Using Spotlight as A Spelling Aid

Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
4,576
Reaction score
378
Points
83
Location
St. Somewhere
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Studio, M1 Max, 32 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD
I was hunting for something in my Mac OS X hard copy folder and came upon some notes I had taken when reading Mac OS X The Missing Manual. Something I had read then and totally forgot since has been renewed in my memory, and my daily usage for sure. Here it is...

Ever had a word that you were trying to spell correctly, and you are sure you don't have it right? You type it into the dictionary widget as best you can and get nothing. You try another spelling. Still nothing. SO annoying.

I have just discovered that Spotlight addresses even this. It contains a spelling aid. All you have to do is type in the first few letters of the word in question and then press OPT+ESC. Spotlight immediately produces a list of every word Mac OS X knows about that starts with the letters you have typed in! Fabulous!

Yet one more amazing productivity aid seamlessly integrated into Mac OS X. Truly amazing!
 
Joined
Jun 6, 2006
Messages
1,153
Reaction score
94
Points
48
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook 2.0GHz White, 512MB RAM, 60GB HDD
That is ace. One less memory hog widget on my dashboard then :D
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2005
Messages
2,288
Reaction score
51
Points
48
Location
Devon, England
Your Mac's Specs
ibook g4, imac 2ghz c2d, mbp 2.4ghz c2d - 10.5.1
Joined
Mar 9, 2004
Messages
9,065
Reaction score
331
Points
83
Location
Munich
Your Mac's Specs
Aluminium Macbook 2.4 Ghz 4GB RAM, SSD 24" Samsung Display, iPhone 4, iPad 2
Actually no need to go to spotlight to do this...

Just type in a word in any cocoa application and then hit opt-esc. You'll get the same suggestion list...

Try it right here in the response field! (Safari)
 
OP
mac57
Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
4,576
Reaction score
378
Points
83
Location
St. Somewhere
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Studio, M1 Max, 32 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD
Wow! That is EVEN better Aptmunich!! Fabulous find.

I guess it is worth keeping both approaches in mind, since not all apps are Cocoa based, but for many of the apps that I use normally, this will save a few mouse motions. For the rest, Spotlight will take care of it!

Like yogi said, Mac OS X has AMAZING depth...
 
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Messages
1,035
Reaction score
57
Points
48
Location
The beautiful Northwest
Your Mac's Specs
imac 20" 216 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GBSDRAM, 250 GB hd, Airport Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0
Never dreamed that was available. So awesome!! Thanks!
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2004
Messages
9,065
Reaction score
331
Points
83
Location
Munich
Your Mac's Specs
Aluminium Macbook 2.4 Ghz 4GB RAM, SSD 24" Samsung Display, iPhone 4, iPad 2
Yeah, this is one of those things you stumble across every so often in OS X...

Just like the system-wide spelling check, dictionary or dragging files & folders into text documents...
 
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Messages
1,035
Reaction score
57
Points
48
Location
The beautiful Northwest
Your Mac's Specs
imac 20" 216 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GBSDRAM, 250 GB hd, Airport Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0
Yes, like a treasure hunt and with a new Mac you're sure to find lots of treasure! I find things continually and it helps reading through my Missing Manual too.
 
Joined
Jan 8, 2005
Messages
6,188
Reaction score
254
Points
83
Location
New Jersey
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Pro 8x3.0ghz 12gb ram 8800GT , MBP 2.16 2GB Ram 17 inch.
wow... i did not know about that!
 
OP
mac57
Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
4,576
Reaction score
378
Points
83
Location
St. Somewhere
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Studio, M1 Max, 32 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD
After stumbling across this just a few days ago, I now use it all the time. It has become almost indispensible... and it just makes my PC (which I have to use for work) look all that much worse. Mac OS X is just SO good!
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top