MacWrite

MacWrite is a word processor developed by Apple Computer for the Macintosh line of personal computers. Released with the original Macintosh in 1984, it was one of the first widely used WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) word processors, demonstrating on-screen document formatting that mirrored the printed page.

MacWrite offered core word-processing capabilities for composing and editing text, with on-screen styling such as bold, italic, and underline, as well as font and size selection, paragraph alignment, margins, and tab stops. It supported basic document layout and printing on Macintosh-compatible printers of the era, using system fonts available on the Macintosh.

Subsequently, Apple released MacWrite II, an enhanced version that added more fonts and features to improve productivity and document management. Over time, MacWrite was overtaken by more capable applications in Apple’s ecosystem and by third-party products, and Apple eventually discontinued MacWrite as its software strategy shifted toward integrated suites in the 1990s and beyond.

MacWrite’s significance lies in its early demonstration of WYSIWYG word processing on personal computers, helping shape the design of later Mac applications and the broader approach to on-screen document formatting.