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WordStar made editing of what it called "non-document" files easy. A ruler was provided above uniformly spaced characters, making it easy to edit data files to be read in to programs such as SPSS. This "non-document" mono-spaced option made it easy in the 1980s to work offline with data from mainframe computers. The "document" file, on the other hand, was its own type of file that kept track of non-break lines with a high-bit code. These were easily translated into another file by using a translator (which could be self-written).
WordStar also featured add-in programs such as MailMerge, which allowed a document such as a business letter to be printed for different recipients while appearing to be individually addressed, and SpellStar, a spell checker. These were revolutionary features for personal computer users in the early-to-mid-1980s. It also had glaring weaknesses, such as an inability to reformat line justification as the text was typed.
Although out of production for over a decade, WordStar has left an odd legacy: a large number of text editor programs running under MSDOS, Linux, and other UNIX variants, can emulate the WordStar keyboard commands consisting of Ctrl-key combinations. The popular Turbo Pascal compiler used WordStar keyboard commands in its IDE editor. Well-known commands to WordStar users were the Ctrl-S/E/D/X "diamond" for basic cursor movement, as well as Ctrl-A/F (word left/right) and Ctrl-R/C (page up/down).
(It's even possible to download a WordStar Keyboard Command Emulator for current versions of Microsoft Word (2003), but the sensation will not be exactly the same as using WordStar on a mid-1980s PC XT-era keyboard, where the Ctrl key was located where the Caps-Lock key is now — unless, like some diehards from that era, you remap your keyboard to swap Ctrl and Caps-Lock.)
WordStar lost considerable market share in the late 1980s to WordPerfect, the default setting of which used a smaller portion of the screen for menus and had a much cleaner, uncluttered look. WordPerfect also used the same key sequences as a popular line of dedicated word processor computers, the WangWang logo circa 1980. Wang logo circa 1970. Usage restricted. Trademarks on this page belong to their owner. See Image use policy. Wang Laboratories was a computer company founded in 1951 by Dr. The company was successively headquartered in Cambridge (195 systems. This helped it gain favor among secretaries.
The company that produced WordStar was also notorious for its unfriendliness to its established user-base and its lack of technical support. It resisted making improvements to its program based on suggestions from its users and it virtually ignored pleas for help from its customers. One of the features that first endeared the newly competing WordPerfect to many users was the free and unlimited time that its tech support would give to users, even to people who could not prove they had actually purchased their copy. This was a major favor in the word-of-mouth success of WordPerfect that eventually engulfed WordStar.
Like many other producers of successful DOS applications, WordStar delayed far too long before deciding to make a version for the commercially groundbreaking Windows 3.0Image use policy. Microsoft Windows is a range of commercial operating environments for personal computers. The range was first introduced by Microsoft in 1985 and eventually has come to dominate the world personal computer market. All recent versions of. When it finally arrived on October 1October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in Leap years). There are 91 days remaining. Events 331 BC Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Arbela 959 Edgar the Peaceable becomes king of all England 965 John XIII becomes Pop, 19911991 like 2002, is a palindromic year. It also has the same calendar as 2002, including Easter on March 31. It is a common year starting on Tuesday. Events January January 2 Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of Washington, DC becoming the first blac WordStar for Windows 1.0 was well ahead of the competition in terms of features and usability, and it even included many features normally only found in desktop publishingDesktop publishing or DTP is the process of editing and layout of printed material intended for publication, such as books, magazines, brochures, and the like using a personal computer. Desktop publishing software, such as QuarkXPress, is software specifi packages. However, its delayed launch meant that Microsoft Word had already firmly established itself as the corporate standard during the two previous years.