Hi All - I found this community this morning and registered so I could ask a question. I searched before posting but couldn't find an answer (at least that I could understand).

I should preface my question by saying that I am a newbie when it comes to understanding the intricacies of type, even though I am fascinated by it.

So here is the question/problem:
I recently purchased a couple of fonts which have true small caps in the glyph set. In the past I had always just used the computer-generated version of small caps most programs include, but after reading a few things and trying it out I realized that they look horrible compared to the real thing. I mean, there is no comparison. So am I trying to find a way to use the true small caps in a way that avoids having to manually choose each glyph one click at a time rather than by key-presses.

That is my question: is there a way to use true small caps more easily than choosing the glyphs and then manually inserting them one at a time?

I am using a Mac (hopefully that doesn't offend anyone), and am working in Pages and Nisus Writer Express. I recognize neither of these software packages are the ideal for this kind of thing, but since I am merely an enthusiast I can't see myself shelling out a bunch of cash to get a new app, just so I can use true small caps more easily.

I've wondered about several options, but have no idea how to pursue any of them, such as changing the key-bindings (e.g. press alt-g to get small cap "g") or hacking the font to create a duplicate 'small cap' version (but this may well violate some copyright agreements and I don't want to do anything illegal).

In short, I am at a loss. What I want is to be able to press a key or combination of keys and get a true small cap, or switch some option somewhere to get them when I type the regular letters. Having the letters recognize as the letters (e.g. a "g" as a "g") so that spell checking doesn't choke on the words would be a bonus.

Can anyone help me?