We started this blog so there would be one place that had everything someone needed to know about Arbortext to make a decision, to get started, to find help. There used to be a wikipedia page, but it fell prey to hasty marketing folks (which then resulted in speedy deletion). Several long-time Arbortext users wanted to recover and preserve Arbortext information that has historically been tribal.
Arbortext has a rich history. It was one of the first pieces of software that ran on multiple operating systems from a single set of source code. Written using the Visix software (another wikipedia page that’s gone missing because it had been moved to the Arbortext page which is now gone), the Visix development environment was very Java-esque, long before java existed: You could write software and compile it to a variety of operating systems.
How do I know? I know several of the Visix engineers who remember this cool company named Arbortext that was doing interesting stuff with their software. Plus, Arbortext purchased the Visix source code when Vixix went under. Until Arbortext 5.0, all the Arbortext software was written in the Visix software. After that, the code lines split and only the unix software was compiled with the Visix environment. The Windows software was re-written as a native windows client. When PTC decided to drop the unix clients, the last of the Visix code finally disappeared.
Our community is strong and very large
The last Arbortext User Group International Conference (before the acquisition by PTC) was held in 2004 had over 800 attendees. As of 2017, our LinkedIn group has over 1000 members.
We have stored video recordings of previous user meetings on our YouTube Channel.
Looking to get Arbortext?
We highly recommend you select a qualified Arbortext partner to work with. You can find the list of Qualified Arbortext Resellers here: Trusted and Qualified Arbortext Resellers
If you’re not working with one of the companies listed on that page, you’re working with an unqualified partner (Just our opinion, but it’s a good one.) And if you’re getting information about Arbortext from someone who isn’t on this list, you can guarantee their information is out-dated, misleading, or outright wrong.
Books about Arbortext
Get the only books about Arbortext written by someone who started as a customer. You can do it all yourself. We all did and so can you.
A brief history
The Arbortext name came from a merging of the city name where their original HQ was located (Ann Arbor, MI) plus “text”.
- History of Arbortext – A collection of memories, pictures, etc, directly from users who were there then.
- First Arbortext website (via wayback machine)
- We were part of PTC/User before they passed control of their organization back to PTC and we got shut out again. We appreciate them for initially supporting Arbortext User activities at the user conference before they handed control over to PTC. PTC now runs all the big conference events worldwide. PTC/User has since reconstituted and has started offering their conference again as well. They have deep support for Arbortext and their annual event is one of the best places to go and meet other users in person.
Everything Arbortext in One Place 