How to block certain words while typing
I am trying to find a way to block or at least cause certain words to be "checked" while I am typing an e-mail. I tried to find a way to edit certain words out of the default dictionary, but I can't find a good answer. My problem is that I frequently type the phrase "Stitch count" while e-mailing customers, and I do not want an accidental slip-up while typing to cause me to send "Stitch cunt". Maybe even a way to "confirm" certain words that a user could add to a list. I used another e-mail program for over 20 years, and it's dictionary would underscore that word (or other blatantly dirty words even if they were spelled correctly). It would at least draw my attention to it before accidentally sending a potentially offensive e-mail.
All Replies (3)
That sounds like a job for an auto-correct tool, but there isn't a reliable one for Thunderbird.
Unfortunately, there's no easy way to remove this word from the dictionary. I believe it may be possible to edit the dictionary file. This wouldn't stop you using the word but would flag it up as misspelled. I need to look into the possibility of removing the word from the dictionary.
Adding your preferred word to your personal dictionary doesn't help, as that doesn't override the official dictionary.
You might ask why such an obviously offensive word is even in the dictionary. I could argue that it has a narrow specialised meaning in tailoring, making it a legitimate non-vulgar word, but right now I can't find any evidence to back me up.
My best guess is to use the attachments tool in Thunderbird. This will detect certain words (typically "attach", "attachment", "include") in a message and prompt you to attach something, and it permits you to add your own trigger words. Obviously you don't always actually need to attach something, but at least this method would be scanning the text for your particular word.
Thank you for the potential work-around. By adding that word to the "attachment" indicator, I at least get something popping up to catch my attention. I still hope they can eventually do an add-on of some sort to block or highlight certain words that are technically words, but that a user does not want to use by accident.
In my set-up, since I'm using British English I have a specific en-GB dictionary installed. This creates a folder in my profile in which can be found a dictionary file, en-GB.dic. This file can be edited in a text editor (Notepad or similar, NOT Word!) and the line containing the offending word removed.
Having done this, and then restarted Thunderbird, the regular spellcheck now highlights the offending word.