Editing MacWrite (section)

===Early versions===
The first versions of MacWrite were rather limited, supporting only the most basic editing features and able to handle just a few pages of text before running into performance problems. (Early versions of MacWrite held the entire document in memory, and early versions of the Macintosh had relatively little free memory.) Nevertheless, it increased user expectations of a word processing program. MacWrite established the conventions for a [[GUI]]-based word processor, with such features as a toolbar for selecting paragraph formatting options, font and style menus, and a ruler for tabs, margins, and indents. Similar word processors followed, including the first GUI version of [[Microsoft Word]] and WriteNow, which addressed many of MacWrite's limitations while adhering to much the same user interface.

The original Mac could print to a [[dot matrix]] [[computer printer|printer]] called the [[ImageWriter]], but quality was only adequate. The later [[LaserWriter]] [[laser printer]] allowed dramatically better output, at a price. However, the possibilities of the GUI/MacWrite/LaserWriter combination were obvious and this, in turn, spurred the development of [[desktop publishing]], which became the "killer app" for the Mac and GUIs in general.

MacWrite's inclusion with the Macintosh discouraged developers from creating other word processing software for the computer.<ref name="mcneill198712">{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/COMPUTEs_Apple_Applications_Vol._5_No._2_Issue_6_1987-12_COMPUTE_Publications_US#page/n55/mode/2up|title=Macintosh: The Word Explosion|date=December 1987|work=Compute!'s Apple Applications|access-date=2017-11-29|pages=54–60}}</ref> Apple unbundled the software with the introduction of the Macintosh Plus, requiring customers to purchase it for the first time. Strong sales continued, and Apple eventually let MacWrite and MacPaint languish with no development resources assigned to improving them.

Unfortunately this plan backfired. Users flooded Apple with complaints, demanding newer versions that would keep pace with new features in the Mac, while at the same time developers flooded Apple with complaints about there being any ''possibility'' of an upgrade.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} Apple finally decided the only solution was to spin off the products as a separate company, [[Claris]].