Microsoft Windows
In 1985, Windows 1.0 was released with Microsoft Write. This version is a basic word processor, intended to be more complex than Notepad. It is very similar to the Macintosh version, and has all of the same features. It saves to Write Document (.wri) format, which is a subset of today's Rich Text Format (RTF). Later versions can save to the Word Document (.doc) format. Starting with Windows 95, WordPad replaces Microsoft Write. Because the Write Document format is a subset of RTF, WordPad can read them but cannot write them.
The executable for Microsoft Write still remains in Windows, however it is simply a compatibility stub that launches WordPad.
Atari ST
In 1986, Atari announced an agreement with Microsoft to bring Microsoft Write to the Atari ST.[1]
Unlike the Windows version, Microsoft Write for the Atari ST is the Atari version of Microsoft Word 1.05 released for the Apple Macintosh while sharing the same name as the program included with Microsoft Windows during the 80s and early 90s.[2] While the program was announced in 1986, various delays caused the program to arrive in 1988.[3] The Atari version is a one time release and was never updated.
Microsoft Write for the Atari ST retailed at $129.95 and is one of two high-profile PC word processors that were released on the Atari platform. The other application is WordPerfect.
STart's Ian Chadwick writes, "To put Write into perspective, it is basically a decent GEM-based word processor, but at a price that puts it above most of its competitors."[4]
Antic (magazine)'s Gregg Pearlman writes, "You could call Write a "full-featured" word processor. It's GEM-based and it can (but doesn't have to) run under GDOS. It can use any of several fonts in a WYSIWYG format. It has a search-and-replace feature as well as cut-and-paste, and a visible (non-editable) copy buffer called the Clipboard."[5]
Atari Explorer's John Jainschigg writes, "All in all, Microsoft Write is a powerful, flexible, and genuinely easy-to-use word processor appropriate for business, professional, and academic writing."[6]