It fulfilled a need for a word processor that was more capable than MacWrite. įollowing the precedents of LisaWrite and MacWrite, Word for Mac OS added true WYSIWYG features.

It was also notable for its very fast cut-and-paste function and unlimited number of undo operations, which are due to its usage of the piece table data structure. This was made easier by Word for DOS having been designed for use with high-resolution displays and laser printers, even though none were yet available to the general public. In 1985, Microsoft ported Word to the classic Mac OS (known as Macintosh System Software at the time). However, Microsoft steadily improved the product, releasing versions 2.0 through 5.0 over the next six years. It was not initially popular, since its user interface was different from the leading word processor at the time, WordStar. Advertisements depicted the Microsoft Mouse and described Word as a WYSIWYG, windowed word processor with the ability to undo and display bold, italic, and underlined text, although it could not render fonts. Unlike most MS-DOS programs at the time, Microsoft Word was designed to be used with a mouse. That year Microsoft demonstrated Word running on Windows.

Free demonstration copies of the application were bundled with the November 1983 issue of PC World, making it the first to be distributed on-disk with a magazine. Its name was soon simplified to Microsoft Word. Microsoft announced Multi-Tool Word for Xenix and MS-DOS in 1983. Simonyi started work on a word processor called Multi-Tool Word and soon hired Richard Brodie, a former Xerox intern, who became the primary software engineer. In 1981, Microsoft hired Charles Simonyi, the primary developer of Bravo, the first GUI word processor, which was developed at Xerox PARC. Main article: History of Microsoft Word Origins Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS (1983), Apple Macintosh running the Classic Mac OS (1985), AT&T UNIX PC (1985), Atari ST (1988), OS/2 (1989), Microsoft Windows (1989), SCO Unix (1990), and macOS (2001).Ĭommercial versions of Word are licensed as a standalone product or as a component of Microsoft Office, or Microsoft 365 Premium subscription, Windows RT or the discontinued Microsoft Works suite. It was first released on October 25, 1983, under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Microsoft Word is a word processing software developed by Microsoft.

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