Dreamweaver MX: The Missing Manual

Spell Checking

You spend a lot of time perfecting your Web pages, making sure the images look great, that the text is properly formatted, and that everything aligns to make a beautiful visual presentation. But one step is often forgotten, especially given the hyperspeed development process of the Web—making sure your Web pages are free from typos.

Spelling mistakes give an unprofessional impression and imply a lack of attention to detail. Who wants to hire an “illustraightor” or “Web dezyner”? Dreamweaver’s spell checking feature can help you.

About Dictionaries

Before you start spell checking, you should make sure that the correct dictionary is selected. Dreamweaver comes with fourteen dictionaries for eleven different languages, plus three English variations and both Iberian and Brazilian Portuguese. When it checks your spelling, the program compares the text in your document against the list of words in one of these dictionaries.

To specify a dictionary, choose Edit→Preferences (Dreamweaver MX→Preferences in Mac OS X)—or press Ctrl+U (-U)—to open the Preferences dialog box. Select the General category, and then choose a language from the Spelling Dictionary pop-up menu.

Performing the Check

Once you’ve selected a dictionary, open the Web page whose spelling you wish to check. You can check as much or as little text as you like, as follows:

1. Highlight the text (which can be even a single ...