Spell Check in Pages no longer working (iPad 2)

[Stella Birch]

I recently got an iPad 2 and have happily been using the Pages app.

This week, the spell check facility is no longer working, i.e. incorrectly spelt words no longer have a red line under them.

I have checked and tried permutations of the spell check, auto correct etc settings in both Pages and the 'global' iPad Settings app to no avail.

Spell check, however, does still work in other applications such as Notes.

Searching the web, the closest I can find is that this problem has occured with Pages on MacBook and is resolved by:

1. Go to HD > Users > (your account) > Library > Preferences
2. delete the com.apple.iwork.pages.plist
3. empty the Trash
4. restart Pages.

However, I don't know how anything like this can be achieved on the iPad 2.

Any help available?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

The easiest first way to try to solve ‘unexplained’ or ‘unusual’ problems with the iPad are:-

Force the offending app to close. If you have iOS 4.2 or 4.3 double-press the ‘Home’ button to bring up the multi-task bar at the bottom of the screen. Press *and hold* any icon until they start to ‘jiggle’. Then tap the top left-hand corner of the app that you want to close. It will ‘disappear’ from the list. Don’t panic - you’ve not deleted it, just closed it. Now tap the Home screen and the multi-task bar will disappear. Re-open the iPad’s app and see if the problem has resolved itself. If not, it’s on to possible solution number two!!
Restart the iPad. Press *and hold* the Power button. After a couple of seconds a slider control will appear asking you to confirm that you really want to switch the iPad off (this is all you’ll be doing). Slide the control to accept. A rotating white ‘bezel’ will appear in the iPad screen as the iPad powers down (it takes a few seconds, just like it would if you were shutting down your PC). When the screen of the iPad has gone completely blank, press *and hold* the Power button for a couple of seconds until the white Apple logo appears and the iPad starts to power up. This takes several seconds, so be patient. During the power up the automatic screen orientation function is disabled, so don’t panic. A few seconds before the power up is complete, the iPad plays a little ‘jingle’ and then you’re back to the Home screen. Restart the iPad’s app and see if the problem persists. Apple (and Forum members) recommend that you power down your iPad at least once a week, just as you might regularly completely switch off your PC. The normal procedure of just briefly pressing the Power button of the iPad merely puts it to ‘sleep’. Most Forum members have found that one of the two methods I’ve mentioned here cure a whole bunch of unexplained problems and are an easy first step to resolving most anything that happens on the iPad.

Tim
Scotland

 

[Fir3bird]

The easiest first way to try to solve ‘unexplained’ or ‘unusual’ problems with the iPad are:-

Force the offending app to close. If you have iOS 4.2 or 4.3 double-press the ‘Home’ button to bring up the multi-task bar at the bottom of the screen. Press *and hold* any icon until they start to ‘jiggle’. Then tap the top left-hand corner of the app that you want to close. It will ‘disappear’ from the list. Don’t panic - you’ve not deleted it, just closed it. Now tap the Home screen and the multi-task bar will disappear. Re-open the iPad’s app and see if the problem has resolved itself. If not, it’s on to possible solution number two!!
Restart the iPad. Press *and hold* the Power button. After a couple of seconds a slider control will appear asking you to confirm that you really want to switch the iPad off (this is all you’ll be doing). Slide the control to accept. A rotating white ‘bezel’ will appear in the iPad screen as the iPad powers down (it takes a few seconds, just like it would if you were shutting down your PC). When the screen of the iPad has gone completely blank, press *and hold* the Power button for a couple of seconds until the white Apple logo appears and the iPad starts to power up. This takes several seconds, so be patient. During the power up the automatic screen orientation function is disabled, so don’t panic. A few seconds before the power up is complete, the iPad plays a little ‘jingle’ and then you’re back to the Home screen. Restart the iPad’s app and see if the problem persists. Apple (and Forum members) recommend that you power down your iPad at least once a week, just as you might regularly completely switch off your PC. The normal procedure of just briefly pressing the Power button of the iPad merely puts it to ‘sleep’. Most Forum members have found that one of the two methods I’ve mentioned here cure a whole bunch of unexplained problems and are an easy first step to resolving most anything that happens on the iPad.

Tim
Scotland

Ok, I've tried this... Even tried deleting the app shutting down and reinstalling it. Spell check for me is not working, it worked when I first had the iPad, but not anymore. Only not working in pages too.

 

[twerppoet]

I noticed you are located in the UK. That made me wonder if language or keyboard settings might be to blame, so I went into Settings >> General >> International, and set my language to British English. After the iPad reset I checked Pages, and sure enough it no longer does spell checking.

It's probably a glitch in the way Pages accesses the language dictionary. Until (if) Apple fixes this you'll have to change your language back to English. I know, kind of presumptuous of us newcomers to claim the unadorned noun.

Feel free to use colorful language when expressing your oppinon of this problem, but colourful language will be red-lined.

 

[Fir3bird]

I noticed you are located in the UK. That made me wonder if language or keyboard settings might be to blame, so I went into Settings >> General >> International, and set my language to British English. After the iPad reset I checked Pages, and sure enough it no longer does spell checking.

It's probably a glitch in the way Pages accesses the language dictionary. Until (if) Apple fixes this you'll have to change your language back to English. I know, kind of presumptuous of us newcomers to claim the unadorned noun.

Feel free to use colorful language when expressing your oppinon of this problem, but colourful language will be red-lined.

That's it! Set language to English rather than British and it works ok. Nice one and thank you.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

I noticed you are located in the UK. That made me wonder if language or keyboard settings might be to blame, so I went into Settings >> General >> International, and set my language to British English. After the iPad reset I checked Pages, and sure enough it no longer does spell checking.

It's probably a glitch in the way Pages accesses the language dictionary. Until (if) Apple fixes this you'll have to change your language back to English. I know, kind of presumptuous of us newcomers to claim the unadorned noun.

Feel free to use colorful language when expressing your oppinon of this problem, but colourful language will be red-lined.

Another gem of information - two new things learnt in one day!! I have a good feeling about today now...

Thanks to the poet I've learnt - how to set up a proxy server on the iPad and, now, why I don't get spelling corrections in Pages (I was always too embarrassed to ask - surely a Moderator isn't allowed to ask questions? )

You said you had learnt three new pieces of information today, poet, so I'm off to search for the third nugget!!

Tim

 

[twerppoet]

You said you had learnt three new pieces of information today, poet, so I'm off to search for the third nugget!!

Tim

I know there was another, but I only seem to have retained two. I can only hope the third one comes home when I need it.

Of course that's not counting all the little things I probably should have learned, but wasn't fast enough to catch as they sped by.

 

[Stella Birch]

The easiest first way to try to solve ‘unexplained’ or ‘unusual’ problems with the iPad are:-

Force the offending app to close. If you have iOS 4.2 or 4.3 double-press the ‘Home’ button to bring up the multi-task bar at the bottom of the screen. Press *and hold* any icon until they start to ‘jiggle’. Then tap the top left-hand corner of the app that you want to close. It will ‘disappear’ from the list. Don’t panic - you’ve not deleted it, just closed it. Now tap the Home screen and the multi-task bar will disappear. Re-open the iPad’s app and see if the problem has resolved itself. If not, it’s on to possible solution number two!!
Restart the iPad. Press *and hold* the Power button. After a couple of seconds a slider control will appear asking you to confirm that you really want to switch the iPad off (this is all you’ll be doing). Slide the control to accept. A rotating white ‘bezel’ will appear in the iPad screen as the iPad powers down (it takes a few seconds, just like it would if you were shutting down your PC). When the screen of the iPad has gone completely blank, press *and hold* the Power button for a couple of seconds until the white Apple logo appears and the iPad starts to power up. This takes several seconds, so be patient. During the power up the automatic screen orientation function is disabled, so don’t panic. A few seconds before the power up is complete, the iPad plays a little ‘jingle’ and then you’re back to the Home screen. Restart the iPad’s app and see if the problem persists. Apple (and Forum members) recommend that you power down your iPad at least once a week, just as you might regularly completely switch off your PC. The normal procedure of just briefly pressing the Power button of the iPad merely puts it to ‘sleep’. Most Forum members have found that one of the two methods I’ve mentioned here cure a whole bunch of unexplained problems and are an easy first step to resolving most anything that happens on the iPad.

Tim
Scotland

Tim, thanks (belatedly) for this comprehensive reply. Sadly it did not resolve the issue, but it's good to know about regular powering-down of the iPad.

 

[Stella Birch]

I noticed you are located in the UK. That made me wonder if language or keyboard settings might be to blame, so I went into Settings >> General >> International, and set my language to British English. After the iPad reset I checked Pages, and sure enough it no longer does spell checking.

It's probably a glitch in the way Pages accesses the language dictionary. Until (if) Apple fixes this you'll have to change your language back to English. I know, kind of presumptuous of us newcomers to claim the unadorned noun.

Feel free to use colorful language when expressing your oppinon of this problem, but colourful language will be red-lined.

Mikel, thanks for your suggested solution to this issue.

I tried it and spell check now appears to work in Pages. I'm wondering now if the version of English used is actually American, British or International?

 

[twerppoet]

Mikel, thanks for your suggested solution to this issue.

I tried it and spell check now appears to work in Pages. I'm wondering now if the version of English used is actually American, British or International?

You are welcome.

As I hinted the word colour gets marked as misspelled, while color does not. I'm not sure what an international dictionary would do (allow both spellings I suspect), but a British dictionary should do the opposite.

 

[leezy2]

Had this problem and just looked up this thread. Went to settings > general > language. Set language to English and Region format to UK. Pages underlines Color but not colour, seems to work.

 

[lumpy790]

Strange.....on both my Ipad2 & 4s the spell check stopped working. Tried the settings and it did not make a difference