Proofing Tool GUI

An open-source multiplatform advanced linguistic tool coded in PureBasic for editing the Dictionary/Thesaurus/Hyphenation/Autocorrect files of OpenOffice, LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, etc., provided they are in UTF-8-BOM format.

This program was originally developed to easily edit the synonyms of OpenOffice and LibreOffice.

I had this idea after asking the people in charge of the Portuguese (Portugal) project, from Minho University, what I should do to suggest synonyms since they were only adding dictionary entries.

I was told that they didn't know how to add synonyms, since the person in charge of that project left it long-ago (2006).

Later, I wanted to make my program compatible with Firefox and Thunderbird, after it became possible to edit dictionaries. I hoped that in the future, someone would use it in Thunderbird to fix the British speller, which was full of typos and missing words. Since no one volunteered, I took this task myself in 2013.

This is where my idea came from: develop something easy to use, since I tried some official tools for the tasks and I didn't understand anything about them, not even how to use them.

Proofing Tool GUI is so intuitive that even a 6-year-old child can use it.

On 25.Aug.2013 I released a “forked” British speller V2.00, which has been made available to OpenOffice/LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird and SeaMonkey. So far, I have added 140 230+ words (as of V3.3.1).

NOTICE:
I have been publicly attacked regarding my dictionary, even in front of other developers. They only know how to criticise instead of suggesting words/fixes for the dictionary. There are millions of words, and I can't find them all by myself.

This is a serious project, I have been paying out of my own pocket hundreds of EUR per year for web hosting, domains, premium account in Oxford Dictionaries, etc. so that people can enjoy quality work freely.

Open-source is almost all I have left in life.

Proofing Tool GUI: Why PureBasic
I use PureBasic for all my projects because “I like it simple and powerful”.

This language is straightforward to use and powerful, it produces compact and very fast executables, and has multiplatform support.

It is “Basic” only in the name and in the syntax.

I reached the conclusion that this is what I have been after all over these years.

Like Linus Torvalds, I use the “best tool for the job”, even if that includes proprietary software.

I use multiple tools for accomplishing something, both free and commercial, since all the features required aren't just in one app.

On 8.Nov.2023 I posted on the PureBasic forum that the language was one of the most powerful and easy to use languages I ever had. However, it lacked many basic features which users have reported and suggested for decades. So, I proposed an annual subscription so that Fred could dedicate more time to implement major features and avoid the hundreds of lines of direct API usage just to code tiny features in our apps.

https://www.purebasic.fr/english/viewtopic.php?t=82820

Fred replied: “If you really a new feature for your software and you are not in mood to use API, you always can contact me in PM so we can discuss a pricing so I can prioritize it to implement it quickly (it needs to be useful for PB and fit in the command-set).”

On 5.Feb.2024 I posted bug reports on the PureBasic forum and a user complained that 99.99% of my reports are useless because they can't be replicated. I replied that I always try my best in everything I do and Fred came to the rescue saying that my reports were legit, but that they mostly occur in odd situations.

https://www.purebasic.fr/english/viewtopic.php?t=83496

Proofing Tool GUI 3.0 build 203 — PureBasic IDE screenshot

You can know more about PureBasic here:

https://www.purebasic.com

… or visit the forums:

https://www.purebasic.fr/english

Proofing Tool GUI: Release Notes
V3.0 beta is very stable, and it is the latest release.

V3.0 build 204: Major GUI/UX improvements.

V3.0 build 202: Supports importing/exporting profiles.

V3.0 build 197: Now compatible with Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

V3.0 build 195: Dropped support for 32-bit OSes, and the Linux version requires GTK 3.20 and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or above.

V3.0 build 187: PureBasic 5.73 LTS fixed Hindi and Korean fonts. Major GUI/UX/stability improvements.

V3.0 build 169: PureBasic 5.72 LTS beta 2 updated all libraries, fixing a vulnerability in the RegExp library.

V3.0 build 168: All files saved/exported now use UNIX line endings, plus UTF-8-BOM.

V3.0 build 147: Preferences allow choosing the font for the language.

V3.0 build 146: Added support for GTK3 (requires Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or above).

V3.0 build 144: Real time refreshing dictionary flags, Hyphenation improvements, coded “Show/Merge/Delete duplicates .dic”.

V3.0 build 139: Better decoding of affix rules, including dots, by using the RegularExpressions library.

V3.0 build 132: Major UX improvements.

V3.0 build 128: Massive speed gain in Hyphenation and Dictionary processing.

V3.0 build 123: “Check for Updates” now detects new builds and coded the Hyphenator.

On build 204:
— Compiled with PureBasic 6.04 LTS;
— Major GUI/UX improvements;
— Updated colour constants to 2023-07-02;
— Updated common procedures to V2024-01-14;
— Cleaned the code;
— Now the GUI window fits in Windows 11 desktop height;
— Adding filename + path with icons;
— Improved “Check for Updates”;
— Disabled non-working buttons on the LanguageTool tab;
— Disabled non-working buttons on the AutoText tab;
— Dictionary words editor no longer enables “Display” button if word=primary;
— Complex Prefixes not supported warning in extract wordlist;
— Statistics:
1) Fix: Remember would not update the Remember value;
2) New button: “Copy ∑ New”.
— LanguageTool:
1) Opening a file now shows % progress;
2) Now shows the number of rules per category;
3) Now shows total of rules for all categories.

On build 203:
— Compiled with PureBasic 6.02 LTS;
— Removed tab “Language-specific” and its menu is always active;
— “Words missing in Master wordlist” is now in the menu “Language-specific tools”;
— “Show/merge words in .dic”:
1) Improved the GUI;
2) Support for repeated flags;
3) Shows progress % while scanning/processing.
— Removal of duplicates in the sort of flags;
— Dictionary Statistics:
1) Optimised the statistics processing;
2) Improved GUI of dictionary statistics and added the “Remember” date.

On build 200-202:
- Compiled with PureBasic 6.01 LTS;
- Coding of import/export profile (all settings have a version ID);
- Updated common procedures to V2023-02-13;
- Updated the common colours to V2022-12-14;
- In the listicongadgets replaced “#” with “Line #”;
- Dictionary options:
1) Coding of “Sort tags .aff”;
2) Improved “Crunch words with Flags”, also checks backwards for more hits;
3) “.AFF Validate”:
     - Rewrote it;
     - Coding of “undo” and “redo”;
     - It is now possible to abort the processing of an .AFF;
     - Minor speed up processing the .AFF after checking for excessive spaces;
     - Coding of * (changed).
4) Processing the faster version of the .aff now shows %;
5) Added info icon to “Show Statistics” total of new words string gadget.
- Autocorrect options:
1) Autocorrect Validate: removed the useless need for a dictionary to use it;
2) Autocorrect edit: added toggle text up/down (incorrect/correct) button;
3) Autocorrect edit: if incorrect=correct it warns: “Incorrect matches correct”.
- LanguageTool options:
1) Fix: “LanguageTool” processing would not recognise some rules after a category;
2) The ListIconGadget on the right shows the total number of categories found if >0.
- Language-specific options:
1) Fix: Issue with file extensions opening/saving;
2) “Words missing in Master Wordlist”:
     - Fix: if line was ticked and selected, it wouldn't recognise it for delete;
     - Improved it and now it appears both in dictionary and language-specific menus;
     - If words missing=0 it pops up a requester saying so.
- Help options:
1) “Check for updates” GUI improved with info icon and wider release notes gadget;
2) “About” and “About PureBasic” now exit with a left-click, removed “OK” button;
3) “Release Notes” is now a link in the “About” window;
4) Added photo of Marco and Pedro Marques to “About” window.

Proofing Tool GUI: Known issues on Linux
The latest versions of PTG V3.0 require at least GTK 3.20 and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

Proofing Tool GUI: Downloads

— V3.0 build 204 (beta)
MANUAL (semifinished — 2023-05-05)
SOURCE CODE