Enable Software, Inc. was a privately held

software development Software development is the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, programming, documenting, testing, and bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applications, frameworks, or other software components. Software development invol ...

company located in

Ballston Lake, New York Ballston is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 11,831 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from an early settler, Eliphalet Ball, a Presbyterian minister who located there from Westchester County, New Yor ...

. Enable was founded in 1984 by Ron Quake and Bob Hamilton. The company's flagship product, called ''Enable'' was an integrated

office suite Productivity software (also called personal productivity software or office productivity software) is application software used for producing information (such as documents, presentations, worksheets, databases, charts, graphs, digital paintings, ...

for

IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones. ...

s. The suite included a

word processor A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Word processor (electronic device), Early word processors were stand-alone devices ded ...

, a 3D

spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in cel ...

, a

relational database A relational database is a (most commonly digital) database based on the relational model of data, as proposed by E. F. Codd in 1970. A system used to maintain relational databases is a relational database management system (RDBMS). Many relatio ...

, and integrated communications. In 1992 ''Enable Office'' added

electronic mail Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronics, electronic (digital media, digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, ...

, and

calendaring software A digital calendar is a collaborative or personal time management software with a calendar that can be used to keep track of planned events. The calendar can also contain an appointment book, address book or contact list. Common features of d ...

. At that time the company estimated it had more than one million users of its products. Enable 4.5 was released in April, 1992, with support for

OS/2 OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 ...

2.0. In 1993 it introduced ''JetForm for Enable'', "a mail-enabled forms designer for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

." Another Product of Enable, ''PowerLine'', was a multi-protocol terminal client for Windows similar to

Hyperterminal HyperACCESS (sometimes known as HyperTerminal) is a family of terminal emulation software by Hilgraeve. A version of HyperACCESS called HyperTerminal is included in some versions of Windows. History It was the first software product from Hilg ...

released in 1993. Enable ceased operations in 1997. At that time there were an estimated 190,000 active users of Enable products.

References

External links

Review of Enable O/A 4.0
Defunct software companies of the United States Software companies based in New York (state) Software companies established in 1984 1984 establishments in New York (state) Defunct companies based in New York (state) {{US-software-company-stub