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_/_ UG Library _/_ Fermoyle_/_ About Ken Fermoyle
Check Out WordWeb 1.61,
Free Dictionary, Thesaurus
by Ken Fermoyle
Do you ever get stuck for the meaning of a word, or grope for a synonym that eludes
you completely? The handiest tool I've found for such occasions is a software program
called WordWeb for Windows.
__ In fact, I count it as one of the most valuable utilities currently installed
on my computer. And the basic program, Version 1.61, is free for the downloading!
There is one version for Windows 95/98/NT and another for Windows 3.1. Sorry, DOS
diehards, there's no version for you.
__ As a writer, avid reader and major crossword fan, I've depended on dictionaries
since childhood. I taught my kids to use them from the time they were very young,
often much to their chagrin. ("Dad, how do you spell ____?" "Look
it up; you know where the dictionary is." "Aw, Da-a-d, do I hafta?) But
they've thanked me since for that training.
In the five months since I discovered WordWeb, I find myself making fewer trips to
the bookshelf for my hardbound Webster's University dictionary or to the big Webster's
unabridged version on its own stand in the living room. Instead, I click on the WordWeb
icon on my desktop or, if I'm using Word, I simply open the Tools menu and select
WordWeb from it.
__ Version 1.61 contains definitions and synonyms for 120,000 root words,
100,000 synonym sets, many antonyms, a host of proper nouns and more. It also has
an installation feature that allows you to tie it to Word, as mentioned above. The
Setup program asks if you want to include a template to make WordWeb available from
within MS Word.
__ (I only wish a similar option was available for WordPad, which I use for
a lot of my writing, but I guess that might be difficult.)
__ I've tried WordWeb on several of my computers and it runs fast on all of
them, even the oldest model with a 225MHz cpu. It not only comes up fast when using
it on a stand-alone basis, but pops up definitions and synonyms in its own window
from within MS Word in a hurry, too.
__ All you have to do to get a definition or synonym while in Word is highlight
or just click your cursor on the word you want to check. Then open the Tools menu
and click on the WordWeb icon.
__ At the top of the WordWeb dialog box is the Lookup line, which contains
the word you want defined. (If you use WordWeb outside of MS Word, you must type
in the word at this point.)
__ Below that line is the definition window, then comes a series of tabs:
synonyms, antonyms, types, etc. You click on whatever tab you want to get additional
information about your Lookup word.
__ It's even simpler than it sounds, actually.
You can download the program at: www.netword.demon.co.uk/wweb/
Developer Antony Lewis also offers two other programs, including WordWeb Pro, which
adds several features to the basic utility:
The first two items are especially important to crossword fans (like me!) and the latter is a big benefit for anyone.
Cost of the Pro version is just $18.
The third program Lewis has written is Crossword Compiler, which turns you into an instant crossword puzzle constructer. This one costs $45 for the full version but a demo version, restricted to 10x10 squares, can be downloaded for free.
__ Lewis also offers various word and language lists
to add to the programs, as well as assorted bundles.
__ I started with the free WordWeb utility, then upgraded to the Pro version.
I like the "add & edit" feature, and the wild card and anagram features
are helpful when you're trying to solve a really tough crossword puzzle. WordWeb
Pro takes up 7.74MB of hard drive space. The base version is about 1MB smaller.
__ Frankly, I think the free version of WordWeb is one of the best deals you
will find on the Internet but check it out for yourself at the URL given above.
Ken
Copyright 2000 by Ken Fermoyle, Fermoyle Publications.
UG Network _/_ UG Library _/_ Fermoyle_/_ About Ken Fermoyle
Ken Fermoyle has written some 2,500 articles for publications ranging from Playboy, PC World and Popular Science to MacWeek & Microtimes. He was cohost/producer of a radio show on computers and a partner in a DTP service bureau during the '80s. Ken's Korner articles are available free to User Group newsletters and Websites. For permission to reprint this article, contact kfermoyle@earthlink.net.
EDITORS NOTE: Only UGNN Affiliate User Groups are granted a one-time reproduction license of this article so long as the unaltered credit/ID paragraph (above) is published with the article, and a copy of the printed article is mailed to
Fermoyle Publication
22250 Capulin Court,
Woodland Hills, CA 91364-3005.
Contact: kfermoyle@earthlink.net for further information
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