This section covers small-interface dictionaries which you install on your PC, either from disk or via download. The next section deals with dictionaries where you only install the interface and can be consulted only over the internet.

These dictionaries are designed for people who need to read on-screen. The idea is that they stay visible even when another program is 'on top', and they do not get in the way.

Characteristics are:

• a small interface which allows you to see your open window and still have the dictionary running
• this interface stays 'on top' when you work in another program
• passing the mouse over a word automatically looks up that word in the dictionary so there is no need to click

If you use the internet to get your reading practice - something I highly recommend - then it is useful for you to have one of these. But all these programs also share defects inherent in the reduced interface: small difficult-to-read type and not enough space to visualise relevant information clearly. Some exacerbate this flaw by not allowing the user to change the size of the interface.

Consequently, despite the usefulness and potential of these products, I recommend that you use a full-interface dictionary for your basic dictionary work.

General
OUP has several products based on the same software and with the same interface.

The products available (at time of writing) are OALD, Wordpower, Oxford Student's. There is also Phrasebuilder, which is dealt with separately in other software.

All have the complete text of the paper dictionary, with the exception of phonetic script. All head words have sound and you can choose to install the sound files or consult them from the CD.

How sold
Each is sold bundled with its corresponding paper dictionary.

ISBNs
Oxford Genie (Advanced Learner's Dictionary) Pack:
Hardback with Genie CD-ROM: 0-19-431586-X
Paperback and Genie CD-ROM: 0-19-431585-1
Oxford Genie (Wordpower Dictionary) Pack: 0-19-431579-7
Oxford Genie (Student's Dictionary of English) Pack: 0-19-431578-9

Interface features
It is impossible to change the size of the interface. You can hide the examples for quicker navigation. There are three font sizes. Scroll arrows allow you to move up and down inside an entry, but in long entries it is not easy to find the right part, and the idioms and phrasal verbs sections at the bottom of a long verb entry are inaccessible.

Screenshot

Other information
The electronic OALD is published in three formats: CD-ROM, Genie CD-ROM and Web.

General
QUICKfind runs, as an alternative interface, from inside the 'big' CALD. There is also a companion small-interface program, SUPERwrite, designed to help you as you write on-screen.

The alternating interface of the CALD means one does not have to install various heavy versions of the same dictionary to get all the features.

How sold
QUICKfind is integrated with the complete CALD on CD-ROM, which is usually sold with the paper version. In other words you get all the various formats in one package.

ISBNs:
Paperback with CD: 0521531063
Hardback with CD: 0521824230
Single-user licence with CD: 0521531071
30-user licence with CD: 052153108X

The interface can be extended in height but not in width. There is no option to change font size.

Screenshot

General
iFinger developed the software which runs both Genie and QUICKfind. Their own version allows you to consult several dictionaries simultaneously.

How sold
The software interface is free for download and, to get you started, it comes with a free version of Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary. Other dictionaries and reference works can be bought and downloaded from the iFinger site. At the time of writing, prices range from €10.95 to €126 with Oxford products averaging about €40 and Zanichelli products selling for €13 each.

The interface and font-size cannot be changed. Clicking on a little arrow expands a section.

Screenshot