Microsoft Multiplan

A spreadsheet from Microsoft originally developed for CP/M and released in 1982. It eventually got ported to a host of 8 bit computers and a few 16 bit ones in the form of DOS, Burroughs B-20 and the Apple Macintosh, at its peak it was available in 100 different versions. While well received on the 8bit platforms as being more advanced than what was currently available when it was released, it bombed on the IBM PC and other more powerful computers as it was considered seriously underpowered, the only exception being The Apple Mac, but Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had made an exclusivity deal with Apple so for over a year it was the only spreadsheet available for the platform.

Nonetheless the company managed to sell a million copies of the program by late 1985, but the wast bulk of those sales were for 8 bit systems on one hand and on the other on the Apple Mac, the uptake on the IBM PC had been slow due to Lotus 1-2-3 although Multiplan initially gained some sales due to being much cheaper than 123, with the introduction of cheaper and more powerful spreadsheets like Supercalc it more or less died in the DOS marketplace.

Versions

CP/M

• 1.02
• Aug 1982: 1.03 - for Apple II, Osborne
• 1.05
• 1.06

DOS

• Oct 1982: 1.0 - first version for IBM PC DOS
• 1983: 1.1
• 1984: 1.2
• 1985: 2.0 - extension of cells from 63x256 to 255x485
• 1987: 3.0 - LAN support

DOS & OS/2

• 1988: 4.0 - first version for DOS and OS/2
• 1989: 4.1 - bugfix release
• 1990: 4.2 - last version

XENIX

• 1984: 1.0 - ported by SCO
• 2.0
• 1987: 2.01 - multi-user
• 2.201
• 3.00 - last version for Xenix-286

Macintosh

• Jan 1984: Multiplan 1.0
• 1985: Multiplan 1.1

Author & publisher

• Douglas Klunder
• Microsoft

Publications

• Robert E. Williams: The Power of Multiplan - MIS 1982, ISBN 0-943518-05-9
• M. Laric: Multiplan for the IBM Personal Computer - W.C. Brown 1984, ISBN 0-697-00330-2
• Rob Krumm: Understanding and Using Multiplan - Brady 1985, ISBN 0-89303-921-7