Why Can’t I Use Predictive Text Input on My Desktop Computer?
Nothing kills typos faster than predictive text. Just consider how often you spend your day rewriting your text messages using your smartphone’s built-in capabilities to predict the loud words you are trying to type before you finish them. If you are good, you can compose a worthy thought without even pressing the letters.
So why can’t you do this on your PC too?
Do you have a technical question that is keeping you awake at night? Tired of searching and troubleshooting Windows or Mac issues? Looking for advice on applications, browser extensions, or utilities that you can use to accomplish a specific task? Let us know! Let us know in the comments below or write to david.murphy@lifehacker.com .
Lifehacker reader 1wheeldrifter writes :
“I would like to find a Windows autocomplete utility that works like SwiftKey and other similar features that we take for granted on our mobile phones. They have built-in dictionaries, etc. Any tips? “
You probably mean two technologies: smart text, in which you start writing a word and choose one of the options presented on your device; and auto-correction, which ensures that you always – always – write to your friends about things you “can’t dodge”.
In this case, Windows already has both functions. If you are using a touchscreen keyboard in tablet mode, Windows will suggest words as soon as you start typing letters. As for auto-correction, you can turn it on or off by going to Settings> Devices> Typing. Look for the AutoCorrect Misspelled Words option.
If you are typing on a physical keyboard like you would on a regular desktop or laptop, you can enable both features in the same settings window. Just scroll down a bit and look under Hardware Keyboard for Show text suggestions as you type and Auto-correct misspelled words.
One caveat about hardware keyboard: text suggestions and autocorrect functions are not universal. When I type this post on the Lifehacker CMS, for example, Windows suggests and fixes a bug. However, when I open Microsoft Word, I get both predictions and corrections:
Typically, these features work in Windows 10 system apps, large Microsoft apps, and some universal apps – Notepad, Microsoft Word, People, etc., but usually not in regular third-party apps you’ve downloaded like Chrome, Steam, or Netflix (and these are just a few of them).
In the end, you’ll be able to use the very app you mentioned in your question – SwiftKey itself – when displaying letters in Windows 10 tablet mode. (If you have Windows 10 Insider Build 17692 , you can try that right now. .) As far as getting predictive text or auto-correct for every app you use while typing on a physical keyboard, I haven’t found a great, one-size-fits-all solution. And I’m not sure if it exists.