

A layout mode, in which the user sees something very similar to the result, but which includes some additional information to facilitate proper alignment and spacing (e.g., margin lines).A composition mode, in which the user sees something somewhat similar to the result, but which employs an interface more conducive to composing than the layout itself (e.g., inclusion of section breaks and non-printing characters).


In fact, applications may offer multiple WYSIWYG modes with different levels of "realism", including In many situations, the subtle differences between what the user sees and what the user gets are unimportant. However, that is not the main attraction of WYSIWYG, which is the ability of the user to be able to visualize what they are producing. The software often emulates the resolution of the printer in order to get as close as possible to WYSIWYG. For example, a word processor is optimized for output to a typical printer. Modern software does a good job of optimizing the screen display for a particular type of output. WYSIWYG also describes ways to manipulate 3D models in stereo-chemistry, computer-aided design, and 3D computer graphics.In word processing and desktop publishing applications, WYSIWYG means that the display simulates the appearance and represents the effect of fonts and line breaks on the final pagination using a specific printer configuration, so that, for example, a citation on page 1 of a 500-page document can accurately refer to a reference three hundred pages later.In presentation programs, compound documents, and web pages, WYSIWYG means the display precisely represents the appearance of the page displayed to the end-user, but does not necessarily reflect how the page will be printed unless the printer is specifically matched to the editing program, as it was with the Xerox Star and early versions of the Apple Macintosh.The actual meaning depends on the user's perspective, e.g.: In general, WYSIWYG implies the ability to directly manipulate the layout of a document without having to type or remember names of layout commands. WYSIWYG implies a user interface that allows the user to view something very similar to the result-while the document is being created. Compilation of formatting code is not a WYSIWYG process. The program on the right contains LaTeX code, which when compiled will produce a document that will look very similar to the document on the left. The program on the left uses a WYSIWYG editor to produce a Lorem Ipsum document.
