View source for IBM DisplayWrite

{{More citations needed|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox software
| name = IBM DisplayWrite
| screenshot = Dw370german-screenshot.png
| screenshot_size = 200
| caption = IBM DisplayWrite/370 (German)
| released = {{Start date and age|1981}}
| discontinued = yes
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2015}}
| operating system = [[PC DOS]]/[[MS-DOS]], [[MVS-CICS]], [[VM/CMS]], [[OS/400]]
| genre = [[Word processor]]
| license = commercial
}}
'''DisplayWrite''' (sometimes written as '''Displaywrite''') is a discontinued [[word processor program]] that [[IBM]] developed and marketed for the [[IBM PC]] and [[IBM PCjr|PCjr]]. It was among the company's first internally developed, commercially sold PC software titles.<ref name="dickinsondw19840918">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq3POofPsBEC&pg=PA248 | title=IBM's Displaywriter Begets a Family of PC Software | work=[[PC Magazine]] | date=1984-09-18 | access-date=29 January 2015 | author=Dickinson, John | pages=238}}</ref>

DisplayWrite's feature set was based on the [[IBM Displaywriter System]], a dedicated [[microcomputer]]-based word processing machine.<ref name="displaywrite">[http://www-306.ibm.com/software/applications/office/dw370/index.html IBM DisplayWrite]</ref> Because the two systems were so similar, an experienced Displaywriter user could start using DisplayWrite immediately.<ref name="dickinson19840918">{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq3POofPsBEC&pg=PA248|title=DisplayWrite 2 and Displaywriter: A Close Correspondence|author=Dickinson, John|date=1984-09-18|work=PC Magazine|access-date=25 October 2013|pages=248}}</ref>

== Versions ==

=== DisplayWrite/PC ===
For the [[Intel]] platform there were DisplayWrite versions for PC/MS-DOS and DisplayWrite 5/2 programmed under [[OS/2]].<ref>{{Cite journal|date=October 30, 1989|title=Today's DisplayWrite. Word processing that works for you on many different levels|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzAEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22IBM+DisplayWrite%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA12|journal=[[InfoWorld]]|volume=11|issue=44|pages=12|via=Google Books}}</ref>

=== DisplayWrite/36 ===
{{Main|IBM Office/36}}
DisplayWrite/36 was the word processing component of IBM Office/36, which allowed an office to use the SQL-based database file for labels and form letters.

=== DisplayWrite/370 ===
DisplayWrite/370, a much more powerful version with full graphics and [[WYSIWYG]] support, was supported for [[IBM zSeries]] mainframe computers until May 2015.<ref name="displaywrite_support">[https://www-01.ibm.com/software/support/lifecycleapp/PLCDetail.wss?q45=J046758V05926W49 Software lifecycle DisplayWrite/370 for MVS/CICS 2.2.x]</ref> (see [[IBM Displaywriter System]]). DW/370 was a host-based word processor.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Desmond|first=John|date=October 7, 1985|title=IBM tackles new market, ties disparate systems|journal=[[Computerworld]]|volume=19|issue=40|pages=1, 4|via=Google Books}}</ref> It was marketed between 1993 and 2015 for MVS/CICS<ref name="displaywrite_support" /> (now z/OS) and VM/CMS.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?subtype=ca&infotype=an&appname=iSource&supplier=897&letternum=ENUS293-209|title=IBM DISPLAYWRITE/370 VERSION 2.2.0 FOR MVS/CICS AND VM/CMS|date=1993-05-11|website=www-01.ibm.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-07}}</ref>

== File format ==
IBM DisplayWrite's native file format is based on IBM's DCA ([[Document Content Architecture]]) RFT ([[Revisable-Form Text|Revisable Form Text]]) specification, but adds additional structures. Depending on the DisplayWrite version, the document files use .DOC or .TXT file name extension. The DisplayWrite software can export to and import from pure DCA/RFT files (which typically have .DCA or .RFT file name extension). RFT (IBM Revisable Form Text) should not be confused with RTF ([[Rich Text Format]]), which is a Microsoft specification.

==Reception==
{{asof|1987}} DisplayWrite was the only successful IBM software product for the PC.<ref name="ryan19871102">{{Cite magazine |last=Ryan |first=Alan J. |date=1987-11-02 |title=Challengers: IBM |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUSIMiurpfYC&pg=PP79 |access-date=2025-06-08 |magazine=Computerworld |page=SR13 |volume=XXI |issue=44}}</ref> A 1990 [[American Institute of Certified Public Accountants]] member survey found that 2% of respondents used DisplayWrite as their word processor.<ref name="aicpa1990">{{Cite report |url=https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1563&context=aicpa_guides |title=1990 AICPA survey of computer usage |author-link=American Institute of Certified Public Accountants |year=1990 |id=561 |access-date=2025-04-30}}</ref>

== Further reading ==
* Dennis P. Curtin: ''Displaywrite 4: Procedures Manual'', [[Prentice-Hall]] 1988, {{ISBN|0139642226}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Word processors}}

[[Category:IBM software|DisplayWrite]]
[[Category:Word processors]]
[[Category:DOS software]]
[[Category:IBM mainframe software]]

{{WordProcessor-stub}}