ISPELL V3.1

Table of Contents

• ISPELL
  • Using ispell from emacs
    • Checking a single word
    • Checking a whole buffer
    • Checking a region
    • Using Multiple Dictionaries
  • Old Emacs
  • Your private dictionary
  • All commands in emacs mode
  • Definition of a near miss
  • Where it came from

ISPELL

Ispell is a program that helps you to correct spelling and typographical errors in a file. When presented with a word that is not in the dictionary, ispell attempts to find near misses that might include the word you meant.

This manual describes how to use ispell from within emacs. Other information about ispell is available from the Unix manual pages.

Ispell is a program that helps you to correct spelling errors in a file, and to find the correct spelling of words. When presented with a word that is not in the dictionary, ispell attempts to find near misses that might include the word you meant.

This manual describes how to use ispell, as well as a little about its implementation.

Using ispell from emacs

Checking a single word

The simplest emacs command for calling ispell is 'M-$' (meta-dollar. On some terminals, you must type ESC-$.) This checks the spelling of the word under the cursor. If the word is found in the dictionary, then a message is printed in the echo area. Otherwise, ISPELL attempts to generate near misses.

If any near misses are found, they are displayed in a separate window, each preceded by a digit or character. If one of these is the word you wanted, just type its digit or character, and it will replace the original word in your buffer.

If no near miss is right, or if none are displayed, you have five choices:

I

Insert the word in your private dictionary. Use this if you know that the word is spelled correctly.

A

Accept the word for the duration of this editing session, but do not put it in your private dictionary. Use this if you are not sure about the spelling of the word, but you do not want to look it up immediately, or for terms that appear in your document but are not truly words. The next time you start ispell, it will have forgotten any accepted words.

SPC

Leave the word alone, and consider it misspelled if it is checked again.

R

Replace the word. This command prompts you for a string in the minibuffer. You may type more than one word, and each word you type is checked again, possibly finding other near misses. This command provides a handy way to close in on a word that you have no idea how to spell. You can keep trying different spellings until you find one that is close enough to get a near miss.

L

Lookup. Display words from the dictionary that contain a specified substring. The substring is a regular expression, which means it can contain special characters to be more selective about which words get displayed. See section `Regexps' in emacs. If the only special character in the regular expression is a leading ^, then a very fast