StuBarr

Q: How do I change/set the dictionary in Pages 5?

I am struggling to find how to change the defaulf dictionary in Pages 5 from UK English to US English. This feature was in the 'inspector' in previous versions and was easily accessible, now it seems to have disappeared. It's infuriating as I publish in both the US and UK and need to use both.

Posted on Nov 2, 2013 6:24 AM

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Q: How do I change/set the dictionary in Pages 5?

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  • by azamino,Helpful

    azamino azamino Nov 2, 2013 6:35 AM in response to StuBarr
    Level 4 (1,626 points)
    Apple Music
    Nov 2, 2013 6:35 AM in response to StuBarr

    hi

     

    i am not sure if this will work on your system since when Mavericks is installed over Mountain Lion it does not seem to replace language settings or change the ones you had before.

     

    go to System Preferences / Text tab

    on Text tab you will see the pull down menu Spelling:

    set it so that Automatic by Language is shown

     

    as i said, it works on my system but it also worked before installing Mavericks on my system also.

     

    thanks

  • by fruhulda,Helpful

    fruhulda fruhulda Nov 2, 2013 7:13 AM in response to StuBarr
    Level 6 (15,126 points)
    Nov 2, 2013 7:13 AM in response to StuBarr

    You change the default language in the System preferences > Language and text > Text. Make sure you have US English on the top.

     

    When spell checking you can have the system spell check using automatic for all languages

  • by autrefois,

    autrefois autrefois Nov 2, 2013 8:38 AM in response to fruhulda
    Level 2 (345 points)
    Nov 2, 2013 8:38 AM in response to fruhulda

    These suggestions don't help for people (translators, teachers, etc.) who have documents with two or more languages, or two language varieties like the original post. You used to be able to select a portion of the text and set its language to avoid incorrect autocorrecting and/or red underlines. This was separate from the system language settings.

     

    Word can do this, but it's a pain. It used to be easy and effective in the previous Pages for the Mac. This missing feature is a deal-breaker for me, and I would think for the OP as well. I won't be able to use the new iLife suite unless there's a way to set different languages within a document.

     

    I've looked at a few threads here and elsewhere and don't see any solutions proposed for this yet, so if anyone knows if this is possible it would be helpful. If it isn't possible, people should submit feedback to Apple to ask them to bring it back.

  • by StuBarr,

    StuBarr StuBarr Nov 2, 2013 8:42 AM in response to fruhulda
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 2, 2013 8:42 AM in response to fruhulda

    Thanks, and also to Azamino. This helps but seems to be a far more long winded way of doing this than previously when it was a simple drop down choice from the Inspector within Pages. This requires a restart and applies the change universally. Is there not a function withing Pages 5 to simply allow the spell check to detect from an English UK or US dictionary within a particular document?

  • by StuBarr,

    StuBarr StuBarr Nov 2, 2013 8:44 AM in response to autrefois
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 2, 2013 8:44 AM in response to autrefois

    autrefois states my issue exactly. It seems absolutely crazy to have removed this feature from Pages.

  • by Tom Gewecke,Solvedanswer

    Tom Gewecke Tom Gewecke Nov 2, 2013 6:03 PM in response to StuBarr
    Level 9 (79,385 points)
    Nov 2, 2013 6:03 PM in response to StuBarr

    Edit > spelling and grammar > show spelling  and grammar

  • by fruhulda,

    fruhulda fruhulda Nov 3, 2013 1:16 AM in response to autrefois
    Level 6 (15,126 points)
    Nov 3, 2013 1:16 AM in response to autrefois

    Toms suggestion is working. You can select language in the Show Spelling and grammar.

  • by StuBarr,

    StuBarr StuBarr Nov 3, 2013 1:46 AM in response to Tom Gewecke
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 3, 2013 1:46 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

    Brilliant, thanks Tom I couldn't see the wood for the trees. To clarify, the dropdown to change the dictionary is now at the bottom of the Show Spelling and Grammar box.

  • by autrefois,

    autrefois autrefois Nov 3, 2013 7:46 AM in response to Tom Gewecke
    Level 2 (345 points)
    Nov 3, 2013 7:46 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

    Thank you for finding this. This was a big deal for me and would have significantly disrupted my workflow. Now that I know there's a way to have different dictionaries for different parts of the document, I'm willing to at least try out the new version. 

  • by fruhulda,

    fruhulda fruhulda Nov 3, 2013 8:05 AM in response to autrefois
    Level 6 (15,126 points)
    Nov 3, 2013 8:05 AM in response to autrefois

    Nothing new about it. Been there for many Pages upgrades.

  • by autrefois,

    autrefois autrefois Nov 3, 2013 8:22 AM in response to fruhulda
    Level 2 (345 points)
    Nov 3, 2013 8:22 AM in response to fruhulda

    fruhulda, I'm running Pages '09 under Mountain Lion, and there's no such menu item...It's in the Inspector under Text and then More.

     

    So they changed where it's located but it sounds like the feature is still there, which is what matters to me.

  • by Tom Gewecke,

    Tom Gewecke Tom Gewecke Nov 3, 2013 8:21 AM in response to fruhulda
    Level 9 (79,385 points)
    Nov 3, 2013 8:21 AM in response to fruhulda

    fruhulda wrote:

     

    Nothing new about it. Been there for many Pages upgrades.

     

    No, it has never been there before, always in Inpector.

  • by Tom Gewecke,

    Tom Gewecke Tom Gewecke Nov 3, 2013 8:24 AM in response to autrefois
    Level 9 (79,385 points)
    Nov 3, 2013 8:24 AM in response to autrefois

    autrefois wrote:

     

    Now that I know there's a way to have different dictionaries for different parts of the document

     

    The old Inspector permanently tagged text items as being in a particular language.  I'm doubtful whether the new system does that -- let us know if you find out.  Or that may not matter for your purposes.

  • by fruhulda,

    fruhulda fruhulda Nov 3, 2013 8:39 AM in response to Tom Gewecke
    Level 6 (15,126 points)
    Nov 3, 2013 8:39 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

    Right, I mistook it for the Spell check window in Safari. My apologies.

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