iWork '09: The Missing Manual

Reference Tools

As helpful as the spell checker might be, you can’t rely exclusively on it to catch every mistake. For example, if you type “lightening” when you mean “lightning,” or “metal” when you mean “mettle,” Pages won’t spot the error, since these words are all in the dictionary and spelled correctly. Only you (or another reader) can spot correctly spelled but misused words. But we all might be forgiven the occasional lapse when we forget which version of a word is correct for the context: Do I use “affect” or “effect” here? “Your” or “you’re”? “Compliment” or “complement”? Pages offers a set of tools in the Edit → Writing Tools submenu to help you answer those questions and also find lots more info about a word or phrase.

Look up Words in the Dictionary or Thesaurus

Your Mac comes with a full dictionary, complete with definitions, pronunciation, usage notes—the whole shebang. In fact, the Mac OS X Dictionary program gives you three volumes in one: The New Oxford American Dictionary, The Oxford American Writers Thesaurus, and the Apple Dictionary, which includes terms and definitions specific to Apple’s software and products.

You can look up a word directly from your Pages document by highlighting it and then choosing Edit → Writing Tools → Look Up in Dictionary or Thesaurus” (or Control-click the word and, from the shortcut menu, choose Writing Tools → “Look Up in Dictionary or Thesaurus”). Pages launches the Dictionary program and flips you straight to the entry for your selected ...