| PaperClip | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Original authors | Commodore 64 Steve Douglas Atari 8-bit Steve Ahlstrom Dan Moore |
| Developer | Batteries Included |
| Initial release | 1982; 43 years ago (1982)[1] |
| Platform | Commodore 64 /128,Atari 8-bit |
PaperClip is aword processor for theCommodore 64,128 (native mode), andAtari 8-bit computers published byBatteries Included in 1985. In the UK it was published byAriolasoft.
Both the Atari and Commodore versions share the PaperClip name, but have significant differences.[2] The Commodore 64 version of PaperClip was written by Steve Douglas[3] and was rewritten for the Atari personal computer by Steve Ahlstrom and Dan Moore. The Atari version is based upon the editor in theAction!programming language by Clinton Parker.
PaperClip is also the name given to the text editorROM portion of theCommodore PET Execudesk office suite. The ROM was written by Steve Douglas as well.
PaperClip does not useword wrap to display text on the screen, whichAhoy!'s reviewer wrote was satisfactory for Commodore 64 users with 40-column displays but drew the ire of the reviewer forWhole Earth Software Catalog while highlightingOMNIWRITER's support for same.[4] The Commodore 64 version provides an 80-columnpreview mode with text that was legible on a computer monitor, and supported a wide variety of Commodore and non-Commodore printers.
The software was supplied with adongle, ahardware key used forcopy protection that plugged into theAtari joystick port, also present on the C64.[5] A keyless version was also available. AnEPROM was also used for copy protection on the PET. Other programs that used such a method just checked for a couple of specific bytes of data in the EPROM, and this check was easily bypassed by a small change to the code. PaperClip, however, placed all the user messages in the EPROM. Thus no EPROM, and no messages.
One unusual aspect of PaperClip is that the Control key functions more like on a hand-held calculator. You have to press and release the Control key, then press the key for the appropriate function.
Ahoy! wrote that "PaperClip is one of the most comprehensive word processing programs for the C-64", but noted the $125 list price.[6]
Antic called PaperClip, "by far the best word processor ever available for the Atari."[2] In the December 1986 shopper's guide, a staffer wrote, "We write and edit every word atAntic with PaperClip before transmitting the copy to ourtypesetter viamodem."[7]
Why EASY SCRIPT from Commodore and PAPER CLIP from Batteries Included continue to sell for the Commodore 64 baffles me. They can't even manage to end lines on the screen without breaking words in the middle.
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