<s>
WordStar	B-Application
is	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
application	O
for	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
published	O
by	O
MicroPro	B-Application
International	O
and	O
originally	O
written	O
for	O
the	O
CP/M	B-Application
-80	I-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
later	O
written	O
also	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
other	O
16-bit	B-Device
PC	I-Device
OSes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
with	O
WordStar	B-Application
4.0	O
,	O
the	O
program	O
was	O
built	O
on	O
new	O
code	O
written	O
principally	O
by	O
Peter	O
Mierau	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
dominated	O
the	O
market	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
and	O
mid-1980s	O
,	O
succeeding	O
the	O
market	O
leader	O
Electric	B-Application
Pencil	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
was	O
written	O
with	O
as	O
few	O
assumptions	O
as	O
possible	O
about	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
and	O
machine	O
hardware	O
,	O
allowing	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
easily	O
ported	O
across	O
the	O
many	O
platforms	O
that	O
proliferated	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
already	O
popular	O
when	O
its	O
inclusion	O
with	O
the	O
Osborne	B-Device
1	I-Device
portable	O
computer	O
made	O
the	O
program	O
the	O
de	O
facto	O
standard	O
for	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
small	O
computer	O
word-processing	B-General_Concept
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
market	O
became	O
dominated	O
by	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
and	O
later	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
this	O
same	O
portable	O
design	O
made	O
it	O
difficult	O
for	O
the	O
program	O
to	O
add	O
new	O
features	O
,	O
and	O
affected	O
its	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
spite	O
of	O
its	O
great	O
popularity	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
,	O
these	O
problems	O
allowed	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
to	O
take	O
WordStar	B-Application
's	O
place	O
as	O
the	O
most	O
widely	O
used	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
from	O
1985	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Seymour	O
I	O
.	O
Rubinstein	O
was	O
an	O
employee	O
of	O
early	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
company	O
IMSAI	O
,	O
where	O
he	O
negotiated	O
software	O
contracts	O
with	O
Digital	O
Research	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
founded	O
MicroPro	B-Application
International	O
Corporation	O
in	O
September	O
1978	O
and	O
hired	O
John	O
Robbins	O
Barnaby	O
as	O
programmer	O
,	O
who	O
wrote	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
WordMaster	B-Application
,	O
and	O
a	O
sorting	O
program	O
,	O
SuperSort	O
,	O
in	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8080	I-General_Concept
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
Rubinstein	O
obtained	O
a	O
report	O
that	O
discussed	O
the	O
abilities	O
of	O
contemporary	O
standalone	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
from	O
IBM	O
,	O
Xerox	O
,	O
and	O
Wang	O
Laboratories	O
,	O
Barnaby	O
enhanced	O
WordMaster	B-Application
with	O
similar	O
features	O
and	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
CP/M	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
MicroPro	B-Application
began	O
selling	O
the	O
product	O
,	O
now	O
renamed	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
in	O
June	O
1979	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Priced	O
at	O
and	O
for	O
the	O
manual	O
,	O
by	O
early	O
1980	O
,	O
MicroPro	B-Application
claimed	O
in	O
advertisements	O
that	O
5,000	O
people	O
had	O
purchased	O
WordStar	B-Application
in	O
eight	O
months	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
was	O
the	O
first	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
to	O
offer	O
mail	B-Application
merge	I-Application
and	O
textual	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
word-wrapping	O
(	O
still	O
a	O
notable	O
feature	O
for	O
early	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
programs	O
)	O
,	O
this	O
last	O
was	O
most	O
noticeably	O
implemented	O
as	O
on-screen	O
pagination	O
during	O
the	O
editing	O
session	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
lines-per-page	O
given	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
during	O
program	O
installation	O
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
would	O
display	O
a	O
full	O
line	O
of	O
dash	O
characters	O
onscreen	O
showing	O
where	O
page	O
breaks	O
would	O
occur	O
during	O
hardcopy	O
printout	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Barnaby	O
left	O
the	O
company	O
in	O
March	O
1980	O
,	O
but	O
due	O
to	O
WordStar	B-Application
's	O
sophistication	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
extensive	O
sales	O
and	O
marketing	O
efforts	O
,	O
and	O
bundling	O
deals	O
with	O
Osborne	O
and	O
other	O
computer	O
makers	O
,	O
MicroPro	B-Application
's	O
sales	O
grew	O
from	O
in	O
1979	O
to	O
million	O
in	O
fiscal	O
year	O
1984	O
,	O
surpassing	O
earlier	O
market	O
leader	O
Electric	B-Application
Pencil	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
May	O
1983	O
BYTE	B-Application
magazine	O
called	O
WordStar	B-Application
"	O
without	O
a	O
doubt	O
the	O
best-known	O
and	O
probably	O
the	O
most	O
widely	O
used	O
personal	O
computer	O
word-processing	B-General_Concept
program	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
released	O
WordStar	B-Application
3.3	O
in	O
June	O
1983	O
;	O
the	O
650,000	O
cumulative	O
copies	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
for	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
and	O
other	O
computers	O
sold	O
by	O
that	O
fall	O
was	O
more	O
than	O
double	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
second	O
most-popular	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
and	O
that	O
year	O
MicroPro	B-Application
had	O
10%	O
of	O
the	O
personal	O
computer	O
software	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1984	O
,	O
the	O
year	O
it	O
held	O
an	O
initial	O
public	O
offering	O
,	O
MicroPro	B-Application
was	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
largest	O
software	O
company	O
with	O
23%	O
of	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
them	O
,	O
Introduction	O
to	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
was	O
written	O
by	O
future	O
Goldstein	O
&	O
Blair	O
founder	O
and	O
Whole	O
Earth	O
Software	O
Catalog	O
contributor	O
Arthur	O
Naiman	O
,	O
who	O
hated	O
the	O
program	O
and	O
had	O
a	O
term	O
inserted	O
into	O
his	O
publishing	O
contract	O
that	O
he	O
not	O
be	O
required	O
to	O
use	O
WordStar	B-Application
to	O
write	O
the	O
book	O
,	O
using	O
WRITE	O
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
3.0	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
appeared	O
in	O
April	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
DOS	B-Device
version	O
was	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
,	O
and	O
although	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
had	O
arrow	O
keys	O
and	O
separate	O
function	O
keys	O
,	O
the	O
traditional	O
"	O
WordStar	B-Application
diamond	I-Application
"	O
and	O
other	O
Ctrl-key	O
functions	O
were	O
retained	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
rapid	O
adoption	O
by	O
former	O
CP/M	B-Application
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
's	O
ability	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
"	O
non-document	O
"	O
mode	O
to	O
create	O
text	O
files	O
without	O
formatting	O
made	O
it	O
popular	O
among	O
programmers	O
for	O
writing	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
the	O
CP/M	B-Application
versions	O
,	O
the	O
DOS	B-Device
WordStar	B-Application
was	O
not	O
explicitly	O
designed	O
for	O
IBM	B-Device
PCs	I-Device
,	O
but	O
rather	O
for	O
any	O
x86	O
machine	O
(	O
as	O
there	O
were	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
non-IBM-compatible	O
PCs	O
that	O
used	O
8086	O
or	O
80186	O
CPUs	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
such	O
,	O
it	O
used	O
only	O
DOS	B-Device
's	O
API	O
calls	O
and	O
avoided	O
any	O
BIOS	O
usage	O
or	O
direct	O
hardware	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
carried	O
with	O
it	O
an	O
unfortunate	O
performance	O
penalty	O
as	O
everything	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
double	O
"	O
processed	O
(	O
meaning	O
that	O
the	O
DOS	B-Device
API	O
functions	O
would	O
handle	O
screen	O
or	O
keyboard	O
I/O	O
first	O
and	O
then	O
pass	O
them	O
to	O
the	O
BIOS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
DOS	B-Device
version	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
demoed	O
by	O
Jim	O
Fox	O
and	O
executed	O
by	O
a	O
team	O
of	O
Irish	O
programmers	O
in	O
April	O
1982	O
,	O
was	O
a	O
port	O
of	O
the	O
CP/M	B-Operating_System
-86	I-Operating_System
version	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
which	O
in	O
turn	O
had	O
been	O
ported	O
from	O
the	O
CP/M	B-Application
-80	I-Application
version	O
in	O
September	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
had	O
been	O
started	O
by	O
Diane	O
Hajicek	O
and	O
was	O
completed	O
by	O
an	O
Irish	O
team	O
of	O
programmers	O
under	O
ISIS-II	O
,	O
probably	O
using	O
Intel	O
's	O
source-to-source	B-Language
translator	I-Language
CONV86	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
quickly	O
learned	O
they	O
could	O
make	O
WordStar	B-Application
run	O
dramatically	O
faster	O
by	O
installing	O
a	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
board	O
,	O
and	O
copying	O
the	O
WordStar	B-Application
program	O
files	O
into	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
would	O
still	O
access	O
the	O
"	O
disk	O
"	O
repeatedly	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
far	O
faster	O
access	O
of	O
the	O
RAM	B-Application
drive	I-Application
compared	O
to	O
a	O
floppy	O
disk	O
yielded	O
a	O
substantial	O
speed	O
improvement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
edited	O
versions	O
of	O
a	O
document	O
were	O
"	O
saved	O
"	O
only	O
to	O
this	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
,	O
and	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
copied	O
to	O
physical	O
media	O
before	O
rebooting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
InfoWorld	O
described	O
WordStar	B-Application
as	O
"	O
notorious	O
for	O
its	O
complexity	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
by	O
1983	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
leading	O
word	O
processing	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
competition	O
appeared	O
early	O
(	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
debuted	O
in	O
1982	O
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
in	O
1983	O
)	O
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
was	O
the	O
dominant	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
on	O
x86	O
machines	O
until	O
1985	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
that	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
evolution	O
from	O
CP/M	B-Application
to	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
with	O
an	O
"	O
Alt	O
"	O
key	O
,	O
had	O
taken	O
place	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
had	O
until	O
then	O
never	O
successfully	O
exploited	O
the	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
keyboard	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
is	O
one	O
explanation	O
for	O
its	O
demise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
that	O
point	O
,	O
MicroPro	B-Application
had	O
dropped	O
the	O
generic	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
support	O
and	O
WordStar	B-Application
4.0	O
was	O
exclusively	O
for	O
IBM	O
compatibles	O
,	O
which	O
differed	O
from	O
MS-DOS-compatible	O
programs	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
screen	O
addressing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
supporting	O
directoriesa	O
feature	O
nearly	O
mandatory	O
to	O
be	O
usable	O
on	O
machines	O
with	O
hard	O
disks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
second	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
the	O
fully	O
modernized	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
overtook	O
it	O
in	O
sales	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
5	O
(	O
released	O
in	O
1989	O
)	O
added	O
footnote	O
and	O
endnote	O
capability	O
and	O
a	O
fairly	O
advanced	O
Page	O
preview	O
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Columnist	O
John	O
Dvorak	O
noted	O
:	O
"	O
WordStar	B-Application
may	O
have	O
been	O
the	O
most	O
pirated	O
software	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
which	O
in	O
many	O
ways	O
accounted	O
for	O
its	O
success	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Books	O
for	O
WordStar	B-Application
sold	O
like	O
hot	O
cakes	O
and	O
the	O
authors	O
knew	O
they	O
were	O
selling	O
documentation	O
for	O
pirated	O
copies	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
when	O
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
arrived	O
with	O
a	O
copy	O
protection	O
scheme	O
,	O
everyone	O
should	O
have	O
predicted	O
its	O
immediate	O
demise.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Besides	O
the	O
ready	O
availability	O
of	O
third-party	O
books	O
explaining	O
WordStar	B-Application
in	O
detail	O
,	O
the	O
program	O
's	O
extensive	O
and	O
configurable	O
onscreen	O
help	O
facility	O
(	O
help	O
text	O
appeared	O
in	O
a	O
resizable	O
window	O
at	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
)	O
made	O
it	O
easy	O
to	O
use	O
an	O
illegal	O
copy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
IBM	B-Protocol
Displaywriter	I-Protocol
System	I-Protocol
dominated	O
the	O
dedicated	B-General_Concept
word	I-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
IBM	O
announced	O
it	O
was	O
bringing	O
DisplayWrite	B-Protocol
to	O
the	O
PC	O
,	O
MicroPro	B-Application
focused	O
on	O
creating	O
a	O
clone	O
of	O
it	O
which	O
they	O
marketed	O
,	O
in	O
1984	O
,	O
as	O
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
supported	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
disk	O
directories	O
,	O
but	O
lacked	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
file	O
formats	O
of	O
existing	O
WordStar	B-Application
versions	O
and	O
also	O
made	O
numerous	O
unpopular	O
changes	O
to	O
the	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gradually	O
competitors	O
such	O
as	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
reduced	O
MicroPro	B-Application
's	O
market	O
share	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MultiMate	B-Protocol
,	O
in	O
particular	O
,	O
used	O
the	O
same	O
key	O
sequences	O
as	O
Wang	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
made	O
it	O
popular	O
with	O
secretaries	O
switching	O
from	O
those	O
to	O
PCs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BYTE	B-Application
stated	O
that	O
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
had	O
"	O
all	O
the	O
charm	O
of	O
an	O
elephant	O
on	O
motorized	O
skates	O
"	O
,	O
warning	O
in	O
1986	O
that	O
an	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
PC	I-Operating_System
AT	I-Operating_System
with	O
hard	O
drive	O
was	O
highly	O
advisable	O
to	O
run	O
the	O
software	O
,	O
which	O
it	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
clumsy	O
,	O
overdesigned	O
,	O
and	O
uninviting	O
...	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
had	O
a	O
user	O
interface	O
that	O
was	O
substantially	O
different	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
and	O
the	O
company	O
did	O
little	O
to	O
advertise	O
this	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
became	O
popular	O
in	O
large	O
companies	O
without	O
MicroPro	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
late	O
1984	O
the	O
company	O
admitted	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
magazine	O
,	O
that	O
WordStar	B-Application
's	O
reputation	O
for	O
power	O
was	O
fading	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
early	O
1985	O
its	O
sales	O
had	O
decreased	O
for	O
four	O
quarters	O
while	O
those	O
of	O
Multimate	B-Protocol
and	O
Samna	O
increased	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
MicroPro	B-Application
employees	O
meanwhile	O
formed	O
rival	O
company	O
Newstar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
1983	O
it	O
published	O
WordStar	B-Application
clone	O
NewWord	B-Application
,	O
which	O
offered	O
several	O
features	O
the	O
original	O
lacked	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
built-in	O
spell	B-Application
checker	I-Application
and	O
support	O
for	O
laser	O
printers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Advertisements	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
Anyone	O
with	O
WordStar	B-Application
experience	O
wo	O
n't	O
even	O
have	O
to	O
read	O
NewWord	B-Application
's	O
manuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
text	O
files	O
work	O
with	O
NewWord	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
competition	O
from	O
NewStar	O
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
,	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
,	O
and	O
dozens	O
of	O
other	O
companies	O
,	O
which	O
typically	O
released	O
new	O
versions	O
of	O
their	O
software	O
every	O
12	O
to	O
18	O
months	O
,	O
MicroPro	B-Application
did	O
not	O
release	O
new	O
versions	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
beyond	O
3.3	O
during	O
1984	O
and	O
1985	O
,	O
in	O
part	O
because	O
Rubinstein	O
relinquished	O
control	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
after	O
a	O
January	O
1984	O
heart	O
attack	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
His	O
replacements	O
canceled	O
the	O
promising	O
office	O
suite	O
Starburst	O
,	O
purchased	O
a	O
WordStar	B-Application
clone	O
,	O
and	O
used	O
it	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
December	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
received	O
poor	O
reviews	O
—	O
by	O
April	O
1985	O
PC	O
Magazine	O
referred	O
to	O
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
as	O
"	O
beleaguered	O
"	O
—	O
due	O
to	O
not	O
being	O
compatible	O
with	O
WordStar	B-Application
files	O
and	O
other	O
disadvantages	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
selling	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
price	O
as	O
WordStar	B-Application
3.3	O
confused	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Company	O
employees	O
were	O
divided	O
between	O
WordStar	B-Application
and	O
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
factions	O
,	O
and	O
fiscal	O
year	O
1985	O
sales	O
declined	O
to	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1984	O
NewWord	B-Application
had	O
released	O
a	O
second	O
version	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
WordStar	B-Application
users	O
switched	O
to	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
1985	O
MicroPro	B-Application
promised	O
updates	O
to	O
WordStar	B-Application
3.3	O
,	O
but	O
none	O
appeared	O
until	O
new	O
management	O
purchased	O
NewWord	B-Application
and	O
used	O
it	O
as	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
4.0	O
in	O
1987	O
,	O
four	O
years	O
after	O
the	O
previous	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Word	O
(	O
four	O
versions	O
from	O
1983	O
to	O
1987	O
)	O
and	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
(	O
five	O
versions	O
)	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
had	O
become	O
the	O
market	O
leaders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
conflict	O
between	O
MicroPro	B-Application
's	O
two	O
factions	O
delayed	O
WordStar	B-Application
5.0	O
until	O
late	O
1988	O
,	O
again	O
hurting	O
the	O
program	O
's	O
sales	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
renaming	O
itself	O
after	O
its	O
flagship	O
product	O
in	O
1989	O
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
International	I-Application
merged	O
with	O
SoftKey	B-General_Concept
in	O
1993	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
many	O
other	O
producers	O
of	O
successful	O
DOS	B-Device
applications	O
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
International	I-Application
delayed	O
before	O
deciding	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
version	O
for	O
the	O
commercially	O
successful	O
Windows	B-Application
3.0	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
purchased	O
Legacy	O
,	O
an	O
existing	O
Windows-based	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
was	O
altered	O
and	O
released	O
as	O
WordStar	B-Application
for	O
Windows	B-Application
in	O
1991	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
its	O
delayed	O
launch	O
meant	O
that	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
had	O
already	O
firmly	O
established	O
itself	O
as	O
the	O
corporate	O
standard	O
during	O
the	O
two	O
previous	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
is	O
no	O
longer	O
developed	O
,	O
maintained	O
or	O
sold	O
by	O
its	O
owners	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
was	O
the	O
program	O
of	O
choice	O
for	O
conservative	O
intellectual	O
William	O
F	O
.	O
Buckley	O
,	O
Jr.	O
,	O
who	O
used	O
the	O
software	O
to	O
write	O
many	O
works	O
,	O
including	O
his	O
last	O
book	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
noted	O
by	O
his	O
son	O
,	O
Christopher	O
Buckley	O
,	O
who	O
wrote	O
of	O
the	O
almost	O
comical	O
loyalty	O
and	O
affection	O
his	O
father	O
had	O
shown	O
for	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
which	O
he	O
had	O
installed	O
into	O
every	O
new	O
computer	O
he	O
purchased	O
despite	O
the	O
technical	O
difficulty	O
of	O
such	O
an	O
endeavor	O
as	O
the	O
program	O
became	O
increasingly	O
outdated	O
and	O
incompatible	O
with	O
newer	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
said	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
"	O
I	O
'm	O
told	O
there	O
are	O
better	O
programs	O
,	O
but	O
I	O
'm	O
also	O
told	O
there	O
are	O
better	O
alphabets.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Ralph	O
Ellison	O
also	O
used	O
WordStar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Canadian	O
science	O
fiction	O
author	O
Robert	O
J	O
.	O
Sawyer	O
continues	O
to	O
use	O
WordStar	B-Application
for	O
DOS	B-Device
7.0	O
(	O
the	O
final	O
release	O
)	O
to	O
write	O
his	O
novels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Song	O
of	O
Ice	O
and	O
Fire	O
author	O
George	O
R	O
.	O
R	O
.	O
Martin	O
still	O
(	O
)	O
uses	O
the	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
version	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
4.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Andy	O
Breckman	O
,	O
the	O
creator	O
of	O
Monk	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
devoted	O
WordStar	B-Application
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Vampire	O
fiction	O
writer	O
Anne	O
Rice	O
was	O
another	O
faithful	O
user	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
who	O
struggled	O
to	O
have	O
it	O
installed	O
on	O
newer	O
computers	O
until	O
it	O
could	O
no	O
longer	O
reasonably	O
be	O
done	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
She	O
then	O
grudgingly	O
transitioned	O
to	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
,	O
whose	O
design	O
she	O
felt	O
was	O
comparatively	O
unintuitive	O
and	O
illogical	O
:	O
"	O
WordStar	B-Application
was	O
magnificent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
logical	O
,	O
beautiful	O
,	O
perfect	O
,	O
"	O
adding	O
,	O
"	O
Compared	O
to	O
it	O
,	O
MS	B-Application
Word	I-Application
which	O
I	O
use	O
today	O
is	O
pure	O
madness.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
the	O
various	O
WordStar	B-Application
versions	O
released	O
over	O
the	O
years	O
for	O
different	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
split	O
text	O
entry	O
and	O
formatting	O
into	O
separate	O
functions	O
;	O
the	O
latter	O
was	O
often	O
not	O
done	O
until	O
a	O
document	O
was	O
about	O
to	O
be	O
printed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
,	O
showing	O
accurate	O
line	O
breaks	O
and	O
page	O
breaks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
a	O
major	O
breakthrough	O
to	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
see	O
(	O
and	O
,	O
while	O
writing	O
,	O
force	O
,	O
if	O
one	O
so	O
desired	O
)	O
where	O
line	O
breaks	O
and	O
page	O
breaks	O
would	O
fall	O
—	O
even	O
though	O
,	O
being	O
a	O
text-based	O
program	O
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
could	O
n't	O
accurately	O
display	O
different	O
typefaces	O
such	O
as	O
bold	O
and	O
italic	O
until	O
version	O
5.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
computer	B-General_Concept
terminals	I-General_Concept
and	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
for	O
which	O
WordStar	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
,	O
many	O
running	O
the	O
CP/M	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
,	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
function	O
keys	O
or	O
cursor	O
control	O
keys	O
(	O
arrow	O
keys	O
,	O
Page	O
Up/Page	O
Down	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
used	O
sequences	O
of	O
alphabetic	O
keys	O
combined	O
with	O
the	O
"	O
Control	O
"	O
key	O
,	O
which	O
on	O
keyboards	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
was	O
conveniently	O
next	O
to	O
the	O
letter	O
A	O
in	O
the	O
position	O
now	O
usually	O
occupied	O
by	O
the	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
key	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ctrl-H	B-Device
would	O
backspace	B-Device
and	O
delete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
versions	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
lacked	O
features	O
found	O
in	O
other	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
automatically	O
reformat	O
paragraphs	O
to	O
fit	O
the	O
current	O
margins	O
as	O
text	O
was	O
added	O
or	O
deleted	O
;	O
a	O
command	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
issued	O
to	O
force	O
reformatting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
subsequent	O
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
(	O
and	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
for	O
DOS	B-Device
)	O
added	O
automatic	O
paragraph	O
reformatting	O
(	O
and	O
all	O
versions	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
had	O
commands	O
to	O
manually	O
reformat	O
a	O
paragraph	O
( ^B	O
)	O
or	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
document	O
( ^QQ^B	O
and	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
later	O
synonym	O
,	O
^QU	O
)	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
was	O
rare	O
among	O
word	O
processing	O
programs	O
in	O
that	O
it	O
permitted	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
mark	O
(	O
highlight	O
)	O
a	O
block	O
of	O
text	O
(	O
with	O
^KB	O
and	O
^KK	O
commands	O
)	O
and	O
leave	O
it	O
marked	O
in	O
place	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
go	O
to	O
a	O
different	O
position	O
in	O
the	O
document	O
and	O
later	O
(	O
even	O
after	O
considerable	O
work	O
on	O
other	O
things	O
)	O
copy	O
the	O
block	O
(	O
with	O
^KC	O
)	O
or	O
move	O
it	O
to	O
a	O
new	O
location	O
(	O
with	O
^KV	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
users	O
found	O
it	O
much	O
easier	O
to	O
manipulate	O
blocks	O
this	O
way	O
than	O
with	O
the	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
system	O
of	O
highlighting	O
with	O
a	O
mouse	O
and	O
then	O
being	O
forced	O
by	O
Word	O
's	O
select-then-do	O
approach	O
to	O
immediately	O
deal	O
with	O
the	O
marked	O
block	O
,	O
lest	O
any	O
typing	O
replace	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
subsequent	O
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
retained	O
WordStar	B-Application
's	O
distinctive	O
functionality	O
for	O
block	O
manipulation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Column	O
Mode	O
editing	O
was	O
probably	O
unique	O
to	O
WordStar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
basic	O
text	B-Application
editor	I-Application
,	O
the	O
interface	O
showed	O
all	O
characters	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
same	O
width	O
-	O
hence	O
80	O
characters	O
across	O
an	O
80	O
column	O
screen	O
resolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Formatting	O
with	O
WordStar	B-Application
was	O
carried	O
out	O
before	O
the	O
text	O
to	O
be	O
formatted	O
-	O
unlike	O
many	O
other	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
where	O
the	O
formatting	O
of	O
a	O
paragraph	O
is	O
'	O
buried	O
 '	O
within	O
the	O
usually	O
hidden	O
paragraph	O
marker	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
paragraph	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
normal	O
editing	O
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
hides	O
formatting	O
markers	O
but	O
these	O
are	O
easily	O
displayed	O
with	O
^OD	O
command	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
third-party	O
WordStar	B-Application
books	O
called	O
formatting	O
lines	O
"	O
dot	O
commands	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
any	O
invalid	O
formatting	O
commands	O
are	O
encountered	O
,	O
when	O
printing	O
WordStar	B-Application
(	O
version	O
3.3	O
at	O
least	O
)	O
will	O
ignore	O
the	O
line	O
(	O
all	O
text	O
until	O
the	O
next	O
carriage	O
return	O
terminating	O
the	O
line	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
could	O
confuse	O
novice	O
users	O
who	O
unintentionally	O
began	O
a	O
line	O
with	O
a	O
decimal	O
point	O
(	O
same	O
as	O
period	O
or	O
dot	O
character	O
)	O
and	O
WordStar	B-Application
would	O
not	O
print	O
the	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
added	O
few	O
new	O
commands	O
,	O
but	O
completely	O
rewrote	O
the	O
user	O
interface	O
,	O
using	O
simple	O
English-language	O
mnemonics	O
(	O
so	O
the	O
command	O
to	O
remove	O
a	O
word	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
been	O
^T	O
in	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
became	O
^RW	O
in	O
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
;	O
the	O
command	O
to	O
remove	O
the	O
text	O
from	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
line	O
to	O
the	O
right	O
of	O
the	O
cursor	O
changed	O
from	O
^QY	O
to	O
^RR	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
many	O
in	O
WordStar	B-Application
's	O
large	O
installed	O
user	O
based	O
were	O
happy	O
with	O
the	O
original	O
WordStar	B-Application
interface	O
,	O
and	O
did	O
not	O
consider	O
the	O
changes	O
to	O
be	O
improvements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
WordStar	B-Application
2000	O
was	O
meant	O
as	O
the	O
successor	O
to	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
it	O
never	O
gained	O
substantial	O
market	O
share	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
WordStar	B-Application
interface	O
left	O
a	O
large	O
legacy	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
of	O
its	O
control-key	O
command	O
are	O
still	O
available	O
(	O
optionally	O
or	O
as	O
the	O
default	O
)	O
in	O
other	O
programs	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
modern	O
cross-platform	O
word	O
processing	O
software	O
TextMaker	B-Operating_System
and	O
many	O
text	B-Application
editors	I-Application
running	O
under	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
and	O
other	O
UNIX	B-Application
variants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Borland	O
products	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
popular	O
Turbo	B-Application
Pascal	I-Application
compiler	O
,	O
and	O
Borland	B-Application
Sidekick	I-Application
,	O
used	O
a	O
subset	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
keyboard	O
commands	O
,	O
the	O
former	O
in	O
its	O
IDE	B-Application
and	O
the	O
latter	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
Notepad	O
"	O
editors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
TEXT	B-Application
editor	I-Application
built	O
into	O
the	O
firmware	O
of	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Operating_System
Model	I-Operating_System
100	I-Operating_System
portable	O
computer	O
supported	O
a	O
subset	O
of	O
the	O
WordStar	B-Application
cursor	O
movement	O
commands	O
(	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
its	O
own	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Home	O
word	O
processing	O
software	O
like	O
Write&Set	O
not	O
only	O
use	O
the	O
WordStar	B-Application
interface	O
,	O
but	O
have	O
been	O
based	O
on	O
WordStar	B-Application
DOS	B-Device
file	O
formats	O
,	O
allowing	O
WordStar	B-Application
users	O
who	O
no	O
longer	O
have	O
a	O
copy	O
of	O
the	O
application	O
to	O
easily	O
open	O
and	O
edit	O
their	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
WordStar	B-Application
keyboard	O
command	O
emulators	O
and	O
keymappings	O
,	O
both	O
freeware	O
and	O
shareware	B-License
,	O
for	O
current	O
versions	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popular	O
modern	O
word	O
processing	O
software	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
can	O
open	O
or	O
save	O
to	O
WordStar	B-Application
documents	O
,	O
enabling	O
users	O
to	O
move	O
back	O
and	O
forth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MailMerge	O
was	O
an	O
add-on	O
program	O
(	O
becoming	O
integrated	O
from	O
WordStar	B-Application
4	O
onwards	O
)	O
which	O
facilitated	O
the	O
merge	O
printing	O
of	O
bulk	O
mailings	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
business	O
letters	O
to	O
clients	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
a	O
data	O
file	O
,	O
being	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
recipients	O
stored	O
in	O
a	O
non-document	O
,	O
comma-delimited	O
plain	O
ASCII	B-Protocol
text	I-Protocol
file	I-Protocol
,	O
typically	O
named	O
Clients.dat	O
(	O
although	O
WordStar	B-Application
had	O
no	O
requirement	O
for	O
a	O
specific	O
file	O
extension	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
:	O
Mr.	O
,	O
Michael	O
,	O
Smith	O
,	O
7	O
Oakland	O
Drive	O
,...	O
WordStar	B-Application
would	O
also	O
access	O
Lotus123	O
spreadsheet	O
files	O
( *	O
.wk1	O
)	O
for	O
this	O
data	O
and	O
if	O
the	O
data	O
contained	O
flags	O
to	O
start	O
and	O
stop	O
WordStar	B-Application
processing	O
the	O
data	O
then	O
flags	O
could	O
be	O
set	O
so	O
that	O
certain	O
'	O
clients	O
 '	O
are	O
omitted	O
from	O
the	O
output	O
stream	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
add-on	O
programs	O
included	O
SpellStar	O
,	O
a	O
spell	B-Application
checker	I-Application
program	O
,	O
later	O
incorporated	O
as	O
a	O
direct	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
WordStar	B-Application
program	O
;	O
and	O
DataStar	O
,	O
a	O
program	O
whose	O
purpose	O
was	O
specifically	O
to	O
expedite	O
creating	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
files	O
used	O
for	O
merge	O
printing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
companion	O
spreadsheet	O
,	O
CalcStar	O
,	O
was	O
also	O
produced	O
using	O
a	O
somewhat	O
WordStar-like	O
interface	O
;	O
collectively	O
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
(	O
word	O
processing	O
)	O
,	O
DataStar/ReportStar	O
(	O
database	O
management	O
,	O
a.k.a.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
product	O
enhancement	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
WordStar	B-Application
5	O
came	O
bundled	O
with	O
PC-Outline	O
,	O
a	O
popular	O
DOS	B-Device
outliner	B-Application
then	O
available	O
from	O
Brown	O
Bag	O
Software	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
in	O
California	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC-Outline	O
text	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
exported	O
to	O
a	O
WordStar-format	O
file	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
programs	O
were	O
not	O
developed	O
to	O
be	O
internally	O
compatible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
identified	O
files	O
as	O
either	O
"	O
document	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
nondocument	O
,	O
"	O
which	O
led	O
to	O
some	O
confusion	O
among	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Document	O
"	O
referred	O
to	O
WordStar	B-Application
word	O
processing	O
files	O
containing	O
embedded	O
word	O
processing	O
and	O
formatting	O
commands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Nondocument	O
"	O
files	O
were	O
pure	O
ASCII	B-Protocol
text	I-Protocol
files	I-Protocol
containing	O
no	O
embedded	O
formatting	O
commands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
WordStar	B-Application
in	O
"	O
Nondocument	O
Mode	O
"	O
was	O
essentially	O
the	O
same	O
as	O
using	O
a	O
traditional	O
text	B-Application
editor	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
5	O
introduced	O
a	O
document-mode	O
"	O
print	O
preview	O
"	O
feature	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
inspect	O
a	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
version	O
of	O
text	O
,	O
complete	O
with	O
inserted	O
graphics	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
would	O
appear	O
on	O
the	O
printed	O
page	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Installation	O
of	O
early	O
versions	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
especially	O
for	O
CP/M	B-Application
,	O
was	O
very	O
different	O
from	O
the	O
approach	O
of	O
modern	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
a	O
fairly	O
typical	O
limitation	O
of	O
all	O
CP/M	B-Application
programs	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
since	O
there	O
was	O
no	O
mechanism	O
to	O
hide	O
the	O
complexities	O
of	O
the	O
underlying	O
hardware	O
from	O
the	O
application	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Occasionally	O
short	O
machine-language	O
programs	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
entered	O
in	O
a	O
patch	O
area	O
in	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
to	O
provide	O
particular	O
screen	O
effects	O
or	O
cope	O
with	O
particular	O
printers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Researching	O
,	O
testing	O
,	O
and	O
proving	O
out	O
such	O
installations	O
was	O
a	O
time-consuming	O
and	O
knowledge-intensive	O
process	O
,	O
making	O
WordStar	B-Application
installation	O
and	O
customization	O
a	O
staple	O
discussion	O
of	O
CP/M	B-Application
users	O
 '	O
groups	O
during	O
that	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DOS	B-Device
versions	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
at	O
least	O
had	O
standardized	O
the	O
screen	O
display	O
,	O
but	O
still	O
had	O
to	O
be	O
customized	O
for	O
different	O
printers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
version	O
3.x	O
used	O
the	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
File	B-Operating_System
control	I-Operating_System
block	I-Operating_System
(	O
FCB	O
)	O
interface	O
,	O
an	O
early	O
data	O
structure	O
for	O
file	O
input/output	O
which	O
was	O
based	O
closely	O
on	O
CP/M	B-Application
'	O
s	O
file	O
input/output	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
provision	O
of	O
the	O
FCB	O
interface	O
was	O
intended	O
to	O
simplify	O
the	O
porting	O
of	O
(	O
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
)	O
programs	O
from	O
CP/M	B-Application
to	O
the	O
new	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
adopted	O
the	O
Unix-like	O
file	O
interface	O
of	O
file	B-Application
handles	I-Application
,	O
FCBs	O
became	O
a	O
legacy	B-Device
interface	I-Device
supported	O
for	O
backward	O
compatibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
FCB	O
compatibility	O
has	O
not	O
been	O
maintained	O
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
3.x	O
will	O
not	O
function	O
properly	O
on	O
modern	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
particular	O
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
3.x	O
cannot	O
save	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
work-around	O
is	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
DOSEMU	B-Application
emulator	O
on	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
which	O
correctly	O
implements	O
the	O
FCB	O
interface	O
;	O
the	O
DOSBox	B-Application
emulator	O
does	O
not	O
,	O
even	O
on	O
Linux	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
4.0	O
does	O
not	O
have	O
this	O
problem	O
because	O
it	O
uses	O
the	O
newer	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
interface	O
for	O
input/output	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OS/2	B-Application
can	O
run	O
WordStar	B-Application
in	O
a	O
DOS	B-Device
session	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
option	O
is	O
to	O
run	O
the	O
CP/M	B-Application
versions	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
using	O
a	O
CP/M	B-Application
emulator	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
CPMEmu	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
the	O
Raspberry	O
Pi	O
,	O
or	O
CP/M	B-Application
for	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
for	O
macOS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2014	O
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
support	O
was	O
added	O
to	O
vDos	B-Application
,	O
a	O
derivative	O
of	O
DOSBox	B-Application
but	O
optimized	O
for	O
business	O
applications	O
;	O
vDos	B-Application
allows	O
WordStar	B-Application
4.0	O
and	O
above	O
to	O
run	O
under	O
32	O
-	O
and	O
64-bit	O
versions	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
from	O
XP	O
through	O
10	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
no	O
current	O
version	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
is	O
available	O
for	O
modern	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
some	O
former	O
WordStar	B-Application
users	O
still	O
prefer	O
WordStar	B-Application
's	O
interface	O
,	O
especially	O
the	O
cursor	O
diamond	O
commands	O
described	O
earlier	O
in	O
this	O
article	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
accommodate	O
these	O
users	O
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
emulation	O
programs	O
were	O
created	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
such	O
program	O
is	O
CtrlPlus	O
by	O
Yoji	O
Hagiya	O
,	O
which	O
remaps	O
the	O
standard	O
PC	O
keyboard	O
,	O
making	O
many	O
WordStar	B-Application
commands	O
available	O
in	O
most	O
Windows	B-Application
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CtrlPlus	O
switches	O
the	O
Control	O
and	O
Caps	B-Device
Lock	I-Device
keys	I-Device
so	O
that	O
the	O
Ctrl	O
key	O
is	O
back	O
where	O
it	O
was	O
on	O
older	O
keyboards	O
,	O
next	O
to	O
the	O
A	O
key	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
WordStar	B-Application
emulation	O
utility	O
is	O
'	O
WordStar	B-Application
Command	O
Emulator	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
 '	O
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
'	O
WordStar	B-Application
for	O
Word	O
,	O
'	O
by	O
Mike	O
Petrie	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Designed	O
to	O
work	O
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
CtrlPlus	O
,	O
the	O
Command	O
Emulator	O
adds	O
many	O
more	O
WordStar	B-Application
commands	O
to	O
MS	B-Application
Word	I-Application
than	O
CtrlPlus	O
by	O
itself	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
changes	O
Word	O
97-XP	O
'	O
s	O
menus	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
like	O
those	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
7.0	O
for	O
DOS	B-Device
,	O
the	O
last	O
DOS	B-Device
version	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
was	O
WordStar	B-Application
's	O
word	O
count	O
command	O
and	O
Ctrl+QL	O
was	O
its	O
spell	B-Application
check	I-Application
command	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hitting	O
these	O
commands	O
in	O
the	O
WordStar	B-Application
Emulator	O
within	O
Word	O
runs	O
Word	O
's	O
equivalent	O
commands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
for	O
Word	O
also	O
adds	O
WordStar	B-Application
's	O
block	O
commands	O
,	O
namely	O
Ctrl+KB	O
to	O
mark	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
a	O
block	O
,	O
Ctrl+KK	O
to	O
mark	O
the	O
end	O
,	O
and	O
Ctrl+KV	O
to	O
move	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
for	O
Word	O
works	O
on	O
all	O
versions	O
of	O
Word	O
from	O
Word	O
97	O
through	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
WordStar	B-Application
Command	O
Emulator	O
is	O
written	O
in	O
Microsoft	B-Language
Visual	I-Language
Basic	I-Language
for	I-Language
Applications	I-Language
,	O
a	O
macro	O
programming	O
language	O
based	O
on	O
Visual	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
built	O
into	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
to	O
allow	O
for	O
a	O
high	O
level	O
of	O
customization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
Word	O
add-ins	O
are	O
written	O
in	O
this	O
language	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
VBA	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
GNU	B-Application
Emacs	I-Application
used	O
to	O
come	O
with	O
a	O
library	O
'	O
wordstar-mode.el	O
'	O
that	O
provides	O
WordStar	B-Application
emulation	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
's	O
been	O
declared	O
obsolete	O
as	O
of	O
version	O
24.5	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
macro	O
set	O
for	O
vi	B-Application
that	O
provides	O
WordStar	B-Application
emulation	O
is	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
cross-platform	O
JOE	B-Device
editor	I-Device
is	O
a	O
very	O
WordStar-like	O
alternative	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
invoked	O
as	O
jstar	O
Joe	B-Device
emulates	O
many	O
WordStar	B-Application
keybindings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
JOE	B-Device
lacks	O
formatting	O
options	O
and	O
essentially	O
only	O
operates	O
in	O
nondocument	O
mode	O
,	O
but	O
formatted	O
documents	O
can	O
be	O
authored	O
in	O
HTML/CSS	O
,	O
Markdown	O
or	O
another	O
markup	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Around	O
1978	O
Elbit	O
Systems	O
in	O
Israel	O
developed	O
a	O
CP/M	B-Application
capable	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
named	O
the	O
DS2100	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CP/M	B-Application
machines	O
were	O
readily	O
available	O
and	O
Elbit	O
needed	O
something	O
to	O
differentiate	O
their	O
product	O
from	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
agreement	O
was	O
made	O
with	O
MicroPro	B-Application
to	O
develop	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
WordStar	B-Application
that	O
supported	O
both	O
English	O
and	O
Hebrew	O
input	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
was	O
revolutionary	O
,	O
as	O
Hebrew	O
is	O
written	O
right-to-left	O
and	O
all	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
of	O
the	O
time	O
assumed	O
left-to-right	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
as	O
developed	O
by	O
Elbit	O
,	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
that	O
offered	O
bi-directional	O
input	O
and	O
mixed	O
alphabets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
several	O
years	O
Hebrew-English	O
WordStar	B-Application
was	O
the	O
de	O
facto	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
leader	O
until	O
,	O
inevitably	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
ousted	O
by	O
younger	O
competitors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DOS	B-Device
WordStar	B-Application
files	O
by	O
default	O
have	O
no	O
extension	O
;	O
some	O
users	O
adopted	O
their	O
own	O
conventions	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
letters	O
WS	O
followed	O
by	O
the	O
version	O
number	O
(	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
WS3	O
)	O
,	O
or	O
just	O
plain	O
WS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Newstar	O
produced	O
New	O
Word	O
for	O
Amstrad	O
PCW	O
8256	O
,	O
PCW	O
8512	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
,	O
running	O
CP/M	B-Application
on	O
3-inch	O
floppy	O
disks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NewWord	B-Application
also	O
was	O
available	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
in	O
a	O
native	O
version	O
for	O
Concurrent	O
CP/M	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
WordStar	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
LapStar	O
was	O
a	O
cut-down	O
clone	O
for	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Operating_System
Model	I-Operating_System
100	I-Operating_System
portable	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
2013	O
a	O
partial	O
WordStar	B-Application
clone	O
has	O
been	O
in	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
being	O
developed	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
WordTsar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
German	O
software	O
author	O
Martin	O
Vieregg	O
has	O
sold	O
the	O
Write&Set	O
package	O
,	O
a	O
shareware	B-License
GUI	O
based	O
WordStar	B-Application
clone	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
OS/2	B-Application
-	O
eComStation	B-Device
since	O
the	O
latter	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
