Checking a single word
----------------------
The simplest emacs command for calling ispell is 'M-$' (meta-dollar.
On some terminals, you must type ESC-$.) This checks the spelling of
the word under the cursor. If the word is found in the dictionary,
then a message is printed in the echo area. Otherwise, ISPELL attempts
to generate near misses.
If any near misses are found, they are displayed in a separate
window, each preceded by a digit or character. If one of these is the
word you wanted, just type its digit or character, and it will replace
the original word in your buffer.
If no near miss is right, or if none are displayed, you have five
choices:
`I'
Insert the word in your private dictionary. Use this if you know
that the word is spelled correctly.
`A'
Accept the word for the duration of this editing session, but do
not put it in your private dictionary. Use this if you are not
sure about the spelling of the word, but you do not want to look
it up immediately, or for terms that appear in your document but
are not truly words. The next time you start ispell, it will have
forgotten any accepted words.
`SPC'
Leave the word alone, and consider it misspelled if it is checked
again.
`R'
Replace the word. This command prompts you for a string in the
minibuffer. You may type more than one word, and each word you
type is checked again, possibly finding other near misses. This
command provides a handy way to close in on a word that you have
no idea how to spell. You can keep trying different spellings
until you find one that is close enough to get a near miss.
`L'
Lookup. Display words from the dictionary that contain a
specified substring. The substring is a regular expression, which
means it can contain special characters to be more selective about
which words get displayed. Note:Regexps.
If the only special character in the regular expression is a
leading `^', then a very fast binary search will be used, instead
of scanning the whole file.
Only a few matching words can be displayed in the ISPELL window.
If you want to see more, use the `look' program directly from the
shell.
Of course, you can also type `<Ctrl>-g' to stop the command without
changing anything.
If you make a change that you don't like, just use emacs' normal undo
feature Note:undo.