Annoying Blue Dots Underneath Words

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Level 1

32 points

Annoying Blue Dots Underneath Words

Can someone please explain to me how I can remove the little blue dots underneath some words when typing? They are everywhere; composing emails, typing inside a website text box, typing inside Notes ad infinitum...

It's been happening for years.

I understand that they serve a purpose (I'm not convinced what, except to drive me bonkers!), but even if I have made a correction, they don't disappear until I either backspace and delete the last letter of a word and re-type it or I delete something from somewhere else and type something.

I don't wish to turn off "Correct Spelling Automatically".

I understand the red dots are for spelling mistakes, but the blue ones mystify me... and frustrate me all day long!

My OCD brain drives me crazy. I think Apple should consult individuals who think differently...

Thanks : )

MacBook Air (2020 or later)

Posted on Aug 31, 2021 8:25 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

inknpaper Author

Level 1

32 points

Aug 31, 2021 3:05 PM in response to jeffreythefrog

Unfortunately, it wasn't the answer I was looking for; I know the blue dots are attached to Spelling (I did mention that I didn't want to turn off that feature in my original post).

I just want to know if there is way to turn off the blue dots, but I presume that's not an option unless I perhaps use the Terminal.

To be honest, what is the point of changing a misspelt word from red underline to blue underline? Once a word has been corrected, it doesn't require anything, lol 🥳

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Answer 2

Aug 31, 2021 8:36 AM in response to inknpaper

when you see red dots, as you already know that's a miss spelled word. when you see the blue dots, it's a word that has been corrected by "auto correct".

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Answer 3

inknpaper Author

Level 1

32 points

Sep 1, 2021 3:59 AM in response to PRP_53

I agree. I just wish that if a team is going to spend time coding something like this, then perhaps they should offer tick box options to the end user instead of a brick wall 😭

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Answer 4

Aug 31, 2021 3:13 PM in response to inknpaper

i don't know what the point is either. but, there it is. :) maybe it's a way of helping poor spellers. AFAIK the only way to stop it is to not make any spelling mistakes. (and i have as of yet to ever meet a perfect person)

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Answer 5

PRP_53

Level 10

92,275 points

Aug 31, 2021 3:41 PM in response to inknpaper

The original phrased used was to remove the blue dots. That was answered by spelling correctly or turning off the spell check Understand it is an annoyance so suggest putting to Apple to develop this feature further Just be sure to explain to them was you are looking for

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Answer 6

dialabrain

Level 10

126,341 points

Aug 31, 2021 3:54 PM in response to inknpaper

inknpaper wrote:

To be honest, what is the point of changing a misspelt word from red underline to blue underline? Once a word has been corrected, it doesn't require anything, lol 🥳

Actually that's not always the case. Some words have more than one correct spelling. The blue dots give one a chance to make sure it's the correct word in context.

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Answer 7

etresoft

Level 9

51,412 points

Aug 31, 2021 5:42 PM in response to inknpaper

I do think there is something wrong with your system. For me, I get the blue dot underline when autocorrect triggers. However, as soon as I type the next word, the blue dot underline goes away.

Here are a couple of things you can try:

1) Go to Edit > Spelling and Grammar and turn off Correct spelling automatically. Then, maybe restart. Go back and turn it back on. Try it.

2) If that doesn't work, try creating a new user account and testing it there. Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups and create a new user account. Try it using text edit in the new account and see how it behaves.

Also, try it in a couple of different places. It looks like you were using a web browser on this site to demonstrate the problem. But you could be using some crazy web browser for all we know. Try it in Safari. Try it in TextEdit. If it works correctly in those apps, then the problem is with whatever 3rd party app you are using.

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Answer 8

inknpaper Author

Level 1

32 points

Sep 1, 2021 4:05 AM in response to etresoft

Haha, a crazy browser 😂 No, I am an Apple user through and through; it's Safari or nothing or me.

I have had this problem for many years across all of my machines; Mac Pro, iMac and now this new MacBook Air M1. I know that it's not isolated to one machine or one software program because the annoyance is everywhere, but I will do as you suggested just in case it does offer a solution... even just for a few hours.

Thanks for your input :)

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