AtariWriter and other WP Questions

[+Larry]

Not AtariWriter 80!  I was searching through some Atari text files and tried to load them into Atariwriter Plus (.XEX version).  And I got a caution: "Memory Full."  Then I went to my floppy disks and found a couple of originals of AW+ (800, XL/XE on front; 130XE on the back).  So I have a few questions.

 

1. I have heard of a 256K version of Atariwriter Plus.  Does this exist?  If so, has anyone tracked it down?

2. Is there any easy way to distinguish the 130XE version, when loaded into an XE.  I presume that the XE version fails with a black screen when loaded into an XL. (?)

3. Is there at least a cracked version of the 130XE version that can be loaded from a multi-cart?

[+kheller2]

The 130XE version would only fail on a XL that didn't have extra memory (I think.  I don't think Atari used special Antic banking for AW+ so it should run on RAMBO XLs ..)

What DOS were you using when you loaded AW+?

 

 

 

[+Larry]

The dos on the original disks is Dos 2.5.  I have not altered the disks, since I believe they are copy protected.  I have an EXE of the XL version that I use with MyDos.  Works well with MyDos.  But no joy with the XE version.

 

[+Larry]

I found an unprotected version of the XE version at archive.org.  Just put AtariWriter in the search bar and several choices are returned.  The 256K version still eludes me (if it exists).  The next step I need is to see if I can use it with DD files.  Are there any other Atari WP's that can load DD files and can use expanded memory, assuming you are using a DD capable Dos?

[Beeblebrox]

The last word perhaps? 

 

https://atari8.co.uk/the-last-word/

 

Supports 80 column  and vbxe as well. 

 

Also I used the fantastic Textpro and its variations bitd. 

[+Larry]

I'm going to take a further look at The Last Word, but just booting it up, it is very impressive!  For now, I've found that AW+ XE still has too small a text buffer for my needs.  But PaperClip XE has an 80K buffer, and that appears to be large enough.  I have an original + dongle, so I'm all set.  I gave up on DD and copied the files down to SD, although PC says that it can use DD disk files.  It looks to be a very usable package.  I bought PC when they were being "blown out," but never really used it.  My current needs are really modest.  I want to add some text to some existing large files -- nothing complicated.

[StickJock]

I used PaperClip back in the 80s & early 90s.  IIRC, it detected and used the extra RAM in my 320K XE.

 

[Beeblebrox]

2 hours ago, Larry said:

I'm going to take a further look at The Last Word, but just booting it up, it is very impressive!  For now, I've found that AW+ XE still has too small a text buffer for my needs.  But PaperClip XE has an 80K buffer, and that appears to be large enough.  I have an original + dongle, so I'm all set.  I gave up on DD and copied the files down to SD, although PC says that it can use DD disk files.  It looks to be a very usable package.  I bought PC when they were being "blown out," but never really used it.  My current needs are really modest.  I want to add some text to some existing large files -- nothing complicated.

Sure. 

 

So from last word web page:

 

The Last Word offers:

• Dual 80 and 40 column displays, selectable at any time without clearing the text buffer
• Hardware 80 column text mode and optimised editing speed for VBXE owners
• Up to 240 column editing in a horizontally scrolling window
• Editing of up 10 files simultaneously on a expanded memory machines
• Sophisticated keyboard macro language
• 80 column print preview
• Spelling checker
• Feature-packed file management menu with up to 80 filenames in a scrolling window
• Support for SpartaDOS X directories with time/date stamps
• High speed editing, even at the top of large files
• Support for SpartaDOS X, MyDOS, DOS 2.5 and many DOS 2 derivatives
• International characters and customisable printer drivers
• Comprehensive 80 page manual
• Large collection of macros, printer drivers and help files

[+Stephen]

Last Word can not only have 10 files open at a time (RAM permitting) - it can "link" a single file up to 160kB across the 10 16kB buffers.