Spell check, autocorrect and dictionaries in Layout
Use the built-in UK English word list, a user dictionary, dynamic spelling underlines and autocorrect in Layout by Zaweba to catch typos before print.
Spelling mistakes are the errors readers notice first and forgive last. A typo in a headline on a printed brochure stays there for every copy. Layout by Zaweba has spell checking built in, with a UK English word list, a dictionary of your own, underlines as you type and autocorrect.
The UK English word list
The built-in word list is UK English, so colour, organise, centre and programme are correct rather than flagged. For work written in British English, that means fewer false alarms and less temptation to ignore the checker.
Your user dictionary
The user dictionary holds words you add: names of people and places, product names, technical terms, a company's own spelling of its brand. Add them once and they stop being flagged everywhere.
Be a little careful what you add. A word added by mistake, a typo you accepted in a hurry, will never be flagged again. If you add many words for a particular client, it's worth a quick look through the list now and then.
Dynamic spelling
Dynamic spelling underlines words it doesn't recognise as you type or as text appears. It's the quickest kind of checking, because mistakes show up where you're already looking. Fix them as you go, or add genuine words to the dictionary so the underline goes away.
On a page full of names or jargon, the underlines can feel busy at first. Adding the recurring words to the user dictionary calms the page down quickly.
Autocorrect
Autocorrect fixes typos as you type. It's best for the slips your fingers make again and again. It works quietly, so it's worth remembering it's there if a word changes in a way you didn't intend.
A checking routine before print
Start a new job by adding the names you know will appear: the client, their products, the people quoted. Doing that before the copy arrives means the first underlines you see are real mistakes rather than names, and you're more likely to take each one seriously.
Run a full spell check on every story before export, even if dynamic spelling showed nothing. Text pasted in from elsewhere may never have been looked at in Layout.
Check text that isn't in the main story too: captions, sidebars, headings, footers and tables. These are where mistakes hide, because the eye skims them.
Remember spell check only knows words. It won't catch a correctly spelled wrong word, "form" for "from", "there" for "their". Read the copy as well, ideally in the story editor or Presentation mode, where the text is easier to read straight through.
Text converted to outlines is no longer text, so spell check can't see it. Check spelling before creating outlines.
Spelling slips that reach print
Adding a misspelling to the user dictionary is one. Trusting autocorrect to fix everything is another. Skipping the check on headlines because they're short is a third, and headlines are exactly where a mistake is most visible.
Together with find/change for systematic fixes and the story editor for reading, spell check in Layout by Zaweba gives you a solid last line of defence before anything goes to the printer.
