Spell Check in SmartArt Graphics

[ernie@wb@officeformac.com]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

Word 2008 for Mac is not spell-checking text in SmartArt text boxes. Is this normal?

[Daiya Mitchell]

Unfortunately, yes. Apparently WinWord 2007 also shows the same
problem. MS knows it's a bug, but complain via Help | Send Feedback to
help increase the priority on it.

[ernie@wb@officeformac.com]

Thanks for the reply. Given that the feature is named SmartArt, it's more than a little ironic...

I'll feedback to MS as you suggested.

[CyberTaz]

Hi Daiya -

I fully agree that it would be nice if the text added to SmartArt Objects
included in the Spell Check, but I'm not sure how it qualifies as a "bug".

Text in embedded objects has never been susceptible to Word's spell
checking, such as the forerunner of SmartArt - the good ole Org Chart
objects in 2004, for example. Not really any different than if you embed an
Excel spreadsheet or a Graph object. Text in Shapes created by Word's
drawing tools, of course, is included in spell checking.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

On 8/7/08 3:16 PM, in article eiBLUIM#IHA....@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl, "Daiya

[John McGhie]

Hi Bob:

Oh, *I* am sure it qualifies as a bug :-)

And I agree with the original poster, it's pretty bloody dumb art!

{Sorry} I just get really peeved at the amount of developer time that was
frittered away on squeezy graphics nobody can use that could have been
better employed making the needed functionality work right :-)

Cheers

On 8/08/08 8:20 PM, in article C4C19D27.40042%onlygen...@com.cast.net,
"CyberTaz" <onlygen...@com.cast.net> wrote:

--

Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Nhulunbuy, NT, Australia. mailto:jo...@mcghie.name

[CyberTaz]

Yeah john - we all know your definition of "bug" :-)... Not to mention your
high esteem for SmartArt :-)))

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

On 8/8/08 7:04 AM, in article C4C25E52.17F7A%jo...@mcghie.name, "John McGhie"

[Daiya Mitchell]

CyberTaz wrote:
> Hi Daiya -
>
> I fully agree that it would be nice if the text added to SmartArt Objects
> included in the Spell Check, but I'm not sure how it qualifies as a "bug".
>

I was told it would be filed as a bug. :) I go back and forth on
whether missing features are bugs or just design limitations--but this
one, I'd call a bug. There's no rational way someone deliberately
designed a feature that essentially says "hey, make your presentations
and document look all professional--as long as you can spell." Maybe
WinWord forgot, maybe they ran out of time to put it in--but it's a bug.

[CyberTaz]

Awwww, I was just yankin' yer chain :-) We can argue semantics until
doomsday & never resolve this one... And if you & the dreaded McGhie are
gonna gang up on me I don't stand a chance any way :-)

FWIW, I consider a bug to be either something included which doesn't work as
intended by the designer *or* is prevented from doing so by an error in the
software. If a practical feature is simply not included or doesn't work the
way a significant portion of users find to be productive I call that a
design flaw. I think this falls into the latter category, but what label we
apply to it really doesn't matter... Either way it's a shortcoming that
certainly needs to be remedied - and on that I'm sure we all agree.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

On 8/8/08 5:51 PM, in article OAVryDa#IHA....@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl, "Daiya

[ernie@wb@officeformac.com]

Funny thing... Since my original post, I opened PowerPoint 2008 and, lo and behold, spell-check works when using SmartArt text boxes there. Bug or not, it's irksome.

[John McGhie]

That's right. That's why I am so annoyed that it doesn't work in Word.

It's a BUG!!! :-)

Cheers

On 11/08/08 6:24 AM, in article 59b56...@webcrossing.caR9absDaxw,
"ernie@wb@officeformac.com" <ernie@wb@officeformac.com> wrote:

--

[CyberTaz]

Not funny at all - it's downright appalling! :-) Unfortunately it serves to
prove my point that Word historically gets the short end of the stick when
it comes to graphics implementation - Mac or PC. For Example: Did you ever
notice that in an Org chart created in Word (prior to 2007/08, at least) you
have to click with the mouse to go from shape to shape, whereas in Excel -
based on same engine - you can Tab from one to the next? Or that the array
of shapes, lines & connectors is less in Word than in Excel & PPt? Or that
the text in those 2 rotates when you rotate the shape, whereas in Word the
text remains horizontal? [End of Rant]

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

On 8/10/08 4:54 PM, in article 59b56...@webcrossing.caR9absDaxw,