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Scripsit
Scripsit (usually rendered in official marketing and support documents as SCRIPSIT) is a word processing application written for the Radio Shack TRS-80 line of computers. Versions were available for most if not all computers sold under the TRS-80 name, including the TRS-80 Color Computer and several pocket computer designs, as well as the Tandy version of the Xenix operating system. Tandy Corp. also produced a version running under MS-DOS for its line of PC compatible computers (Tandy 1000 and successors). Some of the 8-bit versions are tape-based and have no ability to read or write to disk.
The word scripsit is a Latin verb equivalent to the English "wrote". It was often used as an inscription indicating the identity of the person who wrote something.
Scripsit is a rudimentary word processor. It has basic text entry and margin controls, as well as word wrap. Many versions tied to specific platforms were available, and each version had its own set of features. Most versions supported variable width fonts, specifically for daisy-wheel printers. None had support for graphics other than some character macros[clarification needed] depending on the version. The version for the TRS-80 Model I had special handling to make it possible to use lowercase letters, even though the hardware itself did not support mixed-case type.
Despite its limitations, Scripsit was seen at the time as a killer application for the TRS-80 line of machines, along with other breakthrough applications such as VisiCalc. It was Radio Shack's top-selling program for the consumer-oriented Models I and III. Its main competitor was Michael Shrayer's Electric Pencil. Scripsit dominated its market because, at first, no other TRS-80 word processor was available through the ubiquitous Radio Shack retail stores, with alternatives only being known and made available to the public in the TRS-80 computer press, such as 80 Micro magazine.
The software market evolved quickly, however, and Scripsit's popularity soon gave way to popular packages running on other more computers. Tandy released Scripsit for the Tandy 1000, 2000, and other MS-DOS computers, but 80 Micro's 1986 review found that it was slower than WordStar, with an awkward user interface, and more expensive than Microsoft Word. While approving of its flexibility, the magazine wondered if the company released the DOS version to a market with numerous competitors because of "stubborn pride? Homage to a classic name from the TRS-80 days?". 80 Micro in 1988 described it as "unusable".
Word processors typically require the use of special function keys to access editing commands as opposed to text entry. This proved to be a challenge on the TRS-80 Models I and Model III, as their keyboards had no non-typewriter modifier keys—not even Control. Instead, Tandy uses @ to access features such as margin control and load/save. Other common features are implemented as key combinations using Clear, and, lacking ⇪ Caps Lock, the combination ⇧ Shift+0.
By contrast, the DOS version of Scripsit assigns up to 60 commands to function keys with modifier keys, which 80 Micro described as "a good idea that Scripsit takes to extremes".
An upgraded disk-only version named SuperScripsit was available with spellchecking for some platforms, specifically the Model I, Model III, and Model 4. This version basically matches the functionality of the normal Scripsit for disk-based platforms such as the Model II, Model 12, and Model 16. Some additional features such as boilerplating and integration with Profile, Tandy's database program for all of their TRS-80 platforms, are available for the disk versions.
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Scripsit AI simulator
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Scripsit
Scripsit (usually rendered in official marketing and support documents as SCRIPSIT) is a word processing application written for the Radio Shack TRS-80 line of computers. Versions were available for most if not all computers sold under the TRS-80 name, including the TRS-80 Color Computer and several pocket computer designs, as well as the Tandy version of the Xenix operating system. Tandy Corp. also produced a version running under MS-DOS for its line of PC compatible computers (Tandy 1000 and successors). Some of the 8-bit versions are tape-based and have no ability to read or write to disk.
The word scripsit is a Latin verb equivalent to the English "wrote". It was often used as an inscription indicating the identity of the person who wrote something.
Scripsit is a rudimentary word processor. It has basic text entry and margin controls, as well as word wrap. Many versions tied to specific platforms were available, and each version had its own set of features. Most versions supported variable width fonts, specifically for daisy-wheel printers. None had support for graphics other than some character macros[clarification needed] depending on the version. The version for the TRS-80 Model I had special handling to make it possible to use lowercase letters, even though the hardware itself did not support mixed-case type.
Despite its limitations, Scripsit was seen at the time as a killer application for the TRS-80 line of machines, along with other breakthrough applications such as VisiCalc. It was Radio Shack's top-selling program for the consumer-oriented Models I and III. Its main competitor was Michael Shrayer's Electric Pencil. Scripsit dominated its market because, at first, no other TRS-80 word processor was available through the ubiquitous Radio Shack retail stores, with alternatives only being known and made available to the public in the TRS-80 computer press, such as 80 Micro magazine.
The software market evolved quickly, however, and Scripsit's popularity soon gave way to popular packages running on other more computers. Tandy released Scripsit for the Tandy 1000, 2000, and other MS-DOS computers, but 80 Micro's 1986 review found that it was slower than WordStar, with an awkward user interface, and more expensive than Microsoft Word. While approving of its flexibility, the magazine wondered if the company released the DOS version to a market with numerous competitors because of "stubborn pride? Homage to a classic name from the TRS-80 days?". 80 Micro in 1988 described it as "unusable".
Word processors typically require the use of special function keys to access editing commands as opposed to text entry. This proved to be a challenge on the TRS-80 Models I and Model III, as their keyboards had no non-typewriter modifier keys—not even Control. Instead, Tandy uses @ to access features such as margin control and load/save. Other common features are implemented as key combinations using Clear, and, lacking ⇪ Caps Lock, the combination ⇧ Shift+0.
By contrast, the DOS version of Scripsit assigns up to 60 commands to function keys with modifier keys, which 80 Micro described as "a good idea that Scripsit takes to extremes".
An upgraded disk-only version named SuperScripsit was available with spellchecking for some platforms, specifically the Model I, Model III, and Model 4. This version basically matches the functionality of the normal Scripsit for disk-based platforms such as the Model II, Model 12, and Model 16. Some additional features such as boilerplating and integration with Profile, Tandy's database program for all of their TRS-80 platforms, are available for the disk versions.