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Dictionary Manual

1. Introduction

The Dictionary application enables you to search words and terms on a dictionary source.

2. Getting Started

2.1. To Start Dictionary

You can start Dictionary in the following ways:

Applications menu

Choose Accessories ▸ Dictionary.

Command line

Execute the following command: gnome-dictionary

Once started, the Dictionary window is displayed:

Figure 1 Dictionary Window

3. Usage

3.1. Looking up a word

To look up a word, type it into the entry field and press Enter.

If some definition for the word is found, it will appear inside the main window area:

Figure 2 Dictionary Window

Otherwise, an error dialog will appear, with a message explaining the nature of the error.

3.2. Save look up results

To save the results of a look up, choose File ▸ Save a Copy. Enter a name for the file in the Save a Copy dialog, then click Save.

3.3. Print look up results

To print the results of a look up, choose File ▸ Print.

Inside the Print dialog you can select the printer to use, the paper format, the number of copies.

To see a preview of what will be printed, click Preview.

To print, click Print.

3.4. Find Text

Figure 3 Dictionary Window

To find text inside the results of a look up, perform the following steps:

  1. Choose Edit ▸ Find to display the Find pane.
  2. Type the text you want to find inside the Search entry.
  3. To find the next occurrence of the text, click Next. To find the previous occurrence of the text, click Previous.

4. Preferences

To change the Dictionary application preferences, choose Edit ▸ Preferences.

4.1. Dictionary Sources

Figure 4 Dictionary Window

To change the dictionary source used to look up words, select the desired source from the list.

4.2. Adding a new source

Figure 5 Dictionary Window

To add a new dictionary source, perform the following steps:

  1. Click on the Add button
  2. Edit the name of the new source inside the Description entry
  3. Change the transport type of the new source using the Transport combo box
  4. Edit the attributes of the new source
  5. Click Add

Different source transport types uses different attributes. This is the list of available attributes per transport type:

Transport Attributes
Dictionary Server

Hostname: the hostname of the dictionary server

Port: the port of the dictionary server

4.3. Removing a source

To remove a dictionary source, perform the following steps:

  1. Select the source you wish to remove
  2. Click the Remove button

If you remove a dictionary source it will be permanently deleted from the list of available sources. Also, as some sources might be defined system-wide you may actually not be able to remove them unless you have the right ownership privileges.

4.4. Print Options

Figure 6 Dictionary Window

If you want to change the font name and size used when printing, perform the following steps:

  1. Click on the Print Font button
  2. Select the font and size you wish to use
  3. Click Ok

5. The Dictionary Applet

The Dictionary application comes with a panel applet, the Dictionary Applet. You can add the Dictionary Applet applet to a panel and look up words in dictionaries.

Figure 7 Dictionary Applet Window

5.1. To Start Dictionary Applet

To add Dictionary Applet to a panel, right-click on the panel, then choose Add to Panel. Select Dictionary Applet in the Add to the panel dialog, then click OK.

5.2. Using the Dictionary Applet

To look up a word, type it into the entry field, and press Enter or right-click on the dictionary icon and then choose Look up.

If some definition for the word was found, a window will appear, with the text of the definitions:

Figure 8 Dictionary Applet Window

Click Save to save the definitions to a text file. Click Print to print the definitions. Click Clear to clear the definitions.

You can make the window disappear by left-clicking on the dictionary icon or by pressing Esc.

5.3. Preferences

To configure the Dictionary Applet, right-click on the dictionary icon, then choose Preferences.

The Preferences dialog is the same used by the Dictionary application, so refer to Section 4 ― Preferences

  • Dictionary Manual