BetterDictionary

With BetterDictionary, you can bookmark words in Apple's Dictionarry.app.

It works on Yosemite, Mavericks, Mountain Lion, Lion, and Snow Leopard.

Download and Installation

OS X 10.11 (El Capitan)

1. Follow the instruction on Notes for using SIMBL-0.9.9 on OS X 10.11 to install EasySIMBL-0.9.9 on El Capitan

2. Download and extract BetterDictionary-v0.992.zip. It contains two files: BetterDictionary.bundle and migrate-data.

3. Move BetterDictionary.bundle to /Library/Application Support/SIMBL/Plugins.

OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) and 10.9 (Mavericks)

1. Download the latest version of EasySIMBL. Currently it is version 1.7.1.

2. Extract EasySIMBL-1.6.zip and move EasySIMBL.app into the Applications folder.

3. Download and extract BetterDictionary-v0.992.zip. It contains two files: BetterDictionary.bundle and migrate-data.

4. Run EasySIMBL.

5. Make sure "Use SIMBL" is checked.

6. Drag and drop BetterDictionary.bundle into EasySIMBL:

   

To migrate your data (from Mountain Lion)

1. If you were already using BetterDictionary under Mountain Lion (or older versions) and wish to migrate your data, right-click on migrate-data and select 'Open'. In the next dialog, select 'Open' again.

2. Dictionary.app should open now, with all your previous saved words intact. If it didn't work, simply copy ~/Library/Application Support/BetterDictionary/saved-words.plist to ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Dictionary/Data/Library/Application Support/BetterDictionary/saved-words.plist.

OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion), 10.7 (Lion), and 10.6 (Snow Leopard)

Download v0.98 from the Downloads section. Then double-click on BetterDictionary-0.98.zip to unzip it.

Right click on BetterDictionary-0.98.app and select 'Open'. In the next dialog, select 'Open' again. Then install the SIMBL plugin loader as instructed in the installer.

Uninstall

Removing BetterDictionary

• OS X 10.10 and 10.9

  Simply disable BetterDictionary in EasySIMBL.

• OS X 10.8, 10.7, and 10.6

  Open Terminal.app (from Applications -> Utilities). Type open /Library/Application\ Support/SIMBL/Plugins/ and press return.

  Then Remove 'BetterDictionary.bundle' from this directory.

Removing SIMBL

Just download, unzip and run SIMBL Uninstaller (86 KB). It will remove SIMBL and all its plugins from your system.

Keyboard Shortcuts

⌘+S: Save word

⌘+R: Remove word

⌘+⇧+D: Display sidebar

Version History

v0.992 (November 14th, 2014)

• @tonyseek: Added retina graphics

v0.991 (October 26th, 2014)

• Updated for OS X 10.10 Yosemite

• Automatically display the drawer when Dictionary.app is opened

• Remove the occasionally-troublesome "⌘+⇧+R" shortcut

v0.99 (November 15th, 2013)

• Updated for OS X 10.9 Mavericks

• On Mavericks, BetterDictionary now uses a drawer to display the sidebar

• Dictionary.app is sandboxed under 10.9, so the saved word database is now at ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Dictionary/Data/Library/Application Support/BetterDictionarysaved-words.plist

• v0.99 uses a simple ruby script to move saved words database from its previous location to sandbox container

v0.98 (October 10th, 2012)

• Now works on Mountain Lion

• Saved words database is now at ~/Library/Application Support/BetterDictionary/saved-words.plist

• Fixed a few bugs

v0.97 (July 28th, 2012)

• Newer words are now shown on top

v0.96 (March 4th, 2012)

• Lion compatibility

v0.95 (September 22nd, 2011)

• Initial release

Screenshots

Yosemite

Mavericks

Mountain Lion

Lion

Snow Leopard