Word Completion Feature in Mail.app and TextEdit

On or about 11/23/07 7:00 AM, thus spake "David Weintraub"
<davidweintraub.name>:

> Since I use VIM quite a bit, I find myself attempting to edit text in
> many applications by first pressing the ESC to take me into VIM's
> Command Mode. Usually, I end up closing the window I'm typing in.
> Recently, I noticed in both TextEdit and Mail.app., pressing ESC
> brings up a list of words for word completion. For example, if you
> type "Macintosh" and press ESC, you'll get Macintosh, Macintosh's,
> Macintoshes, and Macintoshes'. Use the up and down arrow to select the
> word, and then press the right arrow key or the Return key to complete
> the word.
>
> Anyone else seen this? Anyone else found any other hidden Leopard
> feature?

This is not "hidden" and it is not a Leopard feature. Completion has been
around for a long time - it is built right into the Cocoa Text system, so
any app that uses Cocoa Text (such as TextEdit or Mail) inherits it. The
functionality is right there for anyone to see, in the Edit menu (Edit >
Complete). Exactly the same thing you describe happens in Tiger; it's just
an accident that you failed to discover it all this time. m.

On Nov 23, 2007, at 7:00 AM, David Weintraub wrote:

> Since I use VIM quite a bit, I find myself attempting to edit text in
> many applications by first pressing the ESC to take me into VIM's
> Command Mode. Usually, I end up closing the window I'm typing in.
> Recently, I noticed in both TextEdit and Mail.app., pressing ESC
> brings up a list of words for word completion. For example, if you
> type "Macintosh" and press ESC, you'll get Macintosh, Macintosh's,
> Macintoshes, and Macintoshes'. Use the up and down arrow to select the
> word, and then press the right arrow key or the Return key to complete
> the word.
>
> Anyone else seen this? Anyone else found any other hidden Leopard
> feature

I hadn't seen it. Thanks. It's in Tiger's mail as well (just checked
on my remaining Tiger machine).

   --John

On 23-Nov-2007, at 08:00, David Weintraub wrote:
> type "Macintosh" and press ESC, you'll get Macintosh, Macintosh's,
> Macintoshes, and Macintoshes'. Use the up and down arrow to select the
> word, and then press the right arrow key or the Return key to complete
> the word.
>
> Anyone else seen this? Anyone else found any other hidden Leopard
> feature?

That's a hidden TIGER feature. I use it quite a bit, but not as much
as I should, though I use F5 to trigger it instead of ESC.

The results when you hit the escape key are an interesting novelty, but isn't it faster to type the letters than to go up to escape, look at the list and select one of the choices?

What's the point of the feature?

John

On Nov 26, 2007, at 3:25 AM, John Massengale wrote:

> The results when you hit the escape key are an interesting novelty,
> but isn't it faster to type the letters than to go up to escape,
> look at the list and select one of the choices?

Actually, that was my question...

I thought maybe if this was something embedded inside Leopard and Mac
OS X, it might be something useful for the iPhone and maybe other
portable devices that Apple may be working on.

David Weintraub

On 26-Nov-2007, at 01:25, John Massengale wrote:
> The results when you hit the escape key are an interesting novelty,
> but isn't it faster to type the letters than to go up to escape,
> look at the list and select one of the choices?

Depends on if you can spell it.

diar-esc is easier for most people than trying to spell diarrhea.

> What's the point of the feature?

It can be useful in finding the right word or checking the in-progress
spelling of a word. And the spelling checker is OS X is rather poor
at guessing the right words, especially when tyops have lead to some
letters being transposed.

Ah, there's another example: transposed. What was the word I was
looking for? Trans-something: trans-F5; Scroll-scroll-scroll; oh,
right.

On Nov 26, 2007 John Massengale wrote:

The results when you hit the escape key are an interesting novelty, but isn't it faster to type the letters than to go up to escape, look at the list and select one of the choices?

What's the point of the feature?

If you type "cat"<esc>, you get a long list of words which begin with "cat". This could be handy if you're not sure how to spell "catafalque".

On 11/26/07 at 12:25 AM, johnmassengale.com (John Massengale) wrote:

>The results when you hit the escape key are an interesting novelty,
>but isn't it faster to type the letters than to go up to escape,
>look at the list and select one of the choices?

I think which would be faster would depend on the length of the
word being typed any your spelling/typing accuracy. If I am say
a poor speller than this kind of word completion might be very
much faster.

At 9:39 AM -0800 11/28/07, Bill Rowe wrote:
>On 11/26/07 at 12:25 AM, johnmassengale.com (John Massengale) wrote:
>
>>The results when you hit the escape key are an interesting novelty,
>>but isn't it faster to type the letters than to go up to escape,
>>look at the list and select one of the choices?
>
>I think which would be faster would depend on the length of the
>word being typed any your spelling/typing accuracy. If I am say
>a poor speller than this kind of word completion might be very
>much faster.

This leads the question if anyone will be able to spell in the
future.. One of the things that I actually like about automatic
spell check is that it has helped me learn how to spell my frequently
misspelled words correctly, because I catch the error must sooner,
and while I'm still typing.

~Nick
http://www.inmff.net

On Nov 29, 2007, at 4:18 AM, Nicholas Barnard wrote:

> At 9:39 AM -0800 11/28/07, Bill Rowe wrote:
>> On 11/26/07 at 12:25 AM, johnmassengale.com (John Massengale) wrote:
>>
>>> The results when you hit the escape key are an interesting novelty,
>>> but isn't it faster to type the letters than to go up to escape,
>>> look at the list and select one of the choices?
>>
>> I think which would be faster would depend on the length of the
>> word being typed any your spelling/typing accuracy. If I am say
>> a poor speller than this kind of word completion might be very
>> much faster.
>
> This leads the question if anyone will be able to spell in the
> future.. One of the things that I actually like about automatic
> spell check is that it has helped me learn how to spell my frequently
> misspelled words correctly, because I catch the error must sooner,
> and while I'm still typing.

On the other hand, spill chequers don't do a thing for spelling the
wrong word correctly, as in "must sooner" above. ;-)

   --John

On Nov 30, 2007, at 12:52 AM, johnbaxterlistsmac.com wrote:

> On the other hand, spill chequers don't do a thing for spelling the
> wrong word correctly, as in "must sooner" above. ;-)

Spellbound

I have a spelling checker
It came with my PC;
It plainly marks four my revue
Mistakes I cannot sea.
I've run this poem threw it
I'm sure your pleased too no.
It's letter perfect in it's weigh.
My checker tolled me sew.

      -- Pennye Harper


Cheers!
-Dave