Spell-Checking in Java

Drawer Code 3/9 in Java Spell-Checking

Writer is able to automatically spell-check as you type. Any words it considers misspelled will be underlined in red. You can choose from a list of possible corrections by right-clicking the word and selecting from the context menu. If you re sure the word is spelled correctly but it doesn t appear to be in the dictionary, you can select Add Standard.dic from the context menu, as shown in Figure 23-3. This will add the word to your own personal dictionary extension (other users won t have access to your dictionary and will need to create their own list of approved words).

Figure 23-3. Any words you re going to use frequently, but which Writer doesn t recognize, can be added to your personal dictionary.

Tip You might find that the spell-checker is set for US English. If you live outside the United States, or need to create documents for readers in other countries, you can choose a dictionary tailored to your locality or needs. To change the language, select Tools Options. In the list on the left, select Language Settings, and then Languages. In the Default Languages for Documents list, select your local variation. This will then become the default for all new documents.

If you find live spell-checking invasive or distracting, you can deactivate it by selecting Tools Spellcheck, clicking the Options button, and removing the check next to Check Spelling As You Type. You can manually spell-check the document at any time by clicking Tools Spellcheck. This will scan through the document and prompt you for corrections for words the program considers misspelled.

Writer includes quite substantial desktop publishing like functions, such as the ability to insert pictures into text documents and to have text flow around pictures. Inserting any kind of graphic a graph, digital camera photo, drawing, or any other type of image is easy. Simply choose Insert Picture From File.

Tip If you have a scanner, you can also scan pictures directly into Writer documents. Simply click Insert

After you ve inserted a picture, you can place it anywhere on the page. When you select the picture, a new toolbar appears. This toolbar contains various simple image-tweaking tools, such as those for altering the brightness, contrast, and color balance of the image. Additionally, by clicking and dragging the blue handles surrounding the image, you can resize it. Graphics that are imported into Writer must be anchored in some way. In other words, they must be linked to a page element so that they don t move unexpectedly. By default, they re anchored to the nearest paragraph, which means that if that paragraph moves, the graphic will move, too. Alternatively, by right-clicking the graphic, you can choose to anchor it to the page, paragraph, or character it is on or next to, as shown in Figure 23-4. Selecting to anchor it to the page will fix it firmly in place, regardless of what happens to the contents of the surrounding text. The As Character option is slightly different from the To Character option. When you choose As Character, the image will be anchored to the character it is next to, and it is actually inserted in the same line as that character, as if it were a character itself. If the image is bigger than the line it is anchored in, the line height will automatically change to accommodate it.

As you can see in Figure 23-4, the context menu also includes a Wrap option, which lets you set the type of text wrap you want to use. By default, Optimal Page Wrap is selected. This causes the text to wrap down just one side of the picture the side on which the picture is farthest from the edge of the page. Alternatives include No Wrap, which will mean that the graphic will occupy the entire space on the page; no text is allowed on either side of it. However, Page Wrap is the best option if you re looking for a desktop publishing style effect, because the text will wrap around both sides of the picture. Alternatively, if you wish the image to appear in the background of the page with text flowing across it, you can select the relevant option from the context menu. As always within OpenOffice.org, ultimate control is achieved by opening the relevant dialog box. You can set up how graphics are treated on the page by right-clicking the image and selecting Picture. In the dialog box that appears, you can select the wrap effect, specify the invisible border around the wrap (which governs how close the text is to the image), and give the image a border frame.