Suomeksi In English

Proofreading

Linux

OpenOffice.org

The OpenOffice office suite has the great Soikko proofreader and hyphenator for Finnish. OpenOffice has proofreaders for other languages, too. You can switch on proofreading by clicking Tools -> Spellcheck.

You can choose the language of the document by clicking Tools -> Options -> Language Settings -> Languages -> Default languages for documents. Note the checkbox "For the current document only".

Aspell

Aspell is the basic proofreader in Linux for text documents. Many applications use Aspell automatically. It doesn't know Finnish, though. You would use the following command to proofread a text file:

        aspell -c file.txt

Other options:

        -t        a TeX document
        -d en_GB  British English
        -d en_US  American English
        --help    list all options

Aspell has replaced the traditional Ispell proofreader.

Tmispell

Tmispell is a great proofreader for Finnish text documents. Tmispell works like Aspell but is uses Soikko for Finnish. Tmispell is available in the Linux network directory /opt/tmispell/. You would use the following command to proofread a Finnish text file:

        /opt/tmispell/bin/tmispell -dsuomi tiedosto.txt

The -t option is useful for TeX documents. Tmispell checks also the comments in TeX documents, unlike Aspell.

You can use Tmispell in all applications that call Ispell by setting up the PATH environment variable so that /opt/tmispell/bin appeares before /usr/bin. If the document is in Finnish, you need to tell this to the application.

Other Applications

Most KDE software (like Koffice, Kmail, Kile) use Aspell. The Mozilla Internet software has its own proofreader which doesn't know Finnish. The LyX document processor, which is installed on the network drive in Linux, includes the Soikko proofreader for Finnish. You can use it by clicking "Edit -> Spellchecker -> Spellchecker options", choosing "Use alternative language" and typing "finnish".

Windows

MS Office

Microsoft Office XP has proofreading for Finnish and other common languages. If you have an older version of MS Office, please contact the IT support. The Mozilla Internet software has its own proofreader which doesn't know Finnish.