Friday, September 8, 2023

SuperWriter article in Wikipedia

A few days ago I created a draft article here in Wikipedia for a word processor that was called SuperWriter which was developed by Sorcim Corporation (later acquired by Computer Associates in 1985). Along with that an image with the application screenshot has also been uploaded at this location.

The submission was rejected for publication because the provided references do not show that the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article. So I will keep the source of the article here for now:


{{Short description|SuperWriter word processor for Apricot Portable}}

{{Draft topics|literature|media|computing}}

{{AfC topic|other}}


{{Infobox Software

|name                   = SuperWriter

|logo                   = 

|screenshot             = SuperWriter1.03Screenshot.png

|caption                = SuperWriter 1.03 running on MS-DOS

|developer              = [[Sorcim]]

|author             =

|released     = 

|latest_release_version = 

|latest_release_date    = 

|latest_preview_version = 

|latest_preview_date    = 

|operating_system       = [[MS-DOS 2.11]], [[Concurrent CP/M]], [[CP/M-86]]

|genre                  = [[Word processor|Word Processor]]

|license                = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]

|website                = 

|discontinued           = yes

}}

'''SuperWriter''' was a [[word processor]] program that came bundled with devices from [[Apricot Computers]], like the [[Apricot Portable]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Apricot Portable |url=https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=492 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803190552/https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=492 |archivedate=2022-08-03 |url-status=live |accessdate=2023-09-05 |website=Old-Computers.com }}</ref> The application was originally written by [[Sorcim]] which was later acquired by [[Computer Associates]] in 1985.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Needle |first=David |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Computer Associates buys Sorcim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wS4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA11 |page=11 |magazine=[[InfoWorld]] |location= |publisher=[[Popular Computing Inc.]] |date=1984-06-25 |access-date=2023-09-05 |volume=6 |issue=26 }}</ref> It featured a spelling checker and various types of text justification.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=InfoWorld Reviews |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wS4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA69 |page=69 |magazine=[[InfoWorld]] |location= |publisher=[[Popular Computing Inc.]] |date=1984-06-25 |access-date=2023-09-05 |volume=6 |issue=26 }}</ref> SuperWriter was a potential competitor to [[Information Unlimited Software|IUS]]'s [[EasyWriter|EasyWriter II]] program for the [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]] - which was also acquired by Computer Associates a few months before it acquired Sorcim.


==Features==

SuperWriter's user interface was a combination of menu-driven and command-driven experience.<ref>{{cite magazine |last= |first= |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Word Processing: The Latest Word |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wtckANahGXIC&pg=PA120 |page=120 |magazine=[[PC Magazine]] |location= |publisher=[[Ziff Davis|Ziff Davis Publishing Company]] |date=1985-08-20 |access-date=2023-09-06 |volume=4 |issue=17 }}</ref>


Apart from featuring the [[SpellGuard]] spelling checker, SuperWriter also let the user preview the document on screen before sending it to print. Among other formatting options, the application let the user define the length and width of a page, indentation length, header and trailer text and type of text justification. It let the user print the full document or only a part of the document. SuperWriter let the user toggle the case of the letters from lower to upper and vice versa, create tables, find and replace words within a document.


The mail-merge feature in SuperWriter version 1.03 was one of the most powerful around the time but lacked adequate documentation in its user manual. This caused a frustrating experience in getting started with the feature<ref>.{{cite magazine |last= |first= |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Power Performance: Nine Programmable Mail-mergers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lmtbry-ytXgC&pg=PA181 |page=181 |magazine=[[PC Magazine]] |location= |publisher=[[Ziff Davis|Ziff Davis Publishing Company]] |date=1986-04-29 |access-date=2023-09-05 |volume=5 |issue=8 }}</ref>


==Reception==

SuperWriter never sold in substantial quantities and was limited by its ability to edit only what it could hold in memory. The InfoWorld magazine rated it excellent in error handling.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Satchell |first=Stephen |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Review: SuperWriter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gy4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA51 |page=51 |magazine=[[InfoWorld]] |location= |publisher=[[Popular Computing Inc.]] |date=1984-02-27 |access-date=2023-09-05 |volume=6 |issue=9 }}</ref>


==Pricing==

In the year 1984, the listed price was $295 and was available for the [[IBM Personal Computer|IBM PC]] or [[Compaq]] computer running MS-DOS.


== References ==

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{{reflist}}




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