Adding the Word Check bookmarklet to the bookmarks bar.

Recently I received an email from a person having troubles setting up the Word Check bookmarklet on their bookmarks bar. I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some tips and things I found out as a result of the person's question.

First let me explain the Word Check bookmarklet and why it can be handy.

Most of us know what a bookmark is when using the internet. For those who don't, when you visit a website using your browser, you can add a bookmark to the site. Later you can go back to your stored bookmarks, find the bookmark you want and using that bookmark, quickly return to the site. When I research a topic, or even a holiday, I may add quite a few bookmarks to help me quickly revisit the sites I found interesting. I also have bookmarks for sites I regularly visit.

Bookmarks are stored in the browser and are usually accessed via the menus. Browsers also usually have a bar which you can display where you can save your favourite bookmarks. This is called the bookmarks bar. If you use a bookmark frequently, having the bookmark right there in front of you on the bookmark bar can save quite a bit of time. I've also found for people less familiar with technology, having their favourite sites listed on the bookmark bar can improve their experience with the internet.

A bookmark basically holds a web address. Select the bookmark and you'll go to the web address or site. A bookmarklet however is quite different. Bookmarklets are mini programs or scripts software developers can create and make available to others. Bookmarklets come in handy when you do the same task often, because instead of taking a number of steps to do something, by automating what you do, you can take less steps.

Let's take an example.

When Julia Gillard mentioned the word misogynist and it was reported in the media, the word misandry was also mentioned. I didn't know what misandry meant. When I find a word I don't know the meaning I look it up. This means going to a dictionary site, typing the word in and pressing enter. I could also have selected the word and then done a copy and paste.

I use Word Check (a tool I wrote) to check first if the word is a valid or preferred Australian English spelling and then use the links in Word Check to look up the meaning in the Online Oxford or Wikipedia.

I look up words frequently so for me, automating the process helps to save quite a bit of time. This is where a bookmarklet comes in handy. I've written the Word Check bookmarklet which means I can highlight the word (using the mouse to drag across the word, or double click on the word) and then click on the Word Check bookmarklet on my bookmarks bar. The Word Check bookmarklet takes the highlighted word, opens the Word Check page, passes the highlighted word to Word Check and Word Check displays the result. One highlight, one click to check the word and then one more click to get the meaning. Much faster than highlight word, copy word, enter or search for dictionary site, paste in word, press enter.

Now hopefully we're all on the same page with bookmarklets. On the Word Check page (http://www.australian-dictionary.com.au/wordcheck/) towards the bottom I've included the link for the Word Check bookmarklet.

In most browsers all you need to do is click on the link and drag and drop the link onto your bookmarks bar to set up the bookmarklet for easy access. The following are more detailed instructions on how to install and test the Word Check bookmarklet on the bookmarks bar in Google Chrome.

1. Show the bookmarks bar as follows.

Click on the three vertical dots at the right
Click Bookmarks
Click Show bookmarks bar

2. On the Word Check page (http://www.australian-dictionary.com.au/wordcheck/) drag the bookmarklet link to the bookmarks bar.

As you drag the link (left mouse click and drag) a circle with a cross through it will appear.
As you reach the bookmarks bar the circle will change into a +.
Release the left mouse button to drop the link onto the bookmarks bar.

You should now have a bookmark named Word Check on the bookmarks bar.

To test, highlight any word on the current web page using the mouse, or double click on a word so it is selected.

Now click on Word Check in the bookmarks bar.

This passes the selected word to Word Check. The same as entering the word manually but much easier to drag and drop if you do this a lot.

Now you know what a bookmarklet is and how to install the Word Check bookmarklet in Google Chrome. What could possibly go wrong!

Whilst bookmarklets generally work this way, not all browsers across all operating systems work exactly the same way.

The following is a list of browsers which work this way.

Safari on macOS
Edge on Windows 10
Chrome on Windows 10
Internet Explorer on Windows 7
Chrome on Windows 7

Chrome on macOS does not allow you to drag and drop the link to add the bookmarklet to the bookmarks bar. For Chrome on macOS you'll need to do the following.

1. Right click on the bookmarklet link on the Word Check page (http://www.australian-dictionary.com.au/wordcheck/).
2. Select Copy Link Address
3. Right click on the bookmarks bar
4. Select Add Page
5. Type in Word Check as the Name
6. Paste into the URL field using Command+V the previously copied link address
7. Click Save

You now have the Word Check bookmarklet saved on the bookmarks bar in Google Chrome.

In the past, and I can't remember which browser it was, one technique I used was to edit an existing bookmark on the bookmarks bar and change the Name and URL to the values for Word Check.

Hopefully this post now provides you with sufficient information if you have issues installing the Word Check bookmarklet.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

Is the spelling grey or gray?

In Australia, The Fifty Shades of Grey novel could easily be mistaken for a book about an achromatic colour as opposed to the person, Christian Grey. In Australia we use the word grey to refer to an achromatic colour and gray, is the SI derived unit of measurement of absorbed dose of ionising radiation. There’s no such confusion in America, as gray is both the spelling of the achromatic colour and the SI derived unit of measurement.

If you perform a search for the terms “grey colour” and “gray colour”, using Google for sites in Australia (sites ending in .au), what you’ll find is more pages contain the incorrect spelling gray at a ratio of 4:3. The word grey is an unusual word as it appears more people spell the word incorrectly than correctly.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

Business person or businessperson

Is it business person or businessperson?

Businessman is listed in both the Australian Oxford and Macquarie dictionaries as a single word. Businessperson/business person isn’t listed in the Australian Oxford, but is listed in the Macquarie dictionary as one word.

If you perform a check on the internet using Google for sites ending in .au, you’ll find a ratio 1 to 5 people using business person or business people, when they really should be using businessperson and businesspeople. Perhaps not Surprisingly then, there’s a ratio of 1 to 5 people spelling businessman as two words, when they shouldn’t.

If you’re using Microsoft products the problem is, if you type business person or businessperson, both are considered correct. The reason in the case of business person is because the spellchecker looks at each of these words individually, and since both business and person are themselves valid words, there’s no spelling mistake. Another gotcha is many people use online dictionary resources such as the online UK Oxford dictionary or Wiktionary. In many cases these are not suitable for Australia. The online UK Oxford dictionary lists the spelling as business person, which doesn’t correspond to the Australian spelling.

TIP: If you’re not sure whether the spelling of a word should contain a space or not, type the word without a space and the spellchecker will generally let you know if it is a spelling error or not.

Kelvin Eldridge
The preferred Australian English spelling.
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

NOTE: The above article was written for and published in the Credit Matters newsletter.

The Australian Spelling Test - The Sequel.

My last spelling test provided quite popular, although it was harder than most people thought it would be because it was designed to highlight the two spelling variations of many words, and most of us really, don't realise there's a secondary spelling. If we're using that secondary spelling variation then that's the way we'll spell the word never realising there's any other way.

My second spelling test is more straight forward. It's simply a list of 20 words and the variations people have entered into Word Check when trying to spell the word, or check the word's meaning. No tricks. Just whether you know the spelling or not.

Best of all, for those who like to check their spelling prowess, you can find The Australian Spelling Test - The Sequel at http://www.australian-dictionary.com.au/spelling-test-sequel/.

Enjoy.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au
The preferred Australian English spelling.

Is it colour or color?

The spelling of the word colour in Australia contains the letter 'u'. The spelling without the letter 'u' is the American spelling. However, sometimes for some people this isn't clear.

One time when I asked a person why they spelt the word colour without the 'u' they said, "that's how I've always spelt it". It turned out they had an American teacher at school.

In the Fifth Edition of the Macquarie Dictionary the spellings colour and color were considered equal. In the Six Edition of the Macquarie Dictionary the spelling colour is now the primary spelling and the spelling color is listed as an 'Also' spelling, meaning it is a secondary less used spelling. If the Macquarie Dictionary can change its stance on the spelling of the word colour, it makes sense this is not as simple as people would think and why many people would be confused.

A check using Google of sites ending in .au, returns 7.23 million for colour and 7.5 million for color. A search using Bing, limiting results to the Australian region, returns 8.62 million for colour and 3.74 million for color. In the case of Google, one could easily feel we're seeing a change to color, but if you use Bing, the spelling is clearly in favour of colour. It really just depends on the data you're using to base your decisions. One extra point to keep in mind, is often in Australia the spelling color is used in brand names and that could potentially increase the returned values for usage, but brand name spelling is not necessarily correct spelling.

For the Macquarie Dictionary to reduce the spelling color from an equal to a secondary spelling, shows the Macquarie Dictionary team have put effort into reviewing the spelling variations and this should indicate the spelling colour is the primary spelling in Australia.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

Disorganised or unorganised?

It is unusual for a word to be used with two different prefixes. Often people use the word unorganised when they really mean disorganised and it can be very obvious to others.

Unorganised relates to structure or a system. The data was unorganised. The staff were unorganised as they had not formed a union. Disorganised relates more to the current state, The person was disorganised.

To confuse things further, both words could be used in the same sentence. The person’s desk was disorganised. The person’s desk was unorganised. The use of disorganised implies the desk may have once been organised. The use of unorganised implies the desk had not been organised. We’ve all been there. Tight deadlines, lots of work, can result in a disorganised desk. A new job with a new desk, that is unorganised. Although keep in mind, sometimes using different words may be better for the reader. A new job with a new desk, that has not been organised.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

NOTE: The above article was written for and published in the Credit Matters newsletter.

Is it thank you or thankyou?

It is very easy to be polite and say thank you. However, when you write thank you there’s a choice.

The choice is thank you as two words, or thankyou as one word.

The preferred Australian spelling is to spell thank you as two words.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au