Submit Hint Search The Forums LinksStatsPollsHeadlinesRSS
14,000 hints and counting!

Force spellcheck anywhere System
Within any text entry field, pressing Shift-Cmd-; (Command-:) will force that text field to be checked by OS X's built-in spell checker. I find this useful when I need to quickly figure out the spelling of a word. If I am in Safari, I just type it into the search field and hit Shift-Cmd-; and know instantly (without selecting and control-clicking) whether it is spelled correctly or not.

[robg adds: This is a documented keyboard shortcut (in the Edit menu), but the use of it within a text entry field makes it unique enough to publish as a hint. It should work by default in most any Cocoa application, and certain other applications that support OS X's text handling features.]
    •    
  • Currently 2.00 / 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  (2 votes cast)
 
[8,818 views]  

Force spellcheck anywhere | 10 comments | Create New Account
Click here to return to the 'Force spellcheck anywhere' hint
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Highlighting spelling errors
Authored by: noworryz on Jun 16, '06 08:41:55AM

The other thing you can do is to hold down Command and semicolon (Command-;) so it auto-repeats. This will eventually highlight all spelling errors, similar to Microsoft Word. Unfortunately, Apple has not implemented a single command shortcut to highlight all spelling errors so this is as close as you can get.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Highlighting spelling errors
Authored by: allanmarcus on Jun 16, '06 01:48:03PM

You can have OS X hi-light all errors by selecting Check Spelling as you Type. I cannot imagine why anyone would use the batch mode when the OS can just do it for you.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Highlighting spelling errors
Authored by: noworryz on Jun 16, '06 01:56:04PM

"Check spelling as you type" only checks text you are about to type, not text you have previously typed, text pre-filled in a form or text obtained from a file. The above hints allow existing text to be spell checked.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Force spellcheck anywhere
Authored by: jvansanten on Jun 16, '06 08:43:54AM

Note that this only works in NSText fields (that is, Cocoa). Prominent non-Cocoa apps include Firefox, Camino, and Thunderbird, and MS Office (ew).



[ Reply to This | # ]
Force spellcheck anywhere
Authored by: froodiantherapy on Jun 16, '06 07:23:41PM

Actually, Camino *is* cocoa, although its content pane isn't, so for the purposes of this hint it can be discounted.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Force spellcheck anywhere
Authored by: gizmo on Jun 16, '06 09:27:57AM

I've been using this trick for almost two years now. Its nice to be able make a post at a forum and check the spelling. I didn't know this hint wasn't well known. I wish it worked in Camino, that is probably the only thing holding me back from using it exclusively.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Force spellcheck anywhere
Authored by: leeww on Jun 18, '06 04:39:25AM
I have always seen SHIFT+COMMAND+; as a (very minor) security flaw. If (and these are admittedly big 'ifs') someone types their private password into a field and it appears, as it normally does, as a series of bullet points so as not to reveal any information. ...and.... this password is a non-standard word (one that is not recognised by spell checker) ...Then leaving the password in the field without entering it and leaving your desk, means that someone can use SHIFT+COMMAND+; to reveal your password. Far-fetched but possible !

---
Help!

[ Reply to This | # ]

Force spellcheck anywhere
Authored by: jacobolus on Jun 18, '06 09:46:24PM

Um… at least for me it doesn't work in password fields



[ Reply to This | # ]
Force spellcheck anywhere
Authored by: leeww on Jun 21, '06 02:22:19AM
Hmmm, works for me. You do have to highight the password bulletpoints. [img]http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/3264/pass0aj.jpg[/img]

---
Help!

[ Reply to This | # ]

Force spellcheck anywhere
Authored by: markformac on Jun 18, '06 09:39:52PM
Or you can just perform a Control-Click and select "Spelling" â–¸ "Check Spelling as Your Type" from the contextual menu from within a text field.

http://www.exploitmymac.com/manual/forums/spelling.jpeg

---
Mark Brooks


[ Reply to This | # ]