| Perfect Writer | |
|---|---|
| Original author | Perfect Software |
| Initial release | 1982; 44 years ago (1982) |
| Written in | C |
| Operating system | CP/M,MS-DOS |
| Predecessor | MINCE |
| Type | Word processor |
Perfect Writer is aword processorcomputer program published by Perfect Software forCP/M.[1] In 1984, Thorn EMI Computer Software acquired an exclusive marketing and distribution licence for Perfect Software's products,[2] and the program was rewritten and released as Perfect II forIBM PC compatible computers.[3] Written inC and famous for its stability, it is an enhanced version ofMINCE, which itself is a version ofEmacs for microcomputer platforms. Emacs itself is too large to fit within the 64 KB RAM limit of most microcomputers.[4] Like MINCE, it includes afloppy disk basedvirtual memory system.
Along with its companion spreadsheet (Perfect Calc),[5] and database (Perfect Filer), Perfect Writer wasbundled with earlyColumbia Data Products,Kaypro II,[6] andMorrow computers, as well as with theTorch Computers Z80 Disk Pack add-on for theBBC Micro[7] and had a list price ofUS$349. In the UK, it was bundled with the short livedAdvance 86B PC (a near IBM compatible). Perfect Writer supports up to 7 buffers and has a character transpose command,undo,footnotes, andindexing. Its capabilities are very close to that of contemporary dedicated word processors.[8] Perfect Writer's ability tocut and paste between documents open in multiple buffers was an advantage overWordStar.[9]
As of February 1983[update] half of Perfect Software's revenue came from OEM sales,[10] but the company lowered prices so much to win the contracts that it lost money. Thorn EMI agreed to distribute Perfect's products after the former decided to not acquire the latter.[6]
Perfect Writer supports a number of add-on programs, Perfect Speller and Perfect Thesaurus, also published by Perfect Software, along with third party software such as Plu*Perfect published by Plu*Perfect Systems. Plu*Perfect includes "D", adired-likefile browser that was deemed "the best of all directory displayers" byStewart Brand.[4]
Perfect Writer was originally published by Perfect Software. Later versions of the product were developed and maintained by Knowledge Engineering in Austin, Texas. The thesaurus was designed, written, and maintained by George O. Jenkins, Jr.
In a 1985 review of inexpensive word processors,PC Magazine approved of Perfect Writer's power, adjustable menu-display delay, multiple windows, and thesaurus and spell checker.[11]
Another reason that split windows are important is that you can cut and paste between two documents while both are on the screen. In WordStar, you have to save the text to be pasted in a file, quit the current document, reload the new document, and read in the file of text.
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