<s>
A	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
(	O
WP	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
device	O
or	O
computer	O
program	O
that	O
provides	O
for	O
input	O
,	O
editing	O
,	O
formatting	O
,	O
and	O
output	O
of	O
text	O
,	O
often	O
with	O
some	O
additional	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	B-General_Concept
word	I-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
were	O
stand-alone	O
devices	O
dedicated	O
to	O
the	O
function	O
,	O
but	O
current	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
are	O
word	B-Protocol
processor	I-Protocol
programs	I-Protocol
running	O
on	O
general	O
purpose	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
functions	O
of	O
a	O
word	B-Protocol
processor	I-Protocol
program	I-Protocol
fall	O
somewhere	O
between	O
those	O
of	O
a	O
simple	O
text	B-Application
editor	I-Application
and	O
a	O
fully	O
functioned	O
desktop	O
publishing	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
did	O
not	O
develop	O
out	O
of	O
computer	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
history	O
of	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
is	O
the	O
story	O
of	O
the	O
gradual	O
automation	O
of	O
the	O
physical	O
aspects	O
of	O
writing	O
and	O
editing	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
to	O
the	O
refinement	O
of	O
the	O
technology	O
to	O
make	O
it	O
available	O
to	O
corporations	O
and	O
Individuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
appeared	O
in	O
American	O
offices	O
in	O
early	O
1970s	O
centered	O
on	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
streamlining	O
the	O
work	O
to	O
typists	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
meaning	O
soon	O
shifted	O
toward	O
the	O
automation	O
of	O
the	O
whole	O
editing	O
cycle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
first	O
,	O
the	O
designers	O
of	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
systems	O
combined	O
existing	O
technologies	O
with	O
emerging	O
ones	O
to	O
develop	O
stand-alone	O
equipment	O
,	O
creating	O
a	O
new	O
business	O
distinct	O
from	O
the	O
emerging	O
world	O
of	O
the	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
of	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
arose	O
from	O
the	O
more	O
general	O
data	O
processing	O
,	O
which	O
since	O
the	O
1950s	O
had	O
been	O
the	O
application	O
of	O
computers	O
to	O
business	O
administration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
history	O
,	O
there	O
have	O
been	O
three	O
types	O
of	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
:	O
mechanical	O
,	O
electronic	O
and	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
device	O
(	O
a	O
"	O
Machine	O
for	O
Transcribing	O
Letters	O
"	O
that	O
appears	O
to	O
have	O
been	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
typewriter	O
)	O
was	O
patented	O
by	O
Henry	O
Mill	O
for	O
a	O
machine	O
that	O
was	O
capable	O
of	O
"	O
writing	O
so	O
clearly	O
and	O
accurately	O
you	O
could	O
not	O
distinguish	O
it	O
from	O
a	O
printing	O
press	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
only	O
"	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
"	O
these	O
mechanical	O
systems	O
could	O
perform	O
was	O
to	O
change	O
where	O
letters	O
appeared	O
on	O
the	O
page	O
,	O
to	O
fill	O
in	O
spaces	O
that	O
were	O
previously	O
left	O
on	O
the	O
page	O
,	O
or	O
to	O
skip	O
over	O
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
“	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
”	O
(	O
translated	O
from	O
the	O
German	O
word	O
Textverarbeitung	O
)	O
itself	O
was	O
created	O
in	O
the	O
1950s	O
by	O
Ulrich	O
Steinhilper	O
,	O
a	O
German	O
IBM	O
typewriter	O
sales	O
executive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
paralleled	O
the	O
more	O
general	O
"	O
data	O
processing	O
"	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
application	O
of	O
computers	O
to	O
business	O
administration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
by	O
1972	O
discussion	O
of	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
was	O
common	O
in	O
publications	O
devoted	O
to	O
business	O
office	O
management	O
and	O
technology	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
the	O
mid-1970s	O
the	O
term	O
would	O
have	O
been	O
familiar	O
to	O
any	O
office	O
manager	O
who	O
consulted	O
business	O
periodicals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
a	O
revolution	O
for	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
industry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
1970s	O
,	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
began	O
to	O
slowly	O
shift	O
from	O
glorified	O
typewriters	O
augmented	O
with	O
electronic	O
features	O
to	O
become	O
fully	O
computer-based	O
(	O
although	O
only	O
with	O
single-purpose	O
hardware	O
)	O
with	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
several	O
innovations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Just	O
before	O
the	O
arrival	O
of	O
the	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
(	O
PC	O
)	O
,	O
IBM	O
developed	O
the	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
1970s	O
,	O
the	O
first	O
word-processing	B-General_Concept
systems	O
appeared	O
which	O
allowed	O
display	O
and	O
editing	O
of	O
documents	O
on	O
CRT	B-Device
screens	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
this	O
era	O
,	O
these	O
early	O
stand-alone	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
systems	O
were	O
designed	O
,	O
built	O
,	O
and	O
marketed	O
by	O
several	O
pioneering	O
companies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linolex	O
based	O
its	O
technology	O
on	O
microprocessors	O
,	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
and	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
a	O
computer-based	O
system	O
for	O
application	O
in	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
businesses	O
and	O
it	O
sold	O
systems	O
through	O
its	O
own	O
sales	O
force	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
that	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
Lexitron	O
Corporation	O
also	O
produced	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
dedicated	O
word-processing	B-General_Concept
microcomputers	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lexitron	O
also	O
used	O
5	O
inch	O
floppy	B-Device
diskettes	I-Device
,	O
which	O
became	O
the	O
standard	O
in	O
the	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
field	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	O
disk	O
was	O
inserted	O
in	O
one	O
drive	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
system	O
booted	B-Operating_System
up	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
data	O
diskette	B-Device
was	O
then	O
put	O
in	O
the	O
second	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
operating	O
system	O
and	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
program	O
were	O
combined	O
in	O
one	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
adopters	O
was	O
Vydec	O
,	O
which	O
created	O
in	O
1973	O
the	O
first	O
modern	O
text	O
processor	O
,	O
the	O
"	O
Vydec	O
Word	B-General_Concept
Processing	I-General_Concept
System	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
built-in	O
multiple	O
functions	O
like	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
share	O
content	O
by	O
diskette	B-Device
and	O
print	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Vydec	O
Word	B-General_Concept
Processing	I-General_Concept
System	O
sold	O
for	O
$	O
12,000	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
(	O
about	O
$	O
60,000	O
adjusted	O
for	O
inflation	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Redactron	O
Corporation	O
(	O
organized	O
by	O
Evelyn	O
Berezin	O
in	O
1969	O
)	O
designed	O
and	O
manufactured	O
editing	O
systems	O
,	O
including	O
correcting/editing	O
typewriters	O
,	O
cassette	O
and	O
card	O
units	O
,	O
and	O
eventually	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
called	O
the	O
Data	O
Secretary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Wang	O
system	O
displayed	O
text	O
on	O
a	O
CRT	B-Device
screen	I-Device
,	O
and	O
incorporated	O
virtually	O
every	O
fundamental	O
characteristic	O
of	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
as	O
they	O
are	O
known	O
today	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
early	O
computerized	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
system	O
were	O
often	O
expensive	O
and	O
hard	O
to	O
use	O
(	O
that	O
is	O
,	O
like	O
the	O
computer	O
mainframes	O
of	O
the	O
1960s	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
Wang	O
system	O
was	O
a	O
true	O
office	O
machine	O
,	O
affordable	O
to	O
organizations	O
such	O
as	O
medium-sized	O
law	O
firms	O
,	O
and	O
easily	O
mastered	O
and	O
operated	O
by	O
secretarial	O
staff	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
phrase	O
"	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
"	O
rapidly	O
came	O
to	O
refer	O
to	O
CRT-based	O
machines	O
similar	O
to	O
Wang	O
's	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cheap	O
general-purpose	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
were	O
still	O
the	O
domain	O
of	O
hobbyists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1977	O
,	O
Sharp	O
showcased	O
a	O
prototype	O
of	O
a	O
computer-based	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
dedicated	O
device	O
with	O
Japanese	O
writing	O
system	O
in	O
Business	O
Show	O
in	O
Tokyo	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Toshiba	O
released	O
the	O
first	O
Japanese	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
JW-10	O
in	O
February	O
1979	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Japanese	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
became	O
possible	O
with	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
Japanese	O
input	O
method	O
(	O
a	O
sequence	O
of	O
keypresses	O
,	O
with	O
visual	O
feedback	O
,	O
which	O
selects	O
a	O
character	O
)	O
--	O
now	O
widely	O
used	O
in	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
after	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
became	O
widely	O
available	O
,	O
Japanese	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
remained	O
popular	O
as	O
they	O
tended	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
portable	O
(	O
an	O
"	O
office	O
computer	O
"	O
was	O
initially	O
too	O
large	O
to	O
carry	O
around	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
become	O
necessities	O
in	O
business	O
and	O
academics	O
,	O
even	O
for	O
private	O
individuals	O
in	O
the	O
second	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
phrase	O
"	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
"	O
has	O
been	O
abbreviated	O
as	O
"	O
Wa-pro	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
wapuro	O
"	O
in	O
Japanese	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
final	O
step	O
in	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
came	O
with	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
the	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
in	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
and	O
1980s	O
and	O
with	O
the	O
subsequent	O
creation	O
of	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
software	O
that	O
would	O
create	O
much	O
more	O
complex	O
and	O
capable	O
output	O
was	O
developed	O
and	O
prices	O
began	O
to	O
fall	O
,	O
making	O
them	O
more	O
accessible	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
,	O
computerized	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
were	O
still	O
primarily	O
used	O
by	O
employees	O
composing	O
documents	O
for	O
large	O
and	O
midsized	O
businesses	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
law	O
firms	O
and	O
newspapers	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
a	O
few	O
years	O
,	O
the	O
falling	O
prices	O
of	O
PCs	B-Device
made	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
available	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
to	O
all	O
writers	O
in	O
the	O
convenience	O
of	O
their	O
homes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
program	O
for	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
(	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
)	O
was	O
Electric	B-Application
Pencil	I-Application
,	O
from	O
Michael	B-Application
Shrayer	I-Application
Software	O
,	O
which	O
went	O
on	O
sale	O
in	O
December	O
1976	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1978	O
WordStar	B-Application
appeared	O
and	O
because	O
of	O
its	O
many	O
new	O
features	O
soon	O
dominated	O
the	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
WordStar	B-Application
was	O
written	O
for	O
the	O
early	O
CP/M	B-Application
(	O
Control	O
Program	O
–	O
Micro	O
)	O
operating	O
system	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
the	O
time	O
it	O
was	O
rewritten	O
for	O
the	O
newer	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
(	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Disk	I-Application
Operating	I-Application
System	I-Application
)	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
obsolete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Suddenly	O
,	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
dominated	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
programs	O
during	O
the	O
DOS	O
era	O
,	O
while	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
large	O
variety	O
of	O
less	O
successful	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
software	O
was	O
not	O
as	O
intuitive	O
as	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
early	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
software	O
required	O
users	O
to	O
memorize	O
semi-mnemonic	O
key	O
combinations	O
rather	O
than	O
pressing	O
keys	O
such	O
as	O
"	O
copy	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
bold	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
CP/M	B-Application
lacked	O
cursor	O
keys	O
;	O
for	O
example	O
WordStar	B-Application
used	O
the	O
E-S-D-X-centered	O
"	O
diamond	O
"	O
for	O
cursor	O
navigation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
price	O
differences	O
between	O
dedicated	B-General_Concept
word	I-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
and	O
general-purpose	O
PCs	B-Device
,	O
and	O
the	O
value	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
latter	O
by	O
software	O
such	O
as	O
“	O
killer	O
app	O
”	O
spreadsheet	O
applications	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
VisiCalc	B-Application
and	O
Lotus	B-Application
1-2-3	I-Application
,	O
were	O
so	O
compelling	O
that	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
and	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
software	O
became	O
serious	O
competition	O
for	O
the	O
dedicated	O
machines	O
and	O
soon	O
dominated	O
the	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Then	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
innovations	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
laser	O
printers	O
,	O
a	O
"	O
typographic	O
"	O
approach	O
to	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
(	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
-	O
What	B-Application
You	I-Application
See	I-Application
Is	I-Application
What	I-Application
You	I-Application
Get	I-Application
)	O
,	O
using	O
bitmap	O
displays	O
with	O
multiple	O
fonts	O
(	O
pioneered	O
by	O
the	O
Xerox	B-Device
Alto	I-Device
computer	O
and	O
Bravo	B-Application
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
program	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
graphical	O
user	O
interfaces	O
such	O
as	O
“	O
copy	O
and	O
paste	O
”	O
(	O
another	O
Xerox	O
PARC	O
innovation	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
Gypsy	B-Protocol
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
were	O
popularized	O
by	O
MacWrite	B-Operating_System
on	O
the	O
Apple	O
Macintosh	O
in	O
1983	O
,	O
and	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
on	O
the	O
IBM	O
PC	O
in	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
were	O
probably	O
the	O
first	O
true	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
to	O
become	O
known	O
to	O
many	O
people	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Of	O
particular	O
interest	O
also	O
is	O
the	O
standardization	O
of	O
TrueType	O
fonts	O
used	O
in	O
both	O
Macintosh	O
and	O
Windows	O
PCs	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
growing	O
popularity	O
of	O
the	O
Windows	O
operating	O
system	O
in	O
the	O
1990s	O
later	O
took	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
along	O
with	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
called	O
"	O
Microsoft	O
Multi-Tool	B-Application
Word	I-Application
"	O
,	O
this	O
program	O
quickly	O
became	O
a	O
synonym	O
for	O
“	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
”	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
early	O
in	O
the	O
21st	O
century	O
Google	B-Application
Docs	I-Application
popularized	O
the	O
transition	O
to	O
online	O
or	O
offline	O
web	O
browser	O
based	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
,	O
this	O
was	O
enabled	O
by	O
the	O
widespread	O
adoption	O
of	O
suitable	O
internet	O
connectivity	O
in	O
businesses	O
and	O
domestic	O
households	O
and	O
later	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Docs	I-Application
enabled	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
from	O
within	O
any	O
vendor	O
's	O
web	O
browser	O
,	O
which	O
could	O
run	O
on	O
any	O
vendor	O
's	O
operating	O
system	O
on	O
any	O
physical	O
device	O
type	O
including	O
tablets	O
and	O
smartphones	B-Application
,	O
although	O
offline	O
editing	O
is	O
limited	O
to	O
a	O
few	O
Chromium	B-Language
based	O
web	O
browsers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Docs	I-Application
also	O
enabled	O
the	O
significant	O
growth	O
of	O
use	O
of	O
information	O
technology	O
such	O
as	O
remote	O
access	O
to	O
files	O
and	O
collaborative	B-Application
real-time	I-Application
editing	I-Application
,	O
both	O
becoming	O
simple	O
to	O
do	O
with	O
little	O
or	O
no	O
need	O
for	O
costly	O
software	O
and	O
specialist	O
IT	O
support	O
.	O
</s>
