Turn Lotus 1-2-3 For Unix into Lotus 1-2-3 for Ubuntu Linux
I can't quite believe it, but I just built and installed Lotus 1-2-3 for Unix on my Ubuntu 22.04 LTS linux desktop and it works flawlessly and it is FAST!
Lotus 1-2-3 for Unix was released in 1990. I joined Lotus then to work on 'Non-DOS' products initially Lotus 1-2-3 for Mac, and other ports for Unix and Sun Workstations and then of course cc:Mail and Lotus Notes across Windows, OS/2, MacOS and Unix. I found an original note about the release online. I looked in my attic and found a boxed copy of 1-2-3 for Sun on a DC600 Tape! I also found a VHS of the original sales training for 1-2-3 for Unix. I wonder if I still have the demo files or presentations somewhere.
"Lotus Development Corp is following up its plans for an IBM mainframe version of 1-2-3 with one for Unix: the new version will be developed alongside 1-2-3 Release 3.0 and will be optimised for use on a variety of workstations under System V, as well as supporting the forthcoming IEEE Posix Portable Operating System, and will comply with standards set forth by the X/Open consortium of Unix system vendors; Lotus says that it will also offer multi-tasking and multi-user capabilities for easy sharing of files and consolidating large spreadsheets and will support three-dimensional and linked worksheets; robust external data access; and the extended applications facility".
Lotus 1-2-3 for Unix, running on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS,
This screen is showing off 'perspective mode' an innovation at the time! Lotus 1-2-3 had a patented and vigorously defended 'look and feel'. To get to this menu you type /wwp for worksheet, window, perspective. It is quite a revelation that I and probably most other power users can remember all these commands after all this time. You'll need a multi sheet spreadsheet though. Fortunately the installation contains the sample files. Use /fr and then arrow keys and enter key to find your install folder and sample files. This is ../root/lotus/123.v10/smpfiles/consale.wk3.
Contents
Installation
- Follow the instructions in the Github project, git clone https://github.com/taviso/123elf.git
- cd 123elf
- sudo apt-get install build-essential
- sudo apt-get install gcc-multilib
- sudo apt-get install lib32ncurses-dev
- sudo apt-get install texinfo
- ./binutils.sh
- Download the Lotus 1-2-3 for Unix images from Archive.org (see below)
- ./extract.sh
- make
- And to run 1-2-3 ./123
System Info from Lotus 1-2-3
System information reports that we are UNIX System V, that there is an 80387 math coprocessor. and that this is a release 3 (multi sheet) capable version of 1-2-3.
Background
The originator, Tavis Ormandy writes "This is a native port of Lotus 1-2-3 Release 3 to Linux. This is possible because Lotus 1-2-3 for UNIX SystemV used a trick called partial linking to workaround a technical limitation in early UNIX systems. Surprisingly, that can be used to modify it to support new platforms."
Im truly staggered that this works. What a legend this Tavis Ormandy is!
Lotus 1-2-3 for Unix with an income spreadsheet loaded
There doesn't seem to be any printer support available at the moment. At the time Unix printer support was tricky in any case. Unix printing was complex.
Lotus 1-2-3 for Unix Printer Help
One of the follwing conditions may have caused this error 1)You attempted to use /Print Printer with mo printers available on your system, 2) 1-2-3 was not able to access information about your printers when you started 1-2-3.
See also:
Github - A native port of Lotus 1-2-3 to Linux.
Archive.org - Lotus 1-2-3 for UNIX System V
Lotus 1-2-3 For Linux by Tavis Ormandy
