AtariWriter

AtariWriter

Screenshot taken of editing "Lorem Ipsum" in AtariWriter
Original author(s)	William Robinson
Developer(s)	Atari Corp.
Discontinued	Version C / 1983 (1983)
Platform	Atari 400/800/XL/XE
Size	16KB
Type	Application/Word processor
License	Copyright © 1982, 1983 Atari Proprietary software

AtariWriter is a word processing application for the Atari 8-bit computers. It is a 16KB ROM cartridge that works with either a cassette or disk drive.

Details

Home computers started to be bundled in packages. One of the more popular packages was word processing. This included the computer, printer and a word processor software. Atari needed a powerful word processor that was easy to use and could work with all Atari computers. The older Atari Word Processor software was disk based, required 48KB, incompatible with the XL computers and was copy protected. A newer product was needed.

A new word processor was introduced in 1982. Named AtariWriter, it was Atari's first word processor on a cartridge. Compatible with all Atari computers with 16KB or more, AtariWriter had features taken for granted today. Word wrap, full-screen editing, dual-column printing, search and replace, undo, block editing and even a print preview feature that allowed users to view a printable page by scrolling across the screen.

Printing attributes were set directly into the document using control characters. This allowed direct changes to formatting such as margins, spacing, justification, etc. AtariWriter has only one menu, the main menu, which featured creating and editing documents, file directory, file management and printing.

Because it was in cartridge form, users could use it immediately. Files could be saved on either cassette or floppy disk. With a floppy drive, files could be chain-printed plus a form of text merge was supported.

AtariWriter was originally derived from Datasoft's Text Wizard. William Robinson, who programmed Text Wizard, decided to offer his program to Atari after his deal with Datasoft expired. Gary Furr was the designer and manager of developing the AtariWriter cartridge.

The cartridge only had built-in printer drivers for Atari printers. Printer drivers for other printers were not available from Atari. However, third-party sources (like Gary Furr from Atari Program Exchange) and driver kits were made available.

Aftermath

Later versions:

• AtariWriter Plus - disk only. Contained enhancements and a spell checker.
• AtariWriter 80 - disk only. Supported the XEP-80 80-column device.
• ST Writer - Atari ST computers. Provided free by Atari Corp, source was given to a programmer, Dr. Bruce Noonan. Dr. Noonan provided updates and enhancements at no cost.
• MultiWriter - An ST Writer rewrite by Dr. Noonan which used 68000 assembler in the most time consuming functions (such as searching for text).

Trivia

• According to Gary Furr, Atari sold over 800,000 cartridges, not including Atariwriter Plus. He himself sold over 10,000 printer driver diskettes.
• Furr wrote the original specifications for AtariWriter using an Atari 800 and the Atari Word Processor program.
• Page 19 of the AtariWriter manual contains an intentionally erroneous section of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. This was used for tutorial purposes.
  • On pages 21 and 22, the reader is taught how to search and replace text, using one of the errors on the previous page (the protagonist's name is corrected from "Edith" to "Alice").

External links

• AtariProtos.com - Prototype AtariWriter cartridge info
• Atariarchives.org - Carolyn's Corner - November, 1991
• Antic Vol.8 No.7 - AtariWriter 80
• AtariAge.com - AtariWriter - RX8036
• Antic Vol.5 No.2 - June 1986 I/O Board - Printer Drivers
• START Vol.1 No.3 - Winter 1986 ST Writer Secrets - Article