AppleWorks

Developed by Rupert Lissner,[2] the original AppleWorks is one of the first integrated office suites for personal computers, featuring a word processor, spreadsheet, and database merged into a single program. It was released in 1984 as a demonstration product for the new 128k models of the Apple II line. Apple had previously published Lissner's QuickFile, a database program that closely resembled what would become the AppleWorks database module. An Apple III version of AppleWorks, which uses the same file formats, is named III E-Z Pieces and was marketed by Haba Systems.

All three AppleWorks programs have the same user interface and exchange data through a common clipboard.[3] Previous Apple II application programs had mainly been designed with the older II/II+ line in mind, which only has 48k of RAM and 40-column text without an add-on card, thus limiting the software's capabilities. In contrast, Appleworks was designed for the IIe and IIc models which have more RAM, standard 80-column text, an optional numeric keypad, cursor keys, and the new ProDOS operating system in place of DOS 3.3 which had been standard on 48k machines.

AppleWorks debuted at #2 on Softalk's monthly bestseller list and quickly became the best-selling software package on any computer, ousting even Lotus 1-2-3 from the top of the industry-wide sales charts.[4] Apple's software subsidiary Claris sold the one millionth copy of AppleWorks in December 1988.[5]

Apple and Lissner provided technical information on modifying AppleWorks, helping to create a substantial market for third-party accessories and support. Compute!'s Apple Applications reported in 1987 that "AppleWorks has become a frontier for software developers", and predicted that "Soon, the best software on the Apple II computer line will require AppleWorks".[6] The September 1986 issue of inCider, for example, contained two AppleWorks-related articles; advertisements for two AppleWorks-related expansion cards from Applied Engineering, an application promising to let AppleWorks run on an Apple II Plus with an 80-column display board, an AppleWorks-dedicated newsletter called The Main Menu, and an AppleWorks-related product from Beagle Bros; many other advertisements that mentioned AppleWorks; and a column criticizing companies that developed AppleWorks-related products instead of new ones ("thinks small and innovates nothing").[7] One of the most successful was the TimeOut series from Beagle Bros. TimeOut developers Alan Bird, Randy Brandt, and Rob Renstrom were involved in developing AppleWorks 3.0 and eventually AppleWorks incorporated numerous TimeOut functions.[8] TimeOut developers Randy Brandt and Dan Verkade created AppleWorks 4.0 and 5.0 for Quality Computers.

Apple released version 2.0 in 1986 with the Apple IIGS,[2][9] and then a year later the program was published by Claris. Claris contracted with Beagle Bros. to upgrade AppleWorks to version 3.0 in 1989, then turned its attention to producing Macintosh and Windows software, letting AppleWorks languish. Claris did, however, agree to license the AppleWorks trademark to Quality Computers, which released AppleWorks 4.0 in 1993 and AppleWorks 5.0 in 1994.

The 8-bit AppleWorks is sometimes referred to as "AppleWorks Classic" to differentiate it from AppleWorks GS[5] and the later product for Macintosh and Windows.

Observers had expected AppleWorks 2.0 to have a Macintosh-like mouse-driven graphical user interface, but inCider reported before its release that such a revision had been delayed because of "problems between Apple and [Lissner]".[2] It was nonetheless very popular among IIGS owners; in December 1987 Compute!'s Apple Applications reported that "the hottest product on the Apple IIGS is AppleWorks. No mouse interface, no color, no graphics. Just AppleWorks from the IIe and IIc world".[6] The magazine wondered in an editorial, "AppleWorks, Where Are You?", stating that a IIGS version of AppleWorks or another AppleWorks-like integrated suite "could galvanize the machine's sales" and warned that otherwise "the IIGS may well languish".[11]

In 1988, Claris acquired an integrated package called GS Works from StyleWare and renamed it AppleWorks GS, bringing the AppleWorks brand to the 16-bit Apple IIGS, though no code from the 8-bit Apple II version is used. In addition to the word processing, database, and spreadsheet functions, AppleWorks GS also includes telecommunications, page layout and graphics modules. Only one major version of AppleWorks GS exists, progressing as far as 1.1; a vaporware 2.0 update was rumored to be "just short of completion" for a long time.[12] AppleWorks GS can open AppleWorks files without needing to import them first.[5]

The second incarnation of AppleWorks began as ClarisWorks, written by Bob Hearn and Scott Holdaway and published by Claris, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, also known as FileMaker Inc.)[13] The Creator code of ClarisWorks for the Macintosh is "BOBO". The file extension of AppleWorks and ClarisWorks for Windows is .cwk for documents and .cws for templates.[14] ClarisWorks combines these applications:[15]

• a word processor, which in version 6 also includes an equation editor based on MathType.[16]
• a drawing program,
• a painting program,
• a spreadsheet,
• a database program, and
• a terminal program for communications (up to and including version 5), or
• a presentation program (in version 6).

All the components are integrated to provide a seamless suite that works in concert; for example, spreadsheet frames can be embedded in a word processing document, or formatted text into drawings, etc. The components are not derived from the contemporary Claris programs MacWrite and MacDraw but written from scratch and then redesigned to match other Claris programs after the purchase by Claris.[13]

ClarisWorks 1.0 shipped for the Macintosh in 1991 and was subsequently ported to the Windows platform, shipping as ClarisWorks 1.0 for Windows in 1993.[17] ClarisWorks 3 is the last version to run on the 68000 CPU with at least System 6.0.7. ClarisWorks 4 requires a 68020 CPU and System 7. When the Claris company was disbanded and absorbed back into Apple, the product was renamed AppleWorks;[13] version 5 was released shortly before the product's return to Apple and was briefly called ClarisWorks 5. ClarisWorks/AppleWorks 5 requires MacOS 7.0.1, though the 5.0.4 patch can only be applied in Mac OS 9. It is the last version to support the 68k CPU architecture.

The last version, AppleWorks 6, requires a PowerPC CPU and replaces the communications module with a presentation module (in prior versions there was only rudimentary support for presentations through the other modules). It was also ported to the Carbon API to work on Mac OS X, but as an early Carbon application, it does not take advantage of many of the newer features of Mac OS X and portions of the interface still retain elements of the Platinum appearance of Mac OS 8/9.

Using Claris's XTND framework, AppleWorks can create, open, and save files in a number of file formats. For example, word processor documents can be saved in Microsoft Word format, and spreadsheet files can be saved in Microsoft Excel format.

The software received good reviews during the course of its lifespan for its interface and the tight integration of its modules. For example, like the earlier versions, in AppleWorks a drawing "frame" can be placed in a spreadsheet document, a paint frame can be placed in a drawing document, etc. This allows for very elaborate and data-rich layouts. However, the limitations of the product became more apparent as the product aged . The program also only allows for a single undo/redo, and in many cases, if a frame from one module is placed in another module, the frame may no longer be editable in any way as soon as it is deselected.

Equation Editor by Design Science is bundled with AppleWorks. Also, the MathType or MathMagic equation editors can be used. Both support automatic baseline alignment for inline equations.

In August 2007, Apple declared AppleWorks "end of life" and stated that they would no longer sell the package.[18] The iWork package, which includes a word processing program, a spreadsheet, and a presentation graphics program, is intended to be its replacement. While more feature-rich, iWork still lacks some of the modules and the tight integration of AppleWorks. AppleWorks will not run on any versions of Mac OS X later than Snow Leopard because it is compiled for the PowerPC CPU architecture.[19]

AppleWorks word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation files can be opened in earlier versions of iWork applications Pages, Numbers, and Keynote respectively, but not since 2013. LibreOffice can open AppleWorks word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation files. There is no Apple-supplied application to open AppleWorks database, painting, or drawing files without converting them to a different format.[19] EazyDraw Retro supports the import of the AppleWorks drawing formats. This software runs on El Capitan and older.[20] AppleWorks User Group continues support,[21] and migrating away from AppleWorks is possible.[22]