Why does the three finger tap lookup not work in word '08 and some sites in google chrome?

Question

Level 1

9 points

Why does the three finger tap lookup not work in word '08 and some sites in google chrome?

For example, three finger tap to look up in dictionary doesn't work on sites like yahoo answers, and it doesn't register at all in Microsoft Word '08.

I have tried using better touch tool to fix this, but it doesn't work. I can at least get other gestures with other settings to work with better touch tool.

I also tried setting up a keyboard shortcut, but that didn't work either.

I suppose that's the question at bare minimum; why would a keyboard shortcut stop working in specific apps? Thanks.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on Apr 30, 2013 8:22 PM

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Answer 1

May 1, 2013 4:07 PM in response to sittiponder

Because word is not a mac application they don't represent the words the same way mac does therefore the feature doesn't recognise word text as "text"

also those google chrome pages are not text they are objects or pictures of text

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Answer 2

sittiponder Author

Level 1

9 points

May 1, 2013 4:21 PM in response to SINdustries

But you can highlight the words like you can everywhere else, and copy and paste them and what not, (in google chrome).

With word, that's quite silly, but I guess I hadn't thought about it that way.

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Answer 3

May 1, 2013 5:05 PM in response to sittiponder

In google chrome it must be formatted as a pdf I assume because you can copy and paste pdf text but sometimes they are "objects" rather then actual text you could always just copy and paste it into spotlight and do so from there

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Answer 4

May 1, 2013 5:14 PM in response to SINdustries

It's not that Word '08 isn't a Mac application; it is. It's that Word is not a Cocoa Mac application, it's a Carbon Mac application. All these new goodies/gestures are in the OS X Cocoa frameworks, and not in the Carbon ones.

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Answer 5

May 1, 2013 5:20 PM in response to sittiponder

In google chrome it must be formatted as a pdf I assume because you can copy and paste pdf text but sometimes they are "objects" rather then actual text you could always just copy and paste it into spotlight and do so from there

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