug into one then transfer to the other, or whatever else you can think of. If the machine is in complete isolation with no way whatsoever to transfer files to it either wired or wirelessly, then the only alternative may be to burn a CD with your key file for that machine.
If you have a Mac OS X machine that is in absolute isolation with no way to transfer files, connect to the internet or your local area network - no way to copy files to it other than CD, send an e-mail to support - we have an alternative for you.
When you get the e-mail, you have to at least transfer the "scxkey" attached file to the non-connected machine, or make it available to that machine via file sharing or by putting it on an external hard drive you can move between machines. There are many ways other ways to do this on OS X, beyond the scope of this article. See above for some suggestions.
Double-click the "scxkey" file on the non-connected machine, and you should be all set.
Sounds like a bit of work, but it's not too bad. You email yourself the key to your connected machine, copy it to the non-connected machine, and double-click it on that machine (the above steps in a nutshell).
It's perfectly OK to use the same single-user license on more than one of your own computers (your desktop and laptop for instance). You just need to request your license key once on each machine. This also applies for those that have more than one Mac, but boot from an external drive that contains your home folder.
Just startup (from the external drive) the Mac you want to license Spell Catcher on, then request your key. Repeat for each Mac. Don't be phased by the fact that you will end up with more than one license appearing in the License Manager window, and that all but one will be displayed as "Not for this installation". As long as there is one license in the list with the blue arrow, and the caption at the top of the License Manager window says "Software Licensed.", you're all set.
Remember - don't type in your code, name or e-mail! Just drag and drop (or copy and paste) the three lines containing your name, e-mail and license code from the e-mail to the License Manager window. These three lines appear in the e-mail you received when you purchased Spell Catcher X, or the one you get from our Lost License Codes form, or from the file with your licensing instructions (select an active license in the list, choose "Save As..." from the File menu.
NOTE: This advice is very specific, and applies only to Spell Catcher X versions 10.2.1 and earlier, running on Mac OS X 10.2.x (Jaguar) and Mac OS X 10.3.x (Panther). Refer to our How do I Quit Spell Catcher? FAQ if you are using some other version of Spell Catcher X or Mac OS X.
After choosing a keyboard, you can Quit the Spell Catcher application in either of the two ways described below:
After you Quit Spell Catcher using one of the two methods above (when its input method was active), you should be able to move it to the trash (you may have to Quit other open applications first). It's an extremely good idea to either log out or restart after doing this.
The Spell Catcher application provides the core functionality needed by the input method and Mac OS X Spelling Panel to do their job. They communicate with the Spell Catcher application, and if it's they discover at any time other than Log Out or Restart time that the Spell Catcher application isn't running, they will automatically re-launch it. That's why you will see Spell Catcher open almost immediately if you try to Quit Spell Catcher while it's the active input source.
Whenever you Restart or Log Out, whatever the active input source was at the time is remembered and automatically re-activated the next time you Login.
So the first basic step you must perform if you want to Quit Spell Catcher and ensure it is not automatically activated when you next log in, is to choose your keyboard layout from the input menu (an item with a flag icon). This ensures that it's not re-activated when you Log In again. See the "How do I Choose a Keyboard?" FAQ for more details.
Note: Spell Catcher X behaves differently when the OS tells it to Quit when you are logging out than when you manually choose "Quit Spell Catcher". Spell Catcher's does everything it can to ensure that it does not automatically get re-launched when a Log Out (or Restart - same thing at that point in time) is underway. If some other application cancels the Log Out, and then you start using Spell Catcher's input method, it will be automatically re-opened because it was needed for an action or command that you initiated.
Other user actions that can cause Spell Catcher to be opened are using one of its languages in the Mac OS X Spelling Panel, or choosing one of its commands from the Services menu. In general, because of the various ways that Spell Catcher will be automatically opened by the OS (there are some OS X Bugs that prevent Spell Catcher from launching automatically when chosen from the Services Menu in a Carbon application) you shouldn't ever need to add Spell Catcher to your login or startup items.
In Mac OS X 10.2 and 10.3 (this changed in Mac OS X 10.4), when you choose the Quit item from Spell Catcher's Dock menu, OS X tells Spell Catcher to Quit in the exact same manner as when you Log Out. Knowing this, you can - in a pinch, if necessary - choose your keyboard layout from the input menu and then Quit SC via the Dock Menu if you need Spell Catcher to "stay quit" for a period of time. Note that there is still the chance that the input method will launch it in response to your actions. Still, this can be a handy thing to know, and it's not at all a dangerous thing to do.
For a basic introduction, please read Apple's Mac OS X 10.2: About Languages and Input Methods article. Admittedly, this is a pretty cursory overview and description, but it's a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with this part of the Mac OS.
Keyboard layouts, input methods and the Input Meu (aka Keyboard Menu) have been part of the Mac OS for a very long time (System 7.1 era, circa 1994). Still, many North American Macintosh users have never had any experience with this part of the Mac OS.
If you're currently running Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther), there is an overview entitled "About keyboard layouts and input methods" in Mac Help (this item is not in the Mac Help for OS X 10.2). Search for the 'input methods' in Mac Help to read this particular topic.
About keyboard layouts and input methods
From Mac Help, Copyright Apple Computer, Inc.
You can write in languages that use a different writing system (or "script") from yours without having the physical keyboard that's designed for that language. To write in a different language, you need to select the "keyboard layout" or "input method" in International preferences, and then choose that keyboard layout or input method from the input menu when you're ready to type.
A keyboard layout determines what characters appear when you press a key on your keyboard. The layout of keys on an Italian keyboard, for example, is slightly different from the organization of a U.S. keyboard. If you are more familiar with Italian keyboards, you can use the Italian "keyboard layout" with your U.S. keyboard, allowing you to type as if you had an Italian keyboard.
The input method also determines what characters appear when you type, but additionally provides a way to choose between alternative characters. This is important for some non-Roman languages like Japanese or Korean which have too many characters to fit on a physical keyboard. When you type a sequence of keys that refers to more than one character or word in a script, a window appears allowing you to choose the character or word you want to use.
When you're ready to type in another language, you choose the keyboard layout or input method for that language from the input menu (which looks like a flag or alphabetical character) on the right side of the menu bar. You'll need to know what keys to press in order to see the right characters appear on your screen. If you aren't familiar with the selected keyboard layout, you can use the Keyboard Viewer to show you.
There are some useful keyboard shortcuts defined by Mac OS X for switching between keyboard layouts and input methods. Open System Preferences, International, Input Menu tab. Click the Options... button. We recommend that the "Use Command+Option+Space to rotate to the next keyboard layour or input method in the active script" checkbox is checked (this is the default setting). When checked, you can type command-option-space to rotate between Spell Catcher and your keyboard layout.
Turn on the "Character Palette" item in System Preferences, International, Input Menu tab. Try it out - it's very cool and quite useful. If you're currently running Mac OS X, Find out more about the Character Palette in Mac OS X Help.
At certain times, you must choose a keyboard (flag icon) from the input menu to deactivate Spell Catcher X's input method. This may be required to Quit the Spell Catcher X application so you can update, uninstall or re-install the software.
View the QuickTime movie below to see how to do this. There are other ways as well - Mac OS X has built-in keyboard shortcuts for switching between keyboards and input methods. Visit System Preferences, International, Input Menu tab, click the Keyboard Shortcuts (or Options) button.
Once you have chosen a flag, you can log out or restart and Spell Catcher's input method will not activate.
Starting with Spell Catcher X 10.1, you can also accomplish this (in most cases) directly from the Interactive pane of Spell Catcher's Preferences window.
Note: Deactivating Spell Catcher's input method in this manner is not equivalent to "Choosing a keyboard" as illustrated above. We're not exactly sure why this is (Mac OS X bug?), therefore we recommend using the input menu.
You're seeing - perhaps for the first time since you've been using a Mac - something that's been a part of the Mac OS since the early 1990's (System 7.1 era).
In applications that do not support input methods at all, the Mac OS will, on the application's behalf, collect the input in this floating "bottomline input" window.
In these applications, you probably want to use the Suggest Spelling window, and you probably won't be able to use completion. Still, you may be able to somehow adjust to working with the bottomline window - your mileage may vary. You can move and resize this window, so positioning it on your screen in a way that it won't interfere with what you see in your document and yet still be close enough to where you are typing may be workable. Try it and decide for yourself.
This is documented in Spell Catcher's online Help Book. Choose Spell Catcher Help from the Help menu in the Spell Catcher application, view the end of the section on the Pop-Up Suggestions List (scroll to the very bottom).
Read this FAQ for an explanation of what this window is.
Turn off the preference to Automatically open near the error in Spell Catcher Preferences, Interactive pane, Spelling tab.
As noted by the caption to the right of this checkbox, with a caution icon, this feature only works in some applications. Specifically, the application must have the same basic support for input methods that the Pop-up Suggestions list and Complete commands require.
This feature is implemented differently in Spell Catcher X 10.2 than it was in version 10.1.x. It leverages on the new pop-up window-near-the-error (suggestions, completions) capabilities in 10.2, and now probably works in three times as many applications than it used to. But a side-effect of this improvement is that it may not just "silently fail to work" in those applications with no support (or buggy support) for input methods. The OS will usually intervene (as explained in this FAQ) and show the bottomline window.
Always be aware and careful when turning on preferences with a caution sign or explanatory text related to the underlying application's capabilities, especially for Universal.
This bug in Mac OS X 10.4 - 10.4.2 was fixed in Mac OS X 10.4.3 (released Oct 31, 2005). If you are still using Mac OS X 10.4, 10.4.1 or 10.4.2, please update to Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later to eliminate this problem.
Use the Software Update feature or visit Apple's web site to get the latest 10.4.x update.
Spell Catcher X 10.2.3 was just released, visit our Downloads page and grab it! You should also take a look at what's new.
There's a new text editing view on Tiger - an editable version of the view that Safari and many other applications use to display web content. Mail (on Tiger) uses these when composing messages. Some Dashboard widgets use these for user-editable content (Stickies for instance).
Unfortunately, these views don't yet support Spell Catcher's "Make replacements directly without backspacing" preference (in the Interactive pane, Typing tab). When Spell Catcher asks the view whether it supports this, the answer is "yes". But the reality is that they don't. Pages 1.x and Keynote 2.x (on Panther as well) also have this problem (which was actually fixed in Pages 2.x and Keynote 3.x).
So you must uncheck this preference specifically for Mail and for Dashboard (and Pages and Keynote as well).
Here's the easiest way to do it:
It gets a bit trickier for Dashboard widgets - you have to add a normally-hidden application to the list:
Open System Preferences, click the International icon, take a look at the Input Menu tab. The age-old "Font and Keyboard" synchronization options have been replaced with something far more useful (and understandable!). Specifically, the "Allow a different input source for each document" option means that Spell Catcher's input method can be active only in those applications (and more precisely, in those documents within an application) that you need it to be active in. Give it a try - open TextEdit, make two new untitled documents. Activate Spell Catcher's input method in one of them. Choose a keyboard layout in another. Switch between documents, watch the input menu.
The first radio button (Use one input source) will give you behavior similar to what you're probably used to with previous versions of Mac OS X (not exactly, but similar). The second (Allow a different input source) gives you more flexibility if you're someone that uses different keyboard layouts and/or input methods in your normal workflow. Try them both, see what works for you best.
If you think that Spell Catcher's input method keeps "turning itself off" - well - it's not. Actually, it can't. Only the OS itself can properly deactivate an input method. There's no way for an input method to activate or deactivate itself (none that I'd consider using, at least - and even if there was, it's not something an input method should be doing, anyway!).
First thing to check if you believe this is happening, but don't want it to: Choose the "One input source in all documents" option (see above).
Realize that OS X enforces the fact that no input method can be active when in an authorization dialog or some other sort of secure (password, bullets) text entry field. It's perfectly normal to see the input source change to a keyboard whenever you have to authorize.
Even though Apple's installer should copy Spell Catcher's input method component over from your previous system (if you chose to restore users and groups), it's not going to be activated by default!
This is what you need to do:
The eyeball proved to be unpopular (or maybe just ugly?), and was retired quite some time ago. The yellow checkmark 
you're seeing is what you should be seeing.
Besides, ever since Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther), it hasn't been possible for an input method to change the icon shown in the menu bar on-the-fly. So eyeball vs. no eyeball became irrelevant.
Yes, we are aware that the PDF manual is out-of-date.
This is applicable to all versions of Spell Catcher X (and any other input method or keyboard), but not generally an issue with Spell Catcher X 10.1 and later. The 10.1.x and 10.2.x versions of Spell Catcher X will configure the input menu automatically whenever it installs or updates its input method component.
Tiger users: Make sure you are using Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later! An important bug related to the input menu (in general) was fixed in Mac OS X 10.4.3.
If you are using an Intel Macintosh, make sure that you have Spell Catcher X version 10.2.2 (or later) installed.
Open System Preferences from the Apple menu or Dock, click the International icon, select the Input Menu tab, scroll to find Spell Catcher in the list, then check the box next to Spell Catcher in the "On" column. You should see a menu appear (as a flag icon, representing your default or chosen keyboard), in the right-hand side of the menu bar. This is known as the input menu. If you pull down the input menu, you should Spell Catcher as an item in your input menu.
View this movie to see exactly how this is done. Note how the Input Menu appears (seen here as a US Flag added to the right side of the menu bar) as soon as you turn on Spell Catcher. Also note how to deactivate Spell Catcher's input method by choosing a keyboard (flag icon).
Two other features (new in Tiger) are demonstrated near the end of the movie. You can choose whether the name of the current input source is shown or hidden (the "Show Input Source Name" or "Hide Input Source Name" command near the bottom of the input menu). A more important setting appears in Input source options. This option is described in another FAQ - Set your International, Input Menu Preferences Appropriately.
Open System Preferences from the Apple menu or Dock, click the International icon, select the Input Menu tab, scroll to find Spell Catcher in the list, then check the box next to Spell Catcher. You should now see a small flag in the right-hand side of the menu bar (US flag if your default language is US English), that will have Spell Catcher as an option.
View this movie to see exactly how this is done. Note how the Input Menu appears (seen as a US Flag added to the right side of the menu bar) as soon as you turn on Spell Catcher. Also note how to turn Spell Catcher's input method OFF by choosing the US keyboard (flag), and the very handy Input Mode Palette.
Open System Preferences from the Apple menu or Dock, click the International icon, select the Input Menu tab, turn the check box next to Spell Catcher OFF, then turn it ON, and quit System Preferences. You should now see a small flag in the menu bar (US flag if your default language is US English), that will have Spell Catcher as an option.
View this movie to see exactly how this is done. Note how the Input Menu appears (seen as a US Flag added to the application's menu bar) as soon as you turn on Spell Catcher. Also note how to turn Spell Catcher's input method OFF, done at the very end of the movie.
The fact that Spell Catcher is initially ON in the list after installing, but the Input Menu is not visible is a (not tremendously serious, but possibly confusing) bug in Mac OS X 10.2 (all versions as of this writing).
Open System Preferences from the Apple menu or Dock, click on International, click the Input Menu tab. Make sure "Show input menu in menu bar" is selected. You should see a menu appear (probably a flag icon, representing your default or chosen keyboard), in the right-hand side of the menu bar. This is known as the input menu. If you pull down the input menu, you should see Spell Catcher as one of the items.
“Sorry to say, I don't see Spell Catcher in the input menu.”
Open System Preferences from the Apple menu or Dock, click on International, click the Input Menu tab, scroll to find Spell Catcher in the list, then check the box next to Spell Catcher in the "On" column. If you pull down the input menu, you should now see Spell Catcher as an item in it.
“Any more bright ideas? I don't see Spell Catcher in the list in the Input Menu tab.”
Click the Name column header to sort the list by name. Scroll down to the items beginning with "S", and look for Spell Catcher. Sometimes it's easier to find when you sort by name.
“No, really - I sorted by Name, looked at all the "S" items, and still don't see Spell Catcher in the list.”
In the Spell Catcher application, choose the Preferences command from the Spell Catcher menu item. Click the Interactive icon, and take note of what is stated at bottom of the window.
If Spell Catcher's input method is truly not installed, you will see an Install Input Method button. Click it and follow the on-screen instructions. You will likely have to restart before Spell Catcher's input method will be available. If Spell Catcher's input method is installed but not available, you should see something like:
Spell Catcher’s input method is installed, interactive features are not available.
A restart is required before you can use Spell Catcher’s input method.
You should restart, then Spell Catcher's input method should now be in the list, and may well be in the input menu.
“Thanks for the help, but what now? I still don't see Spell Catcher's yellow checkmark in the menu bar.”
in the menu barPull down the input menu (likely a flag icon) and choose Spell Catcher to activate it's input method. You should see the yellow checkmark icon appear!
If you don't see Spell Catcher in the input menu, try watching the movie.
Also make sure all that's mentioned in the following FAQs seems OK.
Read this FAQ for an explanation of what this window is.
Turn off the preference to Automatically open near the error in Spell Catcher Preferences, Interactive pane, Spelling tab.
As noted by the caption to the right of this checkbox, with a caution icon, this feature only works in some applications. Specifically, the application must have the same basic support for input methods that the Pop-up Suggestions list and Complete commands require.
This feature is implemented differently in Spell Catcher X 10.2 than it was in version 10.1.x. It leverages on the new pop-up window-near-the-error (suggestions, completions) capabilities in 10.2, and now probably works in three times as many applications than it used to. But a side-effect of this improvement is that it may not just "silently fail to work" in those applications with no support (or buggy support) for input methods. The OS will usually intervene (as explained in this FAQ) and show the bottomline window.
Always be aware and careful when turning on preferences with a caution sign or explanatory text related to the underlying application's capabilities, especially for Universal.
There are some known issues with the input method support in the automatically-resizing text fields used when editing cards in the Address Book application. These problems prevent the pop-up suggestions and completion windows from working properly with Spell Catcher's default settings.
Luckily, there is a simple solution:
This also applies to the Automatically open near the error preference for the Suggest Spelling window (Interactive pane, Spelling tab, Suggest Spelling window tab).
Spell Catcher X 10.2.3 was just released, visit our Downloads page and grab it! You should also take a look at what's new.
There's a new text editing view on Tiger - an editable version of the view that Safari and many other applications use to display web content. Mail (on Tiger) uses these when composing messages. Some Dashboard widgets use these for user-editable content (Stickies for instance).
Unfortunately, these views don't yet support Spell Catcher's "Make replacements directly without backspacing" preference (in the Interactive pane, Typing tab). When Spell Catcher asks the view whether it supports this, the answer is "yes". But the reality is that they don't. Pages 1.x and Keynote 2.x (on Panther as well) also have this problem (which was actually fixed in Pages 2.x and Keynote 3.x).
So you must uncheck this preference specifically for Mail and for Dashboard (and Pages and Keynote as well).
Here's the easiest way to do it:
It gets a bit trickier for Dashboard widgets - you have to add a normally-hidden application to the list:
This work-around is not necessary for these newer versions (part of iWork '06). For those that upgraded to these new versions of Pages and Keynote, you may want to turn direct replacements back on.
Add Pages to the list of applications in the drawer in Spell Catcher's Preferences window. Select it in the list, select the Interactive pane, Typing tab. Uncheck "Make replacements directly..." (i.e. specifically for Pages).
Do the same for Keynote 2.
Hover the mouse over the "Make replacements directly..." checkbox for more information about this particular preference.
The above is required due to a bug in Pages 1/Keynote 2.
You're seeing - perhaps for the first time since you've been using a Mac - something that's been a part of the Mac OS since the early 1990's (System 7.1 era).
In applications that do not support input methods at all, the Mac OS will, on the application's behalf, collect the input in this floating "bottomline input" window.
In these applications, you probably want to use the Suggest Spelling window, and you probably won't be able to use completion. Still, you may be able to somehow adjust to working with the bottomline window - your mileage may vary. You can move and resize this window, so positioning it on your screen in a way that it won't interfere with what you see in your document and yet still be close enough to where you are typing may be workable. Try it and decide for yourself.
This is documented in Spell Catcher's online Help Book. Choose Spell Catcher Help from the Help menu in the Spell Catcher application, view the end of the section on the Pop-Up Suggestions List (scroll to the very bottom).
This fix has been rolled into Spell Catcher X 10.2.3. We strongly recommend you update to version 10.2.3 rather than using the input method tuner mentioned below.
A new feature in Spell Catcher X 10.2.2 exposed a bug in AppleWorks 6, Eudora 6.x, Adobe GoLive, and Netscape's text input handling. As a result, the input menu's Check Selection and other selection-related commands would either be disabled or otherwise not fully-functional.
We have a fix for this, available on our Pre-Release Downloads page. If you use any of the above applications, we recommend you download and install the latest Spell Catcher X input method tuner.
Spell Catcher X integrates fully with the standard Mac OS X Spelling Panel. The Spelling Panel is available in almost every OS X application written using Cocoa, and in a select few Carbon applications.
Using Spell Catcher X with the Spelling Panel is basically the same as using Apple's built-in spelling services, and provides more functionality than Apple's. Spell Catcher X will detect all types of errors (but can only detect Missing Capitals and Repeated Words when you use the Spelling... and Check Spelling commands), play your Error Signal sounds, and even allow you to make Shorthand expansions.
This is not such a simple topic, as many of you have discovered. Numerous factors affect the language that Spell Catcher uses as the default for spell checking, and what the "current language" is (as shown in the Dock icon or Set Language submenu).
If the language you want as the default spelling language for Spell Catcher and as your preferred language for OS X are the same, this is the best advice:
If the language you want isn't in the list, click the Edit... button and make sure it is checked.
Once this is done, drag that language to the top of the list. This sets it as the preferred language for OS X itself. If you use other languages as well, you should also make sure they are turned on, and arrange them into your most-to-least preferred order.
NOTE: Changing the language order (as stated in the warning next to the caution icon) does not take effect in open applications immediately. This means that Spell Catcher will not know that you changed the language order if it is currently open. You must Quit Spell Catcher before performing the next step. Better still - log out and in again, especially if you have activated Spell Catcher's input method since you last logged in or restarted, or if you have applications open that use the Mac OS X Spelling Panel.
Now open Spell Catcher's Preferences window, click the Language icon in the toolbar. Make sure Universal is chosen in the list of Applications, or that the Applications drawer is closed (which implies Universal). Choose "Use System Preferences (your-preferred-language-here)". If the language in parentheses does not match your (newly-changed) preferred language from the previous step, you must either log out and in again or Quit and re-open the Spell Catcher application. See our How do I Quit Spell Catcher? FAQ if you aren't sure how to do this.
If the language you want as the default spelling language for Spell Catcher is different than your preferred language for OS X, do the following:
This is the best advice for this situation, and not recommended (see above) when the default language you want Spell Catcher to use matches your preferred language for OS X!
Open Spell Catcher's Preferences window, click the Language icon in the toolbar. Make sure Universal is chosen in the list of Applications, or that the Applications drawer is closed (which implies Universal). Don't choose the "Use System Preferences..." item, choose a specific language.
If you have applications in the list in the Applications drawer, and you want them all to use the same default spelling language, make sure there are no application-specific Language preferences overriding the Universal one. Doing this is easy - with the Language preference pane chosen, just select each application in the list (or down-arrow through them) and click the "Use Universal" button for any that may have their default spelling language set incorrectly (defined as "not the way you want it set").
If Spell Catcher is chosen in the input menu, the changes made to the default spelling language will not be propagated any currently active interactive sessions. This is because each interactive session (often every document window in an application has their own) remembers its interactive state until that session closes. This includes the language (as chosen in the Set Language submenu), the current pending interactive errors, the size and position of the Suggest Spelling window and more.
Additionally, in any given application, the language used for new interactive sessions (for example when you create a new document) is the same as the one used by the most-recently-active session for that application. This means that if you choose (say) German from the Set Language menu in (say) TextEdit, then create a new document, that document will use German as its interactive language - which may not be the language set as the default in Spell Catcher's Language Preference pane! Also note that changing the language from the input menu's Set Language submenu affects only the current interactive session (document) and any new ones created afterwards. In other words, choosing a language from the Set Language submenu is temporary - it does not change the default language chosen in Spell Catcher's Language Preferences (Universal or application-specific).
While the language (flag) displayed in Spell Catcher's Dock icon is usually the one chosen in the input menu's Set Language submenu, this may not always be the case. Other factors can dictate what's shown there, further complicating the notion of just what the "current language" actually is!
Check Selection and Check Word
Even when Spell Catcher's input method is active, the language chosen in the pop up menu in either the Check Selection or Check Word windows will be the language that's displayed in the Dock icon. Note that this may be a different language than the one selected in the input menu's Set Language submenu.
Check Selection and Multilingual Selections
Also be aware that it's possible to assign (either manually with the Check Paragraph button, or automatically via the Spelling -> Check Selection -> "Try to determine the best language for each paragraph" preference) different languages to each paragraph during Check Selection. The language of the paragraph containing the currently-displayed error in the Check Selection window will determine what's displayed in the Dock icon.
The Mac OS X Spelling Panel
When Spell Catcher's input method is active, the language displayed in the Dock icon should normally be the one chosen in the Set Language submenu. If Spell Catcher is not the active input method, and you have chosen a Spell Catcher language in the OS X Spelling Panel, it will be displayed in the Dock icon. Again, the Check Selection and Check Word windows will override it as well if the language chosen in the pop up menu differs from the one in the Spelling Panel. Turning on "Check spelling as you type" in the Edit -> Spelling menu can also complicate things, as it's not generally possible for a spelling service to know whether it's been asked to check a word as-you-type vs. via the "Find Next" button in the Spelling Panel.
More Complications
Now that you know the basics(!), picture this scenario: You can have Spell Catcher's input method active, multiple applications open, each with multiple document windows, each having a different interactive language chosen from the Set Language submenu. Additionally, you can be using the OS X Spelling Panel in another application (or two or three), each with a different Spell Catcher language chosen from the dictionary menu in the Spelling Panel. As if that wasn't enough, you can also have multiple Check Selection windows open, each checking selections from different applications that may be written in different languages. Just to top it all off, you might want to use the Check Word command to check some word in yet another language.
Spell Catcher X is as multi-tasking as Mac OS X itself is. Keep all this in mind when you think the language displayed in the Dock icon isn't the "right one".
The version of the Spell Catcher application on this disk image you download contains only the U.S. English language databases. This is to keep the download to a manageable size for dial-up users.
Additional languages can be downloaded two ways. Choose the one that works best for you: <