Spell check questions

[robleyd]

I've just answered (yet) another spell check not working question from a first poster who obviously hadn't the time available to search the forum

Getting to the point, is there any way that some sort of message can be added on the home page that directs people to the solution for spell check problems - in the hope that some might actually notice it and thus be able to resolve their own problem? In big red letters would be nice

[RoryOF]

John_Ha has a batch file which does the quick fix for Windows. We are considering how best to make this available - my thoughts are a small, prominent tutorial dealing only with that. The Forum software will not permit a .BAT file be distributed directly, so the file needs to be renamed. It is possible that such manipulation may be beyond the abilities of inexperienced users.

To be frank, I am becoming increasingly depressed at the inability of newer users to search, read, understand and follow even the simplest instructions. Volunteers may note that when a User announces that he has "X" years of computer experience, he frequently has no in-depth knowledge of fault-finding. I think always of Talleyrand's categorisation of the Bourbon dynasty, that "they had learned nothing and forgotten nothing."

[Hagar Delest]

I've just answered (yet) another spell check not working question from a first poster who obviously hadn't the time available to search the forum

It has always been so for years with the spell check issue.


In fact, most of the questions have already been answered. But it's true that some keywords yield more results than others for less trivial issues.
Redirecting users to the relevant discussion has always been one of the most time consuming tasks. That's why I try to give the link to a relevant topic. I hope it increases the ranking of the page when doing a web search.

The product is not that bad, sometimes, the users should be improved.

[robleyd]

Sometimes it seems that x years of experience translates to "did the same thing every year for x years" rather than x years of continuous learning.

As far as providing the .bat file, an alternative might be to zip it - one would hope that would be within the skill set of the greater portion of users; there seem to be some bat to exe converters out there but if bat isn't an option then exe or com wouldn't be for obvious reasons. Using a script to do the rename should reduce the likelihood of users not knowing the difference between the address and search bars in the Windows file manager software (however called). Once upon a time it was called File Manager
!

File Manager in Win 3.11

[keme]

Perhaps we need to look close to home... Are we too eager to please?

Some helpers (in particular I have noted Villeroy and Zizi64), are quite clear about requiring the asker to make an effort. For myself I must say I am not good at this. I may have encouraged laziness...

[John_Ha]

I think it would be an excellent idea if there was a sticky post at the top of the Writer forum saying PLEASE READ ME BEFORE POSTING (- AND SPELL CHECK PROBLEMS?) so that there was a chance that posters would see it when they joined the forum.

It would point them to the Survival Guide, Manuals, Tutorials and FAQs, and ask them first to search before posting. It could also list the most common queries (spell check, red lines, page numbering, automatic functions, etc) and direct users to the relevant Tutorial and also give them a search for that topic.

The developer hanya has written this Python script for spellcheck problems which fixes the actual problem properly instead of the "band aid" solutions we come up with - Spell checker "red wriggly lines" - beta test fix.

Rory - If this Python script could be included as part of the 4.1.4 and future versions download, we would just have to ask people to run it. At present we have to ask them to download it, create a folder for it, copy it to the folder - and then run it. A thought - perhaps I could write a simple bat file which would do all those things, but it would work only in Windows, not Mac or Linux.

The spellcheck batch files are pretty simple - see zip file below.

It is only ...\config\*.* which is corrupted - all the other files can be brought back. It requires three steps

1 Stop AOO and quickstarter

2 Run spellfix_1.bat. >>>> this renames the user profile to \user.old. If \user.old exists from a previous attempt, it deletes it first.

3 Start AOO. Stop AOO. >>>> this creates a new, empty, default profile.

4 Run spellfix_2.bat. >>>> This copies everything from \user.old except \user.old\config which is the corrupted folder. It overwrites everything in the newly created \user and suppresses the request for confirmation.

If the user does not copy back his configuration files he loses his added words dictionary, his autocorrects, his macros etc. Unfortunately some user configuration data appears to be stored in the \user\config folder where the corruption lies and is lost if the folder is not copied back. For example, I have my AOO configured with macro icons on the toolbar and the icons are missing from the toolbar if I don't copy back the \user\config files (

It looks like Spell checker "red wriggly lines" - beta test fix is the best way to go if it is to be automated.

[John_Ha]

Might it be a good idea if the first - and hopefully only - responder to any spellcheck post gave a standard response like below? Copy the text string from the code.

Follow the instructions in Resetting the user profile. If that fails, read [Troubleshooting] Spell check in OpenOffice or search the forum with spell.

Code: Select all

Follow the instructions in [url=https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=74&t=12426#p58403]Resetting the user profile[/url].  If that fails, read [url=https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=74&t=16512][Troubleshooting] Spell check in OpenOffice[/url] or search the forum with [i]spell[/i].

[Hagar Delest]

Well, that's basically what we all do.
Some tend to provide only the tip for the profile reset because in most case, this is the actual fix.

Note that the links within the forum can be optimized with the RELative BBCode:

Code: Select all

Follow the instructions in [rel=viewtopic.php?f=74&t=12426#p58403]Resetting the user profile[/rel].  If that fails, read [rel=viewtopic.php?f=74&t=16512][Troubleshooting] Spell check in OpenOffice[/rel] or search the forum with [i]spell[/i].

[Hagar Delest]

Well, again this evening a new post about spell check.
I've added a sticky post in the Install forum and the Writer forum. Let's see if that helps.

[Hagar Delest]

I closed a report from MrProgrammer about the topic in the Install forum: I did not lock it so that users can tell if it helped or not. The one in the Writer forum is locked and there is a link pointing to the one in the install forum to post a reply (I tried the shadow feature but the shadow is not kept as a sticky, thus I made a identical topic).

I'm concerned with the visibility of such topics. Stickies are not always well visible IMHO. Making it an Annoucement may help.
Thoughts?

BTW, should we keep the announce about the 4.1.3 release?

[robleyd]

If adding an announcement is a simple process, I'd say do it! It may increase the likelihood of newcomers actually seeing and looking at it.

BTW, should we keep the announce about the 4.1.3 release?

It is now 8 months old - possibly past its use by date I would support removal.

[RoryOF]

There should shortly be a release of 4.1.4

[acknak]

+1 for making the spell check an announcement.

I can't find any issue for this, but even if it is fixed in 4.1.4, people using older versions will still need to know how to resolve it.