The original VisiCalc program that ran on the IBM PC in 1981 still runs on today's PCs. I have included it here, with the kind permission of Lotus who now owns the copyright, for people to try themselves. You can download it to your PC and run it under Windows or DOS. It is only 27,520 bytes long (smaller than many GIFs and JPGs on the web).

This version of the program is very similar to the original VisiCalc that first came out on the Apple II in 1979. It has a few extra features: a "Home" key, support for four arrow keys, a few extra commands including /E for editing the contents of a cell, and upper and lower case letters. This version was for DOS 1.0, which did not have directories, so it can only access files in the current directory. The original version as shipped had copy protection. This one does not, though it is still covered by a license agreement.

Remember: To quit, use "/SQY" (Storage, Quit, Yes).

The executable is available for download in a zip file. Download the zip file by clicking here , reading the license agreement, and if you agree, clicking on the "I Agree, Start the Download" link at the bottom of the page. Save the file to disk as "visicalc-executable.zip" and extract the contents: "VC.COM". The VC.COM file is a standard DOS executable and can be run, checked for viruses, etc. If you execute it in Windows by double-clicking on the file in Windows Explorer, it should run in an MSDOS window by itself, like this:



Use the Apple II VisiCalc Reference Card to learn the commands.

What this web page inspired: Posting VisiCalc here inspired others to do the same. See Posting VisiCalc here inspired others to do the same. See Reactions to posting VisiCalc . For a list of some sites with old software and/or history, see Other History Sites

If you're new to this web site: This web site was created using Trellix Web from Trellix Corporation , a great authoring tool for easily creating and maintaining web sites -- see the News section of the Trellix site for reviews. (Disclaimer: I founded Trellix...) The map on the left lets you navigate around this History web site. It was produced automatically by Trellix (an option).

This web site has more than just material about VisiCalc -- see the home page .

