What is word processing equipment

This article is about stand-alone word processing machines. For the computer program, see Word processor program. For the general concept, see Word processor.

A word processor is an electronic device (later a computer software application) for text, composing, editing, formatting, and printing.

A Xerox 6016 Memorywriter Word Processor

The word processor was a stand-alone office machine developed in the 1960s, combining the keyboard text-entry and printing functions of an electric typewriter with a recording unit, either tape or floppy disk (as used by the Wang machine) with a simple dedicated computer processor for the editing of text.^[1] Although features and designs varied among manufacturers and models, and new features were added as technology advanced, the first word processors typically featured a monochrome display and the ability to save documents on memory cards or diskettes. Later models introduced innovations such as spell-checking programs, and improved formatting options.

As the more versatile combination of personal computers and printers became commonplace, and computer software applications for word processing became popular, most business machine companies stopped manufacturing dedicated word processor machines. As of 2009 there were only two U.S. companies, Classic and AlphaSmart, which still made them.^{[2][needs update]} Many older machines, however, remain in use. Since 2009, Sentinel has offered a machine described as a «word processor», but it is more accurately a highly specialised microcomputer used for accounting and publishing.^[3]

Word processing was one of the earliest applications for the personal computer in office productivity, and was the most widely used application on personal computers until the World Wide Web rose to prominence in the mid-1990s.

Although the early word processors evolved to use tag-based markup for document formatting, most modern word processors take advantage of a graphical user interface providing some form of what-you-see-is-what-you-get («WYSIWYG») editing. Most are powerful systems consisting of one or more programs that can produce a combination of images, graphics and text, the latter handled with type-setting capability. Typical features of a modern word processor include multiple font sets, spell checking, grammar checking, a built-in thesaurus, automatic text correction, web integration, HTML conversion, pre-formatted publication projects such as newsletters and to-do lists, and much more.

Microsoft Word is the most widely used word processing software according to a user tracking system built into the software.^{[citation needed]} Microsoft estimates that roughly half a billion people use the Microsoft Office suite,^[4] which includes Word. Many other word processing applications exist, including WordPerfect (which dominated the market from the mid-1980s to early-1990s on computers running Microsoft’s MS-DOS operating system, and still (2014) is favored for legal applications), Apple’s Pages application, and open source applications such as OpenOffice.org Writer, LibreOffice Writer, AbiWord, KWord, and LyX. Web-based word processors such as Office Online or Google Docs are a relatively new category.

CharacteristicsEdit

Word processors evolved dramatically once they became software programs rather than dedicated machines. They can usefully be distinguished from text editors, the category of software they evolved from.^[5][6]

A text editor is a program that is used for typing, copying, pasting, and printing text (a single character, or strings of characters). Text editors do not format lines or pages. (There are extensions of text editors which can perform formatting of lines and pages: batch document processing systems, starting with TJ-2 and RUNOFF and still available in such systems as LaTeX and Ghostscript, as well as programs that implement the paged-media extensions to HTML and CSS). Text editors are now used mainly by programmers, website designers, computer system administrators, and, in the case of LaTeX, by mathematicians and scientists (for complex formulas and for citations in rare languages). They are also useful when fast startup times, small file sizes, editing speed, and simplicity of operation are valued, and when formatting is unimportant. Due to their use in managing complex software projects, text editors can sometimes provide better facilities for managing large writing projects than a word processor.^[7]

Word processing added to the text editor the ability to control type style and size, to manage lines (word wrap), to format documents into pages, and to number pages. Functions now taken for granted were added incrementally, sometimes by purchase of independent providers of add-on programs. Spell checking, grammar checking and mail merge were some of the most popular add-ons for early word processors. Word processors are also capable of hyphenation, and the management and correct positioning of footnotes and endnotes.

More advanced features found in recent word processors include:

• Collaborative editing, allowing multiple users to work on the same document.
• Indexing assistance. (True indexing, as performed by a professional human indexer, is far beyond current technology, for the same reasons that fully automated, literary-quality machine translation is.)
• Creation of tables of contents.
• Management, editing, and positioning of visual material (illustrations, diagrams), and sometimes sound files.
• Automatically managed (updated) cross-references to pages or notes.
• Version control of a document, permitting reconstruction of its evolution.
• Non-printing comments and annotations.
• Generation of document statistics (characters, words, readability level, time spent editing by each user).
• «Styles», which automate consistent formatting of text body, titles, subtitles, highlighted text, and so on.

Later desktop publishing programs were specifically designed with elaborate pre-formatted layouts for publication, offering only limited options for changing the layout, while allowing users to import text that was written using a text editor or word processor, or type the text in themselves.

Typical usageEdit

Word processors have a variety of uses and applications within the business world, home, education, journalism, publishing, and the literary arts.

Use in businessEdit

Within the business world, word processors are extremely useful tools. Some typical uses include: creating legal documents, company reports, publications for clients, letters, and internal memos. Businesses tend to have their own format and style for any of these, and additions such as company letterhead. Thus, modern word processors with layout editing and similar capabilities find widespread use in most business.

Use in homeEdit

While many homes have a word processor on their computers, word processing in the home tends to be educational, planning or business related, dealing with school assignments or work being completed at home. Occasionally word processors are used for recreational purposes, e.g. writing short stories, poems or personal correspondence. Some use word processors to create résumés and greeting cards, but many of these home publishing processes have been taken over by web apps or desktop publishing programs specifically oriented toward home uses. The rise of email and social networks has also reduced the home role of the word processor as uses that formerly required printed output can now be done entirely online.

HistoryEdit

Word processors are descended from the Friden Flexowriter, which had two punched tape stations and permitted switching from one to the other (thus enabling what was called the «chain» or «form letter», one tape containing names and addresses, and the other the body of the letter to be sent). It did not wrap words, which was begun by IBM’s Magnetic Tape Selectric Typewriter (later, Magnetic Card Selectric Typewriter).

IBM SelectricEdit

Expensive Typewriter, written and improved between 1961 and 1962 by Steve Piner and L. Peter Deutsch, was a text editing program that ran on a DEC PDP-1 computer at MIT. Since it could drive an IBM Selectric typewriter (a letter-quality printer), it may be considered the first-word processing program, but the term word processing itself was only introduced, by IBM’s Böblingen Laboratory in the late 1960s.^{[citation needed]}

In 1969, two software based text editing products (Astrotype and Astrocomp) were developed and marketed by Information Control Systems (Ann Arbor Michigan).^[8][9][10] Both products used the Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-8 mini computer, DECtape (4” reel) randomly accessible tape drives, and a modified version of the IBM Selectric typewriter (the IBM 2741 Terminal). These 1969 products preceded CRT display-based word processors. Text editing was done using a line numbering system viewed on a paper copy inserted in the Selectric typewriter.

Evelyn Berezin invented a Selectric-based word processor in 1969, and founded the Redactron Corporation to market the $8,000 machine.^[11] Redactron was sold to Burroughs Corporation in 1976, where the Redactron-II and -III were sold both as standalone units and as peripherals to the company’s mainframe computers.^[12]

By 1971 word processing was recognized by the New York Times as a «buzz word».^[13] A 1974 Times article referred to «the brave new world of Word Processing or W/P. That’s International Business Machines talk … I.B.M. introduced W/P about five years ago for its Magnetic Tape Selectric Typewriter and other electronic razzle-dazzle.»^[14]

IBM defined the term in a broad and vague way as «the combination of people, procedures, and equipment which transforms ideas into printed communications,» and originally used it to include dictating machines and ordinary, manually operated Selectric typewriters.^[15] By the early seventies, however, the term was generally understood to mean semiautomated typewriters affording at least some form of editing and correction, and the ability to produce perfect «originals». Thus, the Times headlined a 1974 Xerox product as a «speedier electronic typewriter», but went on to describe the product, which had no screen,^[16] as «a word processor rather than strictly a typewriter, in that it stores copy on magnetic tape or magnetic cards for retyping, corrections, and subsequent printout».^[17]

Mainframe systemsEdit

In the late 1960s IBM provided a program called FORMAT for generating printed documents on any computer capable of running Fortran IV. Written by Gerald M. Berns, FORMAT was described in his paper «Description of FORMAT, a Text-Processing Program» (Communications of the ACM, Volume 12, Number 3, March, 1969) as «a production program which facilitates the editing and printing of ‘finished’ documents directly on the printer of a relatively small (64k) computer system. It features good performance, totally free-form input, very flexible formatting capabilities including up to eight columns per page, automatic capitalization, aids for index construction, and a minimum of nontext [control elements] items.» Input was normally on punched cards or magnetic tape, with up to 80capital letters and non-alphabetic characters per card. The limited typographical controls available were implemented by control sequences; for example, letters were automatically converted to lower case unless they followed a full stop, that is, the «period» character. Output could be printed on a typical line printer in all-capitals — or in upper and lower case using a special («TN») printer chain — or could be punched as a paper tape which could be printed, in better than line printer quality, on a Flexowriter. A workalike program with some improvements, DORMAT, was developed and used at University College London.^{[citation needed]}

Electromechanical paper-tape-based equipment such as the Friden Flexowriter had long been available; the Flexowriter allowed for operations such as repetitive typing of form letters (with a pause for the operator to manually type in the variable information),^[18] and when equipped with an auxiliary reader, could perform an early version of «mail merge». Circa 1970 it began to be feasible to apply electronic computers to office automation tasks. IBM’s Mag Tape Selectric Typewriter (MT/ST) and later Mag Card Selectric (MCST) were early devices of this kind, which allowed editing, simple revision, and repetitive typing, with a one-line display for editing single lines.^[19] The first novel to be written on a word processor, the IBM MT/ST, was Len Deighton’s Bomber, published in 1970.^[20]

Effect on office administrationEdit

The New York Times, reporting on a 1971 business equipment trade show, said

The «buzz word» for this year’s show was «word processing», or the use of electronic equipment, such as typewriters; procedures and trained personnel to maximize office efficiency. At the IBM exhibition a girl typed on an electronic typewriter. The copy was received on a magnetic tape cassette which accepted corrections, deletions, and additions and then produced a perfect letter for the boss’s signature …^[13]

In 1971, a third of all working women in the United States were secretaries, and they could see that word processing would affect their careers. Some manufacturers, according to a Times article, urged that «the concept of ‘word processing’ could be the answer to Women’s Lib advocates’ prayers. Word processing will replace the ‘traditional’ secretary and give women new administrative roles in business and industry.»^[13]

The 1970s word processing concept did not refer merely to equipment, but, explicitly, to the use of equipment for «breaking down secretarial labor into distinct components, with some staff members handling typing exclusively while others supply administrative support. A typical operation would leave most executives without private secretaries. Instead one secretary would perform various administrative tasks for three or more secretaries.»^[21] A 1971 article said that «Some [secretaries] see W/P as a career ladder into management; others see it as a dead-end into the automated ghetto; others predict it will lead straight to the picket line.» The National Secretaries Association, which defined secretaries as people who «can assume responsibility without direct supervision», feared that W/P would transform secretaries into «space-age typing pools». The article considered only the organizational changes resulting from secretaries operating word processors rather than typewriters; the possibility that word processors might result in managers creating documents without the intervention of secretaries was not considered—not surprising in an era when few managers, but most secretaries, possessed keyboarding skills.^[14]

Dedicated modelsEdit

In 1972, Stephen Bernard Dorsey, Founder and President of Canadian company Automatic Electronic Systems (AES), introduced the world’s first programmable word processor with a video screen. The real breakthrough by Dorsey’s AES team was that their machine stored the operator’s texts on magnetic disks. Texts could be retrieved from the disks simply by entering their names at the keyboard. More importantly, a text could be edited, for instance a paragraph moved to a new place, or a spelling error corrected, and these changes were recorded on the magnetic disk.

The AES machine was actually a sophisticated computer that could be reprogrammed by changing the instructions contained within a few chips.^[22][23]

In 1975, Dorsey started Micom Data Systems and introduced the Micom 2000 word processor. The Micom 2000 improved on the AES design by using the Intel 8080 single-chip microprocessor, which made the word processor smaller, less costly to build and supported multiple languages.^[24]

Around this time, DeltaData and Wang word processors also appeared, again with a video screen and a magnetic storage disk.

The competitive edge for Dorsey’s Micom 2000 was that, unlike many other machines, it was truly programmable. The Micom machine countered the problem of obsolescence by avoiding the limitations of a hard-wired system of program storage. The Micom 2000 utilized RAM, which was mass-produced and totally programmable.^[25] The Micom 2000 was said to be a year ahead of its time when it was introduced into a marketplace that represented some pretty serious competition such as IBM, Xerox and Wang Laboratories.^[26]

In 1978, Micom partnered with Dutch multinational Philips and Dorsey grew Micom’s sales position to number three among major word processor manufacturers, behind only IBM and Wang.^[27]

Software modelsEdit

In the early 1970s, computer scientist Harold Koplow was hired by Wang Laboratories to program calculators. One of his programs permitted a Wang calculator to interface with an IBM Selectric typewriter, which was at the time used to calculate and print the paperwork for auto sales.

In 1974, Koplow’s interface program was developed into the Wang 1200 Word Processor, an IBM Selectric-based text-storage device. The operator of this machine typed text on a conventional IBM Selectric; when the Return key was pressed, the line of text was stored on a cassette tape. One cassette held roughly 20 pages of text, and could be «played back» (i.e., the text retrieved) by printing the contents on continuous-form paper in the 1200 typewriter’s «print» mode. The stored text could also be edited, using keys on a simple, six-key array. Basic editing functions included Insert, Delete, Skip (character, line), and so on.

The labor and cost savings of this device were immediate, and remarkable: pages of text no longer had to be retyped to correct simple errors, and projects could be worked on, stored, and then retrieved for use later on. The rudimentary Wang 1200 machine was the precursor of the Wang Office Information System (OIS), introduced in 1976. It was a true office machine, affordable by organizations such as medium-sized law firms, and easily learned and operated by secretarial staff.

The Wang was not the first CRT-based machine nor were all of its innovations unique to Wang. In the early 1970s Linolex, Lexitron and Vydec introduced pioneering word-processing systems with CRT display editing. A Canadian electronics company, Automatic Electronic Systems, had introduced a product in 1972, but went into receivership a year later. In 1976, refinanced by the Canada Development Corporation, it returned to operation as AES Data, and went on to successfully market its brand of word processors worldwide until its demise in the mid-1980s. Its first office product, the AES-90,^[28] combined for the first time a CRT-screen, a floppy-disk and a microprocessor,^[22][23] that is, the very same winning combination that would be used by IBM for its PC seven years later.^{[citation needed]} The AES-90 software was able to handle French and English typing from the start, displaying and printing the texts side-by-side, a Canadian government requirement. The first eight units were delivered to the office of the then Prime Minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, in February 1974.^{[citation needed]}
Despite these predecessors, Wang’s product was a standout, and by 1978 it had sold more of these systems than any other vendor.^[29]

The phrase «word processor» rapidly came to refer to CRT-based machines similar to the AES 90. Numerous machines of this kind emerged, typically marketed by traditional office-equipment companies such as IBM, Lanier (marketing AES Data machines, re-badged), CPT, and NBI.^[30]
All were specialized, dedicated, proprietary systems, priced around $10,000. Cheap general-purpose computers were still for hobbyists.

Some of the earliest CRT-based machines used cassette tapes for removable-memory storage until floppy diskettes became available for this purpose — first the 8-inch floppy, then the 5¼-inch (drives by Shugart Associates and diskettes by Dysan).

Printing of documents was initially accomplished using IBM Selectric typewriters modified for ASCII-character input. These were later replaced by application-specific daisy wheel printers, first developed by Diablo, which became a Xerox company, and later by Qume. For quicker «draft» printing, dot-matrix line printers were optional alternatives with some word processors.

WYSIWYG modelsEdit

Examples of standalone word processor typefaces c. 1980–1981

Brother WP-1400D editing electronic typewriter (1994)

Electric Pencil, released in December 1976, was the first word processor software for microcomputers.^{[31][32][33][34][35]} Software-based word processors running on general-purpose personal computers gradually displaced dedicated word processors, and the term came to refer to software rather than hardware. Some programs were modeled after particular dedicated WP hardware. MultiMate, for example, was written for an insurance company that had hundreds of typists using Wang systems, and spread from there to other Wang customers. To adapt to the smaller, more generic PC keyboard, MultiMate used stick-on labels and a large plastic clip-on template to remind users of its dozens of Wang-like functions, using the shift, alt and ctrl keys with the 10 IBM function keys and many of the alphabet keys.

Other early word-processing software required users to memorize semi-mnemonic key combinations rather than pressing keys labelled «copy» or «bold». (In fact, many early PCs lacked cursor keys; WordStar famously used the E-S-D-X-centered «diamond» for cursor navigation, and modern vi-like editors encourage use of hjkl for navigation.) However, the price differences between dedicated word processors and general-purpose PCs, and the value added to the latter by software such as VisiCalc, were so compelling that personal computers and word processing software soon became serious competition for the dedicated machines. Word processing became the most popular use for personal computers, and unlike the spreadsheet (dominated by Lotus 1-2-3) and database (dBase) markets, WordPerfect, XyWrite, Microsoft Word, pfs:Write, and dozens of other word processing software brands competed in the 1980s; PC Magazine reviewed 57 different programs in one January 1986 issue.^[32] Development of higher-resolution monitors allowed them to provide limited WYSIWYG—What You See Is What You Get, to the extent that typographical features like bold and italics, indentation, justification and margins were approximated on screen.

The mid-to-late 1980s saw the spread of laser printers, a «typographic» approach to word processing, and of true WYSIWYG bitmap displays with multiple fonts (pioneered by the Xerox Alto computer and Bravo word processing program), PostScript, and graphical user interfaces (another Xerox PARC innovation, with the Gypsy word processor which was commercialised in the Xerox Star product range). Standalone word processors adapted by getting smaller and replacing their CRTs with small character-oriented LCD displays. Some models also had computer-like features such as floppy disk drives and the ability to output to an external printer. They also got a name change, now being called «electronic typewriters» and typically occupying a lower end of the market, selling for under US$200.

During the late 1980s and into the 1990s the predominant word processing program was WordPerfect.^[36] It had more than 50% of the worldwide market as late as 1995, but by 2000 Microsoft Word had up to 95% market share.^[37]

MacWrite, Microsoft Word, and other word processing programs for the bit-mapped Apple Macintosh screen, introduced in 1984, were probably the first true WYSIWYG word processors to become known to many people until the introduction of Microsoft Windows. Dedicated word processors eventually became museum pieces.

See alsoEdit

• Amstrad PCW
• Authoring systems
• Canon Cat
• Comparison of word processors
• Content management system
• CPT Word Processors
• Document collaboration
• List of word processors
• IBM MT/ST
• Microwriter
• Office suite
• TeX
• Typography

LiteratureEdit

• Matthew G. Kirschenbaum Track Changes — A Literary History of Word Processing Harvard University Press 2016 ISBN 9780674417076

ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit

• FOSS word processors compared: OOo Writer, AbiWord, and KWord by Bruce Byfield
• History of Word Processing
• «Remembering the Office of the Future: Word Processing and Office Automation before the Personal Computer» — A comprehensive history of early word processing concepts, hardware, software, and use. By Thomas Haigh, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 28:4 (October–December 2006):6-31.
• «A Brief History of Word Processing (Through 1986)» by Brian Kunde (December, 1986)
• «AES: A Canadian Cautionary Tale» by CBC Television (Broadcast date: February 4, 1985, link updated Nov. 2, 2012)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A word processor (WP)^[1][2] is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features.

Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current word processors are word processor programs running on general purpose computers.

The functions of a word processor program fall somewhere between those of a simple text editor and a fully functioned desktop publishing program. However, the distinctions between these three have changed over time and were unclear after 2010.^[3][4]

Background[edit]

Word processors did not develop out of computer technology. Rather, they evolved from mechanical machines and only later did they merge with the computer field.^[5] The history of word processing is the story of the gradual automation of the physical aspects of writing and editing, and then to the refinement of the technology to make it available to corporations and Individuals.

The term word processing appeared in American offices in early 1970s centered on the idea of streamlining the work to typists, but the meaning soon shifted toward the automation of the whole editing cycle.

At first, the designers of word processing systems combined existing technologies with emerging ones to develop stand-alone equipment, creating a new business distinct from the emerging world of the personal computer. The concept of word processing arose from the more general data processing, which since the 1950s had been the application of computers to business administration.^[6]

Through history, there have been three types of word processors: mechanical, electronic and software.

Mechanical word processing[edit]

The first word processing device (a «Machine for Transcribing Letters» that appears to have been similar to a typewriter) was patented by Henry Mill for a machine that was capable of «writing so clearly and accurately you could not distinguish it from a printing press».^[7] More than a century later, another patent appeared in the name of William Austin Burt for the typographer. In the late 19th century, Christopher Latham Sholes^[8] created the first recognizable typewriter although it was a large size, which was described as a «literary piano».^[9]

The only «word processing» these mechanical systems could perform was to change where letters appeared on the page, to fill in spaces that were previously left on the page, or to skip over lines. It was not until decades later that the introduction of electricity and electronics into typewriters began to help the writer with the mechanical part. The term “word processing” (translated from the German word Textverarbeitung) itself was created in the 1950s by Ulrich Steinhilper, a German IBM typewriter sales executive. However, it did not make its appearance in 1960s office management or computing literature (an example of grey literature), though many of the ideas, products, and technologies to which it would later be applied were already well known. Nonetheless, by 1971 the term was recognized by the New York Times^[10] as a business «buzz word». Word processing paralleled the more general «data processing», or the application of computers to business administration.

Thus by 1972 discussion of word processing was common in publications devoted to business office management and technology, and by the mid-1970s the term would have been familiar to any office manager who consulted business periodicals.

Electromechanical and electronic word processing[edit]

By the late 1960s, IBM had developed the IBM MT/ST (Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter). This was a model of the IBM Selectric typewriter from the earlier part of this decade, but it came built into its own desk, integrated with magnetic tape recording and playback facilities along with controls and a bank of electrical relays. The MT/ST automated word wrap, but it had no screen. This device allowed a user to rewrite text that had been written on another tape, and it also allowed limited collaboration in the sense that a user could send the tape to another person to let them edit the document or make a copy. It was a revolution for the word processing industry. In 1969, the tapes were replaced by magnetic cards. These memory cards were inserted into an extra device that accompanied the MT/ST, able to read and record users’ work.

In the early 1970s, word processing began to slowly shift from glorified typewriters augmented with electronic features to become fully computer-based (although only with single-purpose hardware) with the development of several innovations. Just before the arrival of the personal computer (PC), IBM developed the floppy disk. In the early 1970s, the first word-processing systems appeared which allowed display and editing of documents on CRT screens.

During this era, these early stand-alone word processing systems were designed, built, and marketed by several pioneering companies. Linolex Systems was founded in 1970 by James Lincoln and Robert Oleksiak. Linolex based its technology on microprocessors, floppy drives and software. It was a computer-based system for application in the word processing businesses and it sold systems through its own sales force. With a base of installed systems in over 500 sites, Linolex Systems sold 3 million units in 1975 — a year before the Apple computer was released.^[11]

At that time, the Lexitron Corporation also produced a series of dedicated word-processing microcomputers. Lexitron was the first to use a full-sized video display screen (CRT) in its models by 1978. Lexitron also used 51⁄4 inch floppy diskettes, which became the standard in the personal computer field. The program disk was inserted in one drive, and the system booted up. The data diskette was then put in the second drive. The operating system and the word processing program were combined in one file.^[12]

Another of the early word processing adopters was Vydec, which created in 1973 the first modern text processor, the «Vydec Word Processing System». It had built-in multiple functions like the ability to share content by diskette and print it.^{[further explanation needed]} The Vydec Word Processing System sold for $12,000 at the time, (about $60,000 adjusted for inflation).^[13]

The Redactron Corporation (organized by Evelyn Berezin in 1969) designed and manufactured editing systems, including correcting/editing typewriters, cassette and card units, and eventually a word processor called the Data Secretary. The Burroughs Corporation acquired Redactron in 1976.^[14]

A CRT-based system by Wang Laboratories became one of the most popular systems of the 1970s and early 1980s. The Wang system displayed text on a CRT screen, and incorporated virtually every fundamental characteristic of word processors as they are known today. While early computerized word processor system were often expensive and hard to use (that is, like the computer mainframes of the 1960s), the Wang system was a true office machine, affordable to organizations such as medium-sized law firms, and easily mastered and operated by secretarial staff.

The phrase «word processor» rapidly came to refer to CRT-based machines similar to Wang’s. Numerous machines of this kind emerged, typically marketed by traditional office-equipment companies such as IBM, Lanier (AES Data machines — re-badged), CPT, and NBI. All were specialized, dedicated, proprietary systems, with prices in the $10,000 range. Cheap general-purpose personal computers were still the domain of hobbyists.

Japanese word processor devices[edit]

In Japan, even though typewriters with Japanese writing system had widely been used for businesses and governments, they were limited to specialists who required special skills due to the wide variety of letters, until computer-based devices came onto the market. In 1977, Sharp showcased a prototype of a computer-based word processing dedicated device with Japanese writing system in Business Show in Tokyo.^[15][16]

Toshiba released the first Japanese word processor JW-10 in February 1979.^[17] The price was 6,300,000 JPY, equivalent to US$45,000. This is selected as one of the milestones of IEEE.^[18]

The Japanese writing system uses a large number of kanji (logographic Chinese characters) which require 2 bytes to store, so having one key per each symbol is infeasible. Japanese word processing became possible with the development of the Japanese input method (a sequence of keypresses, with visual feedback, which selects a character) — now widely used in personal computers. Oki launched OKI WORD EDITOR-200 in March 1979 with this kana-based keyboard input system. In 1980 several electronics and office equipment brands entered this rapidly growing market with more compact and affordable devices. While the average unit price in 1980 was 2,000,000 JPY (US$14,300), it was dropped to 164,000 JPY (US$1,200) in 1985.^[19] Even after personal computers became widely available, Japanese word processors remained popular as they tended to be more portable (an «office computer» was initially too large to carry around), and become necessities in business and academics, even for private individuals in the second half of the 1980s.^[20] The phrase «word processor» has been abbreviated as «Wa-pro» or «wapuro» in Japanese.

Word processing software[edit]

The final step in word processing came with the advent of the personal computer in the late 1970s and 1980s and with the subsequent creation of word processing software. Word processing software that would create much more complex and capable output was developed and prices began to fall, making them more accessible to the public. By the late 1970s, computerized word processors were still primarily used by employees composing documents for large and midsized businesses (e.g., law firms and newspapers). Within a few years, the falling prices of PCs made word processing available for the first time to all writers in the convenience of their homes.

The first word processing program for personal computers (microcomputers) was Electric Pencil, from Michael Shrayer Software, which went on sale in December 1976. In 1978 WordStar appeared and because of its many new features soon dominated the market. However, WordStar was written for the early CP/M (Control Program–Micro) operating system, and by the time it was rewritten for the newer MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System), it was obsolete. Suddenly, WordPerfect dominated the word processing programs during the DOS era, while there was a large variety of less successful programs.

Early word processing software was not as intuitive as word processor devices. Most early word processing software required users to memorize semi-mnemonic key combinations rather than pressing keys such as «copy» or «bold». Moreover, CP/M lacked cursor keys; for example WordStar used the E-S-D-X-centered «diamond» for cursor navigation. However, the price differences between dedicated word processors and general-purpose PCs, and the value added to the latter by software such as “killer app” spreadsheet applications, e.g. VisiCalc and Lotus 1-2-3, were so compelling that personal computers and word processing software became serious competition for the dedicated machines and soon dominated the market.

Then in the late 1980s innovations such as the advent of laser printers, a «typographic» approach to word processing (WYSIWYG — What You See Is What You Get), using bitmap displays with multiple fonts (pioneered by the Xerox Alto computer and Bravo word processing program), and graphical user interfaces such as “copy and paste” (another Xerox PARC innovation, with the Gypsy word processor). These were popularized by MacWrite on the Apple Macintosh in 1983, and Microsoft Word on the IBM PC in 1984. These were probably the first true WYSIWYG word processors to become known to many people.
Of particular interest also is the standardization of TrueType fonts used in both Macintosh and Windows PCs. While the publishers of the operating systems provide TrueType typefaces, they are largely gathered from traditional typefaces converted by smaller font publishing houses to replicate standard fonts. Demand for new and interesting fonts, which can be found free of copyright restrictions, or commissioned from font designers, occurred.

The growing popularity of the Windows operating system in the 1990s later took Microsoft Word along with it. Originally called «Microsoft Multi-Tool Word», this program quickly became a synonym for “word processor”.

From early in the 21st century Google Docs popularized the transition to online or offline web browser based word processing, this was enabled by the widespread adoption of suitable internet connectivity in businesses and domestic households and later the popularity of smartphones. Google Docs enabled word processing from within any vendor’s web browser, which could run on any vendor’s operating system on any physical device type including tablets and smartphones, although offline editing is limited to a few Chromium based web browsers. Google Docs also enabled the significant growth of use of information technology such as remote access to files and collaborative real-time editing, both becoming simple to do with little or no need for costly software and specialist IT support.

See also[edit]

• List of word processors
• Formatted text

References[edit]

1. Word processors

Whereas the text-editing typewriter may be (and often is) called a word processor, word processors are fundamentally different in configuration and use. Almost all of them have a visual display screen (sometimes referred to as a visual display unit – hence the acronym VDU) which may or may not be integrated with the keyboard, whereas text editors normally operate as normal typewriters with, probably, a one-line electronic display which appears during the typing operation for checking purposes before actual printing is done.

Despite the very blurred distinction between the text editor and the word processor proper where there is considerable overlap, it is possible to identify word processors proper, and these we will now examine.

1.1. Stand-alone systems

This description means what it says: the word processor is self-contained and operates entirely without assistance from other electronic equip­ment. In its simplest form it consists of a keyboard and visual display unit, a microprocessor (really a very small computer), some form of external store such as floppy discs, magnetic card packs or similar, and a printer. Where this and other word processors differ fundamentally from the simpler forms of text editor is that the keyboard and printing facilities are separated and, as mentioned above, the material being keyed into the processor is displayed on a visual display screen. Thus during the origination of texts and on retrieval for assembly the text can be seen as it will appear on the printed page, and can be corrected and edited before printing is carried out. Further, by means of exchangeable programs (analogous to computer programs) the print output can be set out (formatted is the jargon word) to be displayed in any way required. This is very useful for the production of formal documents such as contracts, in systems work and the like as well as providing standard layouts for ordinary correspondence. Figure 9.2 shows in diagrammatic form the configuration of a stand-alone system.

1.2. Shared resources systems

An extension of the basic system just described is one often known as shared resources, where two or more keyboards, VDU and processor installations are linked to one printer which they share. One processor is equipped with a print controller so that work from the work stations can be queued until the printer can deal with it. Such a system makes most efficient use of the printer but does need careful programming to ensure smooth operation. A diagrammatic representation of a shared resources system is given in Figure 9.3.

Some stand-alone systems, such as IBM’s Displaywriter, allow work stations to be added as the need arises, in this particular case the maximum being three. Thus a user can start word processing with one station, with minimum outlay, and can add one or two further work stations as demand increases.

1.3. Shared logic systems

Where the volume of work is very high it makes economic sense to utilise a single, larger, processor to serve several work stations. This is known as shared logic. All keyboards and visual display units are interfaced (the computer word for connected) to a single central processing unit (CPU) which is programmed to deal with the work to be input to and output from it and it is serviced by one or more printers as circumstances demand. Storage can be any method according to the size of the installation and the preferences of the designers, but is frequently disc storage using either exchangeable computer disc packs or diskettes (also known as floppy discs). The former have the advantage of high storage capacity without recourse to excessive interchanging whereas the latter have the advantages of being light and easy and quick to interchange. A diagram of a shared logic configuration is given in Fig. 9.4.

2. Software

Whatever the system of word processor and its configuration of hard­ware – central processor, keyboard, VDU and printer – and whether integral or separate units, its effectiveness and efficiency depend upon its software. Software is, simply, the programs used, as in computers, to instruct the machine to carry out its required functions. It is usual for the word processor manufacturers to supply programs for their own equip­ment but there are many independent software houses that also provide programs and much, but by no means all, software is interchangeable between different makes of machine.

Software is the source that instructs the word processor to print in standard format or otherwise, choose the required typestyle and pitch, make corrections, carry out editing, merge texts, justify margins and perform all the other various functions of which the equipment is capable.

3. Information Processing

Since word processing and electronic data processing are so akin it is a logical development that they should be combined where the need arises. In many cases, for instance, data stored in computer files may be required in a text being prepared by the word processing system and time, inconvenience and cost can be saved by having direct communica­tion between the two, so that the word processor has direct access to the data processing files. This is also known as a distributed intelligence system.

As is shown in Figure 9.5 the word-processing processor is connected with the data-processing computer and, by means of the appropriate software (programs), can access the contents of the computer files to find data or information needed for its text. The link can be either by cable or by telephone line using the appropriate equipment. An extension of this is the transferring of communications from one particular word processor to another, or to a computer, many miles away over telephone lines. Since the transference is by electrical impulses direct from the word processor’s memory and not by keystroking, as with the teleprinter, transmission speeds of up to 600 characters per second (or over 7000 words per minute) can be achieved. At the receiver’s end the word processor receives the text into memory and then types it out on command. If communication is to a central computer it will be written into storage and from there on to a file.

It is also possible with some equipment to transmit to teletype machines through the telex network, in which case connection can be made to anywhere in the world at the maximum teleprinter speed of 6.6 characters per second (nearly 80 words per minute).

4. What a Word Processor Can Do

At this point it will be useful to summarise the practical points that can be atrributed to word processing.

1. It can store texts for repeated reuse as and when required. Storage capacity ranges from a few characters or words in the simplest memory typewriters to virtually limitless capacity in configurations using external storage devices.
2. Access to texts or parts of texts is extremely rapid, which enables retrieval to be quick and convenient.
3. It is possible to merge parts of different texts together to form new texts. This allows the use of standard phrases and paragraphs in the construction of all kinds of correspondence, contracts and other documents.
4. Various typing functions such as tabulation, paragraph indentation, margin justification and so on are performed automatically.
5. Alterations to the text, such as editing, insertions and corrections, can be easily carried out without recourse to complete retyping: only the amendments need to be made manually, the acceptable parts of the text (usually the greater portion) being processed at maximum automatic speed.
6. Document layout can be amended (the jargon term is reformatted) by a simple keystroke.
7. Form layouts can be displayed on the visual display screen to enable variables to be inserted. This is particularly valuable in systems work. Entries are keystroked consecutively and the actual locations on the forms are accessed automatically.
8. The facility to change typestyles provides the ability to increase the kinds of jobs that can be tackled, from simple correspondence to sophisticated reports.
9. The introduction of ink-jet and laser printing techniques, which obviate the need for ribbon movement and type impact, have phenomenally increased possible automatic printing speeds to ten times that of the average typist.
10. The end product is of exceptionally high quality.
11. A word processor can communicate with and work in conjunction with a central data-processing computer, as well as with other word processors, given the appropriate installation.

5. Applications of Word Processing

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the possibilities offered by word processing and by the blandishments of the manufacturers. Hence an office administrator with a written communications problem may be tempted to opt for word processing as an answer to this problem though it may not, in fact, be the right solution. It is necessary, therefore, to look at the applications for which this comparatively new technique is best suited.

5.1. Correspondence

There is very little advantage in using word processing for ordinary letters that demand individual treatment. The real gain in this area, if one is to be found, is in a possibly superior appearance to that produced by individual typing though this is by no means always the case.

However, careful appraisal of the usual run of business letters leads to the conclusion that a majority of the phrases and sentences used, even in the most personalised correspondence, are repeated time after time in letter after letter. This being so, routine or semi-routine correspondence can be handled by the word processor very adequately and expeditiously by the establishment of standard paragraphs and statements which are left in memory and called up as and when needed in the order in which they are required. This programmed correspondence, as it is sometimes called, is useful in such routines as replies to sales enquiries, letters to suppliers asking about prices, deliveries and the like, responses to regular customer complaints, requests for payment of accounts and many, many similar communications. The stored phrases and sentences are coded for retrieval and are brought into use simply by the operator keying in the appropriate codes. In this application access to the filed material is random so that the order of presentation can be infinitely variable. Only the variable contents of the letters – for example, names and addresses, product names and so on – need to be typed manually.

5.2. Composite documents

These include such documents as contracts, agreements, legal engross­ments, insurance policies, tenders and many others which make use of standard paragraphs. These standard paragraphs are coded, indexed and written into the word processor file from where those needed are recalled and typed in any required order on the command of the word-processor operator.

In the more advanced installations it is possible to produce new documents by taking and reassembling standard paragraphs from other documents already existing on file. In this way documents can be produced very rapidly and without typing errors.

5.3. Standard letters

These were the primary output of the original automatic typewriters. Much correspondence is of an absolutely standard nature – for example, acknowledgements of orders for standard goods, quotations for standard supplies, covering letters for documents of all kinds (for cheques in payment of accounts or settling insurance claims) and so on. Each standard letter needs only its code to be keyed in for it to be typed out automatically and accurately, the variable information such as name, address, the sum involved and the like being typed in manually.

The very great benefits accruing from the use of word processing in these applications are that the finished product is absolutely error-free, the original having been corrected at the time of the initial typing – thus obviating the time-wasting job of checking – and the extreme speed with which the letters and documents are produced. It has been said that one operator with a word processor can produce the work of four typists using conventional machines and methods. The following, more special­ised applications, lead to even greater efficiency.

5.4. Reports

Reports, particularly lengthy ones, are usually subject to much editing as the author reads the original typed draft, amends it, reads the amended draft and amends that and so on. In the case of normal typing this means repeated typing of the full amended draft time after time. By using a word processor for this work only the amendments on each edited draft have to be keyed in manually; the parts of the report that are correct (usually by far the major part) are printed out at the maximum automatic speed and, additionally, do not have to be rechecked for typing errors.

5.5. Text editing

The same procedure as adopted for report preparation can be used for any other type of document at the time that it is originated, where corrections and editing are required before final production.

5.6. Updating

All sorts of lists and tables – such as price lists, lists of names and addresses, stock lists and financial and statistical tables – have to be brought up to date from time to time; often the changes are few or minor. In these cases the lists or tables are called up from file, the operator keys in the amendments such as insertions and deletions, and the word processor will print out the revised document. Some advanced installations have the facility to perform arithmetic (a so-called arithme­tic capability) and with these the tables containing figures can be automatically totalled column by column,, cross-cast and the results printed in.

5.7. Forms

Much business activity relies on the filling in of forms and word processors can materially assist in this respect. By means of the appropriate program the word processor enables the operator to type the required responses to each item in succession regardless of the position on the form it will ultimately occupy. These entries are checked for correctness by the operator reading them on the visual display unit and then printing takes place automatically, the program taking care of the positioning of the entries on the form.

Quite complicated systems can be put on to the more advanced word processors, enabling the production of multiset forms with information positioned in different places on different forms from the initial, once only, keyed entry. Pre-recorded standard information such as customers’ names and addresses can also be called up and printed. Thus sales order/invoicing routines, production control systems and so on can be accommodated with the resulting speed and accuracy. Hence the divide between word processing and electronic data processing is being bridged in such applications.

5.8. Storage and retrieval of information

Because of the fact that word processors have magnetic storage facilities that can be accessed randomly it is possible to use them as information files. Such uses include personnel records, stock records, registers of shareholders and so on. The means of access depends upon the type of equipment installed, but such applications are quicker in use and take up less space than the equivalent paper records. Here again word processing is approaching the area of electronic data processing.

Having examined the applications for which word processing is most useful we can now summarise its major advantages and disadvantages.

5.9. Advantages

1. Repetitive typing can be carried out at something like four times the productivity of a copy typist and is error-free.
2. Once the original input has been corrected no further checking is required.
3. Corrections can be made before printing takes place on equipment where a visual display is provided. This avoids erasures on the finished work and the time taken to make corrections is very much reduced.
4. Amendments, deletions, corrections and editing are very easily carried out both in existing texts and in new input. This is particularly valuable in report work.
5. When amendments, deletions, corrections or editing are necessary the unaltered work is printed automatically at the maximum speed of the equipment; only the corrections have to be done at manual speed.
6. Depending upon the equipment, stored texts can be restructured in almost any fashion as required. This also applies to statistical and other tables.
7. Work appearance is first-class and different type styles are available for different purposes. Most machines have an OCR (optical cha­racter recognition) type font that enables the word processor to produce printed output suitable for direct input to a computer equipped with the appropriate reader.
8. Keyboards are based on the conventional typewriter QWERTY layout, so-called because the first six letters of the keyboard are just these. This means that although there are many additional function keys (for example, skip, print, insert and so on) a trained typist has minimal difficulty in switching from an ordinary typewriter to a word processor keyboard.
9. Many installations have arithmetic capabilities, thus enabling systems to be worked on them that require calculations. Sales order/invoicing systems are a case in point.
10. As word processors become more popular in commerce and industry operators responsible for the equipment are gaining status.

With regard to 8 above an attempt has been made to simplify the word processor keyboard by the introduction of the ‘Maltron’ keyboard. This layout is designed to ease the work of the operator in two directions. First, the arrangement of the keys has been altered after careful study so that the most used letters are operated by the strongest fingers and, second, the actual shape of the keyboard has been changed in contour so as to reduce fatigue. It remains to be seen whether this new design will become more successful than other attempts to simplify the typewriter keyboard. These have foundered on the twin rocks of resistance to change and the fact that so many typists are trained and have become expert on the existing layout. In addition, of course, manufacturers have a great investment tied up in the production of the QWERTY keyboard.

5.10. Disadvantages

Though there are overwhelming advantages to be gained from the installation of a word processor in the right circumstances, inevitably some disadvantages will accrue. The most important of these are:

1. To some extent much of the communication becomes depersonalised and there is a danger that some correspondence may lack precision because of the inappropriate or thoughtless use of standard sentences and paragraphs.
2. Originators of correspondence will have less contact with those who produce their letters and other documents. This can lead to increased errors through misunderstandings and to the feeling of a loss of status by executives and others concerned with originating correspondence.
3. A typist transferred from a conventional typewriter, and the environ­ment surrounding the usual typing activity, to a word processor may find the work impersonal and somewhat isolated: this may cause resentment and a feeling of isolation.
4. Where there is very much repeat printing from the memory the operator is likely to become bored and hence careless.
5. Should there be a breakdown of equipment or power there would be serious disruption of work: much more serious than in the case of conventional typewriters.
6. The environment within which the more advanced equipment is required to operate needs careful attention in regard to humidity, cleanliness, the reduction of noise levels and, where visual display units are installed, lighting and glare.

6. Choosing Word Processing Equipment

It cannot be emphasised too strongly that the correct selection of the appropriate equipment is vital for a successful word-processing installa­tion. This means that a careful assessment of the organisation’s needs must be carried out and the feasibility of profitably using word processing established. The approach must be entirely an applications approach with the needs of the user departments paramount, and the blandish­ments of enthusiastic sales representatives must be critically examined. The office administrator with inadequate experience of word processing should seek the services of expert opinion in this connection either through an independent consultant or through the readily available assistance of consultants from the manufacturers. For all but the simplest of systems the capital investment can be considerable: an inappropriate choice of equipment can be very expensive.

In concentrating on the work to be performed it is easy to overlook the requirements of the operators: such considerations as the height and angle of the visual display screen and the colour and character of its display can be very important. A badly placed screen can cause neckache in the operator as well as produce glare. It is asserted that a screen fixed to the keyboard gives no flexibility in this direction. A display of green characters on a black background is favoured by the majority of manufacturers but many operators find this colour combination tiring to the eyes and screens giving black characters on a white background, reproducing the printed or typed page, are also available as are other combinations.

Before leaving this discussion it must be made clear that word processing cannot undertake the whole of the written communications of an organisation. The areas where individual typing and shorthand-typing are still indispensable must be recognised. These include confidental work, work of particular intricacy and work that is not likely to be repeated. Added to these must be the maintenance of the status of many senior executives though here re-education may be possible.

Finally, throughout this chapter the words type and print, and typing and printing, have been used interchangeably for brevity and clarity: some installations type and some print.

Source: Eyre E. C. (1989), Office Administration, Palgrave Macmillan.

Login

A word processor is an electronic device (later a computer software application) for text, composing, editing, formatting, and printing.

The word processor was a stand-alone office machine in the 1960, combining the keyboard text-entry and printing functions of an electric typewriter with a recording unit, either tape or floppy disk (as used by the Wang machine) with a simple dedicated computer processor for the editing of text.^[1] Although features and designs varied among manufacturers and models, and new features were added as technology advanced, the first word processors typically featured a monochrome display and the ability to save documents on memory cards or diskettes. Later models introduced innovations such as spell-checking programs, and improved formatting options.

As the more versatile combination of personal computers and printers became commonplace, and computer software applications for word processing became popular, most business machine companies stopped manufacturing dedicated word processor machines. As of 2009 there were only two U.S. companies, Classic and AlphaSmart, which still made them.^{[2][needs update]} Many older machines, however, remain in use. Since 2009, Sentinel has offered a machine described as a «word processor», but it is more accurately a highly specialised microcomputer used for accounting and publishing.^[3]

Word processing was one of the earliest applications for the personal computer in office productivity, and was the most widely used application on personal computers until the World Wide Web rose to prominence in the mid-1990s.

Although the early word processors evolved to use tag-based markup for document formatting, most modern word processors take advantage of a graphical user interface providing some form of what-you-see-is-what-you-get («WYSIWYG») editing. Most are powerful systems consisting of one or more programs that can produce a combination of images, graphics and text, the latter handled with type-setting capability. Typical features of a modern word processor include multiple font sets, spell checking, grammar checking, a built-in thesaurus, automatic text correction, web integration, HTML conversion, pre-formatted publication projects such as newsletters and to-do lists, and much more.

Microsoft Word is the most widely used word processing software according to a user tracking system built into the software. Microsoft estimates that roughly half a billion people use the Microsoft Office suite,^[4] which includes Word. Many other word processing applications exist, including WordPerfect (which dominated the market from the mid-1980s to early-1990s on computers running Microsoft’s MS-DOS operating system, and still (2014) is favored for legal applications), Apple’s Pages application, and open source applications such as OpenOffice.org Writer, LibreOffice Writer, AbiWord, KWord, and LyX. Web-based word processors such as Office Online or Google Docs are a relatively new category.

Characteristics

Word processors evolved dramatically once they became software programs rather than dedicated machines. They can usefully be distinguished from text editors, the category of software they evolved from.^[5][6]

A text editor is a program that is used for typing, copying, pasting, and printing text (a single character, or strings of characters). Text editors do not format lines or pages. (There are extensions of text editors which can perform formatting of lines and pages: batch document processing systems, starting with TJ-2 and RUNOFF and still available in such systems as LaTeX and Ghostscript, as well as programs that implement the paged-media extensions to HTML and CSS). Text editors are now used mainly by programmers, website designers, computer system administrators, and, in the case of LaTeX, by mathematicians and scientists (for complex formulas and for citations in rare languages). They are also useful when fast startup times, small file sizes, editing speed, and simplicity of operation are valued, and when formatting is unimportant. Due to their use in managing complex software projects, text editors can sometimes provide better facilities for managing large writing projects than a word processor.^[7]

Word processing added to the text editor the ability to control type style and size, to manage lines (word wrap), to format documents into pages, and to number pages. Functions now taken for granted were added incrementally, sometimes by purchase of independent providers of add-on programs. Spell checking, grammar checking and mail merge were some of the most popular add-ons for early word processors. Word processors are also capable of hyphenation, and the management and correct positioning of footnotes and endnotes.

More advanced features found in recent word processors include:

• Collaborative editing, allowing multiple users to work on the same document.
• Indexing assistance. (True indexing, as performed by a professional human indexer, is far beyond current technology, for the same reasons that fully automated, literary-quality machine translation is.)
• Creation of tables of contents.
• Management, editing, and positioning of visual material (illustrations, diagrams), and sometimes sound files.
• Automatically managed (updated) cross-references to pages or notes.
• Version control of a document, permitting reconstruction of its evolution.
• Non-printing comments and annotations.
• Generation of document statistics (characters, words, readability level, time spent editing by each user).
• «Styles», which automate consistent formatting of text body, titles, subtitles, highlighted text, and so on.

Later desktop publishing programs were specifically designed with elaborate pre-formatted layouts for publication, offering only limited options for changing the layout, while allowing users to import text that was written using a text editor or word processor, or type the text in themselves.

Typical usage

Word processors have a variety of uses and applications within the business world, home, education, journalism, publishing, and the literary arts.

Use in business

Within the business world, word processors are extremely useful tools. Some typical uses include: creating legal documents, company reports, publications for clients, letters, and internal memos. Businesses tend to have their own format and style for any of these, and additions such as company letterhead. Thus, modern word processors with layout editing and similar capabilities find widespread use in most business.

Use in home

While many homes have a word processor on their computers, word processing in the home tends to be educational, planning or business related, dealing with school assignments or work being completed at home. Occasionally word processors are used for recreational purposes, e.g. writing short stories, poems or personal correspondence. Some use word processors to create résumés and greeting cards, but many of these home publishing processes have been taken over by web apps or desktop publishing programs specifically oriented toward home uses. The rise of email and social networks has also reduced the home role of the word processor as uses that formerly required printed output can now be done entirely online.

History

Word processors are descended from the Friden Flexowriter, which had two punched tape stations and permitted switching from one to the other (thus enabling what was called the «chain» or «form letter», one tape containing names and addresses, and the other the body of the letter to be sent). It did not wrap words, which was begun by IBM’s Magnetic Tape Selectric Typewriter (later, Magnetic Card Selectric Typewriter).

IBM Selectric

Expensive Typewriter, written and improved between 1961 and 1962 by Steve Piner and L. Peter Deutsch, was a text editing program that ran on a DEC PDP-1 computer at MIT. Since it could drive an IBM Selectric typewriter (a letter-quality printer), it may be considered the first-word processing program, but the term word processing itself was only introduced, by IBM’s Böblingen Laboratory in the late 1960s.

In 1969, two software based text editing products (Astrotype and Astrocomp) were developed and marketed by Information Control Systems (Ann Arbor Michigan).^[8][9][10] Both products used the Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-8 mini computer, DECtape (4” reel) randomly accessible tape drives, and a modified version of the IBM Selectric typewriter (the IBM 2741 Terminal). These 1969 products preceded CRT display-based word processors. Text editing was done using a line numbering system viewed on a paper copy inserted in the Selectric typewriter.

Evelyn Berezin invented a Selectric-based word processor in 1969, and founded the Redactron Corporation to market the $8,000 machine.^[11] Redactron was sold to Burroughs Corporation in 1976.^[12]

By 1971 word processing was recognized by the New York Times as a «buzz word».^[13] A 1974 Times article referred to «the brave new world of Word Processing or W/P. That’s International Business Machines talk … I.B.M. introduced W/P about five years ago for its Magnetic Tape Selectric Typewriter and other electronic razzle-dazzle.»^[14]

IBM defined the term in a broad and vague way as «the combination of people, procedures, and equipment which transforms ideas into printed communications,» and originally used it to include dictating machines and ordinary, manually operated Selectric typewriters.^[15] By the early seventies, however, the term was generally understood to mean semiautomated typewriters affording at least some form of editing and correction, and the ability to produce perfect «originals». Thus, the Times headlined a 1974 Xerox product as a «speedier electronic typewriter», but went on to describe the product, which had no screen,^[16] as «a word processor rather than strictly a typewriter, in that it stores copy on magnetic tape or magnetic cards for retyping, corrections, and subsequent printout».^[17]

Mainframe systems

In the late 1960s IBM provided a program called FORMAT for generating printed documents on any computer capable of running Fortran IV. Written by Gerald M. Berns, FORMAT was described in his paper «Description of FORMAT, a Text-Processing Program» (Communications of the ACM, Volume 12, Number 3, March, 1969) as «a production program which facilitates the editing and printing of ‘finished’ documents directly on the printer of a relatively small (64k) computer system. It features good performance, totally free-form input, very flexible formatting capabilities including up to eight columns per page, automatic capitalization, aids for index construction, and a minimum of nontext [control elements] items.» Input was normally on punched cards or magnetic tape, with up to 80capital letters and non-alphabetic characters per card. The limited typographical controls available were implemented by control sequences; for example, letters were automatically converted to lower case unless they followed a full stop, that is, the «period» character. Output could be printed on a typical line printer in all-capitals — or in upper and lower case using a special («TN») printer chain — or could be punched as a paper tape which could be printed, in better than line printer quality, on a Flexowriter. A workalike program with some improvements, DORMAT, was developed and used at University College London.

Electromechanical paper-tape-based equipment such as the Friden Flexowriter had long been available; the Flexowriter allowed for operations such as repetitive typing of form letters (with a pause for the operator to manually type in the variable information),^[18] and when equipped with an auxiliary reader, could perform an early version of «mail merge». Circa 1970 it began to be feasible to apply electronic computers to office automation tasks. IBM’s Mag Tape Selectric Typewriter (MT/ST) and later Mag Card Selectric (MCST) were early devices of this kind, which allowed editing, simple revision, and repetitive typing, with a one-line display for editing single lines.^[19] The first novel to be written on a word processor, the IBM MT/ST, was Len Deighton’s Bomber, published in 1970.^[20]

Effect on office administration

The New York Times, reporting on a 1971 business equipment trade show, said

The «buzz word» for this year’s show was «word processing», or the use of electronic equipment, such as typewriters; procedures and trained personnel to maximize office efficiency. At the IBM exhibition a girl typed on an electronic typewriter. The copy was received on a magnetic tape cassette which accepted corrections, deletions, and additions and then produced a perfect letter for the boss’s signature …^[13]

In 1971, a third of all working women in the United States were secretaries, and they could see that word processing would affect their careers. Some manufacturers, according to a Times article, urged that «the concept of ‘word processing’ could be the answer to Women’s Lib advocates’ prayers. Word processing will replace the ‘traditional’ secretary and give women new administrative roles in business and industry.»^[13]

The 1970s word processing concept did not refer merely to equipment, but, explicitly, to the use of equipment for «breaking down secretarial labor into distinct components, with some staff members handling typing exclusively while others supply administrative support. A typical operation would leave most executives without private secretaries. Instead one secretary would perform various administrative tasks for three or more secretaries.»^[21] A 1971 article said that «Some [secretaries] see W/P as a career ladder into management; others see it as a dead-end into the automated ghetto; others predict it will lead straight to the picket line.» The National Secretaries Association, which defined secretaries as people who «can assume responsibility without direct supervision», feared that W/P would transform secretaries into «space-age typing pools». The article considered only the organizational changes resulting from secretaries operating word processors rather than typewriters; the possibility that word processors might result in managers creating documents without the intervention of secretaries was not considered—not surprising in an era when few managers, but most secretaries, possessed keyboarding skills.^[14]

Dedicated models

In 1972, Stephen Bernard Dorsey, Founder and President of Canadian company Automatic Electronic Systems (AES), introduced the world’s first programmable word processor with a video screen. The real breakthrough by Dorsey’s AES team was that their machine stored the operator’s texts on magnetic disks. Texts could be retrieved from the disks simply by entering their names at the keyboard. More importantly, a text could be edited, for instance a paragraph moved to a new place, or a spelling error corrected, and these changes were recorded on the magnetic disk.

The AES machine was actually a sophisticated computer that could be reprogrammed by changing the instructions contained within a few chips.^[22][23]

In 1975, Dorsey started Micom Data Systems and introduced the Micom 2000 word processor. The Micom 2000 improved on the AES design by using the Intel 8080 single-chip microprocessor, which made the word processor smaller, less costly to build and supported multiple languages.^[24]

Around this time, DeltaData and Wang word processors also appeared, again with a video screen and a magnetic storage disk.

The competitive edge for Dorsey’s Micom 2000 was that, unlike many other machines, it was truly programmable. The Micom machine countered the problem of obsolescence by avoiding the limitations of a hard-wired system of program storage. The Micom 2000 utilized RAM, which was mass-produced and totally programmable.^[25] The Micom 2000 was said to be a year ahead of its time when it was introduced into a marketplace that represented some pretty serious competition such as IBM, Xerox and Wang Laboratories.^[26]

In 1978, Micom partnered with Dutch multinational Philips and Dorsey grew Micom’s sales position to number three among major word processor manufacturers, behind only IBM and Wang.^[27]

Software models

In the early 1970s, computer scientist Harold Koplow was hired by Wang Laboratories to program calculators. One of his programs permitted a Wang calculator to interface with an IBM Selectric typewriter, which was at the time used to calculate and print the paperwork for auto sales.

In 1974, Koplow’s interface program was developed into the Wang 1200 Word Processor, an IBM Selectric-based text-storage device. The operator of this machine typed text on a conventional IBM Selectric; when the Return key was pressed, the line of text was stored on a cassette tape. One cassette held roughly 20 pages of text, and could be «played back» (i.e., the text retrieved) by printing the contents on continuous-form paper in the 1200 typewriter’s «print» mode. The stored text could also be edited, using keys on a simple, six-key array. Basic editing functions included Insert, Delete, Skip (character, line), and so on.

The labor and cost savings of this device were immediate, and remarkable: pages of text no longer had to be retyped to correct simple errors, and projects could be worked on, stored, and then retrieved for use later on. The rudimentary Wang 1200 machine was the precursor of the Wang Office Information System (OIS), introduced in 1976. It was a true office machine, affordable by organizations such as medium-sized law firms, and easily learned and operated by secretarial staff.

The Wang was not the first CRT-based machine nor were all of its innovations unique to Wang. In the early 1970s Linolex, Lexitron and Vydec introduced pioneering word-processing systems with CRT display editing. A Canadian electronics company, Automatic Electronic Systems, had introduced a product in 1972, but went into receivership a year later. In 1976, refinanced by the Canada Development Corporation, it returned to operation as AES Data, and went on to successfully market its brand of word processors worldwide until its demise in the mid-1980s. Its first office product, the AES-90,^[28] combined for the first time a CRT-screen, a floppy-disk and a microprocessor,^[22][23] that is, the very same winning combination that would be used by IBM for its PC seven years later. The AES-90 software was able to handle French and English typing from the start, displaying and printing the texts side-by-side, a Canadian government requirement. The first eight units were delivered to the office of the then Prime Minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, in February 1974.
Despite these predecessors, Wang’s product was a standout, and by 1978 it had sold more of these systems than any other vendor.^[29]

The phrase «word processor» rapidly came to refer to CRT-based machines similar to the AES 90. Numerous machines of this kind emerged, typically marketed by traditional office-equipment companies such as IBM, Lanier (marketing AES Data machines, re-badged), CPT, and NBI.^[30]
All were specialized, dedicated, proprietary systems, priced around $10,000. Cheap general-purpose computers were still for hobbyists.

Some of the earliest CRT-based machines used cassette tapes for removable-memory storage until floppy diskettes became available for this purpose — first the 8-inch floppy, then the 5¼-inch (drives by Shugart Associates and diskettes by Dysan).

Printing of documents was initially accomplished using IBM Selectric typewriters modified for ASCII-character input. These were later replaced by application-specific daisy wheel printers, first developed by Diablo, which became a Xerox company, and later by Qume. For quicker «draft» printing, dot-matrix line printers were optional alternatives with some word processors.

WYSIWYG models

Electric Pencil, released in December 1976, was the first word processor software for microcomputers.^{[31][32][33][34][35]} Software-based word processors running on general-purpose personal computers gradually displaced dedicated word processors, and the term came to refer to software rather than hardware. Some programs were modeled after particular dedicated WP hardware. MultiMate, for example, was written for an insurance company that had hundreds of typists using Wang systems, and spread from there to other Wang customers. To adapt to the smaller, more generic PC keyboard, MultiMate used stick-on labels and a large plastic clip-on template to remind users of its dozens of Wang-like functions, using the shift, alt and ctrl keys with the 10 IBM function keys and many of the alphabet keys.

Other early word-processing software required users to memorize semi-mnemonic key combinations rather than pressing keys labelled «copy» or «bold». (In fact, many early PCs lacked cursor keys; WordStar famously used the E-S-D-X-centered «diamond» for cursor navigation, and modern vi-like editors encourage use of hjkl for navigation.) However, the price differences between dedicated word processors and general-purpose PCs, and the value added to the latter by software such as VisiCalc, were so compelling that personal computers and word processing software soon became serious competition for the dedicated machines. Word processing became the most popular use for personal computers, and unlike the spreadsheet (dominated by Lotus 1-2-3) and database (dBase) markets, WordPerfect, XyWrite, Microsoft Word, pfs:Write, and dozens of other word processing software brands competed in the 1980s; PC Magazine reviewed 57 different programs in one January 1986 issue.^[32] Development of higher-resolution monitors allowed them to provide limited WYSIWYG—What You See Is What You Get, to the extent that typographical features like bold and italics, indentation, justification and margins were approximated on screen.

The mid-to-late 1980s saw the spread of laser printers, a «typographic» approach to word processing, and of true WYSIWYG bitmap displays with multiple fonts (pioneered by the Xerox Alto computer and Bravo word processing program), PostScript, and graphical user interfaces (another Xerox PARC innovation, with the Gypsy word processor which was commercialised in the Xerox Star product range). Standalone word processors adapted by getting smaller and replacing their CRTs with small character-oriented LCD displays. Some models also had computer-like features such as floppy disk drives and the ability to output to an external printer. They also got a name change, now being called «electronic typewriters» and typically occupying a lower end of the market, selling for under US$200.

During the late 1980s and into the 1990s the predominant word processing program was WordPerfect.<ref name=»Word processor»>{{cite encyclopedia | title= Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science |volume= 49 | location= New York| publisher= Dekker | year= 1992| pages= 268–78 | contribution= Word Processing (History of) | first= Daniel | last= Eisenberg | author-link=:es:Daniel Eisenberg|url= http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/deisenbe/compartics/History_of_Word_Processing.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521074833/http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/deisenbe/compartics/History_of_Word_Processing.pdf

MacWrite, Microsoft Word, and other word processing programs for the bit-mapped Apple Macintosh screen, introduced in 1984, were probably the first true WYSIWYG word processors to become known to many people until the introduction of Microsoft Windows. Dedicated word processors eventually became museum pieces.

See also

• Amstrad PCW
• Authoring systems
• Canon Cat
• Comparison of word processors
• Content management system
• CPT Word Processors
• Document collaboration
• List of word processors
• IBM MT/ST
• Microwriter
• Office suite
• TeX
• Typography

Literature

• Matthew G. Kirschenbaum Track Changes — A Literary History of Word Processing Harvard University Press 2016 ISBN:9780674417076

References

External links

• FOSS word processors compared: OOo Writer, AbiWord, and KWord by Bruce Byfield
• History of Word Processing
• «Remembering the Office of the Future: Word Processing and Office Automation before the Personal Computer» — A comprehensive history of early word processing concepts, hardware, software, and use. By Thomas Haigh, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 28:4 (October–December 2006):6-31.
• «A Brief History of Word Processing (Through 1986)» by Brian Kunde (December, 1986)
• «AES: A Canadian Cautionary Tale» by CBC Television (Broadcast date: February 4, 1985, link updated Nov. 2, 2012)

– Equipment Or Concept? Essay, Research Paper

WORD PROCESSING-EQUIPMENT OR CONCEPT?

Introduction

Increasing administrative costs in recent years have made the
production of business communications a major expense and one that
will continue to rise. One way to help control the cost of business
communications is to make the processing of documents more
effective and efficient through the use of current technology. Word
processing equipment has been around for more than twenty years.
However, during the last decade it has really made an impact on the
business world.

There are two major contributing factors to this increased
impact. The first is technological advances made in the area of
equipment manufacturing. The second, and just as important, is the
acceptance of the concept of word processing as a system rather
than just a piece of hardware.

Background

Word processing first appeared in the business environment on a
widely distributed basis in 1964. Since that time, the question,
?What is word processing?? has been heard all over the country.
When this question is asked, it is usually aimed primarily at
hardware. But word processing should not be thought of as a piece
of equipment; rather it is a concept for improving the efficiency
of producing business communications. Equipment is but one of
several tools used in the construction of a word processing system.
Word processing is now being accepted as the capability to
transform ideas into written word by employing procedures,
equipment, and people. These three ingredients make word processing
a viable solution to increasing the efficiency and reducing the
cost of producing business communications.

The next question is usually, ?How does word processing actually
work?? Very simply stated, text material can be stored and
retrieved later for manipulation during revision cycles. This
process eliminates the need for lengthy rekeying due to errors or
changes in the document. This process is ideal for long documents
or any document that goes through several revision cycles. Accuracy
and quality are increased because you are only rekeying changed
portions of the document. Processing time is greatly reduced for
all work produced on word processing equipment.

This simple explanation has discussed the benefits available
through word processing. Reductions of processing or keyboarding
time and increases in quality and accuracy are the most important
benefits to be gained from word processing. These benefits can only
be gained, however, by using the three tools discussed earlier to
build your word processing system.

Procedures

Procedures are the backbone of any word processing system.
Automation is not a panacea in itself. However, procedures to
dictate what, how, and when this equipment should be used will
remove many of your administrative burdens. Procedures should be
implemented whether you are employing a centralized or
decentralized processing environment. There should be two sets of
procedures: one for the personnel submitting work to be processed
and another for the operators.

Author?s manual

The author?s manual should include a detailed system
description, along with instructions on how to submit work and what
can be expected of the system. When writing these procedures, keep
in mind that they are not cast in concrete. Procedures should be
reviewed every six months and, as circumstances change, revised and
rewritten. The following items should be considered for inclusion
in the author?s manual:

Goals of the word processing system

System descriptions

Word flow diagrams

Services offered

Dictation guidelines

Transmittal slips

Priorities

Turnaround times

Media retention

Special projection scheduling

Proofreading marks

Corrections

Additional services; e.g., communications, telex, facsimiles

This manual is intended to inform the author or word originator
how to effectively utilize the resources available. If these
guidelines are followed, your authors should know what to submit,
how to submit it, and what to expect in terms of output. With this
accomplished, you have taken a giant stride toward ensuring the
effectiveness of your word processing system.

Operator?s manual

The operator?s manual should include equipment, system, and
document information as well as office standards.
This manual
should be a comprehensive guide outlining exactly what is expected
and who is responsible. The following items should be considered
for the inclusion in the operator?s manual:

System description

Equipment description

Equipment maintenance instructions (on and off instructions,
etc.)

Work flow diagrams

Distribution of work

Priorities

Recordkeeping instructions and forms

Document and machine set-ups (include samples)

Explanation of company standards

This guide is not only informative for full-time employees, but
it is especially helpful in training temporaries and part-time
employees. This manual should contain information necessary to
accomplish all functions of the job other than training to use the
equipment.

Procedures really are the foundation that our system will be
built on. The advances in technology in word processing have been
phenomenal in the last ten years. Because of increases technology,
it is very important to control this area, and the only way to do
that is through a systematic procedural approach.

Equipment

Selecting equipment for a word processing installation is
without a doubt a difficult task. Technical information about
hardware and software is readily available through sources like
trade journals, vendors, consumer reports, consulting firms, and
word processing associations. The problem arises in applying the
information you have compiled to the needs of your organization.
Theses needs are the foundation on which you design your system and
should be the basis on which you make your equipment selection.

The first step in evaluating the type of equipment needed is to
ascertain the types of work performed in your organization. You
should break down by percentages the instances of short and long
letters and memos, repetitive letter, reports, statistical work,
forms, printing applications, and communications use. The
complexity of text editing and manipulation should be determined
for each of these categories. With this information, you should be
able to decide on a category of equipment to fit your needs. Every
organization?s needs and applications for word processing equipment
are different. No single type of equipment, therefore, is the best
for all situations. But one of the types available will fit into
and meet your word processing needs.

Staffing

Personnel is the last building block in constructing your word
processing system. It is not listed last because of order of
importance, however, A well-qualified staff will mean the
difference between success and failure. The traditional methods of
producing documents in the office have changed. The qualifications
needed for a good word processor can be broken down into tangible
and intangible key factors. In the tangible area there are seven
basic background skills that are necessary:

Fast and accurate keyboarding

Transcription of dictation

Proofreading

Grammatical skills

Use of resource materials

Mathematics

Concepts and theory of word processing

Intangible personality traits represent a large area of
qualifications that are just as necessary:

A service attitude-proffesional, businesslike, cooperative, and
positive

A sense of humor

Aptitude for machines

Ability to concentrate

Good logical problem-solving skills

Stability

Responsibility, sense of pride in work

Good team attitude, respect for standard procedures

This formula is not foolproof; an individual with these
qualifications still may not make a good word processing operator.
However, an individual possessing these skills is certainly a
well-qualified applicant for word processing positions and could be
an asset to your word processing system.

Conclusion

The answer to the question, ?What is word processing?? is that
it is a concept. This concept is based on three ingredients

Procedures dictate what, how, and when paperwork will be
produced.

The equipment is the tool to accomplish the result.

Word processing personnel actually produce the result, using
procedures and the equipment.

By employing all three ingredients you should be able to greatly
increase the efficiency of processing paperwork in your office.

cn

?Venice? Encyclopedia of Britannica Online. [Accessed January 3
2000]

Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. World Geography Today. Austin TX:
Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997

Asked by: Adrian Christiansen Sr.

Score: 5/5
(20 votes)

A word processor is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features.
Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current word processors are word processor programs running on general purpose computers.

What is word processor explain?

Word processor, computer program used to write and revise documents, compose the layout of the text, and preview on a computer monitor how the printed copy will appear. … Modern word processors also have many features once reserved for desktop publishing systems, such as table creation and importation of graphic images.

What is word processor with example?

One example of a Word Processor is Microsoft Word, but other word processing applications are also widely used. Examples include: Microsoft Works Word Processor, Open Office Writer, Word Perfect and Google Drive Document.. but certainly not limited to) reports, letters, memos, newsletters and brochures.

What is word processor What are its types?

The word “word processor” means it processes words with pages and paragraphs. Word processors are of 3 types which are electronic, mechanical, and software.

What is word processor and explain about it?

A word processor is software or a device that allows users to create, edit, and print documents. It enables you to write text, store it electronically, display it on a screen, modify it by entering commands and characters from the keyboard, and print it. Of all computer applications, word processing is the most common.

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