Spell-checking and thesaurus

HoTMetaL PRO provides an HTML-aware spell-checker and thesaurus.

Using the spell checker

The Check Spelling... command in the Edit menu allows you to spell-check all or part of the text of your document, using one or more dictionaries.

When you choose Check Spelling... or click on the toolbar button, HoTMetaL PRO spell-checks your document, starting at the insertion point and continuing through the document, wrapping around to the top when the end of the document has been reached. If a word is found that has no entry in any of the dictionaries, a dialog box appears: the word is displayed at the bottom of the dialog box next to the label Misspelled Word and is also highlighted in the document window.

The list in the dialog box will present a number of possible substitutions: this list includes words whose spelling or pronunciation is close to the unrecognized word. The words are listed in decreasing order of probability that they are the correct substitution.

Correcting a misspelled word

If one of the words in the list is the correct substitute for the misspelled word, you can click on that word. The word you chose is then put in the text entry box labeled Replace with. You can also type replacement text of your choice in the text entry box directly. This text entry box initially contains the unrecognized word. When the text entry box contains the desired substitution, click on the [Replace] button to make the correction to the document and continue spell-checking.

Leaving a word as-is

If the unrecognized word is a word that you consider spelled correctly (perhaps it is a jargon word, a proprietary name, etc.) then you have several options.

• If you expect this word to appear again in this document or in other documents, you can add it to the user dictionary by clicking on the [Add to Dictionary] button. If there is no current user dictionary you will get a Load Dictionary dialog. Use this dialog as described in the section on editing dictionaries. After you load the dictionary, you will have to click on [Add to Dictionary] again to add the word to the user dictionary. The next time you spell-check with the same user dictionary, the spell checker will not stop at this word.
• If you want the unrecognized word to be ignored by Check Spelling... only for the duration of this HoTMetaL PRO session, click on the [Ignore] button. This causes the word to be put into a temporary list of correctly spelled words, and subsequent occurrences will be ignored. The next time HoTMetaL PRO is invoked with the same dictionaries, the spell checker will again stop at this word.
• If you do not want to take any special action, click on the [Next] button. This causes the search to resume; if the word occurs again in the document, the spell checker will stop at it.

HoTMetaL PRO informs you when no more misspelled words are found.

Restricting spell checking

You can restrict spell checking to a selection in your document. This must be done in two parts. First, define the restricted search area:

• Highlight the portion of the document that you wish to restrict spell checking to.
• Click on the [Set Restriction] button in the Check Spelling dialog box.

This causes the restricted search area to be defined. Even if you later highlight some other part of the document, HoTMetaL PRO will still know where the restricted area is. This process does not actually enable restricted spell checking. To do this, you must then:

• Click in the check box labeled Restrict.

If it is turned on, restricted spell checking is enabled.

Choosing the spell checking `language'

HoTMetaL PRO can check for American English or British English spelling. The lexicon for each `language' is contained in a system dictionary that is shipped with HoTMetaL PRO. System dictionaries cannot be edited.

The default is American English. To switch to British English, you must open the file hmpro3rc in the HoTMetaL PRO directory with a text editor (e.g., vi). Find the line:

spell_checking_language=AMERICAN

Change it to:

spell_checking_language=BRITISH

Save the file.

You must also go to the Spell Checking section of the Options dialog and change the supplementary dictionary and user dictionary to their British counterparts:

• Click on the [Choose] button beside the User dictionary text entry box and select the file user3b.dct in the lib/spell directory under the HoTMetaL PRO directory.
• Delete the supplementary dictionary listing for hmpro3u.dct by clicking on the [Delete] button.
• Add the supplementary dictionary listing for hmpro3b.dct by clicking on the [Add] button and selecting it from the lib/spell directory under the HoTMetaL PRO directory.
• Restart HoTMetaL PRO.

Normally there should be no reason to move the system dictionaries, but if you have to, you must indicate the new System Dictionary Path in the Spell Checking section of the Options dialog.

User dictionaries

You can create a personal user dictionary to which you can add your own list of words that do not appear in the system dictionary. This way you avoid having the spell checker stop at the same words over and over.

You can select a default user dictionary in the Spell Checking section of the Options dialog box. You can also choose the default dictionary file extension in this dialog box. You can load a different dictionary during a HoTMetaL PRO session, but only one user dictionary can be loaded at a time.

The default user dictionary is the file user3u.dct, located in the lib/spell directory in the HoTMetaL PRO directory: this file is always loaded when you launch HoTMetaL PRO.

Creating or loading a dictionary

To create a new user dictionary or load an existing user dictionary:

• Choose Edit Dictionary... from the Edit menu.
• If no dictionary is currently loaded, you will get the Load Dictionary file chooser dialog box. If there is a dictionary already loaded, you'll get the Edit Dictionary dialog box. Click on the [Load Dictionary...] button to get the Load Dictionary dialog.
• In the Load Dictionary dialog box, choose the name of the dictionary you want to load. If you enter the name of a file that does not exist, HoTMetaL PRO will ask if you want to create a new dictionary.

Editing a user dictionary

User dictionaries are binary files and cannot be modified with a text editor. To edit a user dictionary:

• Create or load the user dictionary.
• Choose Edit Dictionary....

HoTMetaL PRO brings up the Edit Dictionary dialog box. This dialog contains a list of words in the current user dictionary.

To add a word to the dictionary:

• Enter the word in the text entry box labeled Word and click on the [Add Word] button.

To delete a word from the dictionary:

• Click on that word in the list and then click on the [Delete Word] button.

You may prefer to add words to the user dictionary during a spell checking session.

Changes to the user dictionary will be saved automatically when you quit HoTMetaL PRO, save the current file, or switch dictionaries.

Supplementary dictionaries

You can specify as many as 24 supplementary dictionaries, which are generally lexicons of specialized terminology for a specific field such as medicine or law. The difference between supplementary dictionaries and the user dictionary is that supplementary dictionaries cannot be modified during a spell checking session unless you load one explicitly using Edit Dictionary.... Supplementary dictionaries are created and developed using Edit Dictionary..., just like user dictionaries.

You can enter the names of supplementary dictionaries that you want to use in the Spell Checking section of the Options dialog box.

You then have to restart HoTMetaL PRO for this setting to take effect.

HoTMetaL PRO is shipped with a default supplementary dictionary, hmpro3u.dct, which contains a list of Internet-related terms.

Using the thesaurus

HoTMetaL PRO lets you look up words in an on-line thesaurus.

• In the document, highlight the word that you want to look up.
• Choose the Thesaurus... command in the Edit menu, or click on the toolbar button.

The document must contain a selected word when you choose the command. The selection will be displayed at the top of the Thesaurus dialog box; if the selection is a word in the thesaurus, then the number of meanings for that word that the thesaurus contains will be indicated, and the first meaning displayed. The buttons [Next Meaning] and [Previous Meaning] can be used to display the different meanings. If the thesaurus does not contain the selected word, the dialog box will give a message indicating this.

The dialog box contains a menu that is used to display lists of words that are somehow related to the selected word (with the meaning you have chosen).

The choices are:

• Synonym - gives words that have the same or almost the same meaning as the current selection
• Antonym - gives words that have the opposite or almost the opposite meaning to the current selection
• Related - gives words whose meanings are similar to the current selection, but not as close as synonyms
• Contrasted - gives words that oppose the current selection, though not as directly as antonyms
• See Also - gives words that describe ideas related to the current selection

If you want to replace the current selection with a word from one of these lists, click on the word from the list and then click on the [ Replace] button. Alternately, you can type a word directly into the text entry box labeled Replace with and then click on the [Replace] button. Any word that you select from one of the lists is immediately inserted in this text entry box.

If you wish to invoke the thesaurus with a new word from the document, highlight the desired word and click on the [Get Word] button.

The thesaurus is not editable.