The Firefox web browser has a wonderful feature that underlines your potential spelling mistakes in red. What you may not have noticed is that if you highlight and right-click on the offending word, Firefox will offer suggestions for its correct spelling. Although I consider myself a good speller, I can personally attest to the effect Firefox’s spell check has had on the quality of writing on Of Zen and Computing. Next time you’re typing in a web form and see that dotted red underline, give it a shot.
Another way that I often look up misspelled words is to Google them. CTRL+T to open a new tab, CTRL+L to send the cursor up to the address bar, TAB over to the Google search box, and query for the misspelled word. In most cases, Google will respond with “Did you mean…” and the correct spelling. Once I’ve got it, CTRL+W to close that new tab and go back to where I left off.
I use the Firefox right-click more often though, because…
- It’s faster.
- Google isn’t always right. Try searching Google for “noticabley”, and you’ll see what I mean.
