User Panel
First language
Antidote needs to know your first language so that it can fine-tune its correction. For example, if your first language is French, Antidote will look for certain constructions that a French speaker is more likely to produce (e.g. *I have 34 years for I’m 34 years old, *I suggest you to read it for I suggest you read it, etc.).
- When Antidote is first launched, a dialogue window asks you what your first language is. The value of this setting is adjusted according to your response.
Written English ability
Knowledge of the rules of English grammar varies from one person to another. Depending on the level indicated, Antidote will generate more or fewer detections, and will attempt (or not attempt) to recognize certain error-prone constructions. Here you have the choice of three levels:
- Minimum level (written skills are fairly weak): The corrector flags the standard set of errors, but includes certain additional errors typical of someone who is learning English.
- Intermediate level (written skills are fairly good): The corrector flags the standard set of errors.
- Maximum level (written skills are very good): The corrector flags the standard set of errors, but does not indicate certain errors that an advanced speaker of English is unlikely to make.
- When Antidote is first launched, you are asked to estimate your ability in written English. This setting is adjusted according to your answer.
National variety
The English that is spoken around the world varies from one region to another, as do its conventions. For example, in British English verbs like realise and organise are not spelled the same way as in American English, which favours the –ize ending. This setting tells Antidote which variety to use in its dictionaries and corrections. Here you have a choice of several national varieties of English.
- When Antidote is first launched, you are asked to indicate your national variety. This setting is adjusted according to your answer.
Correct spelling according to the selected variety
When this box is checked, Antidote will correct words whose spellings vary by country, in accordance with the National variety setting.
Regional words or senses
All speakers of English employ words and expressions whose use may sometimes be restricted to their region or country, even if they are not always aware of it. To reduce the risk of misunderstanding between English speakers from different regions, Antidote can flag a large number of such country-specific words.
For each region you can choose three setting levels:
- Minimum level: The corrector flags no regionalisms.
- Intermediate level: The corrector flags a word that is restricted to certain regions in all its senses (e.g. cashpoint in the sense of an ATM is always a Britishism); the corrector does nothing if only one sense is restricted to the given region (e.g. fries is used in Canada and the United States to designate what other English-speaking countries call chips, but fries can also mean young fish).
- Maximum level: The corrector flags all potential regionalisms.
- When Antidote is first launched, you are asked to indicate your national variety. The setting corresponding to this variety is adjusted to the intermediate level. Thus, if you live in the United States, the Regional words or senses setting for the US will be adjusted to the intermediate level, while other regional settings will be reduced to their minimum level. To disable all these alerts without having to modify each setting individually, uncheck the general box in the top left corner of this area.
- The regionalisms flagged in the Style (Vocabulary) view depend on these settings.