WordTsar - the modern WordStar

NormanF · Wednesday at 12:11 PM

In the olden pre Windows days, writers like George R Martin and Robert Sawyer used a DOS word processor called Wordstar. Its modern descendant is WordTsar. If you like the old fashioned feel of a typewriter interface, its the ticket. The portable application can be dropped in the Windows Programs Folder with your preferred icon to run like a nornal programme that can be pinned to the taskbsr or the Open Shell Start Menu.

Too much pain to set up a DOS emulator. Work smarter, not harder.

garlin · Wednesday at 12:18 PM

As a WordStar user, you will never forget <CTRL-K><B> <CTRL-K><K>

gunrunnerjohn · Wednesday at 12:27 PM

I loved Wordstar and I used it until it was simply not possible anymore! I've moved on, if this was available 10-15 years ago, I'd be all over it. :lmao:

NormanF · Wednesday at 12:28 PM

gunrunnerjohn said:
I loved Wordstar and I used it until it was simply not possible anymore! I've moved on, if this was available 10-15 years ago, I'd be all over it.

That's why WordTsar exists. Its a perpetual alpha but who cares.

garlin · Wednesday at 12:37 PM

gunrunnerjohn said:
I loved Wordstar and I used it until it was simply not possible anymore! I've moved on, if this was available 10-15 years ago, I'd be all over it.

I remember moving from WordStar to Word Perfect, because WordStar didn't do fonts outside of bold and italics.

gunrunnerjohn · Wednesday at 12:40 PM

garlin said:
I remember moving from WordStar to Word Perfect, because WordStar didn't do fonts outside of bold and italics.

WordStar was fairly primitive for documentation, but most of my use was simple documents and coding. Having a full screen editor when I was using CP/M was super nice!

cereberus · Wednesday at 3:25 PM

Problem with nostalgia is that isn't the same as it used to be.

I challenge any member of this forum to use WordTsar for 3 months and never use any GUI based word processing package in the meantime and come back saying they prefer it - I'll wait.

NormanF · Wednesday at 10:31 PM

WordTsar has a GUI interface. If you're missing the old DOS display with a green blinking prompt, move on.

PhilB · Wednesday at 11:28 PM

garlin said:
As a WordStar user, you will never forget <CTRL-K><B> <CTRL-K><K>

Actually after ~ 40 years I have. :lmao:

And as much as I liked Wordstar back the day, meaning my dissolute youth and advancing middle age, I'm happy to leave all that behind. Only possible use for me could be converting old WS docs, if there isn't a better to convert them to doc or docx. And if I really needed to read 40 year old job application letters.

This reminds me of when I looked (briefly) into the Hercules Project, which emulates an IBM mainframe from the 80s. I lost interest when I saw that I would need to relearn JCL. Arrgh. Anyone here who also remembers JCL will understand why I want to leave those days behind.

gunrunnerjohn · Thursday at 10:41 AM

PhilB said:
This reminds me of when I looked (briefly) into the Hercules Project, which emulates an IBM mainframe from the 80s. I lost interest when I saw that I would need to relearn JCL. Arrgh. Anyone here who also remembers JCL will understand why I want to leave those days behind.

I worked for IBM in the late 1960's as a software support specialist, I was neck deep in the early deliveries of the IBM360's in Phila. It was a totally different time, computers filled large rooms and required massive A/C systems. :lmao:

MisterEd · Thursday at 9:38 PM

I don't understand why someone would want to use a clone of WordStar. It was great 40 years ago but is totally obsolete today. I could think of using it to give a sense of nostalgia but that would't last very long.

Around 1985 I got our division to move from typewriters to WordStar 3.0. That was revolutionary back then.

The most astounding think was that one computer with a Z80 CPU supported 6 terminals and 4 printers at the same time. The computer had 7 x 64KB memory card. Each user had 62KB available from a card. The terminals were DEC V100 clones. The printers were Diablo 630 daisy wheel. Note the daisy wheel printers were required to give a comparable quality of the former IBM Selectric typewriters. The operation system was MP/M which was a multi-user version version of CP/M.

NormanF · Thursday at 10:02 PM

A word processor that lets you focus on writing will never be obsolete,. WordTsar packages the philosophy in a modern form. Write and save your work. It has the attraction of minimalism that Word will never have.

Word does have lots of options and you can set them up to whatever you want. WordTsar has simplicity. A quality people miss in our pressured time.

Technology isn't everything by which one should measure their worth.

PhilB · 2026-06-19T00:53:37-0400

NormanF said:
A word processor that lets you focus on writing will never be obsolete,. WordTsar packages the philosophy in a modern form. Write and save your work. It has the attraction of minimalism that Word will never have.

Word does have lots of options and you can set them up to whatever you want. WordTsar has simplicity. A quality people miss in our pressured time.

Technology isn't everything by which one should measure their worth.

True enough, but Word(Star/Tsar) is a too much of a step back. I would really like MS to create "lightweight" versions of Office for when I just want to knock out a short doc, maybe with a few styles, etc

Stigg · 2026-06-19T01:43:00-0400

If you want a light word processor, Atlantis Word Processor works a treat.

Atlantis Word Processor. The creative writer's best friend

Atlantis Word Processor is powerful, fast-loading and fully customizable. Create documents and reports, make eBooks, write novels, articles, and letters.

www.atlantiswordprocessor.com

It even has mesmerizing typewriter sounds.

NormanF · 2026-06-19T03:07:40-0400

Stigg said:
If you want a light word processor, Atlantis Word Processor works a treat.

Atlantis Word Processor. The creative writer's best friend

Atlantis Word Processor is powerful, fast-loading and fully customizable. Create documents and reports, make eBooks, write novels, articles, and letters.

www.atlantiswordprocessor.com

It even has mesmerizing typewriter sounds.

Look at the menu! Its retaining the complexity built around Word. You want to get away from it. WordTsar has a a simple GUI with no options other than save. Its getting back to the original underpinnings of the word processor. That doesn't eliminate Word and Atlantis Word Processor. But a menu isn't always a writer's best friend.

cereberus · 2026-06-19T06:59:26-0400

PhilB said:
True enough, but Word(Star/Tsar) is a too much of a step back. I would really like MS to create "lightweight" versions of Office for when I just want to knock out a short doc, maybe with a few styles, etc

They had one for decades called wordpad and then removed it for no reason (other than encouraging MS Office sales).

NormanF · 2026-06-19T09:05:07-0400

Jarte is what wordpad should've been but wasn't. A capable light word processor built on top of the wordpad engine.

spapakons · 2026-06-19T09:30:06-0400

If you want the original experience in Windows 11, download DosBox and run the MS-DOS version of Word Star 4.0 For the green screen experience, set the graphics to Hercules and then press F11 any time to switch between black and white, green and white or amber and white monitor. You can even switch to full screen so you don't see any modern GUI distractions.

DOSBox, an x86 emulator with DOS

www.dosbox.com

WordStar 4.0

WordStar, originally from MicroPro, was a popular word processor during the early 80s. It was ported to a number of CP/M architectures as well as Unix and PC/MS-DOS. It competed directly against many word processors, including WordPerfect, Microsoft Word for DOS, and Multimate. By the late 80s...

winworldpc.com

I used Word Star in MS-DOS for a while, but then upgraded to WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS which was much better, still without GUI or WYSIWYG interface:

WordPerfect 5.1 (DOS)

During the late 1980's, WordPerfect was THE standard word processor for DOS based PCs in big business. Under DOS, it competed mostly against Wordstar. WordPerfect for Windows enjoyed some success in the early Windows environments, but was quickly displaced by Microsoft Word for Windows. Later...

winworldpc.com

I even found the proper settings in DosBox and WordPerfect to write in both English and Greek! Hurray! Next is to convert my USB printer to network printer and connect to it from MS-DOS in order to print!

spapakons · 2026-06-19T09:32:01-0400

NormanF said:
Jarte is what wordpad should've been but wasn't. A capable light word processor built on top of the wordpad engine.

Why use an imitation when you can have the original Microsoft Wordpad in Windows 11?

Get Classic WordPad for Windows 11

Here is how to download WordPad for Windows 11, the original classic app that Microsoft has removed from Build 26020 and onward. You will get it back

winaero.com

Thanks Winaero for that and many others.

NormanF · 2026-06-19T09:34:17-0400

You could do it but you don't need to. WordTsar is a portable application that runs natively; no DOS shell required. Its the closest we'll get to recreating the WordStar experience in a modern form.

WordTsar - the modern WordStar

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