Spelling Checker for Posts in the Elsmar Cove Discussion Forums

[Sidney Vianna]

Many times, I use MS Word to edit a post/response because of the built in spell check features, but sometimes I use the reply feature directly from the forum. The newest version of the Google toolbar, easily installed on to MS Internet Explorer has a spell check feature that works very well. For those of you, like me, that find typos in your posts, after the fact, check the new Google toolbar.

[Wes Bucey]

Originally Posted by Sidney Vianna

Many times, I use MS Word to edit a post/response because of the built in spell check features, but sometimes I use the reply feature directly from the forum. The newest version of the Google toolbar, easily installed on to MS Internet Explorer has a spell check feature that works very well. For those of you, like me, that find typos in your posts, after the fact, check the new Google toolbar.

Interesting! I've had this all along and never realized it. Also a translator and a few other doodads seem to be included.

Some of us might really benefit from these features! I don't have the time to investigate, but I suppose Firefox and Opera also have a similar feature?

[Howard Atkins]

Firefox has a spelling extension that you can add and check with a right click

[Marc]

The latest version of FireFox has a built in spell check which works when you post. I'm using a Mac, but I *assume* this also works on other OS's. In my screen it underlines 'suspect' words with a thin, dotted underline in red.

There is a spell checker for vBulletin out now. It's what is called a 'hack'. That is, it is not built into vBulletin, but someone put together an 'add on' which appears to work OK. In the past this has been a problem because spell checkers can get 'hung up' on a lot of formatting the you may or may not see such as vB Code and such.

I am considering adding the spell check, but I want to play with FireFox a bit. On my Mac there is a 'contextual menu' (right click on screen field) that appears and one of the options is "Spell Check this Field". It appears to underscore 'suspect' words, but isn't interactive as far as I can tell in that it doesn't offer potential spellings (doesn't 'suggest' a 'correct' spelling).

Your comments? Is this still a significant issue for anyone?

[Jim Wynne]

Spell checkers are great, but you have to be careful. This bit of doggerel has been floating around for several years, and illustrates the dangers:

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong. Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

[Marc]

Well, this was a contentious issue a couple of years back. People really do like spell checkers.

Anywho, this is the one that currently looks stable and wsorks with vBulletin. I'm still on the edge, though, because for every 'hack' I install, when there's a vBulleting upgrade I have to manually edit files and templates for 'hacks'. There is CMS so a lot of hacks update thenselves, but most require at least some template editing. So....

Anyway, just thought I'd resurface the issue to see if folks are still wanting a spell checker.

This is the current vBulletin 'hack': vB Spell that I would have to install. Not a big problem, and it appears relatively stable. Like I say, just trying to gage the real interest.

[Scott Catron]

I'm a bad speller and I use the spell checker that comes with the Google toolbar for FireFox when I remember.

If the hack can be set (like a user preference) so that it automatically runs the checker before a post is sent, then I'd be sure to use it.

[Marc]

Originally Posted by Scott_Catron

If the hack can be set (like a user preference) so that it automatically runs the checker before a post is sent, then I'd be sure to use it.

Nope - It's a Click This Button to spell check hack.