LyneWriter

The answer is that what LyneWriter does, it does very well.

Originally developed as a single line typewriter emulator for MS-DOS in the days when 9 pin dot matrix printers were the leading edge of technology, the current version of LyneWriter boasts full screen editing, printer control that can handle anything you may wish to do, search and replace, line counting and block cut, copy and paste.

It operates in three modes. In Typewriter mode you use it like a modern electronic typewriter, giving you the chance to correct mistakes before printing but still printing a line every time you press [RETURN] or reach the right margin.

In Screen mode you can use LyneWriter just like any other simple wordprocessor.

File mode is the same as Screen mode but gives restricts your view to a small window. This is useful for printing labels and envelopes using an address within a much larger file.

In all three modes you also have access to the printer control functionality that marks LyneWriter out as unusual. In effect, the software can be used to 'program' your printer. At the basic level this allows you to switch bold or italics on and off but the concept can extend as far as your imagination allows and we have used the facilities to print graphics to dot matrix printers in the past.

Of course, time marches on and we now print graphics by embedding them in Word like everybody else but LyneWriter lives on as a useful utility for people with older printers or low powered machines, for people who don't like using mice to print off a simple label and as an educational aid for those who don't want to treat their printer as just another item of consumer goods.

LyneWriter is still enthusiastically supported (though no longer developed to a schedule) and achieved it's moment of fame by being featured in the IDG book 'PC Secrets' by Caroline Halliday.

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