Apple Works ate it's own window?

February 17, 2005 10:26 AM

Mac/AppleWorks Filter: How do I grab or move the spell-check window in Apple Works to get it back on my screen? Some time ago I managed to move the spell-check window off of my computer screen to a point that I can only "see" the very bottom of the window (where it displays # of "questionable words").

Now, every time I run spell-check the window pops up in this lost-in-space position. I'm NOT a NOOB when it comes to computers, MacOS, or word processing programs, but this one has me stumped. I've tried grabbing it with the mouse, using hot keys to re-size the window or minimize/maximize it, and even trashing the Apple Works preferences file in the hopes that some sort of normal/default window position would be restored. If I accidentally run spell check now, my only option for getting out of it is to hit Escape. I am a terrible speller and need to use spell check constantly, so this is really a bother. Has anyone else had this problem? How did you fix it? Thanks!

posted by turtlegirl to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

Try changing your monitor resolution back and forth to see if you can get more of the window to grab a hold of.

I can't duplicate the problem you describe, fwiw. Perhaps you can post a screen shot? (cmd-shift-capslock-3)
posted by maniactown at 10:40 AM on February 17, 2005

Are you using OS X or OS 9?

Are you using multiple monitors, or do you have your screen size set to something unusual? My version of AppleWorks always spawns the spell checker in the same place, (3/4 of the way down the screen) even if I move it, so I'm guessing it doesn't actually save the window's position.
posted by Sibrax at 10:49 AM on February 17, 2005

Response by poster: I'm using OSX on an iBook, which doesn't give many options as to screen resolution, but I will try maniactown's suggestion of playing with the rez to see if I can get more of the window to display. The window pops up beyond the top of my screen, with the very bottom showing, but ungraspable. I'll post a screen shot if I'm still having trouble this evening. Thanks peeps!
posted by turtlegirl at 11:32 AM on February 17, 2005

find it's preferences and trash them. That should reset the window.
posted by filmgeek at 11:36 AM on February 17, 2005

alternatively, if you're still having trouble, you can try installing windowdragon. it seems like going way out of your way to fix something simple, but i've never heard of your problem before, so it might be worth a shot.
posted by tumult at 1:19 PM on February 17, 2005

Best answer: Positioning the Dock on the left or right side of the screen may produce unexpected results in earlier versions of AppleWorks 6.

Hope this helps. The upgrade is free, by the way, and the OS X version is up to 6.2.9 (available here.).
posted by ikkyu2 at 1:51 PM on February 17, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks all for your thoughtful suggestions! Turns out ikkyu2's solution worked perfectly, and I am a doof for not checking Apple's site first (my own words, not yours! ... at least I hope so ;-) ).
posted by turtlegirl at 4:25 PM on February 17, 2005

You are not a doof. Apple's support site is hard to navigate unless you've spent some serious time learning its little quirks.

Glad I could help.
posted by ikkyu2 at 3:41 PM on February 21, 2005