IBM DisplayWrite
{{More citations needed|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox software
| name = IBM DisplayWrite
| screenshot = Dw370german-screenshot.png
| screenshot_size = 200
| caption = IBM DisplayWrite/370 (German)
| released = {{Start date and age|1981}}
| discontinued = yes
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2015}}
| operating system = PC DOS/MS-DOS, MVS-CICS, VM/CMS, OS/400
| genre = Word processor
| license = commercial
}}
DisplayWrite (sometimes written as Displaywrite) is a discontinued word processor program that IBM developed and marketed for the IBM PC and PCjr. It was among the company's first internally developed, commercially sold PC software titles.{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq3POofPsBEC&pg=PA248 | title=IBM's Displaywriter Begets a Family of PC Software | work=PC Magazine | date=1984-09-18 | access-date=29 January 2015 | author=Dickinson, John | pages=238}}
DisplayWrite's feature set was based on the IBM Displaywriter System, a dedicated microcomputer-based word processing machine.[http://www-306.ibm.com/software/applications/office/dw370/index.html IBM DisplayWrite] Because the two systems were so similar, an experienced Displaywriter user could start using DisplayWrite immediately.{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq3POofPsBEC&pg=PA248|title=DisplayWrite 2 and Displaywriter: A Close Correspondence|author=Dickinson, John|date=1984-09-18|work=PC Magazine|access-date=25 October 2013|pages=248}}
Versions
= DisplayWrite/PC =
For the Intel platform there were DisplayWrite versions for PC/MS-DOS and DisplayWrite 5/2 programmed under OS/2.{{Cite journal|date=October 30, 1989|title=Today's DisplayWrite. Word processing that works for you on many different levels|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzAEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22IBM+DisplayWrite%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA12|journal=InfoWorld|volume=11|issue=44|pages=12|via=Google Books}}
= DisplayWrite/36 =
{{Main|IBM Office/36}}
DisplayWrite/36 was the word processing component of IBM Office/36, which allowed an office to use the SQL-based database file for labels and form letters.
= DisplayWrite/370 =
DisplayWrite/370, a much more powerful version with full graphics and WYSIWYG support, was supported for IBM zSeries mainframe computers until May 2015.[https://www-01.ibm.com/software/support/lifecycleapp/PLCDetail.wss?q45=J046758V05926W49 Software lifecycle DisplayWrite/370 for MVS/CICS 2.2.x] (see IBM Displaywriter System). DW/370 was a host-based word processor.{{Cite journal|last=Desmond|first=John|date=October 7, 1985|title=IBM tackles new market, ties disparate systems|journal=Computerworld|volume=19|issue=40|pages=1, 4|via=Google Books}} It was marketed between 1993 and 2015 for MVS/CICS (now z/OS) and VM/CMS.{{Cite web|url=https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?subtype=ca&infotype=an&appname=iSource&supplier=897&letternum=ENUS293-209|title=IBM DISPLAYWRITE/370 VERSION 2.2.0 FOR MVS/CICS AND VM/CMS|date=1993-05-11|website=www-01.ibm.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-07}}
File format
IBM DisplayWrite's native file format is based on IBM's DCA (Document Content Architecture) RFT (Revisable Form Text) specification, but adds additional structures. Depending on the DisplayWrite version, the document files use .DOC or .TXT file name extension. The DisplayWrite software can export to and import from pure DCA/RFT files (which typically have .DCA or .RFT file name extension). RFT (IBM Revisable Form Text) should not be confused with RTF (Rich Text Format), which is a Microsoft specification.
Reception
A 1990 American Institute of Certified Public Accountants member survey found that 2% of respondents used DisplayWrite as their word processor.{{Cite report |url=https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1563&context=aicpa_guides |title=1990 AICPA survey of computer usage |author-link=American Institute of Certified Public Accountants |year=1990 |id=561 |access-date=2025-04-30}}
Further reading
- Dennis P. Curtin: Displaywrite 4: Procedures Manual, Prentice-Hall 1988, {{ISBN|0139642226}}