VisiCalc IV

VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program for personal computers. It was extremely successful, and pivotal as it was significantly responsible for moving personal computing out of the realm of hobbyists and in to the realm of serious business tools.

It was originally created by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston of Software Arts and first released in 1979 for the Apple II. It was published through Personal Software, who due to the success of VisiCalc, changed their name to VisiCorp.

It was then ported to a wide variety of platforms including the Apple III, TRS-80 series, Sony SMC-70, HP, Commodore, and Atari computers. It was one of the first commercial packages available when the IBM PC shipped in 1981.

VisiCalc was marketed by VisiCorp as was part of their integrated office application suite that also included VisiWord, VisiFile, VisiSpell, VisiTrend/Plot, VisiSchedule and VisiTutor.

VisiCorp's "Visi" series programs were to be superseded by VisiCorp Visi On, a GUI based environment. But that did not catch on. The similarly named Visi On Calc spreadsheet is not at all related to VisiCalc, and later had to be renamed to Visi On Plan.

After its release, a large number of spreadsheet clones appeared, notably SuperCalc and Multiplan. It was later overtaken by Lotus 1-2-3 until Microsoft Excel claimed world domination.

Also see WinWorld's complete list of preserved spreadsheet products