Thesaurus/Dictionary

[antony]

You can also right-click (or CTRL-click if you don't have two buttons) on a highlighted word to look it up.

These are system-wide settings, by the way, which means they work in any application that uses the Cocoa text system, such as Textedit itself.

[babyfett]

I know but it's on a long list of options and the full dictionary is so bulky it takes a lot of time to load, even on my brand spanking new iMac. The Control-Command D option is much faster and I'd love for a button on the interface because I'm not really a shortcut or macro guy. I like the mouse. But thanks for the tip just the same.

[dhruva]

I use the Built-in thesaurus/Dictionary via Quicksilver. I select the word, press Command-Escape to get the word into the Quicksilver window, tab, and select dictionary/thesaurus. I think you need to have the dictionary module plugin installed in Quicksilver though.

[antony]

I know but it's on a long list of options and the full dictionary is so bulky it takes a lot of time to load

The right-click option doesn't launch the full dictionary. It gives you the exact same popup window as the Ctrl-cmd-D shortcut.

I'm not really a shortcut or macro guy. I like the mouse.

And the 'shortcut' I'm talking about is a right-click on the mouse. I don't quite see what the problem is there...?

[babyfett]

Maybe my settings are off but when I do the right-click I get the full dictionary, not the pop-up.

[babyfett]

Yup, my settings were set to open the full dictionary, never knew about the pop-up until this post thread, so it's all good. Thanks for the tip!

[suavito]

Babyfett, have you included Wikipedia entries in your dictionary? Fast internet connection notwithstanding, I found that this is what slows down the full dictionary most of all.

[babyfett]

Another great tip! Who knew I'd learn so much about my computer in general from a feature request! Thanks!

[antony]

Ah, then my apologies. I didn't realise it was something that could be set, as right-clicking has always just opened the popup for me.

[druid]

Another tip: Dictionary will not respond to Control-Click or Control D if you "hide" the app inside a subfolder in the Applications folder. You have to place Dictionary in the Apps folder, all by its naked self.

OS X has tolerated subfolders for some time, but Apple programmers often forget that. Recent iWorks updates do not load until you move the apps out into the main Applications folder. This is a nuisance for users who have hundreds of apps and like to organize them in subfolders.

[suavito]

While we're at it … since Leopard there is a Library folder in the Applications folder which contains no more than an empty Application Support folder.

Every time I do a rights check/repair the OS disk service program tells me that it didn't aspect to find a Library folder in the Applications folder. Neither do I, I reply. And I wonder if this additional Library folder can be deleted.

Can it?

[kdka]

Just to reiterate that Scrivener is not going to have its own built-in dictionary or thesaurus. The one built into OS X is already good enough, and you can already double-click on a word, ctrl-click and select "Look Up in Dictionary". From there you can click on "Thesaurus" or scroll down and look for alternative words.

As a one-man show there is simply no way that I'm going to put any development time into creating my own dictionary or thesaurus - that way madness lies!

All the best,
Keith

The thesaurus in OS X is not good enough, I'm sorry to say. I'm still writing in Scrivener with MS Word open in the background to use the thesaurus. This is less than ideal, but it's still a somewhat better experience than using the OS X application, using Nisus, or looking it up online. I'm sure others will disagree, think me a lazy writer, or accuse me of having a sub-par vocabulary, but I stand by my thesaurus usage. I can honestly say it makes me a better writer.

I haven't found a third party thesaurus anywhere near as useful as the one offered by g-d Word. It just has more synonyms and is more intuitive to use than any other I've tried. But I don't want to write in Word. I want to write in Scrivener. I don't think Scrivener need develop it's own thesaurus, but it might consider better integration with a third party, to make it easier to select and insert synonyms.

[kdka]

Just to reiterate that Scrivener is not going to have its own built-in dictionary or thesaurus. The one built into OS X is already good enough, and you can already double-click on a word, ctrl-click and select "Look Up in Dictionary". From there you can click on "Thesaurus" or scroll down and look for alternative words.

As a one-man show there is simply no way that I'm going to put any development time into creating my own dictionary or thesaurus - that way madness lies!

All the best,
Keith

The thesaurus in OS X is not good enough, I'm sorry to say. I'm still writing in Scrivener with MS Word open in the background to use the thesaurus. This is less than ideal, but it's still a somewhat better experience than using the OS X application, using Nisus, or looking it up online. I'm sure others will disagree, think me a lazy writer, or accuse me of having a sub-par vocabulary, but I stand by my thesaurus usage. I can honestly say it makes me a better writer.

I haven't found a third party thesaurus anywhere near as useful as the one offered by g-d Word. It just has more synonyms and is more intuitive to use than any other I've tried. But I don't want to write in Word. I want to write in Scrivener. I don't think Scrivener need develop it's own thesaurus, but it might consider better integration with a third party, to make it easier to select and insert synonyms.

Also, the typography in the "more..." view of the OS X dictionary/thesaurus is not optimized for web reading. The old-timey dictionary-style serifed typeface is too precious to be legible online.

[AmberV]

Have you tried Roget's 6th International Edition? It isn't digital, but I like that one the best because you can come at an unknown word from its meaning rather than its siblings.

[kdka]

Have you tried Roget's 6th International Edition? It isn't digital, but I like that one the best because you can come at an unknown word from its meaning rather than its siblings.

Thank you so much for the reply and the recommendation, I will check it out. However, in this case I'm not necessarily looking for a "good" thesaurus, just a decent user-experience with a semi-adequate thesaurus. I want a digital solution that allows me to insert a synonym easily, without leaving my work or requiring cut and paste. Having a lot of word suggestions would be nice, but it's more important to me that I don't interrupt the flow of my writing. I suppose I use the thesaurus less as a vocabulary builder and more as a quick reminder of my options.

I hate MS word for a thousand and twelve reasons, but the integrated thesaurus was something they really got (almost) right. If Scrivener will never include a built-in thesaurus, does anyone know of another third party solution that allows you to replace words with a key command or click? Unless I'm missing something, you have to cut and paste with both Nisus and the OSX thesaurus. And I tried to install Grammarian, but got nowhere fast--the documentation was impenetrable.

Please help! My thesis is due in less than a month, and it may be a crutch, but I can't concentrate without that thesaurus! I spend my writing time searching for solutions... (I'd go back to Word, but now I'm also hooked on Scrivener's cork boards and project targets). It's a real Catch-22.