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Format

WordStar for MS-DOS Document

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Summary

Name
WordStar for MS-DOS Document
Version
4.0
Identifiers
  • Library of Congress Format Description Identifier: fdd000552
  • Wikidata QID Identifier: Q105856544
  • PUID: x-fmt/260
Format type
Word Processor
Description
The WordStar format is the default proprietary plain text format for the word processing application of the same name. It was created in 1978 by MicroPro, originally for the CP/M operating system but later was used on other operating systems such as PC/MS-DOS. It was the first word processor to render the doument on screen as it would appear when printed. WordStar files often have the extension ws or ws follwed by their version number but it is also common for them to have no extension. WS4 files currently cannot by identified though a PRONOM identification signature. On the surface it's a plain text file, however the format 'shifts' the last byte of each word. Effectively it is 'flipping' the first bit of the ASCII character from 0 to 1. so a lower case 'r' (hex value 0x72) becomes 'ò' (hex value 0xF2); lower case 'd' (hex 0x64) becomes 'ä' (hex 0xE4) and so on. It should be possible to write a simple decoder application for WS4 files, however note that the conjecture above is based on observation of a limited pool of files, and there may be additional subtleties yet to be encountered and understood. Please contact the PRONOM team if you have any further information about this format.
Note
http://justsolve.archiveteam.org/wiki/WordStar https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000552
File extensions
ws, ws4
Source
Digital Preservation Department / The National Archives
Developed by
MicroPro Inc

Relationships

Is previous version of
Is subsequent version of

Changelog

  • Updated in V108

    Release date
    5 September 2022

    WordStar for MS-DOS Document (4.0): Description updated. Addition of Library of Congress Format Description and Wikidata QID identifiers. Relationships between other WordStar entries added. Developer added. Submitted by Library of Congress.

  • Updated in V88

    Release date
    27 September 2016

    WordStar for MS-DOS Document 4.0: Added description in collaboration with The Borthwick Institute for Archives, explaining why an identification signature is not possible.