Software Review of:
Spell Catcher 

System requirements listed are only Windows NT, Windows 95 or Windows 98. There is no reference to processor speed, memory, or hard disk space needs. From the moment that I opened the package, I have been impressed with what John Tytler and Evan Gross (the authors) have put together. The user manual is one of the best user manuals that I have seen in a month of Sundays It covers an Overview, Installation (for the expert or the novice), a Quick Start Tutorial, Using Spell Catcher, How Spell Catcher Works and the Spell Catcher Menu. The 76-page manual is very thorough and seems to have an answer for every possible question. There are five blank pages at the end for personal notes. 

In addition, the Spell Catcher Quick Reference is provided. This is a heavy, tri-fold card with a slick finish done in red and black with bold selections on white. The Quick Reference summarizes the most important functions of the software and provides the web site URL for each of the following: technical support, message board, FAQ’s, and e-mail. Installation was a breeze — smooth, rapid and ready to work with a bright yellow check mark icon in the indicator bar and on the desktop. By my count, the initial installation uses less than 1 MB of hard disk space but this will increase as I add my words and my expansions. References included are the Large Dictionary, Engineering and Scientific Dictionary, Legal Dictionary, and Medical Dictionary. Supplemental dictionaries / references include Abbreviations, Computer terms, Contractions, Additional (better known as ‘My Words’ and ‘My Expansions), HTML, and Words to Correct. I have not turned on the Engineering and Scientific Dictionary, the Legal Dictionary or the Medical Dictionary but do have everything else turned on. Another reference in Spell Catcher that I find especially useful is the Thesaurus. 

Universal, Interactive Spell Checker, Thesaurus & Shorthand Glossary is the descriptive phrase used by Casady & Greene and within this phrase the most important word is interactive. Spell Catcher is a single program that can be used by every application on the computer; so when I need to add a word or name or specific spelling, it goes into ‘My Words’. I only need to add this word one time because it is then utilized by every application that I open. My Expansions works the same way. I type a few letters that are a shorthand for me and Spell Catcher completes the word. For example typing rls causes Spell Catcher to type Rose Lynn Saenger and I had to type this sentence before I gave Spell Catcher directions on how rls should expand. I have already given it the two letters to expand to Spell Catcher and so that no longer works as an example unless I turn Spell Catcher off. If the letters are typed in lower case for the expansion glossary, then those specific letters will be expanded every time they are typed even if you type in caps or a combination. Adding the letters in caps to the expansion glossary requires you to always use caps in order to expand. I recommend always using lower case letters since I kept forgetting the ones that I had done in capitals. 

After installation, at the first misspelling in each new application, Spell Catcher asks if you want to turn it on. I said ‘yes’ each time I was asked if I wanted to turn it on. As a result, Spell Catcher is looking over my shoulder in Outlook Express (e-mail), the Internet (when typing questions/ responses on web sites), Quicken, Microsoft Works, Paint, Picture It 99, and Word 97. In doing e-mails, it is often easy to forget to run the spell checker, especially if I also am sending attachments. It is really embarrassing to send an email and then, after it is gone, discover misspellings; so I am thrilled to have my misspelled words caught immediately. 

I was really apprehensive when I said ‘yes’ to Spell Catcher in Word 97 because of the interactive spell checker, punctuation and grammar features of Word 97. I find Spell Catcher's pop-up window to be much more to my liking than Microsoft's squiggly underlines. The window  displays possible choices for my mistake and I hit Ctrl and the number of the correction, then continue with my typing. You can also use the mouse pointer to make your selection, but I find ctrl plus the number to be very easy. Word 97 still shows potential errors with squiggly lines but I can now concentrate on the grammar and syntax. I also wondered about the need for Spell Catcher in Picture It 99 but went ahead and said yes and found that it corrects any misspellings that occur both in the add text and in naming the picture that I am saving. One thing that I had to change the fist day that I used Spell Catcher is the sound notification. When an error occurs, a window pops up and a voice speaks "misspelling" or "capitalization" or "punctuation" or "double word". I could tolerate the "voice from space" with everything except the misspelling. I went into settings, error sound and changed voice to a bell. The bell is far more pleasing to my ear. 

You can customize Spell Catcher to suit your style by opening the Spell Catcher settings. The Settings window has eight tabs that enable you to set every aspect from the error sounds which I changed first, to hot keys that will open any single window of Spell Catcher and typing, error detection, references, applications, thesaurus and an advanced tab. The settings window only shows five of the eight tabs that can be opened. The small arrow at the upper right takes you to the other tabs. 

I have left the thesaurus to last because it is my favorite part of Spell Catcher. I can pull up the thesaurus from the yellow check on my task bar, insert the word that I have overused and have a more than acceptable list of synonyms and antonyms. I have used a thesaurus frequently through the years, but this one is so much easier to use than the hard copy books that I have used before. (Sorry — I have only had Word 97 for about 3 months and have not yet learned all of its ins and outs.) 

I have one small problem with Spell Catcher. They failed to include any of the accepted postal abbreviations in the Abbreviation Dictionary. The abbreviation dictionary has abbreviations for days —two or three different- months, weight and measurement, and many abbreviations needed for business such as Gov't, Ltd. Inc. and others but nothing for the states of the union. I never knew I used state abbreviations so often, either. 

Of course, nothing is fail proof and it is still very necessary to proof-read anything that one writes on the computer. There are so many times when one makes a typo but what is typed is a legitimate word spelled correctly. Or when one spells a word that sounds like the word you want to use but is spelled differently giving another meaning to the sentence and Spell Catcher simply does not catch these occasions. 

Spell Catcher is available at several addresses on the Internet. Of course, Casady & Greene have it on their web site as well additional information on Spell Catcher for Windows. Spell Catcher can be downloaded for $19.95 or you can purchase the physical product for $29.95 at Casady & Greene or at PCwebopaedia. Another site that is very much worth checking is Winbundle. This may be a stand-alone site or it may be an extension of the Casady & Greene site, but they have a number of ‘bundles’ at very good prices. One bundle includes Spell Catcher for Windows, Origami Hybrid and a free web buddy 95 for $39.95. Another bundle has Spell Catcher for Windows, Resume Maker Deluxe and free AtChat Win 95 for a total of $39.95. I went by CompUSA and inquired about Spell Catcher but they did not have it.