[2][3][4] Popular with writers and editors for its speed and degree of customization, XyWrite was in its heyday the house word processor in many editorial offices,[5] including the New York Times from 1989 to 1993.
[12] The turning point for XyWrite came in the form of a disastrous near-partnership with IBM, which was seeking a modern replacement for its venerable DisplayWrite word processor.
[6] Working under an agreement signed in June 1990[citation needed], XyQuest devoted nearly all of its development resources to revising Erickson's XyWrite IV to IBM's specifications, including IBM Common User Access-style menus, mouse support and a graphical user interface.
[14] When a prospective new alliance with Lotus did not materialize,[citation needed] XyQuest regained the marketing rights to the software and restickered the ready-to-ship Signature packages pasting over the IBM logo.
Moreover, in the years since the last major XyWrite release, WordPerfect had cemented its hold on the DOS word processor market.
This was successful in October 2016, resulting in an x86 PC and DOS emulator for Windows based on Jos Schaars's vDos.
Byte in 1984 stated "the XyQuest people have done an admirable job porting the editing part of the Atex system" to the IBM PC.