tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53750096834284721132011-08-02T21:57:07.996-07:00Achieve your goals faster and more easily by making better use of your Information TechnologyJimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341563058639070487noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5375009683428472113.post-79775028195529373542009-08-12T19:06:00.000-07:002009-08-12T19:49:24.721-07:00<div align="left">I love to write. And when the juices are flowing I don’t like to get gridlocked trying to think of just the right word to convey an idea to my readers. So, I use <a style="FONT-STYLE: italic" title="www.cleverkeys.com" href="http://cleverkeys.com/">CleverKeys</a> as my instant online assistant. CleverKeys is available as a free download from <a href="http://cleverkeys.com/">cleverkeys.com</a>, a service of <a title="Lexico Publishing Group, LLC" href="http://lexico.com/">Lexico Publishing Group, LLC</a>. Los Angeles based Lexico operates the popular reference sites <a href="http://dictionary.com/">Dictionary.com</a>, <a href="http://thesaurus.com/">Thesaurus.com</a> and <a href="http://reference.com/">Reference.com</a>, all great free resources for writers.<br /><br />Let’s say I’m writing in my word processor about Email Etiquette and I don’t want to use the word “send” too often in my article. With CleverKeys installed, I simply highlight the word “send”, press the keyboard combination [CTRL+ALT+L] and instantly my browser opens at Thesaurus.com where I can pick from such delicious alternatives as “dispatch”, “transmit” and “fire off”.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="FONT-FAMILY: arial" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_vuKrclylxMo/RoOpBv6t0rI/AAAAAAAAACI/290waOpDoIk/s1600-h/cleverkeys_menu.jpg"></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vuKrclylxMo/SoN4aTISYoI/AAAAAAAABuk/Dpjwpkzd6Bo/s1600-h/cleverkeys_menu.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 197px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 116px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369267573962728066" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vuKrclylxMo/SoN4aTISYoI/AAAAAAAABuk/Dpjwpkzd6Bo/s200/cleverkeys_menu.jpg" /></a>Alternatively, I can highlight a word and press [CTRL+ALT+M] for a pop-up menu of choices (see Screenshot to the left), a menu which is, by the way, fully customizable. And [CTRL+ALT+Q] opens a dialogue box where I can type in any word I desire (er… “choose”, er… “fancy”). You get my drift.<br /><br />Best of all, CleverKeys is available to me within just about any of my favourite applications. So whether I’m pining after the perfect synonym for “send” while using Word, or needing to know the meaning of “eructation” while surfing my favourite gourmet websites, CleverKeys is by my side, ready to serve me at my command.<br /><br />Did I use CleverKeys to help me compose this article? I’ll never tell.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;color:#009900;">Works with:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;color:#009900;">Windows XP: Yes</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;color:#009900;">Windows Vista: No</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;color:#009900;">Mac OS: Yes</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;color:#009900;">Mac OS X: Yes</span><br /><br /><em>+ + + + + + + +</em></div><div align="left"> </div><em>Do you have a favourite writer's tool to share with the "Smarten Up" community? Leave a comment.</em><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5375009683428472113-7977502819552937354?l=smarten-up.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341563058639070487noreply@blogger.com0