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TMO Quick Tip - Dictionary's Power Reference Tools

by , 10:45 AM EST, February 6th, 2008

Leopard's Dictionary application does far more than offer spelling suggestions and definitions, or as I've mentioned before, perform Wikipedia searches. It is also chock full of other useful nuggets of information thanks to its Front/Back Matter feature.

Front/Back Matter is loaded with useful reference materials including a lists of the countries of the world, all of the U.S. presidents, all of the states in the U.S., clichés (including which ones to avoid), and punctuation guides. It also includes the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, weights and measurements conversions, and more.


Finding Dictionary's Front/Back Matter option.

You can access all of this information like this:

  • Launch Dictionary. It's hiding in your Applications folder.
  • Choose Go > Front/Back Matter
  • Select the topic you want to display.


Timeline: The history of the English language.

Dictionary is one of the unsung heroes in Mac OS X 10.5. The more you use this application the more useful it becomes.

Jeff Gamet is TMO's Morning Editor and Reviews Editor. He lectures, teaches and speaks on Mac OS X and design-related topics, and is the author of The Designer's Guide to Mac OS X from Peachpit Press.

if you have tips or tricks to share, or Mac-related questions you want answered.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Close Name:matthisd Posts: 3 Joined: 04 Sep 2007
Thu Feb 07, 2008 4:22 am Subject: Huh?

Never knew about this... but for me the link to front/back is faded / inactive, can't click it. Any suggestions?


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View Name:Guest
Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:30 pm Subject: Re: Huh?
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