? Anyway to get a working "user dictionary" in macOS 15.x or does it exist and I just can't find or enable it?

[pm-r]

Maybe it's my old senior years and using a Mac for 35 years or maybe the last big jump from Mac OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan to macOS 15./x Sequoia but every single previous Mac OS I have ever used always had a generic global "user dictionary" that was easy to use and easy to add a customized spelling to its dictionary for the user to use easily.

All Apple support articles say the OS spell check will automatically fix things for you but that doesn't seem to be the case with my newer iMac running Mac OS 15 Sequoia.

Does anyone have a suggestion or can tell me where or how to look or get it working? I can't believe Apple dropped the function or feature.





- Patrick
=======

 

[Jimmysb]

Maybe it's my old senior years and using a Mac for 35 years or maybe the last big jump from Mac OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan to macOS 15./x Sequoia but every single previous Mac OS I have ever used always had a generic global "user dictionary" that was easy to use and easy to add a customized spelling to its dictionary for the user to use easily.

All Apple support articles say the OS spell check will automatically fix things for you but that doesn't seem to be the case with my newer iMac running Mac OS 15 Sequoia.

Does anyone have a suggestion or can tell me where or how to look or get it working? I can't believe Apple dropped the function or feature.





- Patrick
=======

Are talking about the dictionary, or the spell checker!!

 

[Randy B. Singer]

...

All Apple support articles say the OS spell check will automatically fix things for you but that doesn't seem to be the case with my newer iMac running Mac OS 15 Sequoia.

Does anyone have a suggestion or can tell me where or how to look or get it working?

System Settings --> Keyboard --> Text Input

 

[pm-r]

System Settings --> Keyboard --> Text Input

Good grief, really...??? I was wondering if they might have stooped that low.

Was there really something wrong with a simple user dictionary Appl's OS has used for years?

Are talking about the dictionary, or the spell checker!!

I was referring to the "user dictionary" that Apple's OS used to use and seemed to be combined with both the Dictionary application and the user's built-in customized spell checker.

All one had to do was control-click on the particular selected word and choose the "learn spelling" option. Simple and that worked well.



- Patrick
=======

 

[Rod]

All Apple support articles say the OS spell check will automatically fix things for you but that doesn't seem to be the case with my newer iMac running Mac OS 15 Sequoia.

There may have been some changes in how macOS does text correction but the basic process still does the same thing. It does vary dependent on the application you're in though. For example, in this Brave browser if I misspell something it gets underlined and I get the option to choose an alternative like eg. macos is suggested as macOS in a drop down menu. In Pages (and other native apps) either autocorrect suggests a correction and tapping space corrects it (as below) or you can choose to ignore or add to the dictionary, in Word you get to "ignore," "add to dictionary" or "add to autocorrect." So it varies. Personally I would like the native Pages app's options to work in my browser eg.

 

[pm-r]

So it varies. Personally I would like the native Pages app's options to work in my browser eg.

The basic problem I am experiencing when using Apple's Dictation software is that several words or phrases that I use use different spelling to what Apple's dictation insists on its own spelling version so of course it doesn't even get flagged as a spelling error or even questioned.

I miss the simple select the word and click the "learn spelling" option that older Mac OS versions used to have for a global setting. It just worked.

I guess I'll feel better if I at least send Apple a suggestion to add it back in.




- Patrick
=======

 

[Jimmysb]

I am using Brave, but have found this the same in other programmes: misspelt (spell checker NOT dictionary) and I get the chance to addit to my spellchecker:

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Good grief, really...??? I was wondering if they might have stooped that low.

Was there really something wrong with a simple user dictionary Appl's OS has used for years?

System Settings --> Keyboard --> Text Input

That is essentially the same place that that feature has been for many years now. I'm sitting in front of a Mac running Mojave (10.14), and it's basically in the same place. So it's been that way in the Mac OS for, at the minimum, 7 years.

 

[pm-r]

and it's basically in the same place. So it's been that way in the Mac OS for, at the minimum, 7 years.

That's good to know, but I never needed that method with my previous Mac OS X versions has the spell check and use your dictionary I had set up on was using worked well and worked globally, but unfortunately, I have not been able to get this method to work with my new iMac running macOS 15.3.1.

Also please to read that not method is supposed to do the switch automatically but I could not get it to run automatically or manually so I win Googling for an answer, and the results were not good.

It seems to have stopped working for many with apples latest macOS 15.3.1 update, and even many users were reporting troubles getting it to work on previous MacMS versions:
Google Search

So I guess I've come across another macOS "feature" that just doesn't work on my 2020 27-in iMac running macOS 15.3.1 Sequoia, nor does it work on my wife's similar iMac running the same macOS version.

Any other suggestions that would actually work would be more than welcome.

I have currently being using an Apple support document in an attempts to get this text replacement working, but unfortunately, it just doesn't seem to be working. :-(

Replace text and punctuation in documents on Mac

In apps on your Mac, automatically replace text, quotation marks, hyphens and internet addresses in documents.

support.apple.com

- Patrick
=======

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I have currently being using an Apple support document in an attempts to get this text replacement working, but unfortunately, it just doesn't seem to be working.

If the OS's text replacement feature isn't working, you can use this third party utility instead:

Espanso (free)
Espanso - A Privacy-first, Cross-platform Text Expander
(Text expander. Create snippets that when typed expand into often-used terms and boilerplate.)

 

[pm-r]

If the OS's text replacement feature isn't working, you can use this third party utility instead:

Thank you for the help and suggestion Randy, I'll try it a bit later.

I did finally manage to get my macOS to start working and maybe it will improve but currently, it is a bit inconsistent in doing the automatic spelling replacement, often it works and other times it doesn't. Unfortunately, the inconsistency is very annoying and a waste of time but maybe it will improve when it finally starts running and working.

I'm seriously considering installing an earlier macOS version as this macOS 15.3.1 is certainly not impressing me, and all the features that seem to have dropped from previous older OS versions used to work quite well for me.

My next problem is to figure out what happened to the WYSIWYG font display drop-down phone menu list that works so nicely for me with various applications in Mac OS 10.11 El Capitan. Most seem to have disappeared in 15.3.x for no real reason that I have been able to discover. :-(

It's also frustrating that Apple won't allow me to install a free third party font utility that I used occasionally and not even Apple security will allow me to do so using the optional " install anyway" option. Just because the developer doesn't feel like paying an uphold $100 every year just for them to rubber stamp is free offer and allow it to be installed because Apple says it's okay to do so once they get paid.

We'll probably see a lot of free applications and utilities become unavailable because of Apple's philosophy and greed.

Unless anyone know of a workaround for a small application that used to work in previous Mac OS versions safely and without any conflicts.





- Patrick
=======

 

[MacBiter]

If the OS's text replacement feature isn't working, you can use this third party utility instead:

Espanso (free)
Espanso - A Privacy-first, Cross-platform Text Expander
(Text expander. Create snippets that when typed expand into often-used terms and boilerplate.)

I've been using TypeIt4Me for 30 years - it's modestly priced and is a superb text expander which also comes with a default 'corrections' database; that contains thousands of corrections, for example if you type 'adn' it will correct it to 'and'.

TypeIt4Me: Try the original text expander for Mac 100% free. .

 

[pm-r]

If the OS's text replacement feature isn't working, you can use this third party utility instead:

Espanso (free)
Espanso - A Privacy-first, Cross-platform Text Expander
(Text expander. Create snippets that when typed expand into often-used terms and boilerplate.)

Well, thanks for the suggestion but I'll have to look for something that I can get to work on my 2020 iMac running Mac OS 15 Sequoia.

After spending several days on and off with various attempts and checking out about a dozen web pages of instructions all I've accomplished is wasting a whole bunch of time trying to get this software to work.

According to the software developer he says that it should be compatible and should work. May be it does, but I'll leave it to the software Geeks to figure out how to get it to run and be a useful application.

Getting Started | Espanso

In this section, we will cover the basics of Espanso to quickly get you started.

espanso.org

Good luck to anyone who wants to try installing it on their Mac, and hopefully it will work for you if you can get it to run and get it configured for your use.



- Patrick
=======

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Well, thanks for the suggestion but I'll have to look for something that I can get to work on my 2020 iMac running Mac OS 15 Sequoia.

You've posted about a surprising amount of stuff that you can't find, or can't get to work on your Mac, Patrick. Lots of problems that no one else is complaining of.

It's beginning to sound like you have a less than perfect installation of the Mac OS. Maybe it's time to use Recovery to install a fresh copy of the Mac OS to see if that resolves everything? Or, maybe you should fall back to an earlier version of the Mac OS that you are more comfortable with?

How to revert macOS to the previous version
https://appleinsider.com/inside/macos/tips/how-to-revert-macos-to-the-previous-version

 

[pm-r]

You've posted about a surprising amount of stuff that you can't find, or can't get to work on your Mac, Patrick. Lots of problems that no one else is complaining of.

I was only replying back to a recommendation you made to overcome a problem I was experiencing to see if Espanso could not solve it but I could not get it to work along with several others who reported the same thing on various web pages and I will say it does not appear to be what one would call a normally installed macOS application or utility.

And considering macOS 15.x Sequoia's increase in security I'm not surprised I cannot get it to work especially when I read a helpful support comment as a solution for the problem:

Does it Spencer work in Mac OS Sequoia 15?

skylatian on Sep 24, 2024

Can confirm it works. Needed to click "Launch SecureInput auto-fix" and close (then re-open) my password manager, but it's working flawlessly now.

There was no such file at the developer's site to download or use and a quick search couldn't find one either so I gave up.

As I said, not exactly a normal macOS application or utility installation.

I'll look for something that works a bit easier and a bit more mac normal thanks, and I sure wouldn't blame my whole OS installation as being goofy just because of one or two third party applications that may not work properly or as least close to what I was expecting according to their description.


- Patrick
=======

 

[pm-r]

I'll look for something that works a bit easier and a bit more mac normal thanks,

It seems I don't even need to bother at least regarding what I thought was the correct spelling and usage of "Mac OS" and what I thought was the newer correct spelling and usage, "macOS" and it seems that my built-in spell checkers are trading it and spelling it the correct way according to some statements on the internet:

macOS doesn't automatically spellcheck or correct "Mac OS" because it's considered a proper noun, and most spellcheck systems are designed to not flag proper nouns as spelling errors, even if they are technically abbreviated or slightly incorrect; it recognizes "Mac OS" as a specific product name and therefore doesn't attempt to change it.

Key points:
Proper noun recognition:
Spellcheck algorithms are designed to identify and not flag proper nouns like company names, locations, or product names, which includes "Mac OS."

So, I shall just leave it as it's entered and spelled as my Mac OS dictation says it should be.
I'm sure most readers would understand what it's referring to, especially on a Mac forums forum.

Who knew?



- Patrick
=======

 

[pm-r]

maybe you should simply fall back to the version of the Mac OS that you liked.

Hmmm...??? I don't think I could get Mac OS X Snow Leopard (version 10.6.x) and all the applications I used working properly on this 2020 iMac.
Personally, I think that may have been the best Macintosh Operating System Apple ever produced.

But then again, I couldn't operate this iMac with out some of the improvements Apple has developed and supplied with their latest versions.




- Patrick
=======

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X_Snow_Leopard​

 

[Jimmysb]

Isn’t time to a halt to this thread, not taking side, but it is getting far from friendly.

 

[MacBiter]

Personally, I think that may have been the best Macintosh Operating System Apple ever produced.

for me, that's Mavericks .

 

[Raz0rEdge]

And that's enough of that.