Q 01/05

In which year was the first version of Excel released?

A) 1987

B) 1985

C) 1990

D) 1993

Answer · why

B) 1985

It came out for the Mac on September 30, 1985; Windows users had to wait until late 1987.

Q 02/05

Excel 1.0 was released for which platform?

A) Windows 1.0

B) IBM PC with MS-DOS

C) OS/2

D) Apple Macintosh

Answer · why

D) Apple Macintosh

Bill Gates redirected the project to the Mac in March 1984, which delayed it by nine months.

Q 03/05

What was Excel's codename while in development from 1983?

A) Chicago

B) Voyager

C) Odyssey

D) Cairo

Answer · why

C) Odyssey

It was designed to rescue Microsoft's spreadsheet business after its first product lost the DOS market to Lotus.

Q 04/05

Microsoft's first spreadsheet, launched in 1982 for CP/M, was called what?

A) Multiplan

B) SuperCalc

C) Chart

D) Plan-It

Answer · why

A) Multiplan

It ran on everything from the Commodore 64 to the TI-99/4A but never dented Lotus's grip on the PC.

Q 05/05

Which program was the dominant PC spreadsheet by 1983 and Excel's great rival for a decade?

A) Lotus 1-2-3

B) SuperCalc

C) Quattro Pro

D) VisiCalc

Answer · why

A) Lotus 1-2-3

Its name promised spreadsheet, database and charts in one, though the database part was debatable.