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'''SpeedScript''' is a [[word processor]] originally printed as a [[type-in program|type-in]] [[MLX (software)|MLX]] [[machine language]] listing in 1984-85 issues of ''[[Compute!]]'' and ''[[Compute!'s Gazette]]'' magazines. Approximately 5 [[Kilobyte|KB]] in length, it provided many of the same features as commercial word processing packages of the [[8-bit]] era, such as [[PaperClip]] and [[Bank Street Writer]]. Versions were published for the [[Apple II series|Apple II]], [[Commodore 64]] and 128, [[Atari 8-bit computers]], [[VIC-20]], and [[MS-DOS]].
==Versions==
In April 1983 ''[[Compute!]]'' published '''Scriptor''', a word processor written by staff writer Charles Brannon in [[BASIC]] and [[assembly language]], as a [[type-in program]] for the [[Atari 8-bit computers]].<ref name="brannon198304" /> In January 1984 version 1.0 of his new word processor SpeedScript appeared in ''[[Compute!'s Gazette]]'' for the [[Commodore 64]] and [[VIC-20]].<ref name="brannon198401" /> 1.1 appeared in ''Compute!'s Second Book of Commodore 64'',<ref>SpeedScript's Lineage; Pg 11 June 1986 Compute! https://archive.org/details/1986-06-compute-magazine/page/n11/mode/2up</ref> 2.0 on ''Gazette Disk'' in May 1984,<ref>The SpeedScript Family; Pg 71 May 1987 Compute!'s Gazette https://archive.org/details/computes.gazette/Compute_Gazette_Issue_47_1987_May/page/n71/mode/2up</ref><ref>Gazette Disk Premiere ad Pg 33 April 1984 Compute!'s Gazette https://archive.org/details/1984-04-computegazette/page/n33/mode/2up</ref> and 3.0 in ''Compute!'' in March and April 1985.<ref name="Brannon198503" /><ref name="Brannon198504" /> Corrections that updated 3.0 to 3.1 appeared in May 1985,<ref name="capute198505" /> and the full 3.1 version appeared in a book published by Compute!, ''SpeedScript: The Word Processor for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20''.<ref> SpeedScript: The Word Processor for the Commodore 64 and VIC-20 https://archive.org/details/Computes_Speedscript</ref>
SpeedScript 3.2, alongside SpeedCalc, Fontmaker, and five other utility programs, was included in the special Best of COMPUTE! & GAZETTE<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/1988-Best-Of-computegazette/page/n103/mode/2up | title=Compute! Gazette Issue 1988 Best of | date=December 1988 }}</ref> disk/magazine in 1988.
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Also of note was the Reader's Feedback column in the January 1986 Compute! which had POKEs to eliminate the DISK or TAPE? question.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/1986-01-compute-magazine/page/n11/mode/2up | title=Compute! Magazine Issue 068 | date=January 1986 }}</ref> There was, however, a typo in the listing and that was corrected in the March 1986 CAPUTE! column.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/1986-03-compute-magazine/page/n127/mode/2up | title=Compute! Magazine Issue 070 | date=March 1986 }}</ref>
Ports of V3 for the Atari 8-bit computers and the [[Apple II series|Apple II]] were printed in ''Compute!'' in May<ref name="Brannon198505" /> and June 1985 respectively.<ref name="Brannon198506" /><ref name="mitchener198606" /> SpeedScript was written entirely in assembly language, and Compute! Publications later released book/disk combinations that contained the complete [[Comment (computer programming)|commented]] [[source code]] (as well as the machine language in [[MLX (software)|MLX]] format) for each platform.<ref name="Brannon1985commodore" /><ref name="Brannon1985atari" /><ref name="Brannon1985apple" />
A version of SpeedScript for [[MS-DOS]] was created in 1988 by Randy Thompson and published in book form by Compute! Books.<ref name="thompson1989" /> This version was written in [[Turbo Pascal]] with portions written in assembly language, and added incremental new features to the word processor such as additional printer commands, full cursor-control (to take advantage of the PC's Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn keys), and a native 80-column mode.
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In a review of four word processors, ''[[The Transactor]]'' in May 1986 praised SpeedScript as "extremely sophisticated", citing its large text buffer, logical cursor navigation, and [[undo]] command. While criticizing its lack of [[typographic alignment|right justification]], the magazine concluded that SpeedScript was not only "an easy winner" among budget-priced word processors, but also "a serious contender even when compared with the higher priced programs".<ref name="bose" />
SpeedScript was sufficiently popular to receive coverage in reference works, such as the "Wordprocessing Reference Guide" of
==Gallery==
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