For those who don't know, WhiteSmoke is a program that aims to help its users produce
better-written documents. It does this by analyzing the spelling, punctuation
and grammar in any document, and then suggesting corrections and possible
improvements. WhiteSmoke is compatible with Microsoft Windows ME,
Windows2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista. It will work in almost any text-based
application, including word processors, email programs, web-based forms, and so
on.Once WhiteSmoke is installed on your PC, you use it as follows.
First, you create your text in your chosen application (e.g. Microsoft Word).
Select the text you want to analyze by highlighting it in the normal way, then
press the WhiteSmoke shortcut key. This is set by default to F2, though
you can change it if you like. In Word a separate "Enrichment" button is created
on the toolbar, and you can click on this as an alternative to pressing the
shortcut key.WhiteSmoke will then open in a new window, with your selected
text in a box in the middle. Spelling mistakes are highlighted in red and
grammar mistakes in green. When you move the cursor over any item, suggested
corrections (a range of them) appear in a box at the foot of the screen. You can
accept or reject any correction just by clicking on it.Perhaps the most
interesting feature for writers, however, is the enrichment function. The WhiteSmoke software analyzes your writing and looks for ways
it could be improved, e.g. by using an alternate word or phrase (thesaurus
function), or by adding extra words. All candidates for enrichment are
highlighted in blue in the WhiteSmoke window, and suggested additions and alternatives
are shown in the boxes below. Again, you are at liberty to accept or reject any
change. Once you have gone through all the program's suggestions, just save the
changes and close WhiteSmoke, and the corrected and "enriched" version will
automatically appear in the original application.Overall, I was
impressed with how easy WhiteSmoke was to use, and its effectiveness. Obviously Word
does have its own spelling and grammar checkers, but WhiteSmoke's appear to work
better. This is especially so with the grammar checker, which is far more
user-friendly than Word's. The "Enrichment" function is particularly good for
revealing ways in which text can be improved. Obviously not all the changes the
software suggests will be appropriate, but simply seeing the suggested
alternatives can jolt you out of using the same old words and expressions, and
give your writing a new, fresher feel.The version of WhiteSmoke I evaluated was the standard one, which is really
aimed at business users. It would still be useful for writers, but WhiteSmoke also offer a version of the software specially
tailored for use by creative writers. If you're a novelist or short story
writer, this would probably be the version to go for. It has a larger vocabulary
than the standard version, and is less likely to suggest inserting
business-related terms such as inventory and turnover into your sensitive
description of a woodland sunset...Are there any drawbacks to WhiteSmoke? Well, a possible one for some users is that you
need to have an Internet connection open while you are using it. WhiteSmoke say this is because the program's database is
constantly updated via the web. For most users this is unlikely to present
problems, but if you regularly use your computer off-line, it might be a bit
frustrating.WhiteSmoke is probably ideally suited for writers who are
buzzing with ideas but know that they have a few shortcomings in grammar,
punctuation, and so on. Even if you're reasonably confident in these areas,
however, WhiteSmoke can give you a fresh perspective, and suggestions
for improving passages of text you may have become "bogged down" on.
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