Editing XyWrite (section)

==Features==
* Its file format consists of plain text ([[Codepage 437|IBM437]], or so-called "extended [[ASCII]]") with markup (within [[guillemet]]s: «&nbsp;»). This capability is useful for [[typesetter]]s who need to convert to various formats, e.g., [[LaTeX]]. A plug-in for ANSI characters is available.
* XyWrite is written in [[assembly language]],<ref name="malloy198410">{{cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1984-10/1984_10_BYTE_09-11_Databases#page/n243/mode/2up | title=Reviewer's Notebook | magazine=[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]] | date=October 1984 | access-date=23 October 2013 | last=Malloy |first=Rich | page=245 |volume=9 | issue=11}}</ref><ref name=byte10_09 /> allowing it to run faster than word processors written in a higher level language.{{Citation needed|reason=This assumption may or may not be true or even relevant given the application|date=December 2014}}
* It has a flexible [[macro (computer science)|macro]]-programming language (XPL) that offers many advantages for quick [[search and replace]], copy-editing and reformatting of raw text. Users continue to write and share macros extending XyWrite features (printing to [[USB]] devices, for example).
* Plain-text, editable [[configuration file]]s allow easy customization of the keyboard—for remapping keystrokes and for execution of complex commands with individual keystrokes—as well as customization of what is loaded on launching the program.<ref name=byte10_09 />
* Commands can be typed in directly on a [[command line]], without the use of a mouse. Commands are usually in simple English, such as "Save," "Print," and "Search," or their shorter versions, such as "Sa" for "Save" (commands are case-insensitive).<ref name=byte10_09 />
* Up to nine files can be opened for editing at one time in separate "windows" that allow quick copy-and-paste among several files.<ref name=pcmag1987_0526 /> Two files may be opened on the same screen for easy comparison of changes; a XyWrite command will do the comparison automatically, putting the cursor on the location at which the two files first differ (from which the user can move to the next difference).
* Version 4 (or ''Signature'') has full [[WYSIWYG]] graphical editing capabilities including on-screen display of [[bitmap]]s and [[Bitstream Speedo Fonts|Bitstream Speedo]] fonts.<ref name=pcmag1990_0213 />
* The [[Microsoft Windows]] version provided version 4 in a Windows environment, in WYSIWYG, without losing its command line driven interface. It supported the standard Windows' [[True Type]] fonts along with Speedo fonts.<ref>{{cite magazine
| magazine = [[PC Magazine]]
| title = XyWrite for Windows: Command Line Holdout In a GUI World
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qRzjFB6Ic3oC&pg=PA54
| page = 54
| first = Edward
| last = Mendelson
| date = 25 January 1994
| volume = 13
| issue = 2
}}</ref>