Rich text editors8/10/2023 It would be incorrect to say that word processors are “dead”-it’s just that what was once considered a word processor and required a standalone application can now be found in web applications all over the internet, and we call them WYSIWYG editors. More people than ever are writing and publishing content through their computers (and that’s not even considering social media). In the same way that typewriters have become antiquated, it’s only going to become more and more difficult to explain the idea of word processing software to the younger generations.īut that doesn’t mean that word processing doesn’t exist anymore. WYSIWYG editors have become so popular that they’re just another component that gets embedded into a web application. What was once considered revolutionary is now so commonplace that we don’t even recognize word processing as a process at all. Just consider for a moment how far we’ve come since the early days of word processing. WordStar (arguably the first WYSIWYG program) advertisement from the 1970s But there was a time, at the dawn of personal computers, when print media was still the reigning king, and it was still a novel idea that a computer was capable of processing your typed words. These terms have become more and more outdated the further that we distance ourselves from the days of mechanical typewriters and single-purpose machines. Perhaps it’s for the same reasons that we don’t call someone who knows how to use a keyboard a “typist” anymore, and we don’t call a computer a “general purpose computer”. However, at the time, these tools were absolutely revolutionary, and the increased accessibility caused writing, printing, and publishing to skyrocket.īut why did we stop saying word processor? It’s funny to me how archaic those terms sound now. Tools like Microsoft Word and its predecessors ( WordStar and WordPerfect), that today we refer to as WYSIWYG editors, were known back then as “word processors”, or taken even further, “word processing software”. It also meant that I was one of the first generations to have computers available, in some capacity, throughout my public school education. As a youth in the early 2000’s, I was at the tail end of that sentiment, but it was certainly still lingering about. Back in those days, if you wanted to write text with any styling and formatting, Microsoft Word was your best bet.Īt that point in time, it was still pretty amazing that you could have a standalone program like Microsoft Word running on a general purpose computer that could also email, browse the internet, play solitaire, and more. My first encounter with a WYSIWYG editor was Microsoft Word (as was standard in the Virginia public school system in the early 2000’s). Pull up a rocking chair, sit by the fire, and listen to what it used to be like. In fact, they have a pretty interesting history. No, no, it wasn’t always the case that rich text editing in the browser was so widespread.Īs prevalent as they are today, web-based rich text editors, as you know and love them, weren’t always available. Nowadays, you can find WYSIWYG editors scattered all over the internet, sprinkled into all sorts of web applications. WYSIWYG stands for “What You See Is What You Get”-meaning that you’re able to see the rich text as you’re writing it (sweet, sweet instant gratification). Most rich text editors are also WYSIWYG editors. Google Docs editor toolbarĮxamples of some commonly used rich text editors are Google Docs, Microsoft Word, the editor in your email application, blogging application, etc. The term “rich text” refers to text with attached stylings-i.e., fonts, font styles (bold, italic), sizes, colors, and all of your other favorite tools in the toolbar of your rich text editor of choice. Most of us are very familiar with rich text editors, whether we know them by that name or not.
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