WYSIWYG

Definition: What You See Is What You Get: feature of computer interface that shows on the monitor screen a good (but seldom very accurate) representation of what will be printed out. * To distinguish from character-based or plain text displays (which could not display e.g. different sized, bold or italicised text) from those that could display such differences directly. * Popularised by the first Apple Macintosh computers of 1984 and now taken for granted, but computing power required is onerous - hence demand for graphics accelerators. * Approximation of screen image to print-out can lull users into a false sense of security or leads to disappointment when printed image fails to match vigour of screen image.

Related Terms: calibration, GUI

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