What You See Is All You Get

What Does What You See Is All You Get Mean?

What You See Is All You Get (WYSIAYG) is an offshoot of What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG). WYSIAYG describes the more visually pleasing and entertaining user interfaces (UI) that lack the depth and functionality required by deeper applications. These types of program UIs often frustrate advanced users that want greater functionality beyond what is available on the screen. This is known as a WYSIAYG problem.

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Techopedia Explains What You See Is All You Get

WYSIAYG illustrates the problematic nature of WYSIWYG interfaces for more advanced users that handle complex tasks or heavier workloads on a routine basis. A WYSIWYG interface may not have the capacity to fulfill these requirements. Thus, WYSIAYG describes the drawbacks of WYSIWYG applications.

For example, because of their varied font and graphics options, applications with WYSIWYG capabilities (such as most word processors and document formatting applications) are ideal for creating documents with text and heavy graphics, like brochures, newsletters and presentations. However, these applications are not suited for lengthy tasks, where formatting consistency is required, such as type-setting for book-length documents where the scale of a task determines its execution. Command-driven formatters, like Unix’s troff and TeX, are sometimes used in such situations.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…