Preview and spellchecker

[Dani]

As many of you know, we got rid of the live preview last week. Originally it was intended to just be a test to see if it was causing severe posting lags on very slow computers, but it turns out that most of the regulars prefer not having it (either that, or the original novelty of it greatly wore off).

Therefore, some of you may have discovered that for the past few days there is a little green checkmark in the top right of the editor toolbar. You can click it to generate a preview that also spellchecks. As before, click the preview to hide it.

[JorgeM]

I hadnt noticed the checkmark. In any case, I like this design better.

[Octet]

I was wondering what had happened to the preview, at first I thought I'd lost my NoScript whitelist.

Anyway, I like it... it's very clear when you have made a typo now.

[Dani]

You guys are saying you like it, but meanwhile the feature has existed for a few days already and no one has noticed :( Not sure if that makes it functional, especially for newbies.

[deceptikon]

It's not obvious that the check is a button or what it does. I suspect very few people have bothered to click on it.

[Octet]

the feature has existed for a few days already and no one has noticed

I think it's because it is such a drastic change, personally I was used to seeing the live preview and therefore when it disappeared I assumed it was because I had disabled a JS file, as opposed to an update to the system.

Maybe if you changed it from a tick to a physical word saying "Spell Check" it would get more recognition?

[Dani]

I'm going to leave it as is for now, but track its usage, and please let me know how often you guys find yourself using it.

[JorgeM]

You guys are saying you like it, but meanwhile the feature has existed for a few days already and no one has noticed :( Not sure if that makes it functional, especially for newbies.

Again, I didnt notice it and when you did mentioned it, I hovered over the checkmark to see if any help information would be displayed. Maybe a tool-tip or something similar would be helpful for those items in that toolbar.

[mike_2000_17]

the feature has existed for a few days already and no one has noticed :(

I had noticed it (couple of days ago or something like that), but I wasn't sure if it was there before that and I just hadn't noticed it, or if it was something new. I also couldn't quite figure out what it was for (no tooltip, and I'm kinda slow ;) ), and I was scared to click on it (well, I didn't think it would trigger WW III or something, but you know what I mean). I think it would be nice to have the word "Preview" next to the check mark, like all the other buttons (like # List and * List).

And, Hurray for the spellchecking!!! I would still prefer the system / browser's spellchecker, but I can live with this one.

[Dani]

Oh, come now, how could anyone be scared to click on a little green checkmark? It just exemplifies the very idea of being correct!

[happygeek]

Maybe a change of icon to something that is more universally recognisable as a spellscheck function? Just the addition of ABC above the tick would work for most folk I imagine. See here for examples.

It is certainly better than not having a spell check, especially for those of us with low vision who tend to not spot the typos easily. Shame there's no 'click on the suggestion to make the correction' option, but hey ho I can live with that.

[~s.o.s~]

I'm going to leave it as is for now, but track its usage, and please let me know how often you guys find yourself using it.

Dani, I would really suggest at least providing a tooltip for the green arrow, something like (Spellcheck + Preview) or provide a "Help" link to its right which shows what the different editor options do. I click on the green arrow a few days back but since I didn't have any spelling mistakes, I assumed it was just for toggling editor preview.

I assumed that it was the live preview toggle too.

Just tried it again, but it doesn't toggle off the live preview, just runs another spellcheck - I suppose that this is by design. The idea behind a spellcheck is great, not so sure I like it shackled with the display live preview, since once I click it, I can't turn off the live preview again.

The icon is not strong enough IMO to suggest what it might do. The functions of certain icons buttons are obvious due to the strength of the icon itself, so I agree with sos and others that a tooltip is essential for it if you keep it as is.

It just strikes me as a bit odd to see plain language prompts and then a tick - doesn't really fit in with the design.

[Dani]

since once I click it, I can't turn off the live preview again.

Same as it always was: click on the preview itself to make it go away.

[Octet]

The new "Preview" bit next to the tick is certainly an improvement.

Same as it always was: click on the preview itself to make it go away.

Doh!

[Ancient Dragon]

I'm glad to be rid of that preview -- it was very confusing

[BigPaw]

This is a brilliant feature. I hadn't noticed it before, not only because I'm a little slow, but also because the only feature I've ever used on that bar is the 'Link'.

Would it help to call it something like 'Spellcheck', as this would be its most prominent function?

Yep much better. Although, I keep trying to correct the spelling by clicking on the highlighted bit in the preview :(

[JorgeM]

I keep trying to correct the spelling by clicking on the highlighted bit in the preview

Lol!! Same thing happened to me.

[Dani]

Hey, I'm trying here ;)

[Troy III]

I still don't understand why not use a rich-text editor browser api ?

[Dani]

Because too many people format code snippets incorrectly or not at all.