Editing Presentation program (section)

==History==

Using Autographix and [[Dicomed]], it became quite easy{{Dubious|date=February 2010}} to make last-minute changes compared to traditional typesetting and pasteup. It was also a lot easier to produce a large number of slides in a small amount of time. However, these workstations also required skilled operators, and a single workstation represented an investment of $50,000 to $200,000 (in 1979 dollars).

In the mid-1980s developments in the world of computers changed the way presentations were created. Inexpensive, specialized applications now made it possible for anyone with a PC to create professional-looking presentation graphics.

Originally these programs were used to generate 35&nbsp;mm slides, to be presented using a [[slide projector]]. As these programs became more common in the late 1980s several companies set up services<ref name="meilach19870817">{{Cite magazine |last=Meilach |first=Dona Z. |date=1987-08-17 |title=Graphics Product Excels in Slide Making Capacity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2jsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA47#v=onepage&q&f=true |access-date=2025-05-25 |magazine=InfoWorld |pages=47-51 |volume=9 |issue=33}}</ref> that would accept the shows on [[diskette]] and create slides using a [[film recorder]] or print [[Transparency (projection)|transparencies]]. In the 1990s dedicated [[Liquid crystal display|LCD]]-based screens that could be placed on the projectors started to replace the transparencies, and by the early 2000s they had almost all been replaced by [[video projector]]s.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

The first commercial computer software specifically intended for creating WYSIWYG presentations was developed at [[Hewlett-Packard]] in 1979 and called [[BRUNO (software)|BRUNO]] and later HP-Draw. The first microcomputer-based presentation software was Cromemco's Slidemaster, developed by [[John F. Dunn]] and released by [[Cromemco]] in 1981.<ref>{{cite web |title=About John Dunn |url=https://algoart.com/company.htm |website=Algorithmic Arts |access-date=25 June 2018 |quote=Dunn ... developed the first ever professional paint program for a microcomputer, Cromemco's "Slidemaster," released in 1981.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Cromemco Unveils Desktop Unit with Business Software, DBMS |journal=Computerworld |date=October 26, 1981 |volume=15 |issue=43 |page=61 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1REkdf3I86oC&q=cromemco+slidemaster&pg=RA2-PA61 |access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shea |first1=Tom |last2=Freiberger |first2=Paul |title=Artists use computer graphics as new palette and canvas |journal=InfoWorld |date=November 1, 1982 |volume=4 |issue=43 |pages=18–20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EzAEAAAAMBAJ&q=cromemco+slidemaster&pg=PA18|access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref> The first software displaying a presentation on a personal computer screen was [[VCN ExecuVision]], developed in 1982. This program allowed users to choose from a library of images to accompany the text of their presentation. <!--A slide from this software is visible at left.--> [[Harvard Graphics]] was introduced for [[MS-DOS]] and [[IBM Lotus Freelance Graphics|Lotus Freelance Graphics]] was introduced for DOS and [[OS/2]] in 1986. [[PowerPoint]] was introduced for the [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]] computer in 1987.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brock |first1=David |title=The Improbable Origins of PowerPoint |journal=IEEE Spectrum |date=31 October 2017 |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-improbable-origins-of-powerpoint}}</ref>

The first web-based presentation program was called ThinkFree Show, it launched in 2001 as part of the [[ThinkFree Office]] suite.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cox |first1=John |title=Free Java-based office suite to make debut |website=CNN |date=2000-06-20 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/06/20/java.office.idg/index.html|access-date=2025-03-24}}</ref> Another web-based presentation program called Google Docs Presentations was introduced a few years later in 2007, it later became [[Google Slides]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Gina |last=Trapani |title=Google Docs Adds Presentations |url=http://lifehacker.com/300825/google-docs-adds-presentations |website=[[Lifehacker]] |publisher=[[Univision Communications]] |date=September 18, 2007 |access-date=2025-03-24}}</ref>