Originally released in 1984 by the Canadian company Xanaro that went bankrupt, and then by Migent, Ability is an integrated office suite for DOS that includes word processor, spreadsheet, database, telecommunications, business graphing, presentation graphics capabilities, and built in file management. It features good integration between the different components, with the ability to import, share, and dynamically update data between them. It was advertised as a very easy to use and a quick to learn system.
When it was first released it initially competed with Ashton-Tate Framework and Lotus Symphony. It was launched with a huge, costly, marketing campaign, that ultimately flopped.
The name was later changed to Ability Plus. Eventually, a Microsoft Windows version was released as Ability Office, although it was not directly based on the DOS version.
Wanted: Ability 1.0
Version 1.2 supports CGA and adds support for Hercules graphics. With the exception of the presentation module, it will also run in text-only mode.
Download name | Version | Language | Architecture | File size | Downloads |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ability 1.2 (1986) (5.25-360k) | 1.2 | English | 55.49MB | 0 |