PC Exchange

PC Exchange, also known as File Exchange, is a control panel developed by Apple Computer to allow Macs running classic Mac OS to read and write data in formats of other operating systems, superseding Apple File Exchange.

Functionality
As PC Exchange was a control panel that was loaded upon bootup, it allowed the Finder to native read disks from DOS/Windows and ProDOS (Apple II) systems without the need to launch a separate utility application, such as Apple File Exchange.

History
PC Exchange was first shipped as Macintosh PC Exchange on May 18, 1992 as a separate commercial product for Macs with at least 3MB of RAM and running System 7 or later. It was also included as part of the PowerBook/DOS Companion for early PowerBook users. Version 1.0.3 was included as a part of System 7 Pro (7.1.1), released in October 1993. Version 1.0.4 was included with the PowerPC version of System 7.1.2 included with the first Power Macintosh computers. Version 1.0.5 was included with the version for Macintosh Quadra computers. Version 2.0.2 was included with System 7.5. Version 2.2 was included with Mac OS 8.1. Version 3.0 was renamed to File Exchange, which was included with Mac OS 8.5, released in October 1998. Mac OS X phased out the need for PC Exchange.