Word processing on the apple with wordstar and diablo. Beloved to this day for its simplicity, power and wealth of keystroke commands, some wr. Wordstar was a word processor application, published by micropro, originally. Books for wordstar sold like hot cakes and the authors knew they were selling documentation for pirated copies of wordstar. It did, however, offer keyboard command compatibility with earlier wordstar. It is also the home for the wordstar emulator for microsoft word 97 and later, right up to word 2007, 2010, and even 2016. The program relied on a unique set of keyboard commands that were memorized by millions of users and continued to affect keyboard shortcut layouts well into the 1980s. Wordstar menus screen wordstar, the grandfather of word pr.
The program relied on a unique set of keyboard commands that were memorized by millions of users and continued to affect keyboard shortcut layouts well. Word processing died in every meaningful sense with wordstar. The product of micropro international, it was the first fullfeatured wordprocessing program written for personal. A writers word processor even today, some authors still use dos word processing software from the 1990s. Apples first own word processor, titled apple writer, was released for the apple ii family in 1979. There is a full list of all known places to obtain it on this site, linked from the home page. Many other early word processors emulated wordstar in. Wordstar is a word processor application that had a dominant market share during the early to mid1980s. However, by the late 1980s, programs like wordperfect knocked wordstar out of the word processing market after the poor performance of wordstar 2000.
Sometimes abbreviated as wp, a word processor is a software program capable of creating, storing, and printing typed documents. The keyboard is the primary interface between the user and the machine, and the feel of the keys is critical. Commands part ii by victor frankfor more than 15 years, four companies, and all these nonwindows versions, wordstar maintained backwards command compatibility. I dont recall liking it all that much, but the keyboard commands made more sense and were easier to remember than. They have been around since the beginning of the computer, in all kind of different designs. This tutorial for the word processing program wordstar, version 4, begins with a glossary of termskeyboard definitions and a brief description of the capabilities and features of the program. A word processor is software or a device that allows users to create, edit, and print documents. The 25 rows of 80 characters was the mainstay in the cpm and dos world until gui. This word processor was included with the osborne 1, the first commercially successful portable microcomputer 1981, but its place was taken over by wordperfect from 1985 onwards. Wordstar was released in 1979 and was the most powerful word processing software of its day.
This program was also used to write the game of thrones books. Microsoft word is the most popular word processing application see microsoft word. Word processing on the apple with wordstar and diablo when you use your apple for word processing, do you find you are becoming increasingly frustrated by the limitations of your simple 40column apple word processing program. Multimate international developed the core word processing software and utilities file conversion, printer drivers, but purchased and adapted subprograms for spelling and grammar checking, list management, outlining and printtime incorporation of graphics in word processing documents multimate graphlink. Most of these programs are similar, but there are key differences that can take some of the effort away and help you. You can find out what they are by looking on the right side of the pulldown menus, next to the commands.
This is what word processing looked like in the 80s. Apr 09, 2018 office 365 ms word is a word processor developed by microsoft. The program, which was released in 1979, was revised modestly last year but. Few writers prefer the feel of pen and paper, these days, even for a first draft.
Other solutions as an elementary word processing program use wordpad i think its still included with windows 10, other free office things such as libreoffice or kingsoft office etc. That method or studying one of the many nonmicropro wordstar books, cassettes, or disks still seems better than confronting the training guide. Word processing article about word processing by the free. I always say, an isv could make a fortune building a really sophisticated word processing app. The most important component in word processing has nothing to do with software. There are so many word processing programs out there that make life easier, and this is true whether youre writing for yourself or for a client. The now wellknown wordstar commands first appeared in this new program. It was ported to a number of cpm architectures as well as unix and pcmsdos. Wordstar 2000 does just about anything you might imagine word processing software should do. Hi folks why not run a windows version that wordstar still runs on as a virtual machine. Jun 16, 1985 wordstar 2000 does just about anything you might imagine word processing software should do. The product of micropro international, it was the first fullfeatured word processing program written for personal. This meant that regular text lines couldnt start with dots.
The popular turbo pascal compiler used wordstar keyboard commands in its ide editor. But touchtypists find that using the wordstar control key commands is. With the combined power of sophisticated word processing and powerful. Many other early word processors emulated wordstar in their use of dot lines for commands, though some of them required a control character to precede the dot in order to allow dots at the start of normal text lines. I think wordstar is the least modal word processor i have ever used commands in the wordstar emulator within word runs words equivalent commands. It competed directly against many word processors, including wordperfect, microsoft word for dos, and multimate. Wordstar for windows was more of a framebased desktop publishing tool. What is word processing and what are some examples. Jul 18, 2018 in an age before microsoft word, even before corel wordperfect, wordstar ruled the dos word processing world. Wordstar, originally from micropro, was a popular word processor during the early 80s.
I think wordstar is the least modal word processor i have ever used version 4, begins with a glossary of termskeyboard definitions and a brief description of the capabilities and features of the program. Dec 16, 2018 sometimes abbreviated as wp, a word processor is a software program capable of creating, storing, and printing typed documents. Software companies dont like to admit to this as a possibility. The specific commands varied a lot between programs. Today, the word processor is one of the most frequently used software programs on a computer, with microsoft word being the most popular word processor. Wordstar is the first massmarket word processing program with a wysiwyg whatyouseeiswhatyouget interface. The creators of wordstar, john robbins barnaby left and seymour ivan rubenstein right wordstar. Introduced in 1978 for the cpm operating system, wordstar was the first program to give full word processing capabilities to personal computer users at far less cost than the dedicated word processors of the time. Editpad pro supports the classic wordstar navigation keys for people who are used to them.
Even today, some authors still use dos word processing software. Its cpmoriented treatment of machinespecific items can cause massive confusion. Word processors are probably the most used computer software ever. But ibm dominated the dedicated word processor market with its displaywrite application, which ran on machines dedicated to writing and editing documents. It enables you to write text, store it electronically, display it on a screen, modify it by entering commands and characters from the keyboard, and print it. First off, installing wordstar 2000 is completely automatic. Individual chapters then explain start up procedures, creating a document, editing tools, saving and printing, and the use of dot commands to control. Word processing software for windows free downloads and. Jul 17, 2019 hi folks why not run a windows version that wordstar still runs on as a virtual machine. Immediately after opening this word processor for the first time, youre given the option to choose a classic menu style or use a ribbon menu you might already be familiar with. With each new generation wordperfect word, we lost wordchurning power. I remember the formatting commands of wordstar required as if it were yesterday. Except for labels and envelopes, word processing software has long since replaced the electric typewriter.
Wordstar for windows is not at all like wordstar for dos, it. This desktop resource gives you fast access to all the commands and functions of the the popular wordstar word processing software, including wordstar professional, and wordstar 2000 and 2000 plus. In 1994, wordstar international merged with softkey software products. Many other early word processors emulated wordstar in their use of. Wordstar complete history of wordstar word processor. The popular turbo pascal compiler used wordstar keyboard commands in its. The specific commands varied a lot between programs, however. The best free word processing software app downloads for windows. Wordstar may have been the most pirated software in the world, which in many ways accounted for its success.
By the mid1980s wordstar was the most popular word processing software in the world. Rubinstein was the principal owner of the company, rob barnaby was the sole author of the early versions of the program. If you forgot to properly pair up the control codes, your document ended up a mess. Before we consider the special tools that the unix environment provides for text processing, we need to think about the underlying changes in the process of writing that are inevitable when you begin to use a computer. The program is nolonger available except on the second user or. Wordstar 2000 added few new commands, but completely rewrote the user interface, using simple englishlanguage mnemonics so the command to remove a word, which had been t in wordstar, became rw in wordstar 2000. The wordstar resource site has sections for wordstar for dos, wordstar 2000, and wordstar for windows. Office 365 ms word is a word processor developed by microsoft. But touch typists find that using the wordstar control key commands is. In the late 1970s and early 80s, wordstar was the worlds premier word processing software. It was eclipsed, not surprisingly, by wordperfect and other programs whose publishers understood. Wordstar, once the topselling word processing program, finally has gotten a thorough face lift. Wordstar was created at a time when most keyboards did not yet have separate arrow key blocks. Rubinstein was the principal owner of the company, rob barnaby was the sole author of the early versions of the program up to version 0.
An earlier fullfeatured word processing program for cpm and. If i recall correctly, wordstar was the first word processor i used on ibm pcs. Here are the specs of the most popular word processing software for pcs. Within three years, wordstar was the most popular word processing software in the world. By the late 80s most business word processing had moved to wordperfect. Wordstar is a word processor application that had a dominant market share during the early to. The original wordstar interface left a large legacy, and many of its controlkey command are still available optionally or as the default in other programs, such as the modern crossplatform word processing software textmaker and many text editors running under msdos, linux, and other unix variants. The real beauty of wordstar is typist home row navigation and commands, which later evolved into what. Created as an alternative to microsoft office, openoffice is a massively popular word processing program as it has been made available for free usage, worldwide. An earlier fullfeatured word processing program for cpm and dos from micropro. In the beginning, there was the word processor zdnet.
Wordstar was a word processor application that had a dominant market share during the early to mid1980s. Advanced word processing techniques using wordstar. Advanced word processors can function as elementary desktop publishing systems. You could pretty much also clone the ws commands in wp, except for those darned block commands. As you become familiar with a program, you will find that you can work much faster if you learn them. It was published by micropro international, and written for the cpm operating system but later ported to msdos. The wordstar screen this screen shot from a cpmbased kaypro computer shows how wordstar looked in its heyday. Wordstar my choice in wordprocessors gerald brandt. Wordstar article about wordstar by the free dictionary. In this article i give a quick overview of the most popular word processors since the 80s remember its just a selection, there has been lots and lots of more word processing software. Wordstar block, find and findplace commands, and nondocument mode.
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