A fork of Rural Dictionary
WYSIWYG, "What You See is What You Get," was originally used in the early days of word processing software to indicate the way in which a document would appear on-screen or in print. Pre-WYSIWYG word processing applications relied on different "modes" for various actions, such as editing and viewing. At that time, you couldn't "see" exactly the way a document would look until you printed it or viewed it (outside of edit mode). With the creation of WYSIWYG word processors, users could see exactly the way a document would look on-screen or in print while editing it.
Today, the term is used frequently on the Internet for special text editors that provide rich editing functionality, used in creating Web sites, online email messages, and the like.
Some examples include:
- Microsoft Word
- Macromedia Dreamweaver
The introduction of the WYSIWYG editor was a major milestone in the word processing industry.
WYSIWYG is an acronym for "What You See Is What You Get"
1: a computer interfaces that display exactly what you get.
2: no Surprises or depth beyond the surface:
3 describe something or someone in a confident "take it or leave it", "It is what it is, I am what I am" kind of way.
1: Macromedia Dreamweaver is a WYSIWYG application
2 That movie has a WYSIWYG trailer
3 Don't dig my steez? WYSIWYG beeatch!