WordStar - Knowledge

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normal editing, WordStar hides formatting markers but these are easily displayed with ^OD command. Formatting information is then displayed in the normal text area displacing the actual text. It nonetheless made it absolutely clear where formatting started and finished. Page and section formatting was handled differently by the addition of formatting lines. A formatting line was indicated by the line starting with a full stop. Some third-party WordStar books called formatting lines "dot commands". A few examples: .lh (line height) .lm (left margin) .rm (right margin) - each of which was followed by a number. The number was assumed to be points (pt) but could be easily modified to inches or mm by the addition of " or mm after the number. .lm and .rm were never equal as both values were from the left hand edge of the page. Setting .rm to 0 made text lines infinitely long. Margins could also be set either absolutely or relatively (by preceding the value with either - or +) when setting the value.

467:, appeared in April 1982. The DOS version was very similar to the original, and although the IBM PC had arrow keys and separate function keys, the traditional "WordStar diamond" and other Ctrl-key functions were retained, leading to rapid adoption by former CP/M users. WordStar's ability to use a "non-document" mode to create text files without formatting made it popular among programmers for writing code. Like the CP/M versions, the DOS WordStar was not explicitly designed for IBM PCs, but rather for any x86 machine (as there were a number of non-IBM-compatible PCs that used 8086 or 80186 CPUs). As such, it used only DOS's API calls and avoided any BIOS usage or direct hardware access. This carried with it an unfortunate performance penalty as everything had to be "double" processed (meaning that the DOS API functions would handle screen or keyboard I/O first and then pass them to the BIOS). 764:, a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Canadian science-fiction writer, continues to use WordStar 7.0 for DOS (the final release, last updated in 1992) to write his novels, All twenty-five of his novels were written with WordStar.As the app is now "abandonware", and there was no proper archive of WordStar 7.0 for DOS available online, he decided to create one. He put together as complete a version of WordStar 7 as might exist. He bundled together over 1,000 pages of scanned manuals that came with WordStar, related utilities, his own README guidance, ready-to-run versions of DOSBox-X and VDosPlus, and WordStar 7 Rev. D and posted them on his website as the "Complete WordStar 7.0 Archive". 1230:) into reserved locations in the program memory image. This was a fairly typical limitation of all CP/M programs of the time, since there was no mechanism to hide the complexities of the underlying hardware from the application program. To use the program with a different printer required re-installation of the program. Occasionally short machine-language programs had to be entered in a patch area in WordStar, to provide particular screen effects or cope with particular printers. Researching, testing, and proving out such installations was a time-consuming and knowledge-intensive process, making WordStar installation and customization a staple discussion of CP/M 1340:

97-XP's menus to be more like those of WordStar 7.0 for DOS, the last DOS version of WordStar. For example, Ctrl+K? was WordStar's word count command and Ctrl+QL was its spell check command. Hitting these commands in the WordStar Emulator within Word runs Word's equivalent commands. WordStar for Word also adds WordStar's block commands, namely Ctrl+KB to mark the beginning of a block, Ctrl+KK to mark the end, and Ctrl+KV to move it. Alternatively, Ctrl+KC could be used to copy the block. WordStar for Word works on all versions of Word from Word 97 through 2010.

1087:(although WordStar had no requirement for a specific file extension). Each subsequent line of text in the file would be dedicated to a particular client, with name and address details separated on the line dedicated to a client by commas, read left to right. For example: Mr., Michael, Smith, 7 Oakland Drive, ... WordStar would also access Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet files (*.wk1) for this data and if the data contained flags to start and stop WordStar processing the data then flags could be set so that certain 'clients' are omitted from the output stream. 174: 996:(with ^KC) or move it to a new location (with ^KV). Many users found it much easier to manipulate blocks this way than with the Microsoft Word system of highlighting with a mouse and then being forced by Word's select-then-do approach to immediately deal with the marked block, lest any typing replace it. The subsequent WordStar 2000 retained WordStar's distinctive functionality for block manipulation. As part of the ^K sequence of shortcuts, it offered true bookmarks (^K1 to ^K9) allowing the editor to move about in large documents with ease. 343:. Besides word-wrapping (still a notable feature for early microcomputer programs), this last was most noticeably implemented as on-screen pagination during the editing session. Using the number of lines-per-page given by the user during program installation, WordStar would display a full line of dash characters onscreen showing where page breaks would occur during hardcopy printout. Many users found this very reassuring during editing, knowing beforehand where pages would end and begin, and where text would thus be interrupted across pages. 1141:. CP/M machines were readily available and Elbit needed something to differentiate their product from others. An agreement was made with MicroPro to develop a version of WordStar that supported both English and Hebrew input. The concept was revolutionary, as Hebrew is written right-to-left and all word processors of the time assumed left-to-right. WordStar, as developed by Elbit, was the first word processor that offered bidirectional input and mixed alphabets. 36: 45: 389: 445: 437: 699:

years after the previous version. Word (four versions from 1983 to 1987) and WordPerfect (five versions), however, had become the market leaders. More conflict between MicroPro's two factions delayed WordStar 5.0 until late 1988, again hurting the program's sales. After renaming itself after its flagship product in 1989, WordStar International merged with

1788:"There is a potent remedy for the slowness of WORDSTAR and NEWWORD, which is caused by the programs constantly "going to disk" to get one thing or another. Install a "RAM disk" and load the program on it. Since it is an electronic circuit board emulating a disk, everything happens at electronic speed, faster even than with a hard disk." 453: 675:, and dozens of other companies, which typically released new versions of their software every 12 to 18 months, MicroPro did not release new versions of WordStar beyond 3.3 during 1984 and 1985, in part because Rubinstein relinquished control of the company after a January 1984 heart attack. His replacements canceled the promising 925:

system could be configured to display help a short time after the first key of a command sequence was entered. As users became more familiar with the command sequences, the help system could be set to provide less and less assistance until finally all on-screen menus and status information would be turned off.

1674:"In my estimation, WORDSTAR is one of the most poorly designed word-processing programs ever written— a huge, elaborate farrago of klugy patches, sort of like a Rube Goldberg machine gone berserk.... one of my requirements before signing the contract was that I wouldn't have to use WORDSTAR to write the book." 795:

was another faithful user of WordStar who struggled to have it installed on newer computers until it could no longer reasonably be done. She then grudgingly transitioned to Microsoft Word, whose design she felt was comparatively unintuitive and illogical. Rice noted "WordStar was magnificent. I loved

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WordStar. The company itself should have just sold the documentation alone to increase sales. This was the wink-wink-nudge-nudge aspect of the industry at the time and everyone knew it. So when WordStar 2000 arrived with a copy protection scheme, everyone should have predicted its immediate demise."

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board, and copying the WordStar program files into it. WordStar would still access the "disk" repeatedly, but the far faster access of the RAM drive compared to a floppy disk yielded a substantial speed improvement. However, edited versions of a document were "saved" only to this RAM disk, and had to

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Although no current version of WordStar is available for modern operating systems, some former WordStar users still prefer WordStar's interface, especially the cursor diamond commands described earlier in this article. These users say that less hand movement is necessary to issue commands, and hence

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would backspace and delete. Commands to enable bold or italics, printing, blocking text to copy or delete, saving or retrieving files from disk, etc. were typically a short sequence of keystrokes, such as Ctrl-P-B for bold, or Ctrl-K-S to save a file. Formatting codes would appear on screen, such as

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word processors, showing accurate line breaks and page breaks. It was a major breakthrough to be able to see (and, while writing, force, if one so desired) where line breaks and page breaks would fall—even though, being a text-based program, WordStar couldn't accurately display different typefaces

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wrote that NewWord 3 "provides the perfect excuse for WordStar users to switch software, as if WordStar users needed an excuse". In February 1985 MicroPro promised updates to WordStar 3.3, but none appeared until new management purchased NewWord and used it as the basis of WordStar 4.0 in 1987, four

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was exclusively for IBM compatibles, which differed from MS-DOS-compatible programs in terms of screen addressing. It was the first version of WordStar supporting directories—a feature nearly mandatory to be usable on machines with hard disks. Also introduced were simple macros (shorthand) and

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Early versions of WordStar lacked features found in other word processors, such as the ability to automatically reformat paragraphs to fit the current margins as text was added or deleted; a command had to be issued to force reformatting. The subsequent WordStar 2000 (and later versions of WordStar

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For example, the "diamond" of Ctrl-S/E/D/X (s=left, e=up, d=right, x=down) moved the cursors one character or line to the left, up, right, or down. Ctrl-A/F (to the outside of the "diamond") moved the cursor a full word left/right, and Ctrl-R/C (just "past" the Ctrl keys for up and down) scrolled a

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with hard drive was highly advisable to run the software, which it described as "clumsy, overdesigned, and uninviting ... I can't come up with a reason why I'd want to use it". WordStar 2000 had a user interface that was substantially different from the original WordStar, and the company did little

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WordStar 2000 added few new commands, but completely rewrote the user interface, using simple English-language mnemonics (so the command to remove a word, which had been ^T in WordStar, became ^RW in WordStar 2000; the command to remove the text from the rest of the line to the right of the cursor

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To accommodate these users, WordStar emulation programs were created. One such program is CtrlPlus by Yoji Hagiya, which remaps the standard PC keyboard, making many WordStar commands available in most Windows programs. CtrlPlus switches the Control and Caps Lock keys so that the Ctrl key is back

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Installation of early versions of WordStar, especially for CP/M, was very different from the approach of modern programs. While later editions had more-or-less comprehensive installation programs that allowed selection of printers and terminals from a menu, in the very early releases, each of the

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The writer would insert placeholders delimited by ampersands into the master document, e.g., &TITLE&, &INITIAL&, &SURNAME&, &ADDRESS1&. In each copy of the letter the placeholders would be replaced with strings read from the DAT file. Mass mailings could thereby be

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Formatting with WordStar was carried out before the text to be formatted—unlike many other word processors where the formatting of a paragraph is 'buried' within the usually hidden paragraph marker at the end of the paragraph. This latter method leaves the user unclear where formatting starts. In

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noted: "WordStar may have been the most pirated software in the world, which in many ways accounted for its success. (Software companies don’t like to admit to this as a possibility.) Books for WordStar sold like hot cakes and the authors knew they were selling documentation for pirated copies of

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not only use the WordStar interface, but have been based on WordStar DOS file formats, allowing WordStar users who no longer have a copy of the application to easily open and edit their files. There are WordStar keyboard command emulators and keymappings, both freeware and shareware, for current

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Column Mode editing was probably unique to WordStar. As a basic text editor, the interface showed all characters to be the same width - hence 80 characters across an 80 column screen resolution. By switching on column mode editing a rectangle of text spanning several characters and several lines

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WordStar was rare among word processing programs in that it permitted the user to mark (highlight) a block of text (with ^KB and ^KK commands) and leave it marked in place, and then go to a different position in the document and later (even after considerable work on other things) copy the block

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Another WordStar emulation utility is 'WordStar Command Emulator for Microsoft Word', also known as 'WordStar for Word,' by Mike Petrie. Designed to work in conjunction with CtrlPlus, the Command Emulator adds many more WordStar commands to MS Word than CtrlPlus by itself, and also changes Word

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In a default installation on a 25-line screen, the top third of the screen contained a menu of commands and a status line; the lower two-thirds of the screen displayed the text of the user's document. A user-configurable option to set the help level released this space for user text. The help

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WordStar was written with as few assumptions as possible about the operating system and machine hardware, allowing it to be easily ported across the many platforms that proliferated in the early 1980s. Because all of these versions had relatively similar commands and controls, users could move

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program, later incorporated as a direct part of the WordStar program; and DataStar, a program whose purpose was specifically to expedite creating of the data files used for merge printing. These were revolutionary features for personal computer users during the early-to-mid-1980s. A companion

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If any invalid formatting commands are encountered, when printing WordStar (version 3.3 at least) will ignore the line (all text until the next carriage return terminating the line). This could confuse novice users who unintentionally began a line with a decimal point (same as period or dot

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changed from ^QY to ^RR). However, many in WordStar's large installed user based were happy with the original WordStar interface, and did not consider the changes to be improvements. Although WordStar 2000 was meant as the successor to WordStar, it never gained substantial market share.

936:, did not have function keys or cursor control keys (arrow keys, Page Up/Page Down). WordStar used sequences of alphabetic keys combined with the "Control" key, which on keyboards of the time was conveniently next to the letter A in the position now usually occupied by the 1000:

could be selected and manipulated. This was very handy for manipulating columns of numbers and non-standard files. Once selected, the feature could also be used to calculate the total of a column of numbers and place the result at the insertion point.

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Besides the ready availability of third-party books explaining WordStar in detail, the program's extensive and configurable onscreen help facility (help text appeared in a resizable window at the top of the screen) made it easy to use an illegal copy.

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WordStar identified files as either "document" or "nondocument," which led to some confusion among users. "Document" referred to WordStar word processing files containing embedded word processing and formatting commands. "Nondocument" files were pure

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spreadsheet, CalcStar, was also produced using a somewhat WordStar-like interface; collectively, WordStar (word processing), DataStar/ReportStar (database management, a.k.a. InfoStar), and CalcStar (spreadsheet) comprised StarBurst, the first-ever

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full page up/down. Prefacing these keystrokes with Ctrl-Q generally expanded their action, moving the cursor to the end/beginning of the line, end/beginning of the document, etc. Ctrl-G would delete the character under the cursor.

598:. WordStar 2000 supported features such as disk directories, but lacked compatibility with the file formats of existing WordStar versions and also made numerous unpopular changes to the interface. Gradually competitors such as 1181:

DOS WordStar files by default have no extension; some users adopted their own conventions, such as the letters WS followed by the version number (for example, WS3), or just plain WS. Backup files were automatically saved as

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character) and WordStar would not print the line. For instance, a line reading: ".05 percent text text text..." would not appear in the printout though the document would continue on the printout without any error reported.

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the install program was completely updated to include features like reprogramming function keys and an extensive printer support. During the second half of the 1980s, the fully modernized WordPerfect overtook it in sales.

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wrote of his father's loyalty to WordStar, despite the increasing difficulty of installing it on newer computers. He said of WordStar, "I'm told there are better programs, but I'm also told there are better alphabets".

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The original WordStar interface left a large legacy, and many of its control-key command are still available (optionally or as the default) in other programs, such as the modern cross-platform word processing software

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and other computers sold by that fall was more than double that of the second most-popular word processor, and that year MicroPro had 10% of the personal computer software market. By 1984, the year it held an

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supported for backward compatibility. Because FCB compatibility has not been maintained, WordStar 3.x will not function properly on modern versions of Windows. In particular, WordStar 3.x cannot save files.

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increased. Several MicroPro employees meanwhile formed rival company NewStar. In September 1983, it published WordStar clone NewWord, which offered several features the original lacked, such as a built-in

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At that time, the evolution from CP/M to MS-DOS, with an "Alt" key, had taken place. WordStar had until then never successfully exploited the MS-DOS keyboard, and that is one explanation for its demise.

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By late 1984, the company admitted, according to the magazine, that WordStar's reputation for power was fading, and by early 1985, its sales had decreased for four quarters while those of Multimate and

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for DOS) added automatic paragraph reformatting (and all versions of WordStar had commands to manually reformat a paragraph (^B) or the rest of the document (^QQ^B and, as a later synonym, ^QU)).

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Since 2013 a partial WordStar clone has been in the process of being developed under the name of WordTsar. In addition German software author Martin Vieregg has sold the Write&Set package, a

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Prior to WordStar, word processors split text entry and formatting into separate functions; the latter was often not done until a document was about to be printed. WordStar was one of the first

671:. Advertisements stated that "Anyone with WordStar experience won't even have to read NewWord's manuals. WordStar text files work with NewWord". Despite competition from NewStar, Microsoft Word, 649:

Almost since its birth 4 years ago, MicroPro has had a seemingly unshakable reputation for three things: arrogant indifference to user feedback ("MicroPro's classic response to questions about

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then available from Brown Bag Software, Inc. in California. PC-Outline text had to be exported to a WordStar-format file, as the programs were not developed to be internally compatible.

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Starting with WordStar 4.0, the program was built on new code written principally by Peter Mierau. WordStar dominated the market in the early and mid-1980s, succeeding the market leader

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WordStar became popular in large companies without MicroPro. The company, which did not have a corporate sales program until December 1983, developed a poor reputation among customers.

497:. Thus the main program executable was a .COM file which could only access 64 kB of memory. Users quickly learned they could make WordStar run dramatically faster by installing a 428:

contributor Arthur Naiman, who hated the program and had a term inserted into his publishing contract that he not be required to use WordStar to write the book, using WRITE instead.

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key. For touch typists, in addition, reaching the function and cursor keys generally requires them to take their fingers off the "home keys" with consequent loss of typing rhythm.

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that writing under this interface is more efficient. The user accesses the nearby Ctrl key and then a letter or combination of letters, thus keeping his hands on or close to the

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to advertise this. However, its lasting legacy on the word processing industry was the introduction of three keyboard shortcuts that are still widely used, namely, Ctrl+B for

1293:. WordStar 4.0 does not have this problem because it uses the newer MS-DOS interface for input/output. OS/2 can run WordStar in a DOS session. Another option is using the 508:

described WordStar as "notorious for its complexity", but by 1983 it was the leading word processing system. Although competition appeared early (the first version of

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was, "Call your dealer"); possession of one of the more difficult-to-use word processors on the market; and possession of the most powerful word processor available.

2804:— Microsoft's Office File Converter Pack installs additional text converters and graphics (image) filters. You can import/export WordStar files after installing it. 1094:) as required. These would be mixed and matched as needed, and where appropriate, paragraphs could be inserted through external reference to subordinate documents. 687:

price as WordStar 3.3 confused customers. Company employees were divided between WordStar and WordStar 2000 factions, and fiscal year 1985 sales declined to

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magazine called WordStar "without a doubt the best-known and probably the most widely used personal computer word-processing program". The company released

2519: 1424:. NewWord also was available for MS-DOS and in a native version for Concurrent CP/M. It was very similar to WordStar. LapStar was a cut-down clone for the 711:

Like many other producers of successful DOS applications, WordStar International delayed before deciding to make a version for the commercially successful

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Barnaby left the company in March 1980, but due to WordStar's sophistication, the company's extensive sales and marketing efforts, and bundling deals with

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Elbit acquired rights to the source code and a development team in Elbit, Haifa, worked on the project. For several years Hebrew-English WordStar was the

284:. After leaving IMSAI, Rubinstein planned to start his own software company that would sell through the new network of retail computer stores. He founded 2386: 2137: 1369:

used to come with a library 'wordstar-mode.el' that provides WordStar emulation, but it's been declared obsolete as of version 24.5. A macro set for

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optimized for business applications; vDos allows WordStar 4.0 and above to run under 32- and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows from XP through 10.

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Starburst, purchased a WordStar clone, and used it as the basis of WordStar 2000, released in December 1984. It received poor reviews—by April 1985

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where it was on older keyboards, next to the A key. It also gives functionality to the chief cursor diamond commands mentioned in this article.

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referred to WordStar 2000 as "beleaguered"—due to not being compatible with WordStar files and other disadvantages, and by selling at the same

550:(released 1991) included a complete macro language as well as support for over 500 printers. It also featured style sheets and mouse support. 2382: 2354: 2754:, scroll to "ws.Z" and Save-As, and gunzip the resulting file. Clicking the link to the file will erroneously view the binary as plaintext. 1164:

text files containing no embedded formatting commands. Using WordStar in "Nondocument Mode" was essentially the same as using a traditional

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portable computer supported a subset of the WordStar cursor movement commands (in addition to its own). Home word processing software like

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Is the boom (almost) over? (indications that the market for Windows-based applications is slowing down), Soft-Letter, 20 October 1992

2861: 2078: 1545: 1061:. Popular modern word processing software WordPerfect can open or save to WordStar documents, enabling users to move back and forth. 1138: 587:. Such machines were expensive and were generally accessed through terminals connected to central mainframe or midrange computers. 516:

in 1983), WordStar was the dominant word processor on x86 machines until 1985. It was part of the software bundle that accompanied

2808: 2023: 1722: 1312: 2747: 1388:. JOE lacks formatting options and essentially only operates in non-document mode, but formatted documents can be authored in 1237:

DOS versions of WordStar at least had standardized the screen display, but still had to be customized for different printers.

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for the manual, by early 1980, MicroPro claimed in advertisements that 5,000 people had purchased WordStar in eight months.

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By 1984, NewWord had released a second version, and many WordStar users switched to it. A third version appeared in 1986;

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version in September 1981. This had been started by Diane Hajicek and was completed by an Irish team of programmers under

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a data file, being a list of recipients stored in a non-document, comma-delimited plain ASCII text file, typically named

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Beleaguered WordStar poised to rebound if management can spark user demand, Software Industry Report, 4 November 1991

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The first DOS version of WordStar, demoed by Jim Fox and executed by a team of Irish programmers in April 1982, was a

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required for the terminal and printer had to be identified in the hardware documentation, then hand-entered (in

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Bergin, Thomas J. (Oct–Dec 2006). "The Origins of Word Processing Software for Personal Computers: 1976-1985".

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it. It was logical, beautiful, perfect," adding, "Compared to it, MS Word which I use today is pure madness."

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stated that WordStar 2000 had "all the charm of an elephant on motorized skates", warning in 1986 that an

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Although many of these keystroke sequences were far from self-evident, they tended to lend themselves to

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in 1991. It was a well-reviewed product and included many features normally only found in more expensive

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Will WordPerfect for Windows steal the crown? Computer Shopper, 1 February 1992, Daniel J. Rosenbaum

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MailMerge was an add-on program (becoming integrated from WordStar 4 onwards) which facilitated the

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This is a list of the various WordStar versions released over the years for different machines.

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As a product enhancement, in the late 1980s WordStar 5 came bundled with PC-Outline, a popular

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had already firmly established itself as the corporate standard during the two previous years.

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wrote in 1983 that MicroPro's "motto often seems to be: 'Ask Your Dealer'", and in 1985 that

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described as "incredibly inadequate" led many authors to publish replacements. One of them,

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version of text, complete with inserted graphics, as it would appear on the printed page.

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WordStar for Windows is a good deal, Computer Shopper, 1 January 1992, Steve Gilliland

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and the latter in the "Notepad" editors. The TEXT editor built into the firmware of the

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a master document containing the text of the letter, using standard paragraphs (a.k.a.

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to the PC, MicroPro focused on creating a clone of it which they marketed, in 1984, as

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Another option is to run the CP/M versions of WordStar using a CP/M emulator, such as

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between platforms with equal ease. It was already popular when its inclusion with the

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of bulk mailings, such as business letters to clients. Two files were required:

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to take WordStar's place as the most widely used word processor from 1985 on.

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instead of moving them away from it to reach for a specialty key or a mouse.

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for DOS and UNIX PC do not have a fixed extension but DOC and WS2 were common

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word processor leader until, inevitably, it was ousted by newer competitors.

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OSes. Rob Barnaby was the sole author of the early versions of the program.

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in September 1978 and hired John Robbins Barnaby as programmer, who wrote a

3224: 3127: 3122: 3096: 3037: 2024:"Your troubles are over / There's a NewWord for efficiency (advertisement)" 1112: 1037: 676: 591: 2839: 3294: 3254: 3239: 3179: 3148: 3050: 3042: 2927: 1504: 1444: 1417: 1413: 1385: 1270: 1227: 1165: 1021: 901: 888: 672: 641: 599: 559: 509: 412: 359: 247: 2387:"Sci-fi writer and WordStar lover re-releases the cult DOS app for free" 311:, Barnaby enhanced WordMaster with similar features and support for the 3345: 3312: 3279: 3229: 1772: 336: 293: 65: 55: 932:

and microcomputers for which WordStar was developed, many running the

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emulator on Linux, which correctly implements the FCB interface; the

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WordStar documents archived at The BITSAVERS.ORG Documents Library,

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By that point, MicroPro had dropped the generic MS-DOS support and

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operating system. MicroPro began selling the product, now renamed

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WordStar was the program of choice for conservative intellectual

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in June 1983; the 650,000 cumulative copies of WordStar for the

235:

standard for much of the small computer word-processing market.

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WordStar is abandonware. It was last updated in December 1992.

517: 494: 464: 377: 207: 135: 3322: 3161: 3003: 2932: 2359:"WordStar 7, the last ever DOS version, re-released for free" 2112:"Merger is first step to a consumer orientation for WordStar" 1448: 1290: 1161: 1025: 659: 487: 335:

WordStar was the first microcomputer word processor to offer

304: 273: 2553:"Madison resident Andy Breckman writes for the TV show Monk" 1380:

editor is a very WordStar-like alternative. When invoked as

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still (as of 2020) uses the MS-DOS version of WordStar 4.0.

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version of WordStar, which in turn had been ported from the

444: 2798:— featuring a full (as far as is known) history of WordStar 1544:

Williams, Gregg; Welch, Mark; Avis, Paul (September 1985).

1452: 1440: 1389: 1266: 1258: 1137:

in Israel developed a CP/M-capable microcomputer named the

1029: 863: 853: 809: 610: 436: 312: 199: 162: 2795: 2937: 2140:. IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. Archived from 1393: 1119: 452: 300: 2164:"Whatever Happened to NewWord? « Dvorak News Blog" 2775: 1343:

The WordStar Command Emulator is written in Microsoft

350:

and other computer makers, MicroPro's sales grew from

2079:"PERIPHERALS; PATH IN JUNGLE OF SOFTWARE FOR WRITING" 984:

ave), and regular users quickly learned them through

2046: 2044: 1600: 292:, WordMaster, and a sorting program, SuperSort, in 1914: 1912: 1745: 1741: 1739: 2757: 2135: 1964: 1490: 1359:to allow for a high level of customization. Most 1064: 723:packages. However, its delayed launch meant that 3396: 2518:: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( 2041: 1970: 1683: 1569: 1563: 875:WordStar 2000 Plus Release 3.5 for MS-DOS (1987) 2103: 1996: 1909: 1736: 1596: 1594: 1592: 1373:that provides WordStar emulation is available. 1311:In October 2014, WordStar support was added to 272:was an employee of early microcomputer company 2634:. Atarimagazines.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-17. 2109: 2050: 1999:"NewWord 3 Is Now More Than Clone Of WordStar" 1944: 1938: 1918: 1712: 1710: 1708: 1706: 1677: 1240: 502:be copied to physical media before rebooting. 276:, where he negotiated software contracts with 2855: 2070: 1990: 1896: 1890: 1798: 1796: 1794: 1625: 1623: 1519: 2243: 2212: 2129: 1589: 1486: 1484: 1482: 1480: 1447:since the latter half of the 1990s, and for 1106:Other add-on programs included SpellStar, a 2869: 1703: 921:such as bold and italic until version 5.0. 2862: 2848: 2595: 2501:. Archived from the original on 2013-08-03 1791: 1629: 1620: 1603:"Word Tools for the IBM Personal Computer" 1533:(advertisement). January 1980. p. 49. 172: 43: 34: 2218: 1537: 1477: 1420:in the mid-1980s, running CP/M on 3-inch 872:WordStar 2000 Release 2 for MS-DOS (1986) 2617:(7). SX2 Media Labs: 430. Archived from 451: 443: 435: 387: 133:(originally on Intel 8080 and Zilog Z80) 1821: 1493:IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 849:WordStar 3.3 for CP/M and MS-DOS (1983) 706: 553: 362:1984, surpassing earlier market leader 229:portable computer made the program the 3397: 2643: 2601: 2550: 2532: 2493: 2465: 2443:"WordStar for DOS 7.0 archive updated" 2437: 2409: 2353: 2325: 2297: 1716: 1175: 1071:MicroPro International § Products 238:As the market became dominated by the 2843: 2763: 2578:, 28 August 2015, Anne Rice, Facebook 2381: 2275:"WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor" 2076: 1785: 1655: 1412:NewStar produced NewWord for Amstrad 1245:WordStar version 3.x used the MS-DOS 1206:temporary files use the extension !WS 1128: 878:WordStar 4 for CP/M and MS-DOS (1987) 2637: 2607:"What Ever Happened to... WordStar?" 2244:Kirschenbaum, Matthew (2014-07-25). 1804:"Micropro Fights for Office Market" 1686:"On the Road: Hackercon and COMDEX" 1304:for Linux and the Raspberry Pi, or 590:When IBM announced it was bringing 583:market. IBM's main competition was 13: 2270: 2161: 2136:Bergin, Thomas J. (Oct–Dec 2006). 1870: 1851: 1746:van Gelder, Lindsy (August 1983). 1632:"A Usable WordStar Manual is Born" 869:WordStar Express for MS-DOS (1986) 286:MicroPro International Corporation 71:MicroPro International Corporation 14: 3451: 2789: 1921:"WordStar 2000: MicroPro Odyssey" 1748:"On The Road To Software Stardom" 602:reduced MicroPro's market share. 2892:of early word processor programs 2221:"William F Buckley and WordStar" 2219:Feigenson, Walter (2009-04-23). 2053:"MicroPro Revamps WordStar 2000" 1873:"Whatever Happened to WordStar?" 1601:Shuford, Richard S. (May 1983). 1036:products, including the popular 738: 570: 546:had added features, and version 330: 206:, with later editions added for 2769: 2737: 2719: 2701: 2683: 2658: 2625: 2581: 2569: 2544: 2538:"This, That, and T'Other Thing" 2526: 2487: 2471:"Complete WordStar 7.0 Archive" 2459: 2431: 2403: 2375: 2347: 2331:"Complete WordStar 7.0 Archive" 2319: 2291: 2264: 2237: 2200: 2188: 2176: 2155: 2016: 1971:Wortman, Leon A. (1985-01-07). 1864: 1845: 1833: 1779: 1765: 1725:from the original on 2020-02-20 1684:Pournelle, Jerry (March 1985). 1570:Arredondo, Larry (1984-03-26). 1216: 1194:templates use the extension WST 1115:of personal computer programs. 1099:prepared with each letter copy 907:WordStar for Windows 2.0 (1994) 894:WordStar for Windows 1.1 (1991) 859:WordStar 2000 for MS-DOS (1985) 799: 198:and originally written for the 3265:The First XLEnt Word Processor 2415:"WordStar for DOS 7.0 Archive" 2077:Lewis, Peter H. (1986-01-07). 1997:Angel, Jonathan (1986-05-19). 1719:"A Potted History of WordStar" 1717:Petrie, Michael (2013-04-11). 1649: 1363:are written in this language. 1065:Add-ons and companion products 788:, is a devoted WordStar user. 730: 1: 2834:Complete WordStar 7.0 Archive 2110:Willett, Shawn (1993-05-24). 2051:Machrone, Bill (1985-04-02). 1945:Caruso, Denise (1984-11-19). 1919:Stinson, Craig (1985-02-05). 1470: 1435:GUI based WordStar clone for 1384:, Joe emulates many WordStar 1345:Visual Basic for Applications 1281:One workaround is to use the 1154: 49:WordStar running under MS-DOS 2809:A Potted History of WordStar 2802:Microsoft Help & Support 2782:, retrieved 2018 November 21 2030:. March 1984. pp. 57–58 1810:. 1985-04-15. pp. 20–21 1659:Whole Earth Software Catalog 1322: 1200:macros use the extension WMC 911: 897:WordStar 7 for MS-DOS (1992) 884:WordStar 6 for MS-DOS (1990) 881:WordStar 5 for MS-DOS (1988) 815:WordStar 2.0 for CP/M (1978) 426:Whole Earth Software Catalog 7: 2551:Keller, Joel (2007-12-19). 1897:Shapiro, Ezra (June 1986). 1662:. Quantum Press/Doubleday. 1546:"A Microcomputing Timeline" 1458: 1289:emulator does not, even on 1241:Running on modern platforms 1188:files use the extension WSD 862:WordStar 2000 for AT&T 492:source-to-source translator 456:WordStar 7 under Windows XP 264: 107:; 25 years ago 82:; 46 years ago 10: 3456: 2821:Wordstar Command Reference 2644:Sawyer, Robert J. (2014). 2138:"Word Processing Timeline" 1721:. WordStar Resource Site. 1630:Cowan, Les (August 1982). 1349:macro programming language 1265:. When MS-DOS adopted the 1068: 842:WordStar 3.0 for CP/M and 634: 319:, in June 1979. Priced at 257: 253: 105:WordStar 7.0d / 1999 23:Word processor application 15: 3379: 3338: 3212: 3136: 3105: 3089: 3030: 3023: 2978: 2902: 2877: 1947:"NEW WORDSTAR ON THE WAY" 1407: 431: 157: 145: 124: 120: 98: 94: 76: 64: 54: 42: 33: 3384:Category:Word processors 3361:IBM Displaywriter System 2246:"Software, It's a Thing" 1269:-like file interface of 839:Portable Computer (1981) 581:dedicated word processor 577:IBM Displaywriter System 463:, the first version for 448:Screenshot of WordStar 4 420:, was written by future 418:Introduction to WordStar 16:Not to be confused with 3420:Windows word processors 3180:MobiSystems OfficeSuite 3144:Atlantis Word Processor 2871:Word processor programs 1656:Brand, Stewart (1989). 1465:List of word processors 830:Epson Personal Computer 791:Vampire fiction writer 745:William F. Buckley, Jr. 383:initial public offering 2796:WordStar Resource Site 2745:this archive directory 1572:"Review: WordStar 3.3" 1024:running under MS-DOS, 769:A Song of Ice and Fire 655: 457: 449: 441: 407: 260:MicroPro International 196:MicroPro International 194:. It was published by 3430:Discontinued software 1069:Further information: 934:CP/M operating system 647: 455: 447: 440:WordStar 3 under CP/M 439: 422:Goldstein & Blair 391: 270:Seymour I. Rubinstein 258:Further information: 3235:Atari Word Processor 3190:Scientific WorkPlace 3123:Nisus Writer Express 2817:, 10 September 2014. 2632:Review: Wordstar 6.0 1505:10.1109/MAHC.2006.76 1204:WordStar for Windows 1198:WordStar for Windows 1192:WordStar for Windows 1186:WordStar for Windows 968:devices (e.g., Ctrl- 758:also used WordStar. 717:WordStar for Windows 707:WordStar for Windows 554:Problems with piracy 512:debuted in 1982 and 2811:, 9 September 2006. 2776:http://wordtsar.ca/ 2691:"WordStar Emulator" 2646:"WordStar and vDos" 2534:Martin, George R.R. 2495:Martin, George R.R. 1428:portable computer. 1376:The cross-platform 1176:Filename extensions 774:George R. R. Martin 749:Christopher Buckley 30: 3356:Friden Flexowriter 3270:IBM Lotus Symphony 3245:Bank Street Writer 3157:IBM Lotus Word Pro 2832:Robert J. Sawyer. 2826:2016-02-08 at the 2750:2015-06-11 at the 2713:2016-03-04 at the 2589:"WordStar History" 2557:New Jersey Monthly 2499:"The Social Media" 2083:The New York Times 1854:"WordStar History" 1773:"WordStar and You" 1315:, a derivative of 1297:operating system. 1247:File control block 1234:during that time. 1129:Bidirectional text 961:for underscoring. 930:computer terminals 721:desktop publishing 696:The New York Times 458: 450: 442: 408: 186:is a discontinued 56:Original author(s) 28: 3392: 3391: 3208: 3207: 3149:Corel WordPerfect 3043:Corel WordPerfect 2836:, 12 August 2024. 2807:Petrie, Michael. 2467:Sawyer, Robert J. 2439:Sawyer, Robert J. 2411:Sawyer, Robert J. 2327:Sawyer, Robert J. 2299:Sawyer, Robert J. 2272:Sawyer, Robert J. 1877:Dvorak Uncensored 1852:Petrie, Michael. 1437:Microsoft Windows 1255:assembly language 957:for italics, and 808:WordStar 1.0 for 782:, the creator of 627:, and Ctrl+U for 585:Wang Laboratories 575:At the time, the 486:, probably using 309:Wang Laboratories 297:assembly language 244:Microsoft Windows 181: 180: 3447: 3440:DOS text editors 3166: 3153: 3128:Nisus Writer Pro 3047: 3028: 3027: 3016: 3008: 3000: 2958:Collabora Online 2919: 2864: 2857: 2850: 2841: 2840: 2783: 2773: 2767: 2761: 2755: 2741: 2735: 2734: 2723: 2717: 2705: 2699: 2698: 2687: 2681: 2680: 2678: 2677: 2668:. Archived from 2662: 2656: 2655: 2653: 2652: 2641: 2635: 2629: 2623: 2622: 2611:Computer Shopper 2599: 2593: 2592: 2585: 2579: 2573: 2567: 2566: 2564: 2563: 2548: 2542: 2541: 2530: 2524: 2523: 2517: 2509: 2507: 2506: 2491: 2485: 2484: 2482: 2481: 2463: 2457: 2456: 2454: 2453: 2435: 2429: 2428: 2426: 2425: 2407: 2401: 2400: 2398: 2397: 2379: 2373: 2372: 2370: 2369: 2351: 2345: 2344: 2342: 2341: 2323: 2317: 2316: 2314: 2313: 2295: 2289: 2288: 2286: 2285: 2279:Robert J. Sawyer 2268: 2262: 2261: 2259: 2258: 2241: 2235: 2234: 2232: 2231: 2216: 2210: 2204: 2198: 2192: 2186: 2180: 2174: 2173: 2171: 2170: 2162:Dvorak, John C. 2159: 2153: 2152: 2150: 2149: 2133: 2127: 2126: 2124: 2123: 2107: 2101: 2100: 2098: 2097: 2074: 2068: 2067: 2065: 2064: 2048: 2039: 2038: 2036: 2035: 2020: 2014: 2013: 2011: 2010: 1994: 1988: 1987: 1985: 1984: 1968: 1962: 1961: 1959: 1958: 1942: 1936: 1935: 1933: 1932: 1916: 1907: 1906: 1894: 1888: 1887: 1885: 1884: 1879:. John C. Dvorak 1871:Dvorak, John C. 1868: 1862: 1861: 1858:www.wordstar.org 1849: 1843: 1837: 1831: 1825: 1819: 1818: 1816: 1815: 1800: 1789: 1783: 1777: 1776: 1769: 1763: 1762: 1760: 1759: 1743: 1734: 1733: 1731: 1730: 1714: 1701: 1700: 1698: 1697: 1681: 1675: 1673: 1653: 1647: 1646: 1644: 1643: 1627: 1618: 1617: 1615: 1614: 1598: 1587: 1586: 1584: 1583: 1567: 1561: 1560: 1558: 1557: 1541: 1535: 1534: 1523: 1517: 1516: 1488: 1426:TRS-80 Model 100 1383: 1275:legacy interface 1273:, FCBs became a 1257:) programs from 1224:escape sequences 1092:boilerplate text 1050:TRS-80 Model 100 1042:Borland Sidekick 762:Robert J. Sawyer 690: 686: 667:and support for 405: 404: 400: 397: 357: 353: 326: 322: 278:Digital Research 204:operating system 190:application for 177: 176: 169: 166: 164: 126:Operating system 115: 113: 108: 90: 88: 83: 47: 38: 31: 27: 3455: 3454: 3450: 3449: 3448: 3446: 3445: 3444: 3425:Word processors 3395: 3394: 3393: 3388: 3375: 3351:CPT Corporation 3334: 3260:Electric Pencil 3250:Cut & Paste 3204: 3170:Microsoft Works 3164: 3152:(since v. 10.0) 3151: 3132: 3101: 3085: 3066:Kingsoft Writer 3045: 3019: 3014: 3006: 2998: 2974: 2917: 2898: 2873: 2868: 2828:Wayback Machine 2792: 2787: 2786: 2774: 2770: 2762: 2758: 2752:Wayback Machine 2742: 2738: 2725: 2724: 2720: 2715:Wayback Machine 2706: 2702: 2689: 2688: 2684: 2675: 2673: 2664: 2663: 2659: 2650: 2648: 2642: 2638: 2630: 2626: 2603:Dvorak, John C. 2600: 2596: 2587: 2586: 2582: 2574: 2570: 2561: 2559: 2549: 2545: 2531: 2527: 2511: 2510: 2504: 2502: 2492: 2488: 2479: 2477: 2464: 2460: 2451: 2449: 2436: 2432: 2423: 2421: 2408: 2404: 2395: 2393: 2391:arstechnica.com 2380: 2376: 2367: 2365: 2363:theregister.com 2352: 2348: 2339: 2337: 2324: 2320: 2311: 2309: 2296: 2292: 2283: 2281: 2269: 2265: 2256: 2254: 2242: 2238: 2229: 2227: 2225:Wally's Follies 2217: 2213: 2205: 2201: 2193: 2189: 2181: 2177: 2168: 2166: 2160: 2156: 2147: 2145: 2134: 2130: 2121: 2119: 2108: 2104: 2095: 2093: 2085:. pp. C7. 2075: 2071: 2062: 2060: 2049: 2042: 2033: 2031: 2022: 2021: 2017: 2008: 2006: 1995: 1991: 1982: 1980: 1973:"Wordstar 2000" 1969: 1965: 1956: 1954: 1943: 1939: 1930: 1928: 1917: 1910: 1899:"Upgrade Fever" 1895: 1891: 1882: 1880: 1869: 1865: 1850: 1846: 1838: 1834: 1826: 1822: 1813: 1811: 1802: 1801: 1792: 1784: 1780: 1771: 1770: 1766: 1757: 1755: 1744: 1737: 1728: 1726: 1715: 1704: 1695: 1693: 1682: 1678: 1670: 1654: 1650: 1641: 1639: 1628: 1621: 1612: 1610: 1599: 1590: 1581: 1579: 1568: 1564: 1555: 1553: 1542: 1538: 1525: 1524: 1520: 1489: 1478: 1473: 1461: 1410: 1402:markup language 1381: 1325: 1243: 1219: 1178: 1157: 1131: 1073: 1067: 1032:variants. Some 914: 802: 741: 733: 709: 688: 684: 637: 573: 556: 434: 402: 398: 395: 393: 364:Electric Pencil 355: 351: 333: 324: 320: 267: 262: 256: 219:Electric Pencil 171: 161: 134: 116: 111: 109: 106: 86: 84: 81: 77:Initial release 50: 24: 21: 18:WorldStarHipHop 12: 11: 5: 3453: 3443: 3442: 3437: 3432: 3427: 3422: 3417: 3412: 3407: 3390: 3389: 3387: 3386: 3380: 3377: 3376: 3374: 3373: 3368: 3363: 3358: 3353: 3348: 3342: 3340: 3336: 3335: 3333: 3332: 3331: 3330: 3325: 3320: 3318:OpenOffice.org 3315: 3307: 3302: 3297: 3292: 3290:Perfect Writer 3287: 3282: 3277: 3272: 3267: 3262: 3257: 3252: 3247: 3242: 3237: 3232: 3227: 3222: 3216: 3214: 3210: 3209: 3206: 3205: 3203: 3202: 3197: 3192: 3187: 3182: 3177: 3172: 3167: 3159: 3154: 3146: 3140: 3138: 3134: 3133: 3131: 3130: 3125: 3120: 3115: 3109: 3107: 3103: 3102: 3100: 3099: 3093: 3091: 3087: 3086: 3084: 3083: 3078: 3073: 3071:Microsoft Word 3068: 3063: 3058: 3053: 3048: 3046:(up to v. 9.0) 3040: 3034: 3032: 3031:Cross-platform 3025: 3021: 3020: 3018: 3017: 3009: 3001: 2999:(since v. 3.x) 2993: 2988: 2986:Adobe Buzzword 2982: 2980: 2976: 2975: 2973: 2972: 2971: 2970: 2965: 2960: 2950: 2945: 2940: 2935: 2930: 2925: 2923:Calligra Words 2920: 2918:(up to v. 2.x) 2912: 2906: 2904: 2900: 2899: 2897: 2896: 2895: 2894: 2884: 2878: 2875: 2874: 2867: 2866: 2859: 2852: 2844: 2838: 2837: 2830: 2818: 2812: 2805: 2799: 2791: 2790:External links 2788: 2785: 2784: 2768: 2756: 2736: 2718: 2700: 2682: 2657: 2636: 2624: 2621:on 2008-12-13. 2594: 2580: 2568: 2543: 2536:(2020-04-14). 2525: 2497:(2011-02-17). 2486: 2469:(2024-08-12). 2458: 2441:(2024-08-12). 2430: 2413:(2024-07-30). 2402: 2385:(2024-08-07). 2374: 2357:(2024-08-06). 2346: 2329:(2024-08-12). 2318: 2301:(2009-06-23). 2290: 2263: 2236: 2211: 2199: 2187: 2175: 2154: 2128: 2102: 2069: 2040: 2015: 1989: 1963: 1937: 1908: 1905:. p. 329. 1889: 1863: 1844: 1832: 1828:John C. Dvorak 1820: 1790: 1778: 1764: 1735: 1702: 1676: 1668: 1648: 1619: 1588: 1562: 1536: 1518: 1475: 1474: 1472: 1469: 1468: 1467: 1460: 1457: 1409: 1406: 1357:Microsoft Word 1324: 1321: 1242: 1239: 1218: 1215: 1214: 1213: 1207: 1201: 1195: 1189: 1183: 1177: 1174: 1156: 1153: 1130: 1127: 1096: 1095: 1088: 1077:merge printing 1066: 1063: 1059:Microsoft Word 1040:compiler, and 976:old, Ctrl-bloc 913: 910: 909: 908: 905: 898: 895: 892: 885: 882: 879: 876: 873: 870: 867: 860: 857: 850: 847: 840: 833: 826: 816: 813: 801: 798: 740: 737: 732: 729: 725:Microsoft Word 708: 705: 669:laser printers 636: 633: 579:dominated the 572: 569: 555: 552: 514:Microsoft Word 433: 430: 410:A manual that 392:Distribution 366:. By May 1983 332: 329: 290:word processor 266: 263: 255: 252: 192:microcomputers 188:word processor 179: 178: 159: 155: 154: 152:Word processor 149: 143: 142: 128: 122: 121: 118: 117: 104: 102: 100:Stable release 96: 95: 92: 91: 78: 74: 73: 68: 62: 61: 58: 52: 51: 48: 40: 39: 22: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 3452: 3441: 3438: 3436: 3435:Office suites 3433: 3431: 3428: 3426: 3423: 3421: 3418: 3416: 3413: 3411: 3410:CP/M software 3408: 3406: 3405:1978 software 3403: 3402: 3400: 3385: 3382: 3381: 3378: 3372: 3369: 3367: 3364: 3362: 3359: 3357: 3354: 3352: 3349: 3347: 3344: 3343: 3341: 3337: 3329: 3326: 3324: 3321: 3319: 3316: 3314: 3311: 3310: 3308: 3306: 3303: 3301: 3298: 3296: 3293: 3291: 3288: 3286: 3283: 3281: 3278: 3276: 3273: 3271: 3268: 3266: 3263: 3261: 3258: 3256: 3253: 3251: 3248: 3246: 3243: 3241: 3238: 3236: 3233: 3231: 3228: 3226: 3223: 3221: 3218: 3217: 3215: 3211: 3201: 3198: 3196: 3193: 3191: 3188: 3186: 3183: 3181: 3178: 3176: 3173: 3171: 3168: 3163: 3160: 3158: 3155: 3150: 3147: 3145: 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