Yes, quite true, I alluded to that potential problem of a flurry of warnings. But what's also a really bad idea is a software design that claims to have compared two data sets and reports no issues when in fact it failed to do so because it cannot retrieve one of the two sets. Something needs to be done to try and address this, even if it's less than perfect.
Another possibility would be to build a list of any dictionaries the document requires at the time it's loaded and determine if any are unavailable, and if so, provide a single, concise warning. This wouldn't be perfect either, since someone could change to or add a different language while editing, but at least that would be an improvement and might reduce user confusion when the spell check silently fails to work. Or maybe there's a better idea entirely. I don't claim to have all the answers, I just think this merits attention. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to libreoffice in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/997934 Title: [Upstream] Spell checking doesn't warn users if the selected dictionary isn't installed, but rather returns a potentially incorrect result Status in LibreOffice: Confirmed Status in libreoffice package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Bug description: This has been the case since Beta 2. To reproduce: 1) Type out a load of rubbish on the keyboard as well as a few correctly spelled words. I used "vmw;qbjk aoeuasnth aoeu house in the street" 2) Press F7 to initiate the spell check. Actual Result: The spell check notifies the user of completion without any recognition of errors. Expected Result: The spell check should highlight each misspelled word and offer alternatives. WORKAROUND: Open the dash and run Language Support 2) Under the 'Language' tab, choose another variant of English and drag it above the US English so it takes precedence. 3) Click "Apply System-wide" and log out. On logging back in, spell check will work. Not reproducible in Xubuntu 32-bit. lsb_release -rd Description: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Release: 12.04 apt-cache policy libreoffice-writer libreoffice-writer: Installed: 1:3.5.3-0ubuntu1 Candidate: 1:3.5.3-0ubuntu1 Version table: *** 1:3.5.3-0ubuntu1 0 500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates/main i386 Packages 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status 1:3.5.2-2ubuntu1 0 500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/main i386 Packages ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04 Package: libreoffice-writer 1:3.5.3-0ubuntu1 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-24.37-generic-pae 3.2.14 Uname: Linux 3.2.0-24-generic-pae i686 NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu7 Architecture: i386 Date: Fri May 11 08:53:51 2012 InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Beta i386 (20120328) ProcEnviron: LANGUAGE=en_IE:en TERM=xterm PATH=(custom, no user) LANG=en_IE.UTF-8 SHELL=/bin/bash SourcePackage: libreoffice UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/df-libreoffice/+bug/997934/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages Post to : desktop-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp