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{{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 1988 ''PC'' reader survey found that 6% used DisplayWrite 4, tied for fifth with [[PC-Write]] among word processors.<ref name="seymour19880229">{{Cite magazine |last=Seymour |first=Jim |date=1988-02-29 |title=Fast, Flexible, & Forward-Looking |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CmNNyCje8oAC&pg=PA92 |access-date=February 2, 2026 |magazine=PC |pages=92-104 |volume=7 |issue=4}}</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>

''[[PC Magazine]]'' found DisplayWrite 1 and [[pfs:Write]] the best of six inexpensive word processors it reviewed in 1985. The magazine said that the IBM product was the most powerful and the "obvious choice for a large office staff".<ref name="wiswell19851015">{{Cite magazine |last=Wiswell |first=Phil |date=1985-10-15 |title=Word Processing for the Dollar-Wise |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wcv9oIHOrjQC&pg=PA122 |access-date=December 22, 2025 |magazine=PC |pages=122-130 |volume=4 |issue=21}}</ref> Describing DisplayWrite 3 in 1987 as "a tank — big, powerful, clumsy, ugly, and hard to use"—[[John V. Lombardi]] said in ''[[InfoWorld]]'' that DisplayWrite 4 was more powerful and improved the user interface "but performance remains much the same". Noting that WordPerfect was the same price with "more features, better performance, and much better support" for retail customers, he only recommended DisplayWrite to companies needing compatibility with other IBM word processors.<ref name="lombardi19870309">{{Cite magazine |last=Lombardi |first=John V. |author-link=John V. Lombardi |date=March 9, 1987 |title=IBM Word Processing Program Polished Up But Still Not Good |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zzAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA53 |access-date=2026-01-25 |work=InfoWorld |pages=53-55 |volume=9 |issue=10}}</ref> ''PC'' in 1988 said that while DisplayWrite still sold well to "businesses where the pixie dust falling from the letters I-B-M is just irresistible" it "remains highly resistible", citing DisplayWrite 4's 1970s user interface and continuing "amazing hostility to the world of non-IBM printers".{{r|seymour19880229}}

== 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|DisplayWrite]]

{{WordProcessor-stub}}

IBM DisplayWrite - Revision history

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