When I use Grammar Slammer with Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Higher, I get a message that the Help File is not supported. What do I do?

Microsoft simply did not include the Winhelp reader with Windows Vista or any Windows OS numbered 7 or higher. It is available from Microsoft as a separate download. When you get the error message, you should get a link in the error message to click on that will download the Windows Help software for the software. If you cannot click on the error message, go to the following links:

• For Windows 7:
  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/917607

  This is the download page for the Windows Help fix for Windows Vista and 7 on up from Microsoft. (Please note that Microsoft has a practice of changing page URLs often. If this Link no longer goes to that page, just Search for "Winhelp" and "Windows X" (whatever version you have) on the Microsoft web site.)

English Plus has always preferred this version of Windows Help because it has more features: search features, bookmarks, and user comments. Later versions of Windows Help either have eliminated or cut back on these features which, we believe, are especially helpful for people looking for grammar help.

How do I get my text onto the Grammar Slammer checker?

Simply select and copy the text that you want checked, then paste it onto the large text editing box on the Grammar Slammer Spelling and Grammar Checker window.

Why can't the spelling or grammar checker read directly from my word processor?

Every word processor is different. Some use very complicated programming code. By simply copying the actual words to the clipboard and then pasting to the Grammar Slammer checker window, you can use the checker for just about any Windows application. To illustrate how difficult the other alternative could be--we know a programmer who for years sold a program that simply counted the words in documents created by one of the full-featured word processors. When a new version of the word processor came out in 2000, he could no longer write a program to work--and that was a for the relatively simple function of counting words!

Can I make suggestions for the spelling or grammar checkers?

Making a "suggestion" for the spelling checker is simple: add the word to the user dictionary. Just make sure that the word is spelled correctly before you add it!

Those of us at English Plus+ used to be happy to hear any suggestions that you may have had for the grammar checker. Alas, the programming language we used is no longer supported. We still can make corrections to the Help files.

Please keep in mind our little article that came with Grammar Slammer entitled "What to Expect from Grammar and Spelling Checkers."

I get continual messages about potential problems that I already understand or that I want to overlook. This is getting to be annoying. What can I do about it?

Open the checker window and click on "Spelling Options" or "Grammar Options." Deselect categories that you really do not need have checked. People with a good background in English vocabulary, for example, may not need to have the grammar checker look for confusing or misused terms. They would have the option of deselecting those two categories.

Sometimes when I click on the "Look in Grammar Slammer" button, the help window goes straight to the specific problem. Other times I have to use a table of contents or even use the search function. Why?

We have tried to make the access to the specific problem as easy as possible. However, sometimes the problem may be discussed in more than one entry. Sometimes we may not have found a specific entry that deals directly with the problem so you need to do a search. We have tried to categorize the various problems, but not each one falls neatly into a single category.

If you have a specific suggestion about an entry that could be more directly linked to the references, please let us know. Use the information outlined in the "Can I make suggestions" question above.

For the "Look in Spelling Slammer" button, the answer is probably clearer. Since the checker has flagged a word that might be misspelled, we have it go to the Spelling Slammer Table of Contents. That way you can find the word and not have to worry whether you had spelled it exactly. (Unmotivated students perennially complain,"How can I use a dictionary to find a word if I don't know how to spell it?")

Sometimes when I am checking the grammar or spelling, the text suddenly disappears. What happened? And how do I get the text back?

Do not try to edit the text while the checkers are running. You may edit the text box all you want if they are not running. To make it as compatible as possible with as many Windows applications as possible, you may edit the text manually or with the checkers, just not both at the same time.

Do not attempt to edit the main text in the original window while the checkers are running. If you do this, and you lose the text, close the checker. The "Undo Delete" or "Paste" function from the pop-up menu that appears when you right-click or when you choose "Edit" on the main text box should restore the uncorrected text.

One great thing about selling over the Internet is the feedback we get from our customers. Many of the improvements of Grammar Slammer over the years--and even some corrections--have come from our customers. We thank you for helping us to make it the best product that we can.