Harvard Graphics was one of the first desktop business
application software programs that allowed
users to incorporate text,
information graphics, and
charts into custom
slideshow presentations. The original version could import data from
Lotus 1-2-3 or
Lotus Symphony, charts created in Symphony or PFS Graph, and
ASCII text. It could export text and graphics to
Computer Graphics Metafile and to
pfs:Write, also manufactured by SPC. Its use of vector graphics produced mixed results on the
Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) and
Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) displays common at the time, but output was usually sent to a slide printer or a color
plotter. "Presentation" was dropped from the name for the second release, which came in 1987, developed by Mario Chaves, Carl Hu, Lenore Kirvay, and Dana Tom. With Harvard Graphics 2 one was able to export graphics as
Encapsulated Postscript, which allows to use graphics created by the software until the present day. Harvard Graphics 2.0 also added the ability to import the latest Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet data before generating graphics, as well as drawing and annotations for graphs. Version 3.0 was not released until 1991, offering improved editing functions, but its graphics and export capabilities were being outperformed by competitors like
Aldus Persuasion and
Lotus Freelance. Harvard Graphics was used as bonus product with
Windows 95 by Australian Retailer
Harvey Norman. The market leader through the late 1980s, Harvard Graphics struggled as the market shifted to
Microsoft Windows. SPC released a version for Microsoft
Windows 3.0 in 1991, but its market share never approached the 70% it had previously commanded. The Windows market came to be dominated by
Microsoft PowerPoint and then the bundle of PowerPoint into
Microsoft Office. In 1996,
Serif purchased exclusive
marketing rights to the product line of Harvard Graphics, Inc., and assumed product support responsibilities. Serif continued to market Harvard Graphics 98 for Windows and other software under the Harvard Graphics brand until mid-year 2017, when the product was taken off the market. ==Reception==