Perfect Software
| Industry | Software |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Perfect Writer, Perfect Calc, Perfect Filer, Perfect Speller, Perfect Thesaurus |
Perfect Writer is a word processor developed by Perfect Software for the CP/M operating system. In 1984, Thorn EMI Computer Software secured exclusive rights for marketing and distribution, subsequently launching a rewritten edition called Perfect II tailored for IBM PC compatible machines. Programmed in C and recognized for its reliability, this version was an improved iteration of MINCE, which was itself a microcomputer adaptation derived from Emacs. Because Emacs was too large to operate directly on microcomputers due to memory constraints, Perfect Writer, like MINCE, utilized a floppy disk-based virtual memory mechanism.
Perfect Writer was often packaged alongside its companion applications: the spreadsheet Perfect Calc and the database Perfect Filer. This suite came pre-installed on early models such as Columbia Data Products, Kaypro II, and Morrow systems, in addition to the Torch Computers Z80 Disk Pack expansion for the BBC Micro. It was priced at and also included with the UK-manufactured Advance 86B PC. The software accommodated up to seven buffers, incorporated features like character transposition, undo, footnotes, and indexing capabilities. Its feature set was comparable to specialized word processors of that period. Notably, Perfect Writer’s functionality to cut and paste among several open documents provided a distinct edge over competitors such as WordStar. By early 1983, OEM sales represented approximately fifty percent of Perfect Software’s total income.
The application supported various extensions including Perfect Speller and Perfect Thesaurus from Perfect Software itself, as well as third-party utilities like Plu*Perfect’s "D" file browser, which received acclaim from Stewart Brand who described it as "the best of all directory displayers."
Initially released by Perfect Software, subsequent versions were produced by Knowledge Engineering based in Austin, Texas. The thesaurus component was created and maintained by George O. Jenkins, Jr.