Copyright: Copyright © 1998 Wintertree Software Inc.


Grammar Expert Plus
Contents

Introduction

About Grammar Expert Plus

Getting started

How to install Grammar Expert Plus

How to uninstall Grammar Expert Plus

How to run Grammar Expert Plus

Using Grammar Expert Plus

How to check grammar and spelling (general)

How to check the grammar and spelling of text from other applications

How to use Grammar Expert Plus's word processing features

How to look up synonyms and antonyms for a word

How to use the online grammar reference

How to prevent reporting of certain problem types

How to correct grammar and spelling errors

How to add personal words to a user dictionary

How to add or create user dictionary files

How to automatically correct spelling errors

How to add personal synonyms to a user thesaurus

How to get more information about a reported grammar error

How to get more or better spelling suggestions

How to interpret the statistics report

How to use the Grammar and Spelling dialog

How to add Grammar Expert Plus to the system tray

How to automatically check text in the clipboard

How to run Grammar Expert Plus each time you start your computer

How to assign a shortcut key to Grammar Expert Plus

Reference

Grammar and Spelling dialog

General property page

Grammar property page

Spelling property page

Writing style property page

Statistics dialog

Commands

Keyboard

Tips and Frequently Asked Questions

Tips

Frequently asked questions

License Agreement

License Agreement


Introduction - About Grammar Expert Plus
About Grammar Expert Plus

Grammar Expert Plus is a software application for Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT that combines five powerful tools for writers in one package:

•	Grammar checker

•	Spelling checker

•	Thesaurus

•	Online grammar-reference book

•	Word processor.

You can use Grammar Expert Plus's word-processing features to enter and edit text. While you are writing, you can look up rules and advice on grammar, punctuation, and style in the online grammar reference, and look up synonyms for words in the thesaurus. When your first draft is complete, Grammar Expert Plus can check it for grammar and spelling problems.

Alternatively, you can enter text using other applications, such as e-mail clients, Web browsers, Usenet news readers, databases, appointment list managers, desktop publishing applications, text editors, spreadsheets, contact logs, etc., and easily transfer text to Grammar Expert Plus for checking.

See also:

Features

Disclaimer and Limitations


Features

•	Grammar checker looks for thousands of common grammatical errors, syntax errors, misused words, wordy phrases, subject-verb disagreements, misuses of its and it's, your and you're, etc.

•	Spelling checker detects misspellings and automatically corrects common errors (e.g., it can automatically replace recieve with receive). An American English dictionary containing 100,000 words is included.

•	Thesaurus easily and conveniently displays synonyms and antonyms (opposites) for adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and verbs. The thesaurus includes nearly 77,000 synonyms for over 35,000 key words in over 5,000 word categories.

•	Book-length grammar reference describes the rules of grammar and punctuation plus guidelines for effective writing.

•	Built-in word processor lets you enter and format text and save files in text or rich-text format.

•	Check Clipboard feature lets you easily and conveniently check text entered in other applications.

•	Grammar Expert Plus can optionally install itself in the system tray where it is always available.


Disclaimer and Limitations

The grammar checker in Grammar Expert Plus cannot detect all grammatical errors, nor are all problem reports issued by the grammar checker necessarily errors. Grammar Expert Plus is not a substitute for careful review of your writing. It would be a mistake to think that your writing is correct only because Grammar Expert Plus finds no problems with it.

English grammar is exceedingly complex and ambiguous; no grammar checker in existence — including Grammar Expert Plus — can detect all problems or state with absolute certainty that a sentence is grammatically correct.


How to install Grammar Expert Plus

Grammar Expert Plus is distributed either on diskette or as a self-extracting, self-installing executable program. If Grammar Expert Plus is distributed on diskette, run the SETUP.EXE program on the diskette. If Grammar Expert Plus is distributed electronically, run the installation program provided.

Follow the instructions displayed by the setup program. You can install Grammar Expert Plus to any directory on your computer.


How to uninstall Grammar Expert Plus

To uninstall Grammar Expert Plus:

•	Open the Windows Control Panel.

•	Open the Add/Remove Programs icon in the Control Panel.

•	Select Grammar Expert Plus in the list of software which can be removed.

•	Click on the Add/Remove button.


How to run Grammar Expert Plus

To start Grammar Expert Plus, select the Grammar Expert Plus item in the Grammar Expert Plus folder in the Start menu or double-click the Grammar Expert Plus icon on the desktop.

You can set up Grammar Expert Plus so it starts each time you run your computer. See How to run Grammar Expert Plus each time you start your computer for instructions.

You can install Grammar Expert Plus as an icon in the system tray. See How to add Grammar Expert Plus to the system tray for instructions.

You can assign a shortcut key to Grammar Expert Plus so you can start it or activate it from the keyboard. See How to assign a shortcut key to Grammar Expert Plus for instructions.


How to check grammar and spelling (general)

Grammar Expert Plus's main window looks similar to the windows in familiar text editors and word processors. It contains an area for entering and displaying text on the bottom, and a menu bar and tool bars on the top. When you tell Grammar Expert Plus to check grammar and spelling, it checks the text entered into the text area.

Grammar Expert Plus acts like a mini word processor. You can put text into the text area by typing it, by loading it from files, or by pasting it from the clipboard. See How to use Grammar Expert Plus's word processing features  for more information.

You can check all the text in the text area or just a portion of the text. To check the grammar and spelling of all the text in the text area:

•	Make sure no text is selected by clicking the mouse once anywhere in the text area.

•	Select the Tools + Grammar and Spelling menu item.

To check just a portion of the text:

•	Select the portion of the text you want to check. You can use the usual methods of selecting text: dragging the mouse, shift-clicking the mouse, etc.

•	Select the Tools + Grammar and Spelling menu item.

If Grammar Expert Plus finds a grammar or spelling problem, it will display the Grammar and Spelling dialog. See How to use the Grammar and Spelling dialog for instructions on operating this dialog. If no grammar or spelling problems are detected, the dialog will not appear.

You can use the Grammar and Spelling dialog to correct the reported problem. For instructions, see  How to correct grammar and spelling errors.

When all the text has been checked, the Grammar and Spelling dialog will close, and the Statistics dialog will appear (see How to interpret the statistics report for more information).


How to check the grammar and spelling of text from other applications

Many applications accept text input but lack grammar and spelling checkers to proof the text. Using Grammar Expert Plus, you can check the grammar and spelling of text entered in virtually any other application. This is accomplished using the Windows clipboard.

You can check text from other applications in several ways, depending on how you have configured Grammar Expert Plus. See  How to add Grammar Expert Plus to the system tray,  How to automatically check text in the clipboard, and How to assign a shortcut key to Grammar Expert Plus for information on these configuration options.

Note: Formatting, graphics and other objects embedded in the copied text may not transfer correctly between the other application and Grammar Expert Plus. You should experiment with formatting, embedded graphics and objects before relying on their safe transfer to and from the clipboard.

See also:

Using the Check Clipboard command

Using the Auto Check Clipboard feature

Using the system tray

Using the shortcut key with the /CheckClipboard option


Using the Check Clipboard command

The Check Clipboard command involves no special option settings or configuration, so it is useful if you check text from other applications infrequently. These instructions assume the Auto Check Clipboard feature has been disabled.

To check text using the Check Clipboard command:

•	In the other application, select the text you want to check.

•	In the other application, select the Edit + Copy menu item (some applications may use a different name for this menu item; the point is to copy the selected text to the clipboard).

•	Switch to Grammar Expert Plus by clicking its button in the task bar or by pressing its shortcut key, or by double-clicking its system-tray icon.

•	In Grammar Expert Plus, select the Tools + Check Clipboard menu item. Grammar Expert plus will copy the text in the clipboard to the text area and begin checking. See How to check grammar and spelling (general) and How to use the Grammar and Spelling dialog for instructions. When checking is complete, either because all the text was checked or you canceled checking, the text will be automatically copied back to the clipboard. The text in the clipboard at this point will contain any changes you made.

•	Switch back to the other application. The text you selected should still be selected; if not, re-select it.

•	In the other application, paste the clipboard contents onto the selected text by invoking the Edit + Paste menu item. The corrected text will replace the selected text.


Using the Auto Check Clipboard feature

The Auto Check Clipboard feature makes it easy to check text in the Windows clipboard. When this feature is enabled, Grammar Expert Plus will automatically check any text in the clipboard when you start it or switch to it. See How to automatically check text in the clipboard for instructions on enabling the Auto Check Clipboard feature.

To check text using the Auto Check Clipboard feature:

•	In the other application, select the text you want to check.

•	In the other application, select the Edit + Copy menu item (some applications may use a different name for this menu item; the point is to copy the selected text to the clipboard).

•	Switch to Grammar Expert Plus by clicking its button in the task bar or by pressing its shortcut key, or by double-clicking its system-tray icon.

•	Grammar Expert plus will automatically copy the text in the clipboard to the text area and begin checking. See How to check grammar and spelling (general) and How to use the Grammar and Spelling dialog for instructions. When checking is complete, either because all the text was checked or you canceled checking, the text will be automatically copied back to the clipboard. The text in the clipboard at this point will contain any changes you made.

•	Switch back to the other application. The text you selected should still be selected; if not, re-select it.

•	In the other application, paste the clipboard contents onto the selected text by invoking the Edit + Paste menu item. The corrected text will replace the selected text.

Note: If you inadvertently switch to Grammar Expert Plus and the Auto Check Clipboard option is enabled, Grammar Expert Plus will automatically start checking any text in the clipboard. You can inadvertently switch to Grammar Expert Plus by exiting or minimizing another application. If Grammar Expert Plus starts checking text, wait for it to display the Grammar and Spelling dialog, then click the Cancel button.

Note: Grammar Expert Plus will automatically check the clipboard contents only if they have changed. If you want to check the same text twice, use the Check Clipboard command or copy a slightly different text block to the clipboard (e.g., select an extra space character before copying).


Using the system tray

If you have installed Grammar Expert Plus as an icon in the system tray, you can check the clipboard using the icon. See How to add Grammar Expert Plus to the system tray for further information.

To check text from other applications when Grammar Expert Plus is installed in the system tray:

•	In the other application, select the text you want to check.

•	In the other application, select the Edit + Copy menu item (some applications may use a different name for this menu item; the point is to copy the selected text to the clipboard).

•	Right-click the mouse on the Grammar Expert Plus icon in the system tray, then select the Check Clipboard item in the context menu which appears.

•	Grammar Expert plus will copy the text in the clipboard to the text area and begin checking. See How to check grammar and spelling (general) and How to use the Grammar and Spelling dialog for instructions. When checking is complete, because either all the text was checked or you canceled checking, the text will be automatically copied back to the clipboard. The text in the clipboard at this point will contain any changes you made.

•	Switch back to the other application. The text you selected should still be selected; if not, re-select it.

•	In the other application, paste the clipboard contents onto the selected text by invoking the Edit + Paste menu item. The corrected text will replace the selected text.


Using the shortcut key with the /CheckClipboard option

If you set up a shortcut for Grammar Expert Plus with the /CheckClipboard option and assigned a shortcut key to it, you can check text from other applications using the shortcut key you assigned. See How to assign a shortcut key to Grammar Expert Plus for information on setting up shortcuts and the /CheckClipboard option.

To check text from other applications using the shortcut key:

•	In the other application, select the text you want to check.

•	In the other application, select the Edit + Copy menu item (some applications may use a different name for this menu item; the point is to copy the selected text to the clipboard).

•	Press the shortcut key you assigned to the Grammar Expert Plus shortcut with /CheckClipboard on the command line.

•	Grammar Expert plus will automatically copy the text in the clipboard to the text area and begin checking. See How to check grammar and spelling (general) and How to use the Grammar and Spelling dialog for instructions. When checking is complete, either because all the text was checked or you canceled checking, the text will be automatically copied back to the clipboard. The text in the clipboard at this point will contain any changes you made.

•	Switch back to the other application. The text you selected should still be selected; if not, re-select it.

•	In the other application, paste the clipboard contents onto the selected text by invoking the Edit + Paste menu item. The corrected text will replace the selected text.


How to use Grammar Expert Plus's word processing features

Grammar Expert Plus has a built-in word processor you can use to create professional-looking documents complete with different typefaces, character sizes, and special effects such as bold and italic. You can save your documents to disk or print them.

To change the appearance of text you are about to type:

•	To change the font, select a different font name in the drop-down list on the style bar.

•	To make the text bold, italic, or underlined, click the B, I, or U buttons.

To select text:

•	Click the left mouse button at the first character you want to select, then drag the mouse to the last character you want to select without releasing the mouse button.

•	To select all of the text in the document, invoke the Edit + Select All menu item.

•	To deselect the selected text, click the mouse anywhere in the text area.

To change the appearance of text you have already typed:

•	Select the text you want to change.

•	To change the font, select a different font name in the drop-down list on the style bar.

•	To make the text bold, italic, or underlined, click the B, I, or U buttons.

To set the alignment of a paragraph:

•	Place the cursor in the paragraph you want to change, then click the Align Left, Align Center, or Align Right buttons.

Note: If you add formatting (font changes, bold, etc.) to the document, be sure to save it in rich-text format (.rtf) or the formatting will be lost.


How to look up synonyms and antonyms for a word

With Grammar Expert Plus's thesaurus feature, you can look up synonyms and antonyms for words. This feature is handy when you are looking for a word that more accurately describes an idea, when you have a certain word in mind but can't quite remember it, or when you have used the same word several times previously and want to replace it with a synonym to add variety.

To look up synonyms for a word in the document:

•	Place the cursor over the word.

•	Select the Tools + Thesaurus menu item. The Thesaurus dialog appears.

The Thesaurus dialog shows word categories associated with the key word (the word you are looking up synonyms for) and the synonyms contained within the selected word category.

What is a word category? Words in English may have multiple meanings. For example, the word heat is a verb meaning "to raise the temperature" and a noun meaning "thermal energy." Each separate meaning is represented as a different word category. Each word category contains synonyms with the same meaning as the word category. If the Thesaurus dialog displays multiple word categories, you must select the category which best describes the meaning you had in mind. The Thesaurus dialog displays synonyms for the selected word category.

To use the Thesaurus dialog:

•	To look up synonyms for a different word, enter the word in the Key Word field and click on the Look Up button.

•	To look up synonyms for one of the synonyms displayed in the dialog, double-click that synonym in the list.

•	If Grammar Expert Plus doesn't know the key word, the word category list will contain the entry "(Not found)." You can click on the Suggest button to display a list of known words that are similar to the unknown word.

•	For more detailed instructions on using the Thesaurus dialog, click the Help button.

When you click the Close button, the Thesaurus dialog closes and a dialog appears asking if you want to replace original word in the document with the last selected synonym.


How to use the online grammar reference

Grammar Expert Plus contains on online, book-length reference on the rules of English grammar, punctuation, and effective writing. You can use this reference while you are writing to look up rules and guidelines on writing correctly.

You can access the grammar reference in several ways. To view the table of contents:

•	Select the Help + Grammar Reference Contents menu item.

You can also jump to a specific chapter in the grammar reference by selecting one of the topic items in the Help menu.

The online grammar reference contains an "answer finder," which helps you to locate the answers to common grammar-related questions. To access the answer finder:

•	Select the Help + Answer Finder menu item.


How to prevent reporting of certain problem types

Grammar Expert Plus's grammar checker looks for many different types of problems, ranging from serious grammatical errors to minor style issues. You can prevent Grammar Expert Plus from reporting certain types of problems, which reduces the number of times Grammar Expert Plus pauses during checking.

To temporarily prevent the current problem from being reported again in the remainder of the document being checked:

•	Click on the Ignore All button in the Grammar and Spelling dialog. The problem won't be reported again in the remainder of this document, but will be reported if you check the same document again or another document.

To prevent problems of a certain type from being reported:

•	Open Grammar Expert Plus's property sheet by selecting the Tools + Options menu item.

•	When the property sheet appears, select the Grammar, Spelling, or Writing Style pages by clicking the tabs at the top of the property sheet.

•	The Grammar, Spelling, and Writing Style pages contain a number of check boxes, each relating to a category of problems detected by Grammar Expert Plus. To find out more about the categories, press the F1 key or click the Help button.

•	The check boxes indicate which problem categories will be reported by Grammar Expert Plus. If the box is checked, the problem will be reported. To prevent a specific problem category from being reported, click on the associated check box to toggle off the check mark. You can later turn reporting on again by clicking on the check box to toggle on the check mark.


How to correct grammar and spelling errors

When Grammar Expert Plus detects a grammar or spelling problem, it pauses to let you dispose of the problem using the Grammar and Spelling dialog. You can dispose of the problem by ignoring it or by changing the text to correct it.

Usually, Grammar Expert Plus displays one or more suggested replacements for the problem. You can replace the problem text with a suggestion by selecting the suggestion and clicking the Change button. Grammar Expert Plus will update the document with the suggested text and continue checking.

If no suggestions are offered, or none of the suggestions is suitable, you can edit the problem text through the Grammar and Spelling dialog or in the document directly.

To edit the problem text through the Grammar and Spelling dialog:

•	Make any necessary changes in the problem area of the dialog.

•	Click the Change button when the problem area contains suitable replacement text. Grammar Expert Plus will update the document and continue checking.

To edit the document directly:

•	Click on the document window to activate it.

•	Make any necessary edits in the document to correct the problem.

•	When you are finished editing the document, position the cursor (the insertion point) on the first changed word.

•	Click on the Grammar and Spelling dialog to re-activate it.

•	Click on the Resume button. Grammar Expert Plus will continue checking from the word under the document cursor.

If Grammar Expert Plus detects a spelling error, and you realize you have made the same mistake several times in the document, you can replace all further occurrences of the error in the same document:

•	Select the correct spelling from the list of suggestions, or enter the correct spelling through the keyboard.

•	Click on the Change All button. All further occurrences of the spelling error in this document will be automatically replaced.

Note that the Change All button is enabled only when a spelling error is detected.


How to add personal words to a user dictionary

When Grammar Expert Plus checks spelling, it looks up each word in a set of dictionaries containing words known to be valid. If a word is found in a dictionary, it is considered to be spelled correctly. If the word is not found, it is reported as a misspelling. Although Grammar Expert Plus comes with a dictionary containing 100,000 of the most common words used in English, it sometimes reports valid words such as proper names as misspellings because they are not found in a dictionary. You can prevent Grammar Expert Plus from reporting personal words by adding these words to a user dictionary.

You can add a word reported as a misspelling to a user dictionary from the Grammar and Spelling dialog. It is possible to have several user dictionaries open at once, so you must first select the dictionary to which you want to add words.

To select a user dictionary:

•	Select the Tools + Options menu item.

•	When the Grammar Expert Plus property sheet opens, select the Spelling page by clicking on the tab at the top of the sheet.

•	Select the desired user dictionary file in the Add Words To list. If the list is empty, or doesn't contain the dictionary you want to select, see How to add or create user dictionary files for instructions on creating or adding a user dictionary.

When Grammar Expert Plus incorrectly reports a valid word as misspelled, you can add the word to the selected user dictionary by clicking the Add button in the Grammar and Spelling dialog.

You can also add words to a user dictionary directly, or delete words you have added previously. To add words to or delete words from a user dictionary:

•	Select the Tools + Options menu item.

•	When the Grammar Expert Plus property sheet opens, select the Spelling page by clicking on the tab at the top of the sheet.

•	Click on the Dictionaries button to open the Dictionaries dialog.

•	Select the user dictionary you want to edit in the Files list.

•	To add a word, enter the word in the Words area, then press the Add Word button.

•	To delete a word, select the word in the Words list, then press the Delete Word button.

For more information, click the Help button in the Dictionaries dialog, and see  How to automatically correct spelling errors.


How to add or create user dictionary files

You can organize your personal words into different user dictionary files for different purposes. For example, you may have one user dictionary containing words associated with your family, another for business writing, another for hobbies, etc. This section describes how you can create a new user dictionary or open an existing one. See How to add personal words to a user dictionary for a discussion of the purpose of user dictionaries in Grammar Expert Plus.

You may use other applications that contain spelling checkers, and may have user dictionaries created with those applications. You can use those user dictionaries with Grammar Expert Plus.

To open an existing user dictionary:

•	Select the Tools + Options menu item.

•	Select the Spelling page by clicking on the tab at the top of the property sheet.

•	Click on the Dictionaries button to open the Dictionaries dialog.

•	In the Dictionaries dialog, click on the Add File button.

•	When the Add Dictionary File dialog appears, select a user dictionary file. Grammar Expert Plus user dictionaries usually end in ".tlx". User dictionaries from other applications may end in different extensions, such as ".dic". If necessary, you can open user dictionaries in other directories.

•	When you have selected a user dictionary file, click on the OK button in the Add Dictionary File dialog.

To create a new user dictionary:

•	Select the Tools + Options menu item.

•	Select the Spelling page by clicking on the tab at the top of the property sheet.

•	Click on the Dictionaries button to open the Dictionaries dialog.

•	In the Dictionaries dialog, click on the New File button.

•	When the New Dictionary dialog appears, enter a name for the new dictionary in the File Name area.

•	Select the language of the new dictionary in the Language list, or select "Any." The language selected here is ignored by Grammar Expert Plus.

•	Click on the OK button to create the new dictionary and close the New Dictionary dialog.

See How to add personal words to a user dictionary for instructions on selecting the user dictionary words will be added to when the Add button is pressed in the Grammar and Spelling dialog.

Note: User dictionaries created by other applications are usable with Grammar Expert Plus only if they are stored as text files with one word per line. This is the format used by most major word processors, including Microsoft Word and WordPerfect.


How to automatically correct spelling errors

Grammar Expert Plus can automatically replace one word with another. This is handy for fixing common spelling errors (e.g., automatically replacing recieve with receive) and expanding abbreviations (e.g., replace WSI with Wintertree Software Inc.). For this feature to work, the word and replacement must be listed in a user dictionary.

Grammar Expert Plus comes with a user dictionary (called correct.tlx) which contains hundreds of common misspellings and their correct replacements. You can also add your own corrections to correct.tlx or another user dictionary.

Grammar Expert Plus can make corrections automatically or conditionally. Automatic corrections are made during checking without any response from you. When a misspelled word is encountered, and the word has a replacement associated with it, Grammar Expert Plus will automatically correct the misspelling. Conditional corrections are submitted for your confirmation before they are made. The Grammar and Spelling dialog will display the misspelled word with the message "Consider changing." The type of correction (automatic or conditional) is associated with each word in a user dictionary. In addition, all automatic corrections can be treated as conditional corrections via an option setting.

Note that Grammar Expert Plus cannot automatically correct all spelling errors, because determining the correct replacement may not be possible. For example, should the misspelled word flas be replaced with flash, flask, flaw, or flax? Grammar Expert Plus makes only the corrections listed in a user dictionary.

To add a word for automatic or conditional replacement to a user dictionary:

•	Select the Tools + Options menu item.

•	Select the Spelling page by clicking on the tab at the top of the property sheet.

•	Click on the Dictionaries button.

•	Select a user dictionary in the Files list. Note: Be sure to select a Grammar Expert Plus user dictionary. Grammar Expert Plus user dictionaries use a ".tlx" extension. Do not add automatic or conditional replacements to user dictionaries created in other applications or you may render those dictionaries unusable. See How to add or create user dictionary files for information on using other applications' user dictionaries.

•	Enter the original word (e.g., the misspelling or abbreviation) in the Words area.

•	If the word you entered is a misspelling you want to correct, select the "Auto change (use case of checked word)" action in the Action list. Select the "Conditionally change (use case of checked word)" action if you want to confirm the replacement before it is made.

•	If the word you entered is an abbreviation you want to expand, select the "Auto change (use case of other word)" action in the Action list. Select the "Conditionally change (use case of other word)" action if you want to confirm the replacement before it is made.

•	Enter the replacement text in the Other Word area. The replacement text can contain spaces, but should be no longer than 63 characters.

•	Click on the Add Word button to add the word and replacement.

You may want to confirm each correction before it is made to ensure that text isn't changed inadvertently. You can do this by changing all "Auto change" actions to "Conditional change" actions in each user dictionary, or through a single option setting.

To make automatic corrections behave like conditional corrections:

•	Select the Tools + Options menu item.

•	Select the Spelling page by clicking the tab.

•	Click on the Spelling Options button.

•	Disable the Auto Correct option in the Spelling Options dialog.

•	Click on the OK button to save the option setting and close the dialog, or click on the Cancel button to close the dialog without saving changes.

•	For information on other spelling options, click the Help button in the Spelling Options dialog.


How to add personal synonyms to a user thesaurus

You can add your own synonyms and word categories to user-thesaurus files. The contents of user-thesaurus files will be included in any look-ups made using the Thesaurus Dialog. You can have several user-thesaurus files open at once. User-thesaurus files are optional. You can still look up synonyms and antonyms even if no user-thesaurus files are open.

A user-thesaurus file contains one or more word categories. Each category contains one or more synonyms. The words in a category are of the same class or part of speech: adjective, adverb, noun, or verb.

To add a synonym to a user thesaurus:

•	Select the Tools + Thesaurus menu item.

•	When the Thesaurus dialog appears, click the Options button.

•	To add the synonym to an existing word category, select the category from the Categories list.

•	To create a new category, click on the New Category button. When the New Category dialog appears, enter a name for the new category and select a part of speech to match the synonyms the category will contain. Press the OK button to close the New Category dialog and create the new category.

•	Enter the new synonym in the Words area.

•	Click on the Add button next to the Words list to add the synonym.

•	For more detailed instructions, click the Help button in the Thesaurus Options dialog.


How to get more information about a reported grammar error

When Grammar Expert Plus reports a grammar problem, you may be able to read additional information about the problem and how to correct it. If additional information is available, the More button in the Grammar and Spelling dialog will be enabled.

When you click on the More button, Grammar Expert Plus will display additional information on the problem. If the More button is not enabled, no additional information is available.

Note that when a spelling error is detected, the More button displays additional suggestions for the misspelled word. See How to get more or better spelling suggestions for more information.


How to get more or better spelling suggestions

When it detects a misspelled word, Grammar Expert Plus searches its dictionaries for potential replacements. Because the dictionaries contain more than 100,000 words, this can be a time-consuming process. To save time, Grammar Expert Plus searches only part of the dictionaries at once. If the correct spelling is found in the searched portion, there is no need to search further. If the correct spelling does not appear in the list of suggestions, you can click on the More button in the Grammar and Spelling dialog to have Grammar Expert Plus search its dictionaries a little deeper. Each time you press the More button a deeper search is made. When all words have been checked, the More button is disabled.

You can control the initial depth of the suggestion search to suit the speed of your computer and your spelling skills (deeper searches are generally needed to locate the correct suggestion for misspelled words containing several incorrect letters).

To set the initial suggestion search depth:

•	Select the Tools + Options menu item.

•	Select the Spelling page by clicking on the tab at the top of the property sheet.

•	Click the Spelling Options button.

•	When the Spelling Options dialog appears, select one of the radio buttons in the Suggestions group. For an explanation of the meaning of each radio button, click the Help button.

•	Click the OK button to save the settings and close the dialog.


How to interpret the statistics report

When it has finished checking a document, Grammar Expert Plus (optionally) displays a dialog showing information about the document. The meaning of each statistic is listed below.

Words: The number of words checked.

Sentences: The number of sentences checked.

Words per sentence: The average number of words in each sentence. This statistic tells whether you have tended to use short sentences (eight words or fewer) or long sentences (20 words or more). Short sentences are generally easier to understand, but result in a choppy, abrupt rhythm. Longer sentences flow better, but are more difficult to understand.

Characters per word and Syllables per word: The average length of words in characters and syllables. Short words (five characters or one syllable) tend to be more common, easier to read, and more easily understood. Longer words (eight or more characters or three or more syllables) tend to be harder to read and less common.

Readability grade: The readability grade shows the approximate number of years of schooling on average needed to understand the document. The readability grade is based on the number of "big" words versus the number of "small" words and the average sentence length. The statistic is taken from a readability formula called the "Fog index."

Use the following table to compare your document's statistics with common document types:

Document Type	Words per sentence	Characters per word	Syllables per word	Readability grade
Primer	4.0	4.0	1.2	3.1
Children's story	6.4	4.1	1.4	5.3
Youth fiction	14.6	4.2	1.4	7.3
Adult fiction	11.9	4.4	1.5	8.1
Business letter	12.3	4.4	1.6	10.7
User manual	15.4	4.7	1.6	11.6
Advertising copy	17.1	4.8	1.6	11.6
Business report	11.4	5.3	1.9	14.3
News article	19.8	4.9	1.6	14.9
High-school essay	17.1	5.2	1.8	15.7
University essay	24.1	4.8	1.7	16.7
Ph.D. thesis	20.8	5.2	1.9	19.4
The statistics report is displayed only if the Show Statistics option is enabled. To enable the Show Statistics option:

•	Select the Tools + Options menu item.

•	Select the General property page by clicking the tab at the top of the property sheet.

•	Click on the Show Statistics check box to check it.

•	Click the OK button to close the property sheet and save the settings.


How to use the Grammar and Spelling dialog

The Grammar and Spelling dialog appears while a document is being checked. You use the dialog to dispose of problems detected by Grammar Expert Plus. Most often, you will dispose of problems by ignoring or correcting them.

While Grammar Expert Plus searches your document for problems, the Grammar and Spelling dialog may be visible but inaccessible. The mouse cursor changes to an hourglass shape while the document is being searched. When Grammar Expert Plus detects a problem, the mouse cursor changes to a pointer shape and the dialog controls become accessible.

The Grammar and Spelling dialog is modeless, meaning you can return to the document to scroll text into view or make changes. When you switch to the document, the Resume button appears in the dialog. Before you can continue checking, you must press the Resume button. If the document was changed, Grammar Expert Plus continues checking from the word under the cursor (the insertion point). If the document was not changed Grammar Expert Plus continues checking from the place where it left off.

For more information on the controls in the dialog, press the F1 key when the dialog is visible.


How to add Grammar Expert Plus to the system tray

The system tray is a row of icons next to the clock on the task bar. You can add Grammar Expert Plus to the system tray so it will be easily accessible while you are using other applications.

To add Grammar Expert Plus to the system tray:

•	Select the Tools + Add to System Tray menu item.

When Grammar Expert Plus is installed in the system tray, you can open it by double-clicking its icon. You can perform other actions by right-clicking the icon and selecting an item from the pop-up menu.

If you would like Grammar Expert Plus to appear in the system tray each time you start your computer, add it to your Startup folder. See How to run Grammar Expert Plus each time you start your computer for instructions.

To remove Grammar Expert Plus from the system tray:

•	Right-click on the Grammar Expert Plus icon in the system tray.

•	When the pop-up menu appears, select the Add to System Tray menu item. This will toggle the Add to System Tray feature on and off.


How to automatically check text in the clipboard

If you frequently use Grammar Expert Plus to check text entered in other applications, you may want to set it up so the contents of the clipboard will automatically be checked each time you start or switch to Grammar Expert Plus. You can do this by enabling the Auto Check Clipboard feature.

When Auto Check Clipboard is enabled, Grammar Expert Plus examines the text in the clipboard each time you start it or switch to it. If the clipboard contents have changed, Grammar Expert Plus begins checking the text as though you had invoked the Tools + Check Clipboard menu item. This feature is especially handy if you assign a shortcut key to Grammar Expert Plus, since you can check text from another application by copying the text to the clipboard and then pressing the shortcut key. See How to assign a shortcut key to Grammar Expert Plus for more information.

The Auto Check Clipboard menu item acts as a toggle, so it switches between enabled and disabled each time you select it.

To enable or disable the Auto Check Clipboard feature:

•	Select the Tools + Auto Check Clipboard menu item.

Note: If you use Grammar Expert Plus as a text editor or word processor, it's a good idea to keep the Auto Check Clipboard option turned off. Otherwise, any text in the text area will be replaced with the clipboard contents when you switch to Grammar Expert Plus, and you will lose your work if it has not been saved to disk.


How to run Grammar Expert Plus each time you start your computer

You may find it useful to have Grammar Expert Plus running all the time. You can have Grammar Expert Plus start each time you reboot your computer by creating a shortcut for it in the Startup folder.

To create a shortcut for Grammar Expert Plus in the Startup folder:

•	Right-click the mouse on the task bar.

•	When the pop-up menu appears, select the Properties item.

•	When Taskbar Properties dialog appears, select the Start Menu Programs tab.

•	Click the Add button.

•	When the Create Shortcut dialog appears, click on the Browse button.

•	When the Browse dialog appears, locate the directory where you installed Grammar Expert Plus. The default directory is C:\Program Files\Grammar Expert Plus.

•	Select the gramxp.exe icon, then click the Open button. The icon may be named gramxp if you have configured the explorer to hid registered file types.

•	In the Create Shortcut dialog, click the Next button.

•	When the Select Program Folder dialog appears, select the Startup folder, then click the Next button.

•	When the Select a Title for the Program dialog appears, enter "Grammar Expert Plus" or something similar, then click the Finish button.


How to assign a shortcut key to Grammar Expert Plus

You can assign a shortcut key to Windows programs (including Grammar Expert Plus) so you can start them or activate them from the keyboard. For example, you could set up Grammar Expert Plus so you can start it by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + G keys (assuming the Ctrl + Alt + G key combination was not already assigned to another application).

To assign a shortcut key to Grammar Expert Plus:

•	Right-click the mouse on the task bar.

•	When the pop-up menu appears, select the Properties item.

•	When the Taskbar Properties dialog appears, select the Start Menu Programs tab.

•	Click the Advanced button.

•	When the Exploring – Start Menu window opens, expand the Programs folder by clicking the "+" sign next to it, then select the Grammar Expert Plus folder.

•	In the Grammar Expert Plus folder, right-click the mouse on the Grammar Expert Plus icon.

•	When the pop-up menu appears, select the Properties item.

•	When the Grammar Expert Plus Properties dialog appears, select the Shortcut tab.

•	Click the mouse in the Shortcut Key field, then type in the key combination you wish to use to start Grammar Expert Plus. Note: You must use Ctrl + Alt in combination with another key. The other key cannot include Esc, Enter, Tab, Backspace, Space, or Print Screen. The shortcut key must not already be assigned to another program.

•	Click the OK button to close the Grammar Expert Plus Properties dialog.

•	Close the Exploring – Start Menu window.

You can set up a shortcut for Grammar Expert Plus which will automatically check any text in the clipboard when it is started or switched to using the shortcut key. This is somewhat more flexible than setting the Auto Check Clipboard feature, since Grammar Expert Plus will check the clipboard contents only when the shortcut key is pressed, rather than each time it is switched to or started. To set up this shortcut, follow the preceding instructions for setting up a shortcut key. In the Shortcut tab of the Grammar Expert Plus properties dialog, edit the Target field and add a space followed by /CheckClipboard after gramxp.exe.

When /CheckClipboard appears on its command line, Grammar Expert Plus automatically checks the clipboard contents when you run it.

Once this shortcut has been set up, you can check text entered in another application by copying the text to the clipboard, then pressing the shortcut key you assigned. For this feature to work effectively, you should turn off the Auto Check Clipboard option. See How to automatically check text in the clipboard and How to check the grammar and spelling of text from other applications for more information.


Grammar and Spelling dialog

Ignore button: Ignore this occurrence of the current problem, and continue checking.

Undo edit button: Restore the problem area to its original contents (i.e., undo any changes).

Resume button: Restore the dialog to the state it was in before switching back to the document. If the document was changed, checking continues from the word under the cursor. If the document was not changed, checking continues from the point it left off.

Ignore All button: Ignore this and all further occurrences of the problem or misspelled word, until the end of the document is reached or checking is canceled.

Add button: Add the word reported as a misspelling to the currently selected user dictionary. See How to add personal words to a user dictionary for instructions on selecting a user dictionary.

Change button: Replace the problem with new text. If the problem area has been edited, the problem text is replaced with the contents of the problem area. If the problem area was not edited, the problem is replaced with the selected suggestion. See How to correct grammar and spelling errors for more information.

Change all button: Replace this and all further occurrences of the misspelled word in the document. If the problem area was edited, the word is replaced with the contents of the problem area. If the problem area was not edited, the word is replaced with the selected suggestion. Note that this button is disabled when a grammar problem is detected.

More button: If a grammar problem was detected, display help information relating to the problem. If a misspelled word was detected, search for and display more accurate suggested replacements. See How to get more information about a reported grammar error and How to get more or better spelling suggestions for more information.

Cancel button: Stop checking the document and close the Grammar and Spelling dialog. Any changes made up to this point will be retained.

Undo button: Undo the last change made to the document. Checking will continue from the first restored word.

Options button: Displays a property sheet used to control how grammar and spell checking is performed. See  General property page,  Grammar property page,  Spelling property page, and Writing style property page for more information.

Problem area: Displays the text associated with the detected problem. The contents of this area can be edited, in which case it forms the replacement text used by the Change and Change All buttons.

Suggestion list: Displays one or more suggested replacements for the current problem. The selected suggestion replaces the problem text in the document when the Change or Change All buttons are pressed.


General property page

Display statistics: If enabled, a report showing various statistics about the checked document will be displayed. The report shows word and sentence counts, average word and sentence lengths, and readability. See How to interpret the statistics report for more information.


Grammar property page

Enable the associated check boxes to have Grammar Expert Plus look for problems in the following categories:

Syntax errors: Errors in the combination of words that may be caused by missing or extra words, use of the wrong word, or words out of sequence.

Misused words: Problems where a word has been used incorrectly, probably because it has been confused with another word. This includes words such as your and you're, it's and its, there and their, etc.

Number agreement: Conflicts between the number of items and the modifiers which refer to them, such as these apple or a dogs.

Subject-verb agreement: Conflicts between the number (plurality) of a subject and the verb which it acts on, such as The employees wants longer lunch breaks.

Verb tense: Conflicts with the tense of a verb and surrounding auxiliary verbs, such as I have get my raincoat. This category also includes mixed verb tenses.

Possessives: Potentially incorrect use of a possessive form, such as girls's instead of girls', or incorrectly using a possessive form in place of a plural.

Capitalization: Failure to capitalize certain words (e.g., doctor Brown), or failure to capitalize the first word of a sentence.

Abbreviation form: Missing or unnecessary punctuation in abbreviations.

Number form: Problems with the form or style of numbers, such as spelling out large numbers or using numerals for small numbers.

Unbalanced punctuation: Symmetrical punctuation that does not balance (e.g., "(" without a corresponding ")").

Unusual word combination: A pattern of words that seems unusual, and may indicate a problem such as a missing, extra, or out of sequence word.


Spelling property page

Check spelling: Enable this check box to have Grammar Expert Plus check for misspelled words while it checks for grammar errors.

Add words to: Select the user dictionary words will be added to when the Add button is pressed in the Grammar and Spelling dialog. See How to add personal words to a user dictionary for more information.

Spelling options: Press this button to set additional spelling options, such as which words should be automatically ignored and how suggestions should be obtained. Click the Help button in the dialog that appears for information on each option.

Dictionaries: Press this button to open, close, and create user dictionaries, and add words to or remove words from user dictionaries. Click the Help button in the dialog that appears for instructions.


Writing style property page

Enable the associated check boxes to have Grammar Expert Plus look for problems in the following categories:

Classified singulars: Phrases that turn a single object into a class of objects, such as This kind of a car is the one I'm looking for.

Qualified absolutes: Absolute adjectives and adverbs that are modified with comparative or superlative adverbs, such as more perfect or very unique.

Doubled comparisons: Comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs that are modified with comparative adverbs, such as more quicker and most fastest.

Double negatives: Negative adjectives joined with a negative modifier, such as not uncommon, which can be expressed more clearly in a positive form.

Wordy phrases: Phrases containing superfluous words that can be rewritten more concisely, such as in a large number of cases.

Redundant phrases: Phrases where the meaning of one word implies the meaning of another word, such as connect together or repeat again.

Archaic words: Words that are no longer in common use, such as betwixt and perchance.

Stilted words: Long, overblown words and phrases that can be expressed in simpler terms for clarity.

Awkward usage: Words and phrases that are too informal or do not read well, such as ain't and that there.

Vague modifiers: Adjectives and adverbs that convey little meaning, such as nice and very.

Jargon: Words with a technical meaning applied in non-technical writing (such as parameter and interface) or business jargon (time frame and prioritize).

Cliches: Overworked phrases that can be rewritten to avoid triteness.

Gender-specific terms: Terms which some people consider sexist, such as chairman or waitress.

Confusing terms: Terms which may confuse the reader because several possible interpretations exists (e.g., bimonthly, which can mean twice per month or once every two months), or because the word's form suggests an alternate meaning (e.g., inflammable).

Commonly confused words: Words people often mistakenly use in place of correct words, usually because the words look or sound similar (e.g., accept and except, allusion and illusion). Grammar Expert Plus reports each use of such words to remind you to verify the meaning.

Contractions: Contracted words such as can't and should've that should be expanded in formal writing.

Punctuation inside quotes: Terminal punctuation placed inside quotation marks (e.g., "This is the end," she said). This is the preferred form in North America. If this option is enabled, Grammar Expert Plus will report any instance of punctuation inside quotation marks.

Punctuation outside quotes: Terminal punctuation placed outside quotation marks (e.g., "This is the end", she said). This form is generally considered incorrect in North America. If this option is enabled, Grammar Expert Plus will report any instance of punctuation outside quotation marks.


Statistics dialog

The Statistics dialog displays information about the document just checked. For a description of each statistic displayed, see  How to interpret the statistics report.


Commands

About Grammar Expert Plus

Add to System Tray

Auto Check Clipboard

Check Clipboard

Check Grammar and Spelling

Edit Undo

Edit Cut

Edit Copy

Edit Paste

Edit Paste Special

Edit Clear

Edit Select All

Edit Find

Edit Find Next

Edit Replace

File New

File Open

File Save

File Save As

File Send

File Exit

View Toolbar

View Style bar

View Status bar

Help Contents command

Help Search

Grammar Reference: Contents

Grammar Reference: Answer Finder

Grammar Reference: Sentences

Grammar Reference: Parts of Speech

Grammar Reference: Punctuation

Grammar Reference: Mechanics of Writing

Grammar Reference: Writing Style

Grammar Reference: Problem words

Options

Thesaurus


Reference - Commands - About Grammar Expert Plus
About Grammar Expert Plus

This command displays a dialog showing the version number and copyright of Grammar Expert Plus.


Add to System Tray

When checked, an icon representing Grammar Expert Plus is added to the System Tray, which is a row of small icons near the clock on the task bar. Keeping Grammar Expert Plus in the System Tray makes it easily accessible. See How to add Grammar Expert Plus to the system tray for more information.


Auto Check Clipboard

When checked, Grammar Expert Plus will automatically check the clipboard contents when you start it or switch to it. See How to automatically check text in the clipboard for more information.


Check Clipboard

The Check Clipboard command checks the text in the Windows clipboard for grammar and spelling errors. When you invoke the Check Clipboard command, the following things happen:

•	The text in the clipboard is pasted into Grammar Expert Plus's text area, replacing any text already there.

•	Grammar Expert Plus checks the text for grammar and spelling errors. (See How to check grammar and spelling (general) for more information.)

•	When checking is complete, Grammar Expert Plus copies the contents of the text area back to the Windows clipboard, where you can paste it into the original application. The clipboard will contain any changes you made to the text during checking.

For more information, see  How to check the grammar and spelling of text from other applications.


Check Grammar and Spelling

The Check Grammar command starts checking the grammar and spelling of any text in the text area. If any grammar or spelling problems are encountered, a dialog will appear which you can use to dispose of the problem. See How to check grammar and spelling (general) for more information.


Edit Undo

Reverses the last action.


Edit Cut

Removes the selected text from the document and puts it on the clipboard.


Edit Copy

Copies the selected text to the clipboard.


Edit Paste

Inserts the clipboard contents into the document.


Edit Paste Special

Inserts the clipboard contents into the document with options.


Edit Clear

Deletes the selected text.


Edit Select All

Selects all of the text in the document.


Edit Find

Search the document for a text string.


Edit Find Next

Search the document for the next occurrence of a text string.


Edit Replace

Replace any occurrences of a text string in the document with new text.


File New

Create a new document.


File Open

Open an existing document.


File Save

Save the document to disk.


File Save As

Save the document to disk under a different name.


File Send

Send the document using e-mail.


File Exit

Exit Grammar Expert Plus.


View Toolbar

Display the tool bar. The tool bar contains icons for common operations such as opening and saving documents, copying and pasting text to and from the clipboard, checking grammar, and setting options.


View Style bar

Display the style bar. The style bar contains icons for formatting the text in the document.


View Status bar

Display the status bar. The status bar contains fields that describe the current state of Grammar Expert Plus.


Help Contents command

This command displays the contents page of the Grammar Expert Plus user's guide. Use this command to look up information on using Grammar Expert Plus.


Help Search

This command displays the index of the Grammar Expert Plus user's guide. Use this command to look up information on using Grammar Expert Plus.


Grammar Reference: Contents

Open the table of contents to the Grammar Expert online grammar reference book.


Grammar Reference: Answer Finder

Open the answer finder, which helps you to locate answers to common questions in the online grammar reference.


Grammar Reference: Sentences

Open the online grammar-reference chapter on sentence structure. In addition to sentences, this chapter covers phrases and clauses.


Grammar Reference: Parts of Speech

Open the online grammar-reference chapter on parts of speech. Parts of speech are the roles words play in sentences: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions. This chapter describes the purpose of each part of speech, and contains information on avoiding certain types of problems, such as errors in pronoun case (he and I vs. him and me) and subject-verb disagreements (One of the doors is stuck vs. One of the doors are stuck).


Grammar Reference: Punctuation

Open the online grammar-reference chapter on punctuation. This chapter contains information on the correct use of punctuation, including commas, periods, semicolons, and quotation marks.


Grammar Reference: Mechanics of Writing

Open the online grammar-reference chapter on mechanics of writing. This chapter includes topics on writing dates and times, lists, abbreviations, capitalization, hyphenation, and numbers.


Grammar Reference: Writing Style

Open the online grammar-reference chapter on writing style. This chapter contains information on writing clearly and directly. It also includes a section on writing letters, with sample letters for a variety of purposes.


Grammar Reference: Problem words

Open the online grammar-reference chapter on problem words. This chapter contains definitions and sample uses of dozens of confusing words, such as envelop and envelope, principle and principal, and sensual and sensuous.


Options

This command displays the Grammar Expert Plus property sheet. You can use the property sheet to adjust settings that affect the way Grammar Expert Plus operates. For example, you can stop Grammar Expert Plus from reporting certain types of problems. See How to prevent reporting of certain problem types for more information.


Thesaurus

This command displays the Thesaurus dialog. You can use the Thesaurus dialog to look up synonyms and antonyms for words. When you select the Thesaurus command, Grammar Expert Plus looks up synonyms for the word under the cursor in the text area. When you close the Thesaurus dialog, Grammar Expert Plus asks if you would like to replace the word under the cursor with the selected synonym. See How to look up synonyms and antonyms for a word for more information.


Keyboard

Command	Keyboard shortcut
Auto Check clipboard (toggle)	F4
Bold	Ctrl + B
Italic	Ctrl + I
Underline	Ctrl + U
Check Grammar	F7
Check Clipboard	Ctrl + Shift + F7
Thesaurus	Shift + F7
Select All	Ctrl + A
Replace	Ctrl + H
Copy to clipboard	Ctrl + C
Cut to clipboard	Ctrl + X
Paste from clipboard	Ctrl + V
Undo	Ctrl + Z or Alt + Backspace
New file	Ctrl + N
Open file	Ctrl + O
Save file	Ctrl + S
Help	F1
Help on context	Shift + F1
Repeat	F3


Tips

•	To use Grammar Expert Plus as a spelling checker only, open the property sheet and disable all settings in the Grammar and Writing Style pages. Make sure the Check Spelling option is enabled in the Spelling page.

•	To use Grammar Expert Plus to obtain document statistics without checking grammar or spelling, open the property sheet and disable all settings in the Grammar and Writing Style pages, disable the Check Spelling option in the Spelling page, and enable the Show Statistics option in the General page.

•	Grammar Expert Plus remembers its window size and position, so you can place it in a corner of the screen where it won't take up too much space.

•	Use Grammar Expert Plus's online grammar reference frequently when you write to look up answers to grammar-related problems you may encounter, such as whether to use she or her, or its or it's. As you learn the rules of grammar, the quality of your writing will improve.

•	If, during writing using another word processor or text editor, you're not sure if you have spelled a word correctly, copy the word to the clipboard and invoke Grammar Expert Plus's Check Clipboard feature. Grammar Expert Plus will inform you if the word is misspelled.

•	You can use Grammar Expert Plus to check the text in files. The files must be saved in either text (.txt) or rich-text (.rtf) format. You can open a file for checking via the File + Open menu item or by dragging the file from the Explorer. After the file has been opened, invoke the Tools + Check Grammar and Spelling command.


Frequently asked questions

See http://www.wintertree-software.com/support/gramxp for a current list of answers to frequently asked questions.

How do I make Grammar Expert Plus check my grammar and spelling as I type?

The current version of Grammar Expert Plus does not work this way. Grammar Expert Plus checks text interactively.

How do I integrate Grammar Expert Plus into Word, WordPerfect, MS-Mail, Netscape, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, etc.?

Grammar Expert Plus does not integrate into other applications. It works in a stand-alone manner.

If your favorite application doesn't include a grammar checker, contact the publisher and have them contact Wintertree Software. We can license Grammar Expert Plus's grammar, spelling, and thesaurus technology for redistribution with other applications.

I want to add a word to a user dictionary, but the Add button in the Grammar and Spelling dialog is disabled. How do I enable it?

Grammar Expert Plus disables the Add button if it doesn't have a valid user dictionary to add words to. Make sure that at least one user dictionary appears in the Add Words To list in the Spelling property page, and that one of the user dictionaries in the list is selected. See How to add or create user dictionary files and How to add personal words to a user dictionary for more information.

I moved all of the Grammar Expert Plus files to a different directory, and now every word is reported as misspelled. How do I fix this?

Uninstall Grammar Expert Plus then re-install it in the new directory.

When I copy formatted text to the clipboard from some applications and use Grammar Expert Plus's Check Clipboard command, the formatting is lost. Why?

Grammar Expert Plus recognizes rich-text format (CF_RTF) and plain text format (CF_TEXT) in the clipboard. Some applications copy their text to the clipboard as plain text and in a proprietary format which Grammar Expert Plus does not recognize. In this case, Grammar Expert Plus sees only the plain text. You might contact the publisher of the other application and ask them to support the CF_RTF format.

Why does Grammar Expert Plus sometimes report grammar errors in correct sentences?
Why does Grammar Expert Plus sometimes fail to recognize an obvious grammar error?

Grammar Expert Plus's grammar checker works by searching for patterns in the text it checks. The patterns match common grammar errors, but sometimes they match valid sentences as well. English is a remarkably flexible language that allows words to be combined in a multitude of ways, some of which may confuse a grammar checker. See Disclaimer and Limitations for more information.

How can I reduce the number of grammar and spelling problems Grammar Expert Plus reports?

To reduce the number of grammar problems reported, turn off the option in the Grammar and Writing Style property sheets. See How to prevent reporting of certain problem types for instructions.

To reduce the number of spelling errors reported, set the "Ignore" options in the Spelling Options dialog. Click the Spelling Options button in the Spelling property sheet.

What are the userdic.tlx, correct.tlx, ssceam.tlx, and accent.tlx files listed in the Add Words To list in the Spelling properties page?

These files are user dictionaries:

•	userdic.tlx: General-purpose user dictionary. We recommend that you select the user dictionary in the Add Words To list so words will be added to it when you click the Add button in the Grammar and Spelling dialog.

•	correct.tlx: This dictionary contains several hundred common misspellings and their corrections. We recommend that you do not change this file.

•	ssceam.tlx: This file is part of the main dictionary, and is automatically opened by Grammar Expert Plus. You should not open or edit this file.

•	accent.tlx: This dictionary contains words containing accented characters (such as cliché) commonly used in English. We recommend that you do not change this file.

I set up a shortcut key for Grammar Expert Plus, and now it doesn't work.

A shortcut key combination will not work if it is assigned to more than one application.

The active application may be processing the shortcut key.

The shortcut key combination you assigned may be invalid. The key combination must be Ctrl + Alt + another key; the other key cannot be Escape, Enter, Tab, Backspace, Space, or Print Screen.

Shortcut keys are Windows features and are not specific to Grammar Expert Plus. Other sources of Windows help (Microsoft support, Web sites, etc.) may help solve the problem.


License Agreement - License Agreement
License Agreement

I. INTRODUCTION

This is an agreement between you (either as an individual or an organization) (Licensee) and Wintertree Software Inc. (Licensor), for the purposes of specifying the conditions under which Licensee will use the Software.

II. DEFINITIONS

Software shall mean the proprietary computer software program titled Grammar Expert Plus, its User's Manual, and its associated modules and data files.

Workstation shall mean a single computer system.

User's manual shall mean a written guide describing the use of the Software, together with any related supporting documentation.

III. LICENSE GRANT

Licensor hereby grants to Licensee, and Licensee hereby accepts, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, a non-exclusive and non-transferable license to use Software as set forth in this Agreement. The term "license" as used in this Agreement shall mean and include:

(a)	The right to use the licensed copies of the Software in executable form on a Workstation;

(b)	The right to make a reasonable number of backup copies of the Software for the Licensee's use only, solely for archival purposes.

In accepting the license granted by the Licensor, Licensee agrees that it shall not:

(a)	Transfer or allow the transfer of copies of Software without written permission from the Licensor;

(b)	Use or permit others to use Software on more than one Workstation, or place the Software on a network where it can be used by more than one Workstation;

(c)	Attempt to disassemble or reverse engineer Software.

Any rights not expressly granted to Licensee are retained by Licensor.

IV. TERM

The term of this Agreement shall commence as of the time Licensee receives the Software and shall continue until the Licensee ceases all use of the Software and returns or destroys all copies thereof, or until it is automatically terminated upon Licensee's failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement.

V. COPYRIGHT AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

Licensee acknowledges that Software and User's Manual constitute valuable property of Licensor and that all title and ownership rights in Software and User's Manual remain exclusively with Licensor.

Licensor reserves all rights with respect to Program and User's Manual under all applicable laws for the protection of proprietary information, including, but not limited to, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, and patents.

Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, Licensee shall not cause or permit unauthorized copying, reproduction, or disclosure of any portion of the Software or User's Manual, or the delivery or distribution of any part thereof to any third person or entity, for any purpose whatsoever, without the prior written permission of Licensor. This restriction shall continue to bind Licensee and its agents and representatives beyond the termination of this Agreement.

VI. LIMITATION OF WARRANTIES

LICENSEE ACCEPTS SOFTWARE "AS IS" "WITH ALL FAULTS." AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THOSE FOR MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Licensor accepts no responsibility for the operation or performance of the Software. The entire risk of use and consequences of use of the Software falls completely on the Licensee and the Licensor shall not be liable in any respect for any claims, loss or injury alleged to have resulted from use of or in reliance on Software. In this respect, Licensee shall completely indemnify and defend for any such claim, loss or injury as provided below.

When the software is distributed on physical media such as diskette, Licensor warrants the physical media to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of sixty days from the purchase date.

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VII. INDEMNIFICATION

Licensee shall indemnify and defend against any and all claims, including claims by third parties or employees of Licensee, which arise directly or indirectly out of Licensee's use or operation of the Software.

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Glossary of Terms

Clipboard

Property sheet

Shortcut key

System tray

Task bar

Text area

User dictionary


Clipboard

A mechanism used to transfer text and other data between Windows applications.


Property sheet

A tabbed dialog containing options which affect the behavior of Grammar Expert Plus.


Shortcut key

A shortcut key is a key used in combination with Ctrl + Alt to start or switch to a Windows program.


System tray

The system tray is a row of icons located next to the clock on the task bar.


Task bar

The task bar contains the Start menu, clock and buttons representing running applications. It also contains the system tray.


Text area

Part of Grammar Expert Plus's application window where text can be entered and edited.


User dictionary

A file used to hold correctly spelled words which are not known by the spelling checker.