SmartKey was the first macro processing program of its type, and the first TSR

Terminate and Stay Resident

Terminate and Stay Resident is a computer system call in DOS computer operating systems that returns control to the system as if the program has quit, but keeps the program in memory...

 or terminate and stay resident program for PCs

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

 and their eight bit

8-bit

The first widely adopted 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8080, being used in many hobbyist computers of the late 1970s and early 1980s, often running the CP/M operating system. The Zilog Z80 and the Motorola 6800 were also used in similar computers...

 predecessors.

Smartkey's "keyboard definitions" were first used with the early word processing program WordStar

WordStar

WordStar is a word processor application, published by MicroPro International, originally written for the CP/M operating system but later ported to DOS, that enjoyed a dominant market share during the early to mid-1980s. Although Seymour I...

 to change margins of screenplays. Literally thousands of other uses were made for the program.

SmartKey was written by Nick Hammond, an admiral in the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

, and published by Software Research Technologies, founded by Stan Brin and Reid H. Griffin.

SmartKey received two Editor's Choice awards from PC Magazine

PC Magazine

PC Magazine is a computer magazine published by Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009...

due to its tight code and powerful features, but was never able to counter the marketing muscle of its largest competitor, SuperKey

Superkey

A superkey is defined in the relational model of database organization as a set of attributes of a relation variable for which it holds that in all relations assigned to that variable, there are no two distinct tuples that have the same values for the attributes in this set...

, a product of Borland International

Borland

Borland Software Corporation is a software company first headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, Cupertino, California and finally Austin, Texas. It is now a Micro Focus subsidiary. It was founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad and Philippe Kahn.-The 1980s:...

. The company folded in 1987 and the product disappeared from the market soon after.