Writer's Workbench

Writer's Workbench 8.73 is our current release.

Institutions that renew their licenses will receive these enhancements free of charge.
Individual customers who have purchased earlier releases may upgrade to WWB 8.73 for $36.00

 

Writer's Workbench 8.73 (June, 2017) provides WWB 8.72 enhancements plus -

  • Additional compatibility with Windows 10WWB Composition Ribbon

  • Additional compatibility with Office 16 (the latest version of Office 365)

  • New installation software

  • New button on Composition Ribbon that allows users to both switch between the composition and to view the composition should it become hidden by the Word 2016 plug-in problem

Writer's Workbench 8.72 (January, 2016) provides WWB 8.71 enhancements plus -

  • Compatibility with Windows 10

  • Compatibility with Office 16 (the new version of Office 365)

Writer's Workbench 8.71 (June, 2015) provides WWB 8.7 enhancements plus -

  • Menus updated to accommodate systems using larger fonts (Windows 8.1 on notebook computers)

  • WWB Help updated

  • Desktop shortcut updated to include Microsoft’s alternate locations for Word 365

  • New digital signature for programs running within Microsoft Word

  • Assorted fixes and enhancements

Writer's Workbench 8.7 (June, 2013) provides 8.6 enhancements plus -

  • Added compatibility with Word 2013 and Office 365

  • Added compatibility with Windows 8

  • Added Navigation Ribbon when using STEPS exercises in Word 2013

  • Added better viewing optionsfor viewing STEPS exercises in Word 2003 and earlier using wide screen monitors

  • If installed in the default directory, WWB no longer gives a security warning on first invocation

  

Writer's Workbench 8.6 (June, 2012) provides 8.5 enhancements plus -

  • Fixed Visual Basic “out of range” error that occasionally occurred in Self and Personal Pronouns when analyzing long documents

  • Assorted improvements in analysis headers

  • A keyboard shortcut (Alt-Ctrl-Shift-C) which will be used to access a teacher-friendly menu for choosing previously set Assessment Settings in writing labs - A great tool for tuning the assessment module for different student levels and different writing assignments. Please contact us if interested in using this feature.

  • Assorted improvements in WWB dictionaries and suggestions

  • The “Negative” analysis now prints negative words even if the ratio of negative words is acceptable

  

Writer's Workbench 8.5 (June, 2011) provides 8.4 enhancements plus -

  • WWB 8.5 is now compatible with 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Word 2007 and Word 2010

  • New Analysis - "Tense Shift"

  • Displayed before the Modals Analysis
  • Provides a tool to help identify unintentional tense shift
  • Flags past tense verbs and future tense helping verbs
  • Does not flag current tense verbs, as these verbs are most frequently used
  • "MoreInfo" - provides general rules and examples of inappropriate tense shift and examples of unintentional tense shift

  • "Always use Writer's Workbench" 

  • Provides the ability to allways load WWB tools whenever double-clicking on a Word Document
  • Optional - based on Word's File Locations, Startup option
  • If configured, eliminates the need to double-click on the WWB desktop icon before opening documents

  • Other Enhancements 

  • Long bullet lists (over 256 words) no longer cause problems for dissertations or long, detailed documents
  • More user-friendly handling of non-text characters and objects in documents
  • Visual improvements in analyses

Writer's Workbench 8.4 (June, 2010) provides 8.3 enhancements plus -

  • New, more appealing color schemes

  • Now compatible with Word 2010 and Windows 7

  • Assessment Scores Module -

  • Easier to configure
  • New option to display only those scores that are not acceptable
  • Easier to configure
  • Ability to display Assessment Scores in WordPad – very useful when using WWB without a printer
  • Ability to control which scores are displayed, set goals, and turn on or turn off tracking writing scores from single network file
  • New plug-in for Excel that can provide a writing mechanics score based on your criteria

  • Diction / Pet Peeves

  • Common contractions now flagged as a default but can be removed for less formal writing
  • Double negatives now flagged – for example, “not unlikely” vs. “likely”
  • Specific (actual and actually) words and phrases flagged
  • Ability to add short pet peeves – for example, “RU” or “LOL”

Writer's Workbench 8.3 (June, 2009) provides 8.2 enhancements plus -

  • Assessment Scores Module

  • Choose which scores to display in the Assessment Scores module
  • Bold suggestions make it easier to see what areas need improvement
  • Acceptable scores now indicate why goals are acceptable
  • Ability to control which scores are displayed, set goals, and turn on or turn off tracking writing scores from single network file

  • Options Menu

  • More intuitive in making selections
  • "Browse-to" for selecting and for creating alternate directories for setup files
  • "Browse-to" for selecting folders for WWB usage and WWB Assessment data files

  • Print analyses to printers other than the default printer

  • International Characters (like the “é” in “café”) – now converted to provide more accurate results

  • 50 Word Minimum – WWB 8.3 now analyzes as few as 50 words to check short works - 100 word minimum in previous releases

  • 2.2 Style Statistics with Support – nominalizations – printed even when acceptable percentage is met

  • WWB Keyboard Shortcuts

  • [Alt-B] - Open our sample document, “The Tempest”
  • [Alt-Ctrl-Shift-A] - Enter the Assessment Scores Configuration Menu
  • [Alt-Ctrl-Shift-O] - Enter the WWB Options Menu
  • [Alt-Ctrl-Shift-P] - Edit Pet Peeves lookup and suggestions for 5.1 Diction Alerts
  • [Alt-Ctrl-Shift-S] - Set Word's WWB Windows Sizes (Windows 2000 and later)
  • [Alt-Ctrl-Shift-W] - Set Word's WWB Windows Sizes (Windows '98, Windows ME)

  • WWB Support and Training – With permission, remote control of your computer for support and training using GoToAssist

Writer's Workbench 8.2 (June, 2008) provides 8.18 enhancements plus -

  • More "Word 2007 friendly" – now works with Word 2007’s ribbons AND uses toolbars for previous Word releases

  • A new "Pet Peeves" module, where teachers or users can add their own problematic words and phrases to the Diction analysis and modify suggestions if the program finds those words or phrases

  • Easier to read WWB Analysis menu and STEPS Writing Exercise menu

  • More statistics in the Assessment module now analyzes 22 statistics that can easily be used to track writing improvement through Excel or a database program – Can be used to help grade papers - Create your own writing standards!

  • No need to uninstall previous release - upgrade overrides appropriate files from previous installations

  • New, more descriptive message boxes that help guide users through navigation of the programs

  • Compatibility enhancements for Word ’97, Word 2000, Word XP, Word 2003, and Word 2007

  • New WWB Help and documentation reflect WWB in previous Word releases and in Word 2007’s new interface

Writer's Workbench 8.18 (June, 2007) provides 8.17 enhancements plus -

  • Now compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Word 2007 in addition to Windows ’95, Windows ’98, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Word ’97, Word 2000, Word XP, and Word 2003

  • New, sophisticated Writing Mechanics Assessment Statistics (WMAS) module

  • A new method to track writing improvement using the WMAS module

  • New, more descriptive message boxes that help guide users through navigation of the programs

  • New checks to help Word recover from problems that can leave the computer looking as if the application had “died”

  •   New mechanism to set thresholds and corresponding “threshold not achieved” messages for 18 quantifiable writing mechanics statistics -

Writer's Workbench 8.17 (June, 2006) provides 8.16 enhancements plus -

  • More versatile display resolutions – now including support for high-resolution monitors and display settings to compensate for non-standard toolbar selections

  • Word’s window sizes (composition and analysis) now can be reset with keyboard macros

  •   Better error checking and better messages to help debug problems with schools’ security programs

  •   Better handling of abbreviations and strange punctuation as Writer’s Workbench determines sentences

  • Timeout now adjustable for slower computer systems (Writer’s Workbench Options Menu)

  • Writer’s Workbench Manuals, Faculty Guides, Orientations, Ordering Information, PowerPoint Show, and Brochures now installed with the software – click “Start, (All) Programs, Writer’s Workbench, Documentation” – feel free to view or print these documents as needed

  • A new button on the WWB Analysis Toolbar allows the writer, after making changes to the composition, a quick rerun of his or her analysis

Writer's Workbench 8.16 (June, 2005) provides 8.15 enhancements plus -

  • New video tutorials on the Writer's Workbench CD and on our website

  • Numbered analyses and STEPS programs for easier reference

  • Improved Style Sheet

  • Flagging sentences ending in prepositions (Diction Analysis)

  • New one or two page orientation to help teachers and students quickly become familiar with Writer’s Workbench

  • New faculty guides on the WWB CD to help instructors fold WWB into the writing curriculum

Writer's Workbench 8.15 (June, 2004) provided Word 2003 compatibility plus all of the features and improvements in Version 8.13 plus -

  • New Analysis - Self and Personal Pronouns
    Flags Self, First-, Second-, and Third-Person Pronouns

  • Better handling of abbreviations and non-traditional use of periods

  • Now displays only those sentences with flagged items –
    Verbs, Clarity, Words, Punctuation

  • Diction and Check Analyses – much easier to interpret and make revisions

  • Now provides one or more bold statistics at the top of each analysis

  • Easier to navigate between analysis and composition - more conducive to making revisions based on feedback

  • New Analysis - "Comma, Semicolon, Colon" –
    Provides rules for internal-to-sentence punctuation

  • WWB Manual (Adobe PDF) displayable through the STEPS menu

  • Dramatic performance improvements -
    (Word 2000, 2002 (XP), and Word 2003)

  • Automatic setup - install and start using WWB

  • Easier to focus on problematic areas

  • New manual and help files

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