Can i change the dictionary for spell checking

Question

Hi,
I am using the trial version of robo help and I am testing
how the support for german is.
I changed my project to german (file / project setings /
language). The result up to now is, that there is german spell
checking, but the dictionary used doesn't know all words that I' m
using. Of course I can add word by word to the dictionory, but I
dont't like to do this hard job.
Is there a way to use the dictionary which MS Word is using,
which would be very fine for me?
If anyone can help me, thanks for this.
Kindly regards
Fritzj

Answer 1

Hi all
I did a bit of digging around and here is what I've
discovered. Hopefully it will help?
I am using Word 2003, so the method outlined here is for that
version. Note that I'm not a particularly rabid Word user, as I
tend to avoid it if at all possible, so I suppose other versions
may differ. Additionally, I'm assuming here that you are referring
to the personal dictionary and not one that is supplied by virtue
of installing Word or some other component.
In Word, I located the personal dictionary. (Tools >
Options... > Spelling & Grammar tab > Custom
Dictionaries... button) This listed the "Full path" of
C:\...\Application Data\Microsoft\Proof\CUSTOM.DIC. I find this
mildly amusing, as I can't truly see the "full path" and am left
wondering what lies between C:\ and \Application Data. I mean, ...
could be anything, no?
So on a hunch, I looked in the following location:
C:\Documents and Settings\Rick Stone\Application
Data\Microsoft\Proof
As luck would have it, there was CUSTOM.DIC all big as life
and twice as natural.
Suspecting it was a simple ASCII text file as the RoboHelp
HTML personal dictionary is, I tried opening it using Windows
Notepad. Sure enough, it popped open. Seems to simply list terms
with no other information.
So at this point, we know how to access the contents of the
personal dictionary for Word 2003. Now let's look at RoboHelp HTML,
shall we?
In RoboHelp HTML, you click Tools > Spelling Options...
> Dictionaries tab. Here, you should see Personal Dictionary.tlx
listed in the left panel bearing the label of "Used dictionaries:"
(Sorta sounds like a library sale, eh?) To the right of the file
name, in the same pane, you should see the path listed. Mine reads:
file://C:/Documents and Settings/Rick Stone/Application
Data/eHelp/Lexicons/Personal Dictionary.tlx
I opened it using Windows Notepad and here is what I see:
#LID 30840
1boffo i
2xzxz azxzx
3ppp ApPp
4azx cxza
5winnie CWiNnIe
6garbo e
I have some really odd terms in there. And for good reason!
During my initial spelunking, it appears that a particular
structure is in place. So I tested by adding terms along with
different options for each term. The terms listed are matched to
the option used when you click the Modify... button on the Spelling
Options dialog.
1boffo i
1boffo is the term and the i means "No action" is the option
used for the term.
2xzxz azxzx
2xzxz is the term and the a means "Auto Change" is the option
used for the term. The zxzx following the a indicates the term to
automatically change to.
3ppp ApPp
3ppp is the term and the A means "Auto Change (Preserve
Case)" is the option used for the term. The pPp following the A
indicates the term to automatically change to.
4azx cxza
4azx is the term and the c means "Change" is the option used
for the term. The xza following the c inidicates the term to offer
to change to.
5winnie CWiNnIe
5winnie is the term and the C means "Change (Preserve Case)
is the option used for the term. The WINnie following the C
indicates the term to offer to change to.
6garbo e
6garbo is the term and the e means "Treat as misspelled" is
the option used for the term.
Sooo, having looked all that over, it would seem as simple as
copying the contents of the original Personal Dictionary from Word,
then opening the Personal Dictionary from RoboHelp HTML and pasting
the terms in. Then try modifying them a tad by inserting an "i"
following the term. I'm not sure if a tab is what was used between
the term and the i, so it may take a bit of trial and error.
Hopefully this helps a bit... Rick