Section 32. Correcting Spelling Automatically

#32. Correcting Spelling Automatically

If you've ever used Microsoft Word's AutoCorrect features, you've probably noticed that as you're typing it will fix blatant mistakes you make and underline words it doesn't recognize. For example, if you type "teh," it changes it to "the." If you type "InDesign," it underlines it to let you know that it might be misspelled. InDesign works the same wayexcept the automatic spelling correction and the underlining of possibly misspelled words are both turned off by default. You can easily turn these features on and off as you need them, and they are both customizable.

Using Autocorrect

To automatically correct common misspellings as you type, choose Edit > Spelling > Autocorrect. You can also check Enable Autocorrect in the Autocorrect panel in the Preferences dialog box. The Autocorrect panel lets you edit InDesign's default list of common misspellings as well. Note that Autocorrect is not retroactiveit will not go through existing text and correct it. It works only as you type.

Underlining Unrecognized Words

To have InDesign underline spelling issues, choose Edit > Spelling > Dynamic Spelling. By default, squiggly red lines underline possible misspellings and squiggly green lines underline duplicated words and potential capitalization errors. For possible misspellings, you can Control-click (Mac OS) or right-click (Windows) to display a context menu (Figure 32). You can choose from a list of suggested spellings, add the spelling to the user dictionary, or ignore all instances of the spelling. If you choose Add or Ignore All from the context menu, the word is no longer underlined.

Figure 32. InDesign does not recognize "Michener" nor "expat" so it underlines both. Displaying a context menu lets you choose a different spelling, add it to your dictionary, or ignore it.

Using Autocorrect as a Macro

While Autocorrect is handy for fixing mistakes, you can also use it as a poor man's macro to save yourself keystrokes. If you type the same phrase over and over"at 5,280 feet in the milehigh city" for exampleyou could have InDesign Autocorrect instances of "a5ft" to actually read "at 5,280 feet in the milehigh city."