Kearney (308) 234-9335 | Hastings (402) 463-3456 | GI (308) 384-6939 | Lincoln (402) 483-6400
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
Instagram
RSS
  • About Us
    • Return Policy
    • Financing
    • Employment
    • Contact Us
  • Repairs
    • iPhone Repair
    • Mac Repair
    • iPad & iPod Repair
    • Lenovo Repair
    • Apple Watch Repair
    • Beats & More Repair
    • AppleCare
    • General Repair Request
  • Services
    • Care+ Unlimited Tech Support
    • One-on-One Tech Training
    • Data Recovery Services
    • Electronic Recycling
    • Trade-In Program
    • Remote Tech Support
  • Products
    • Apple Online Store
    • Apple
    • Lenovo
    • Sonos
    • Original HP Ink and Toner
    • Closeouts
    • Pre-owned Inventory
  • Education
    • Education Website
    • Higher Ground Catalog
    • Projector Case Study
    • Brighter Futures Pricing | K-12
    • Brighter Futures | K – 12 Education Catalog
    • Epson Projector Demo Program
    • ESU 7 Repair Request
    • Submit a Device Repair Request
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • How to Turn Off ‘Find My Device’
  • Locations
    • Grand Island
    • Hastings
    • Kearney
    • Lincoln

Did You Know Apple Hid Huge Reference Books in Your Mac?

July 5, 2017Apple, Mac, ServicesKelsey Jezbera

You’re probably used to Mac apps using red underlines to mark misspelled words, but did you know that macOS has long included a fully featured Dictionary app as well? It provides quick access to definitions and synonyms in the New Oxford American Dictionary and the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, along with definitions of Apple-specific words like AppleCare and MacTCP. But that’s far from all it can do.

First, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page. Launch the Dictionary app from your Applications folder and then type a word or phrase into the Search field. As you type, Dictionary starts looking up words that match what you’ve typed so far—you don’t even have to press Return. If more than one word matches what you’ve typed, click the desired word in the sidebar.

Notice the lozenges below the toolbar, representing the references that Dictionary can consult, and no, your eyes aren’t deceiving you—Dictionary can look things up in Wikipedia if your Mac has an Internet connection. In short, Dictionary gives you instant access to a dictionary, a thesaurus, and an encyclopedia containing over 5.4 million articles in English alone! You can click a reference’s lozenge to limit your search, or select All to scan all of them.

If you want to look up words in another language, or even just British English, Dictionary has you covered, with a long list of other reference works. Choose Dictionary > Preferences and select those you’d like to use. You can drag the selected entries into the order you want their lozenges to appear below the toolbar.

Once you’re in a definition, note that you can copy text for use in other apps—always helpful when wading into grammar and usage arguments on the Internet. More generally, you can click any word in Dictionary’s main pane to look it up instantly. If dictionaries had been this much fun in school, we’d have larger vocabularies! Use the Back and Forward arrow buttons to navigate among your recently looked-up words.

As helpful as the Dictionary app is, you probably don’t want to leave it running all the time. Happily, Apple has provided quite a few shortcut methods for looking up words:

  • Press Command-Space to invoke Spotlight, and enter your search term.

     
  • Select a word, and then choose AppName > Services > Look Up in Dictionary to launch Dictionary and search for that word. This trick should work in most apps, but won’t work in all. If the Look Up in Dictionary command doesn’t appear, make sure it’s enabled in System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Services, in the Searching category.

     
  • Last but best, hover over a word or phrase with the mouse pointer and either press Command-Control-D or Control-click the word and choose Look Up “word.” If the app supports it, macOS displays a popover with the definition or Wikipedia article. If you have a trackpad, you can also do a force-click or three-finger tap on the selected word—make sure the “Look up & data detectors” checkbox is selected in System Preferences > Trackpad > Point & Click.


Now that you know how to take full advantage of the reference works that Apple has built into macOS, it’s time to get in touch with your inner logophile (feel free to look that one up).

: macOS

Related Articles

Trash Files Instantly from the Keyboard

June 1, 2017Kelsey Jezbera

Don’t Get Burned by Bad Cables… Literally!

June 2, 2017Kelsey Jezbera

The Three Secrets of Backup Masters

June 30, 2017Kelsey Jezbera

Recent Posts

  • FAQs about Apple’s Messages App and What Can Go Wrong When Using It
  • Protect Your iPhone Passcode by Using Face ID or Touch ID
  • A Practical Guide to Identifying Phishing Emails
  • Is Your Wi-Fi Network a Security Risk?
  • What’s the Difference between Removing and Deleting an App?

Categories

Archives

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
Instagram
RSS

Kearney

2315 2nd Ave
Kearney, NE 68847

308-234-9335

308-234-9335

Hastings

1001 W 2nd St
Hastings, NE 68901

402-463-3456

402-463-3456

Grand Island

2720 Old Fair Rd
Grand Island, NE 68803

308-384-6939

308-384-6939

Lincoln

235 S 70th St Ste 101
Lincoln, NE 68510

402-483-6400

402-483-6400

Questions? Contact Us Now!

Contact Us

Home

About Us

  • Return Policy
  • Financing
  • Employment
  • Contact Us

Repairs

  • iPhone Repair
  • Mac Repair
  • iPad & iPod Repair
  • Lenovo Repair
  • Apple Watch Repair
  • Beats & More Repair
  • AppleCare
  • General Repair Request

Services

  • Care+ Unlimited Tech Support
  • One-on-One Tech Training
  • Data Recovery Services
  • Electronic Recycling
  • Trade-In Program
  • Remote Tech Support

Products

  • Apple Online Store
  • Apple
  • Lenovo
  • Sonos
  • Original HP Ink and Toner
  • Closeouts
  • Pre-owned Inventory

Resources

  • Blog
  • How to Turn Off ‘Find My Device’
  • Education Resources

Copyright © 2022 Computer Hardware.

Powered by web design kearney, ne