<s>
XyWrite	B-Application
is	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
modeled	O
on	O
the	O
mainframe-based	O
ATEX	O
typesetting	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popular	O
with	O
writers	O
and	O
editors	O
for	O
its	O
speed	O
and	O
degree	O
of	O
customization	O
,	O
XyWrite	B-Application
was	O
in	O
its	O
heyday	O
the	O
house	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
in	O
many	O
editorial	O
offices	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
New	O
York	O
Times	O
from	O
1989	O
to	O
1993	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XyWrite	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
David	O
Erickson	O
and	O
marketed	O
by	O
XyQuest	O
from	O
1982	O
through	O
1992	O
,	O
after	O
which	O
it	O
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
The	O
Technology	O
Group	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
final	O
version	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
was	O
4.18	O
(	O
1993	O
)	O
;	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
4.13	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
file	O
format	O
consists	O
of	O
plain	O
text	O
(	O
IBM437	O
,	O
or	O
so-called	O
"	O
extended	O
ASCII	B-Protocol
"	O
)	O
with	O
markup	O
(	O
within	O
guillemets	O
:	O
«»	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
capability	O
is	O
useful	O
for	O
typesetters	O
who	O
need	O
to	O
convert	O
to	O
various	O
formats	O
,	O
e.g.	O
,	O
LaTeX	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
XyWrite	B-Application
is	O
written	O
in	O
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
allowing	O
it	O
to	O
run	O
faster	O
than	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
written	O
in	O
a	O
higher	O
level	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
continue	O
to	O
write	O
and	O
share	O
macros	O
extending	O
XyWrite	B-Application
features	O
(	O
printing	O
to	O
USB	B-Protocol
devices	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Plain-text	O
,	O
editable	O
configuration	B-Protocol
files	I-Protocol
allow	O
easy	O
customization	O
of	O
the	O
keyboard	O
—	O
for	O
remapping	O
keystrokes	O
and	O
for	O
execution	O
of	O
complex	O
commands	O
with	O
individual	O
keystrokes	O
—	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
customization	O
of	O
what	O
is	O
loaded	O
on	O
launching	O
the	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commands	O
can	O
be	O
typed	O
in	O
directly	O
on	O
a	O
command	B-Application
line	I-Application
,	O
without	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
mouse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Up	O
to	O
nine	O
files	O
can	O
be	O
opened	O
for	O
editing	O
at	O
one	O
time	O
in	O
separate	O
"	O
windows	B-Application
"	O
that	O
allow	O
quick	O
copy-and-paste	O
among	O
several	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
files	O
may	O
be	O
opened	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
screen	O
for	O
easy	O
comparison	O
of	O
changes	O
;	O
a	O
XyWrite	B-Application
command	O
will	O
do	O
the	O
comparison	O
automatically	O
,	O
putting	O
the	O
cursor	O
on	O
the	O
location	O
at	O
which	O
the	O
two	O
files	O
first	O
differ	O
(	O
from	O
which	O
the	O
user	O
can	O
move	O
to	O
the	O
next	O
difference	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
4	O
(	O
or	O
Signature	O
)	O
has	O
full	O
WYSIWYG	B-Application
graphical	O
editing	O
capabilities	O
including	O
on-screen	O
display	O
of	O
bitmaps	O
and	O
Bitstream	O
Speedo	O
fonts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
version	O
provided	O
version	O
4	O
in	O
a	O
Windows	B-Application
environment	O
,	O
in	O
WSIWYG	O
,	O
without	O
losing	O
its	O
command	B-Application
line	I-Application
driven	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
supported	O
the	O
standard	O
Windows	B-Application
 '	O
True	O
Type	O
fonts	O
along	O
with	O
Speedo	O
fonts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
most	O
successful	O
product	O
was	O
XyWrite	B-Application
III	O
Plus	O
,	O
which	O
attracted	O
a	O
devoted	O
following	O
among	O
professional	O
writers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Announced	O
in	O
September	O
1989	O
,	O
XyWrite	B-Application
IV	O
promised	O
a	O
lot	O
to	O
users	O
,	O
it	O
entered	O
beta-test	O
after	O
a	O
year	O
in	O
November	O
1990	O
hoping	O
to	O
release	O
by	O
year	O
end	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
turning	O
point	O
for	O
XyWrite	B-Application
came	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
a	O
disastrous	O
near-partnership	O
with	O
IBM	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
seeking	O
a	O
modern	O
replacement	O
for	O
its	O
venerable	O
DisplayWrite	B-Protocol
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Working	O
under	O
an	O
agreement	O
signed	O
in	O
June	O
1990	O
,	O
XyQuest	O
devoted	O
nearly	O
all	O
of	O
its	O
development	O
resources	O
to	O
revising	O
Erickson	O
's	O
XyWrite	B-Application
IV	O
to	O
IBM	O
's	O
specifications	O
,	O
including	O
IBM	O
Common	O
User	O
Access-style	O
menus	O
,	O
mouse	O
support	O
and	O
a	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Publicized	O
in	O
early	O
1991	O
,	O
the	O
agreement	O
envisioned	O
as	O
a	O
marriage	O
between	O
XyQuest	O
technology	O
and	O
IBM	O
marketing	O
,	O
the	O
product	O
was	O
to	O
be	O
called	O
Signature	O
,	O
and	O
would	O
ship	O
for	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
IBM	B-Application
OS/2	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
DisplayWrite	B-Protocol
would	O
be	O
discontinued	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
and	O
poor	O
performance	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
later	O
improved	O
and	O
renamed	O
as	O
XyWrite	B-Application
4.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Moreover	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
years	O
since	O
the	O
last	O
major	O
XyWrite	B-Application
release	O
,	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
had	O
cemented	O
its	O
hold	O
on	O
the	O
DOS	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
there	O
were	O
a	O
few	O
maintenance	O
releases	O
of	O
4.0	O
after	O
the	O
acquisition	O
,	O
The	O
Technology	O
Group	O
's	O
major	O
commitment	O
was	O
to	O
developing	O
XyWrite	B-Application
for	I-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
XyWrite	B-Application
remained	O
a	O
niche	O
product	O
,	O
unable	O
to	O
compete	O
for	O
the	O
business	O
user	O
against	O
Word	B-Application
for	I-Application
Windows	I-Application
,	O
WordPerfect	B-Application
for	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Ami	B-Operating_System
Pro	I-Operating_System
,	O
despite	O
added	O
versatility	O
and	O
customization	O
potential	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
versions	O
of	O
XyWrite	B-Application
were	O
also	O
localized	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
European	O
countries	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
descendant	O
of	O
XyWrite	B-Application
called	O
Nota	B-Protocol
Bene	I-Protocol
is	O
still	O
being	O
actively	O
developed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nota	B-Protocol
Bene	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
runs	O
on	O
the	O
XyWrite	B-Application
engine	O
,	O
is	O
popular	O
among	O
academics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
January	O
2020	O
,	O
Nota	B-Protocol
Bene	I-Protocol
for	O
Windows	B-Application
is	O
at	O
version	O
12	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NotaBene	O
is	O
supported	O
on	O
native	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
Mac	O
and	O
on	O
Linux	O
running	O
WINE	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2015	O
,	O
work	O
started	O
on	O
using	O
XyWrite	B-Application
within	O
the	O
vDos	O
program	O
shell	O
in	O
32	O
and	O
64	O
bit	O
windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
successful	O
in	O
October	O
2016	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
an	O
x86	O
PC	O
and	O
DOS	O
emulator	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
based	O
on	O
Jos	O
Schaars	O
's	O
vDos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Formerly	O
known	O
as	O
vDos-lfn	O
,	O
vDosPlus	O
allows	O
XyWrite	B-Application
4	O
,	O
XyWrite	B-Application
III+	O
,	O
and	O
Nota	B-Protocol
Bene	I-Protocol
for	O
DOS	O
to	O
run	O
under	O
the	O
latest	O
versions	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
(	O
including	O
64-bit	O
Windows	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XyWrite	B-Application
does	O
not	O
have	O
as	O
many	O
features	O
as	O
Word	O
or	O
OpenOffice.org	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
XyWrite	B-Application
is	O
unaware	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
ANSI	O
or	O
Unicode	O
character	O
sets	O
and	O
Nota	B-Protocol
Bene	I-Protocol
does	O
not	O
support	O
languages	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
Chinese	O
)	O
that	O
require	O
double-byte	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
criticizing	O
the	O
documentation	O
,	O
it	O
called	O
XyWrite	B-Application
"	O
extremely	O
fast	O
,	O
powerful	O
,	O
compact	O
,	O
and	O
flexible	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Signature	O
1.0	O
-	O
initially	O
announced	O
September	O
1989	O
as	O
XyWrite	B-Application
4.0	O
.	O
</s>
