Introduction:

Before I (long ago) discovered "Yeah Write!", I had often wondered why there wasn’t a small, fast and easy-to-use writing tool for creating those documents we write every day or less frequently. Well, I was at a loss no longer.

YW! could be considered shareware or “trialware” and is available directly from WordPlace and via many of the full spectrum software sites like Tucows.com and Download.com (unfortunately, it’s not at MajorGeeks as they focus on software tools).

They offer several ways to use your downloaded software: 1- you can use it indefinitely for free (in a reduced features version), 2- you can try the fully-featured version for free with a limit of 15-days, or 3- you can pay for and register the full version. The cost to register your copy is only $19.00. I’m ashamed that I hadn’t paid WordPlace for the full version long ago as I’ve been using the free versions since the late ‘90s. I suppose that can be taken as much of a testament to the usefulness and flexibility of the free version as to my own skinflintedness... Programs such as this need to be brought to the attention of a new crop of potential users every 5 years or so. This year being the 12th Anniversary of Yeah Write! (Its last pre-teen year in real time, while it’s in its dotage in “Internet Time”) offers this opportunity.

Above is the "Drawer" screen of YW! .

Basic Features:

The first thing one will notice is the very small size of the downloaded file, only 1.04MB (Megabytes)!, It has always been distributable on a floppy diskette and you can fit the English version of the dictionary (quite a few other language and medical dictionaries are available for download as well as an English thesaurus) onto the same diskette. Initially, one could actually run it from the diskette, but feature enhancements, and the addition of an actual installer for Windows, have required Word Place to compress the install file to fit it on a diskette. The next surprise will be all the software that is packed into that 1.04MB, and that is brought to you through the magic of Assembly Language along with heavy use of the features already present in the Windows Graphical User Interface. Yes, Virginia, YW! and the add-ons from WordPlace are written entirely in Assembly Language.

Above shows the “Addresses” Tab with an open entry form with some of its fields.