Copyright: Copyright 1992-1993 Windows OnLine(tm)
Citation: All rights reserved, Copyright 1992-1993 Windows OnLine(tm)


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Windows OnLine
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Table Of Content

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  Computer News,  by Randy Wong

  The Visit, A Computer Misadventure,  by Bob Gollihur

  Cache la Byte Commentary,  by Thom Foulks

  LabelPro,  by Rich Young

  Word For Windows Video Tapes,  by Ed Hoffman

Beginning Word For Windows

Intermediate Word For Windows

Advanced Word For Windows

  Intuit Money Managers,  by Frank Mahaney

Quicken 3

QuickBooks 2.0

  WinWord Help Books,  by Ed Rasimus

PC Learning Labs Teaches Word For Windows 2.0

Guide To Using Word 2.0 For Windows

  AutoCAD 12,  by Bob Ellig

  Swfte Resume,  by Ed Hoffman

  WinSleuth Gold Plus,  by Bob Gollihur

  PagePLUS,  by Ed Rasimus

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       Computer News

Acecat II 5"x5" Graphics Tablet

Acecad, Inc., has release an alternative pointing device to be used with or without your mouse or trackball. Acecat II runs all Windows applications using an "absolute" positioning, rather than "relative" positioning used by mice and trackballs. Acecat II supports resolutions of up to 2000 Lines Per Inch, built with an advanced RF shielding to reduce cursor jitters, and provides a template overlay.

New Visions in Multimedia

Media Vision has announced an upgrade system for the home users to transform their desktop PCs into a multimedia  "theater". The Memphis multimedia upgrade system is a complete unit, consisting of a chassis, removable speakers, and a 16-bit interface card. The chassis houses the double-speed CD-ROM drive, includes a built-in MIDI support, 16-bit stereo system, a 20 voice FM synthesizer, game port, and a standard SCSI CD-ROM controller interface. The speakers are detachable, position upright, and extends to four feet from the system unit. Two multimedia titles are bundled with Memphis, Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia and Broderbund's Arthur Teacher Trouble.

Besides hardware, Media Vision has moved into the multimedia software area with its own set of interactive multimedia titles. Media Vision Publishing Group will be releasing 10 multimedia CD-ROM titles that fall into three different groups. They are the children's education, interactive motion pictures, and the daily planner. Five educational titles are Forever Growing Garden, Peak Performance, Professor Gooseberry's I Can Read Club, Always Arthur, and Buster's First Thunderstorm. Interactive games and stories are becoming popular. Critical Path is the first action adventure CD-ROM game to combine motion picture, video game, and computer generated animation elements. Quantum Fate is an interactive science fiction story, using a new technique called "VirtualCinema". In the area of daily planners, 3 titles belonging to the Personal Daily PlanIt Series, will be brought forward.  The initial three titles, with more to come, are PlanIt Earth, Swimwear Illustrated, and PlanIt Adrenaline.

RoboHelp 2.0 Windows Help Authoring Tool

Blue Sky Software has released RoboHelp 2.0 which automates all aspects of creating Windows Help files. With this version, text files are automatically converted into a Help System and vise-versa. RoboHelp 2.0 is a completely integrated system for accessing macros, secondary windows, hotspot graphics, alignment of graphics, and other features of the Windows Help System. Compiling under version 2.0, the DOS compiling screen can now be hidden via a dialog box, or displayed as normal. Error checking has been improved, with the use of the Error Wizard. With this little gem, you can check the RTF file for errors prior compiling, plus it will return error locations and display a detailed explanation.

With the release of Word for Windows 6.0, RoboHelp will be releasing an upgrade, version 2.6. This version will integrate with all the new features of Word For Windows 6.0, making use of all the new functions. This version will be shipping 2 to 3 weeks after Word for Windows 6.0 has begun shipping.

Speeding Up Communications

As we approach communications at higher speed, how do our serial communication ports handle all the requests at this high pace? Not very well, if we are looking at doing data transfer in the background. There have been several solutions. One way of resolving the problems of losing characters and overruns on data, is to get an intelligent communication serial adapter. There are several intelligent communication adapters, such as Hayes ESP, Telcor T/Port series, and DigiBoard 2Port. Communicating at ever higher speeds is causing greater problems, and these special communication adapters will help solve those problems.

Hayes has recently announced their latest ESP Communication Accelerator version 2.0. This is a single communication port card, which supports speeds up to 921.2 kbit per seconds. Version 2.0 provides dual 1024 bytes send and receive buffers. It now incorporates a single communication co-processor chip to handle the serial data transfer rate and the two internal buffers. The co-processor manages the send and receive buffers, the flow control, and system interface for maximum performance and to prevent data loss due to data overflow. A Windows driver is included to replace the standard Communication driver that comes with Windows. The ESP emulates a 16550 UART (Universal  Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) chip.

Telcor T/Port provides a single communication port, while the T/PortTwin provides two serial communication ports. For the T/PortTwin, both ports are independently controlled by two co-processors, one for each port. Windows communication applications can effectively transfer data at 115.2 kbp. There are two 16 KBytes buffers, one for send and one for receive. Telcor also provides a Windows communication driver that replaces the standard driver. Using this Windows driver, the T/Port does not use an IRQ nor does it use a DMA channel. The T/Port automatically emulates the 8250, 16450, or 16550 UART chip. Windows NT communication drivers are in beta, and are not yet available.

DigiBoard 2Port provides two intelligent serial communication ports, controlled by one co-processor. You have to setup the buffer size, ranging from 8 KBytes up to 64K Bytes. Depending upon how you have setup the address scheme in memory, the minimum is 8 KBytes. Windows communication applications can transfer data up to 115.2 kbp without a problem. A Windows communication driver is also included, that replaces the standard driver. Other drivers included are for Windows NT, OS/2, Novell Netware, and Microsoft LAN Manager.

Virtual Forms For Excel

Black Mountain Software introduces an add-in for Excel that will allow storage and mass retrieval of ranges of cells, objects, and charts using their latest proprietary virtual clipboard technology. Virtual Forms is totally integrated into Excel by way of using a dynamic link library.

Visio 2.0

Shapeware Corp. introduced version 2.0 of their drag and drop drawing program, Visio. This popular drawing program has made it easier for professionals in businesses and technical fields to get quality drawings. New features for Visio 2.0 are OLE 2.0, new control handles, and new OLE automation for complete custom system integration.

TeleSell For Windows

TeLeVell will be releasing TeleSell for Windows version 4.0. TeleSell is an integrated sales and marketing information system for contact management, sales, tracking, and customer support. It is capable of keeping track of 1 million companies containing 1,000 people and another additional 1,000 addresses. The Salesperson Module helps organize prospects, leads, preparing your letters and proposals, updating mail lists, and remind you of scheduled items.

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Computer Misadventure Story
       The Visit, A Computer Misadventure

The minute I walked through the door, I was attacked! I thought it was safe to return to the local PC club meetings, but Crazy Rick showed up and was instantly in my face. I thought he would have been electrocuted by now, or at the very least institutionalized.

Rick constantly bugs me to take a look at his latest and greatest system. I don't know where he gets the bucks for all these goodies, since all I've ever seen him do with his computer is upgrade it. He literally dragged me to his house after the meeting with promises of unlimited beer. We all have our weaknesses.

"Yo, Bob --- wait 'til you see what I've got going in the Computer Room!"  Rick was like a kid on December 26th. "This new machine really screams!!!"

My palms began to sweat, recalling my last visit. Hours of unraveling one of the most bizarre configurations I'd seen, just for the sake of 2K more RAM under 640K. What frightening mess has Rick come up with this time?

His new Computer Room was somewhat reminiscent of Frankenstein's Laboratory. Equipment everywhere, surrounding the biggest tower case I've ever seen. I was certain that this thing had more stories in it than Rick's mental elevator could climb. Drawers with disks pouring out surrounded me, along with manuals, computer magazines and sales flyers littering the floor. The desk was dominated by an immense monitor.

"Look at this baby, Bob! Raw power!" His eyes wide, he made several grunts and general power noises straight from TV's Home Improvement. "Let's give 'er the boot."

Rick threw a giant knife switch on the wall. I kept a cautious eye on the closet, not knowing what creatures of the night might emerge. Instead, the lights flickered, then dimmed for a moment, LEDs started winking from various corners of the room and from beneath the desk, and the soft roar of cooling fans stirred the seemingly dank atmosphere.

The giant screen sprang to life, narrated by the grinding of disk drives trying to read non-existent data. Characters flew by as megabytes were checked, memory managers loaded, batch files executed, and disk caches swallowed resources. At last, the MS Windows logo, and . . . and . . .

My ears were flattened against the sides of my head as the Hallelujah Chorus sprang forth from giant speakers suspended from the ceiling. My fight or flight reflexes were put on full alert, and I began to tremble like a child.

"How's that for a WAV file?" Rick screamed over the sopranos. "With 400 watts of stereo surround-sound power." The Home Improvement grunts were repeated but were drowned out by the sub-woofer.

The echo of the chorus still rang in my ears as Rick invited me to sit down and check out his new machine. He explained that he had to upgrade to give him the horsepower to run his new Desktop Publishing business. So that's where the money was coming from!

"The old 486-66 just couldn't keep up," he rued, "even with the 16 megs of RAM, that graphics co-processor card, and the 500 meg hard drive with the cache. The salesman assured me that this new RamORama PC is the closest thing to a 686 without the chip."

"Right," I said, somewhat puzzled with the whole affair. It was wise not to question Rick. He might answer.

The massive screen was metamorphosing as we sat there, displaying Parisian street scenes, Salvator Dali prints, tartan plaids that shimmered, a Rembrandt whose eyes seemed to follow me around the room, and a familiar paisley that I faintly recall seeing through closed eyes sometime during the 1960s. When the aquatic scenes began, I started to feel seasick.

"Like it? It's that new Wacky Wallpaper program I just got. Only $209 with my Computer Addicts Anonymous card. Changes every fifteen seconds using a library of 2500 screens. I hear that Silly Screens Volumes IV and V are coming out next week. Can't wait!"

"Doesn't this gadget suck up an awful lot of memory?" I subtly inquired.

"A bit. Funny, I did have to add more memory a couple of weeks ago. Got 32 megs now. System seemed sluggish. Salesman told me I was just getting used to the Supersonic speed."

"Oh," I said. What else could I say? Rick apparently believes saleman.

"Check out this desktop! The salesman told me that this new Eyeblinder 2000 monitor can display an infinite² numbers of colors in 2561x1921 resolution. Has a .21 dot pitch!" He motioned to the case leaning reverently beside the almighty tower, "8 megs of video memory on this turbocharged, electrically injected, inter-cooled video accelerator board linked directly to the RamORama's local bus. Gotta feed this baby." He smugly stroked the enormous monitor.

After an intensive search, Rick located the minimized Program Manager icon amidst the ever-changing swirling patterns of his wallpaper and double-clicked. The cacophony began anew.

As layer after layer of program groups papered the screen, The Flight of the Bumble Bee buzzed through the room. And then, a welcome silence. But only for a moment. I stared in silent horror at the panoply of colorful icons spread from edge to edge and beyond. Thought I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. Oh noooooo!

The Shirley Temple icon danced out of its group and began to sing "On the Good Ship Lollipop". Rabbits were popping out of hats, Lotus 1-2-3 began counting to ten, as the Starship Enterprise flew around the screen with Scotty screaming "I don't know how long she'll be able to take it, Captain!". I silently agreed with Scotty. Icons began dancing with each other. Walt Disney could turn this into a ride.

"You don't happen to have a WAV file of 'It's a Small World After All,' do you?"  My sarcastic side emerged.

"I think I do." Rick was really excited now.

"Great!" I said, but prayed he wouldn't find it.

"I'm really glad you came over," Rick beamed, "because these memory managers are driving me nuts. First I used Billy's DOS, then DOS MD, and I even loaded up OZ/2 - the Revenge, but I still can't get enough memory. I can't wait until DOS VI.II comes out."

"What exactly are you trying to do?" I hesitated, but had to ask.

"Get enough memory."

"For what?"

"To have enough. My friend Larry says he's got 657K free in DOS after loading all his TSRs. I need at least that much."

"But you run only Windows apps, Rick!"

"All the more reason."

"Oh," I said. No point in carrying this any further.

"How's the Desktop Publishing business going?" I ventured closer to the abyss.

"Almost ready. Got to get this machine optimized so I can take full advantage of the technology. It's a lot of work, ya' know." Rick looked frazzled.

"Did you learn that new razzle-dazzle DTP program yet? I hear it can really put out great looking documents."

"Not yet, I'm still working on this system. Had to upgrade my laser printer to 8 megs. It choked on my True Type Font Inventory. I have over 1500 fonts! Might replace it, don't think that 10 pages per minute will do it once I get started."

"When do you think you'll get started, Rick? " I gently nudged.

"Disk space!" He yelped, "I think I'm gonna need another gig soon!"

"You filled up a GIG!?!." I was incredulous.

"Sure, this stuff takes up space. Had to take most my utility programs off to make space. I've got over 280 meg of screen savers. Can't be too careful with this monitor! Watch this!"

Shiny flying toaster-ovens filled the screen, crashing through multi-hued stained glass windows and disgorging white, wheat, rye and pumpernickel in varying stages and shades of toast. If my stomach wasn't churning so much from this whole experience, I'd yield to the sudden urge to go to Denny's for a late night breakfast.

Rick moved the mouse and we thankfully returned to the semi-reality of his desktop. I couldn't help noticing that his cursor was not your average little arrow. What a surprise. I peered closer, risking certain death from the massive roentgen count  that probably exceeded the output of Chernobyl. It was a tiny Axl Rose. Then it wasn't. Then it was Slash. You can guess what the little figure was using as a pointer.

"How do you like it?" Rick asked. "The cursor changes every five seconds pulling from a library of 5000 historic and contemporary public figures. This is the MTV series." He double clicked, then single clicked while pulling the mouse's tail. The sound of dying cat cries filled the room. No, I was mistaken. It was Axl and the band.

"I really gotta go, Rick." I needed to make my escape. "Could you make me up that receipt for the LaserPlane IV I bought from you a couple months ago?"

One Great Truth of Life is that guitar players, stereo nuts and computer fanatics are wonderful sources for great used equipment on the cheap. Not one of them is ever satisfied, even when they get exactly what they want.

"I wish I could get this system just the way I want it," Rick lamented. "There's always something getting in the way of my progress."

"Maybe you should just go with what you have. How is that new graphics program?"

"Haven't had time to learn it yet. Did you know that Examine-It-Too-Closely version 3.23a can't do a test on the video board RAM? How do I know if it's any good?"

"Look, I really have to get home, Rick. Could you quick put together a receipt for me?" I pleaded.

"Uh --- yeah, okay," Rick stuttered.

He rolled his chair to the other side of the room and began to remove a vinyl cover from a new, yet untouched, mysterious object. What other wondrous gadget could Rick have bought to enhance his system?

It was a Smith-Corona.

Manual.

1955, I'd guess.

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Cache la Byte Commentary
       Cache la Byte

The Perfect PC. Gee, I'd love to have one. I've read about them in a huge stack of computer magazines, and although the topic hasn't become a Time or Newsweek cover story yet, such just might be right around the corner. Hundreds of readers have, or will, read about what is -- grab your seat -- a hoax. There is NO such thing as the "Perfect PC".

I'll justify that bold statement. First of all, consider that such articles are written by people who have the time (and are paid for) testing dozens/hundreds of products annually. They are also the people who (1) generally have learned how to make any setup work, and (2) no longer have the time to put the products into a real-life, day-to-day productivity situation.

Frankly, they wouldn't know a "Perfect PC" for YOU any better than picking out the right tie/hairstyle for an executive meeting, or picking out a color scheme for your new house. The concept of a "Perfect PC" is a hoax, a scam, a fake, a spoof (and all those other like-meaning words you can find in Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus).

The great homogenization in the computer industry over the past couple of years makes it virtually impossible to single out any particular product as the "best" of anything, except on extremely narrow criteria...criteria which may have very little relevance to how a given user needs to use a given product. How does paying bus fare for your video get your work done faster? (I still don't understand why my video has to ride the bus. Geez, we're a two-car family.)

The best I've ever been able to say about nearly all products I've reviewed are that "it works" (that's still a high compliment in some product areas) or that it is "the best I've seen". But the "quest for best" is really reminiscent of "my Chevy can beat your Ford" kinds of discussions, and seldom produces much that is meaningful to onlookers.

Note for all computer users: You need to find what is best for you. That can be done only by first defining your needs, and then seeking products that best fit those needs. At the other end, all writers can do is describe a given product's promises, how well it fulfills them, and its best attributes (in their opinion).

Your mileage may vary. Strike the "may" -- I should have said "will".

P.S. - My Dodge can beat both the Chevy and the Ford. But there was this startling experience with an airbag...the dealer said it was caused by a computer bug... -- Thom Foulks

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Avery LabelPro for Windows
       Avery LabelPro

For Windows

Avery has brought its wonderful LabelPro to the Windows environment, and it is worth the wait. LabelPro for Windows is an advanced software that makes creating professional-looking labels a snap. The package includes specially designed merge capabilities that streamline the printing of labels from your data files.

LabelPro for Windows features ready-to-use layouts for more than 120 of Avery's laser, ink jet, and dot matrix printer supplies. In addition to templates for a wide assortment of labels including addressing, shipping, file folder, diskette and video tape, the program supports business cards, post cards, rotary cards, index dividers and transparencies. You simply choose the Avery product you need from the menu, add text and design elements, and print. If it sounds easy, that's because it is easy. It took me a matter of minutes to design and print out some great looking return address labels.

Here is an example of a shipping label on the design screen.

LabelPro for Windows will let you merge your address lists from a variety of applications including dBase, Paradox for DOS, Paradox for Windows, WordPerfect for DOS, WordPerfect for Windows, Microsoft Word for DOS, Microsoft Word for Windows as well as ASCII files. The List Manager can handle your entire address list or you can select individual records or groups of records to print. The List Manager allows you to create entries, edit them, save and store them without having to return to the original program that created the list. You can also use the List Manager as your main database for your addresses if you so choose.

The List Manager allows easy entry and editing of records.

The List Manager will let you create lists of unlimited size with up to 15 fields and allows you to name fields to fit their needs. When printing, you can sort and select records on any combination of fields or simply mark the records you need to print. LabelPro for Windows can automatically calculate and print the latest USPS Delivery Point Bar Codes. Code 39, Interleaved 2/5, UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-8 and EAN-13 bar codes are also included for inventory, distribution and retail applications.

The Designer window is where you design the layout of your label and add text elements and graphics. LabelPro for Windows includes a set of design tools to make the job easy and professional looking. There are tools for line drawing, shading, drawing ovals, circles, squares and rectangles, and ruler guides. A real life saver is the shrink-to-fit feature which automatically fits the text onto each label, eliminating the need for you to make tedious font size adjustments before printing. You can use the supplied clip art or import graphics or logos in .PCX, .TIF, or .BMP formats. You can size and drag images with a mouse, mix fonts on the same line and even superimpose objects.

On the left, the Design screen with a laid out label, and on the right the Print Preview screen with the same label using the shrink-to-fit option.

Although LabelPro for Windows is user-friendly enough on its own, you can get step by step on-screen instructions. You just need to click on the QuickSteps button which will guide you through key tasks. LabelPro also does serial numbering, date and time stamping, and comes with sample designs that you can edit and use for your own labels. As an aside, the quality of Avery products has been recognized by leading software vendors. Templates for using Avery products are included with the "big three" Windows word processors, Ami Pro for Windows, WordPerfect for Windows, and Microsoft Word for Windows.

I found Avery LabelPro for Windows to be a powerful, yet user-friendly program. Its ease of use is overshadowed only by the high quality of the printed labels this product produces. I was surprised at how quickly I could go from a blank screen to a printed sheet of labels. I wish all software could be this intuitive and automated. Avery LabelPro for Windows carries a list price of $129.95 and is available at your local software outlets. To run this product, you must be running Windows 3.0 or higher, VGA and a laser, ink jet, or dot matrix printer supported by Windows.

For more information contact:

Avery Dennison

20955 Pathfinder Road

Diamond Bar, CA 91765

1-800-252-8379

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W4W Video Training Review
       Word For Windows Video Series

There is no doubt that learning a new computer software application can prove to be an anxious and down right intimidating experience. Many people try to learn a program, such as Word for Windows, from the ground up by simply sitting in front of the computer and beating away at the keys. Though effective, this method of teaching yourself to use software is not without its drawbacks. The beat the keys 'till you drop approach is much the same as learning to shave the first time with a blade in the razor. Sure you get all the whiskers, but your face may look like a fresh pound of ground sirloin. Even the Word for Windows built-in tutorial, though useful, is only an introduction to the program and not a full teaching program. A more effective and efficient way to teach yourself to use the program is with the Word for Windows Video Tape Series from LearnKey.

For those of you who have sat through the current crop of infomercials on most late night cable TV stations, let me assure you that these are not the same tapes. Rather, the Word for Windows Video Tape Series is a set of three tapes specifically designed to teach you to be both competent and proficient with the Word for Windows 2.0 word processor. Ideally, you should use these tapes beside your computer where you can follow each lesson as it's presented. But, you can do just as well by viewing the tape and practicing on your own. As one who has learned to use computers and computer software by both video tapes and by the beat the keys 'till you drop methods, I can certainly tell you that I learned much more, in less time, with the LearnKey video tapes.

Teaching yourself to use Word for Windows 2.0 by simply using the program, though feasible is not a very efficient way to gain full mastery of this powerful program. When teaching yourself this way, you are just as likely to learn the wrong way to perform a simple task as you are the correct way. Too often, the methods you use to achieve a particular result, though sufficient, may be a very convoluted and complicated series of activities that you'd be hard pressed to duplicate. In fact you may actually make a relatively simple task quite difficult. And as we all know, once you teach yourself to do something in certain specific ways, it's difficult to break the old habits.

For example, when learning to use Word for Windows, I developed a few less than desirable practices that have taken me a while to overcome. One such habit was selecting words and sentences by dragging the mouse. A much easier way to do this, as shown on these video tapes, is double clicking the mouse button to select a single word and holding the control key and clicking to select a whole sentence.

Likewise, when typing attributes such as Bold, Italics, or colors for a word, I would simply click on the Bold or Italics button, open the Format-Character menu and select a color. I would then type the words and turn off the attributes. After viewing the tapes I found a much simpler way to do this is to type the desired attributes one time and copy them to the different areas of the document. This is done by simply selecting the text to change and moving the mouse to a selection with the attributes you want and clicking the mouse while depressing the Control-Shift keys. The attributes are then copied to the selected text. No, these are not earth shaking discoveries, but they have saved me a bunch of key strokes.

The tape series consists of three video tapes, Beginning. Intermediate, and Advanced Word for Windows. Each tape may be used alone, but together, they cover the complete spectrum of features and capabilities of  this powerful word processor. The following is a brief description of what each tape covers.

   Tape #1

Beginning Word for Windows

The first tape in the series, as you might expect, covers the more fundamental aspects of Word for Windows. Here the instructor, Tom Badgett, introduces the Word for Windows program and discusses both what the program is and the theory behind the program. This is an interesting narrative about the why Word for Windows operates the way it does and how it takes full advantage of the Windows environment. Here the general Word for Windows screen geography, menus, an icons are introduced and explained.

In the next lesson you'll create a letter and envelope. Building on the previous lesson, the tape covers how to move around in a document, selecting fonts, and selecting the printer. In the envelope lesson, the processes used to create both plain and special return address envelopes are covered. The next document covered in the lessons is a memo. Here the tape introduces formatting commands and the steps used to insert dates, and to create borders and boxes.

The final lessons cover the techniques used for manipulating and moving around in existing documents, working with split screens and using the editing tools furnished in Word for Windows. Here the tape offers a well presented description and explanation of the Speller, Thesaurus, and Grammar Checking functions.

All the sample text and exercises used for the lessons are performed on the documents furnished with the Word for Windows program. Another nice feature of this tape, as well as the others in this series, is the way the examples are demonstrated. Rather than simply telling you what keys are pressed or what keyboard activity is being performed, many of the examples show a split screen where both the keyboard and screen are shown at the same time. This allows you to see exactly what keys are pressed and the effect these actions have on the screen. All in all, this tape offers a very good introduction to the program and will help build the confidence necessary to explore the more powerful features of Word for Windows.

   Tape #2

Intermediate Word for Windows

The intermediate tape starts with a description of  the components of a Word for Windows document. Here the key elements that combine to form a document: the templates, style sheets, graphics, and text are each introduced and described.

The lesson then moves to a description of the search and search/replace functions within the program. Several examples of both simple and complex searches are given. These include searching for individual text strings, formatting commands, and styles. The bookmark feature of Word for Windows is also covered in this area. Here the rationale and application of bookmarks, as well as how they are applied, are covered.

The next area covered is paragraph and page formatting. Here the tape addresses the procedures and methods used to set indents, text alignment and justification, line spacing, and borders and shading. The technique used to preset line spacing before and after paragraphs is also addressed and described is this section. In the page formatting area the tape covers the steps used to set margins from both the menu and the ruler bar, creating headers and footers, inserting a date field code, and methods of working with two copies of the same document at the same time.

Tables and columns are the next area described in this tape. Here both the typical applications and the processes used for setting up and  formatting tables and columns are addressed. Topics covered include setting up table grids, using tables for tabular data and parallel text, newspaper columns, borders and shading, and placing a line between columns.

The tape then moves to the techniques employed in setting up and using styles, templates, and glossaries. Here styles and templates are completely defined and well described. Working with the existing styles, as examples, the tape describes the methods used modify the preset styles and steps necessary in creating completely new styles and templates. A sample memo template is also created and saved as a template (*.DOT) file. The tape concludes with a description of how glossaries are setup and used to reduce repetitive typing and to simplify the process of creating documents. This tape offers a very good continuation of the basic information as well as firm foundation for the advanced tape.

   Tape #3

Advanced Word for Windows

The final tape in this series builds on the preceding information and expands into the more advanced area of the Word for Windows program. The tape starts with the methods and techniques of importing and using graphics. Here the lesson covers the use of setting up frames for graphics as well as the process of importing the clipart furnished with the Word for Windows program. Two examples, a letterhead and an invitation, are used to illustrate how these documents are created and modified.

The OLE (object linking and embedding) features of the program are also described by linking graphics from both Microsoft Draw and Paintbrush. The tape shows how the Microsoft Draw portion of  the Word for Windows program may also be used to modify existing clipart or to create completely new graphics. The methods used to update modified graphics in typical Word documents are also described and illustrated.

The next area of the tape covers a variety of different lists. Tables of Contents, figure lists, and indexes are all covered and explained in this area. The interconnection between the styles and lists is also described and well explained with several examples. In addition, the methods and techniques used with numbered and bulleted lists are also well covered. Outlining methods and tips are also covered in this tape. Here too the interconnection between the document styles and the outline is also described and well illustrated.

The tape concludes with a description of macros and the procedures used for embedding spreadsheet data into a Word for Windows document with the OLE functions. The tape offers a few sample macros as well as a good explanation of why macros are useful and how they are created and modified.

These tapes are a good investment for both the experienced and novice user of Word for Windows. Not only will they help to explain and illustrate unfamiliar or seldom used areas of the program, but they may also be used as a reference source for future questions.

Beginning Word for Windows	(Retail price: $49.95)

Intermediate Word for Windows	(Retail price: $49.95)

Advanced Word for Windows	(Retail price: $49.95)

Word for Windows Video Tape Set	(Retail price: $129.95)

Available from:

LearnKey, Inc.

93 South Mountain Way Drive, Room 1

Orem, UT 84058

1-800-937-3279

Brought to you by:

Ed Hoffman

Staff Writer

Click Here


ED H Signature


Quicken for Windows
       Quicken 3 and QuickBooks

Intuit Has Two New Winners!

Quicken 3 for Windows - QuickBooks for Windows v2.0

Quicken 3 for Windows

Quicken was originally released as a DOS personal finance manager. A better description of the software, at that time, was check book manager. I personally have used Quicken for 5 years. Therefore, I'll tell you up front, I like this software. To better qualify my bias, I have tried most of the competition and still continue to stay with Quicken. It should not then be much of a surprise to tell you that I switched to the Windows version of Quicken at my first opportunity.

So what's new with Version 3 for Windows ,you ask? Quicken now has a Financial Calendar (see below). You can schedule recurring transactions by simply using the drag and drop feature. You can add reminders for birthdays and other special events (Mothers Day). This particular feature is well thought out and is a great addition to this already easy to use program.

The Investment Portfolio area has been greatly enhanced. There are many new measurements of performance including various types of investment returns. Several new forms have been added for easier data entry. There are new Financial Planning Graphs and a new worksheet.

Quick Reports is another very nice addition. Do you wish to know the detail of a given expense account? Simply click on the quick report button and all the transactions that are tied to that account appear in a on-screen report... Very handy and very quick!

Have you ever typed a complex transaction into the wrong account? I have. Lets say you are inputting the charges on your VISA account when you realize your are doing all this work in the wrong account. Now, Quicken has added a copy/paste feature from the Register View. It can save you all that retyping of information into the correct account.

Better Graphing of your data is now offered. One strong suggestion from this writer to Intuit would be to allow the user to adjust the scale of graphs. Graphs can be quite useful if they display clear changes and differences. However, if you can not change the scale often these differences are hard to detect and thus make the graphing feature of limited benefit.

Summary

Overall, Quicken for Windows version 3 is a very worthy upgrade to those of us who are already using it. For those of you who are have either not started managing your personal finances by computer or are using other software, you are missing out on one of the greatest, easiest to use software programs. Computers were designed to do exactly this kind of work and Quicken makes doing these mundane financial tasks both fun and easy.

Suggested retail price for Quicken 3 for Windows is $69.95. Current users can purchase Quicken through retail outlets and receive a $10.00 in-box rebate. New users receive a $5.00 in-box rebate. Upgrades are available directly from Intuit for $29.95 plus $5.00 shipping and handling.

QuickBooks for Windows

version 2.0

What is the difference between Quicken for Windows and QuickBooks for Windows? Quicken for Windows is a personal finance manager while QuickBooks for Windows is meant for the accounting of a small business. If you are just managing your personal fortune, purchase Quicken for Windows. Can you use Quicken for Windows for your home finances and QuickBooks for Windows for your business? Yes, that is the way they were designed to be used. They do not, however, link to each other in any way. That is an oversight that Intuit should address.

Quick Books adds many accounting features without the user having to know much about accounting. If your going to install accounting software in a small business, where and how does one learn how to do that kind of thing? Intuit, the developer of Quicken and QuickBooks, has provided the user with an excellent learning feature called Tour Quickbooks. The basic how to can be read and understood from this very well done tutorial. Other help features are Qcards, On-screen Help, a Business Guide to explain accounting basics and a Getting Started Guide.

The main features of QuickBooks are:

Invoicing with nine different printing options

Accounts receivable and aging

Collections

Accounts payable

Cash flow forecasts

Job costing

Point and shoot bill payment

15 preset reports that include:

- Profit and loss

- Balance Sheet

- Sales

- User defined custom reports

QuickBooks does require you to have a system to your accounting but, it is quite easy to learn and setup. You can import your bank account data from Quicken to QuickBooks. However, editing will need to be done to allow pasted data from Quicken to flow properly within QuickBooks. Bill paying, and the behind the scenes bookkeeping, are easy and fun, just like Quicken.

I wish that Intuit would allow better import and export (Quicken and QuickBooks) of data like customer lists in dBase format (.DBF). Managing many different lists of customers and products can be quite a pain. Even the copy/paste of a customer name and address will only function on one line of the record at a time.

Summary

Do I like QuickBooks, yes, I love it! Quicken and QuickBooks will stay on my hard drive until they get overwritten by the next update. Buy it. You'll not only like it, but, you'll know where your money is going.

QuickBooks retails for $139.95. Quicken users will be offered Quickbooks at an introductory price of $49.95. A QuickBooks/QuickPay payroll software bundle is available for $179.95.

For more information contact:

Intuit

155 Linfield Avenue

Menlo Park, CA 94025

(800) 624-8742

Reviewed by,

Click Here


FJM Signature

Frank J. Mahaney

Publisher,

WinOnLine Review

WinOnLine Review, Shareware Edition

Founder,

Windows OnLine

Box 1614

Danville, CA 94526-6614

(510)736-4376 - Voice

(510)736-8397 - Fax

(510)736-8343 - BBS/Modem


WinWord Help Books Review
       Word For Windows Help Books

WinWord Help Books

Windows has brought us good news and bad news. The good news is that the Graphical User Interface makes applications easy to use, intuitive, and immediately productive. The bad news is that many of use never fully learn the powerful features of our software. The trend for most of us is to pull the shrinkwrap off, stuff the disks in the slot, run A:\Install, and discard all that ballast in the box which kept it from blowing off the dealers shelf. The software manufacturers are not much help in this situation as they increasingly minimize the supporting documentation and increase the size of the HELP files. That approach saves trees, but doesn't make for user proficiency in the software.

That's why I jumped at the chance to review two books recently released by Ziff-Davis Publishing on MS Word for WindowsTM. I'm no better than average (and probably worse than most) when it comes to learning the advanced features of my software. I've used MS Word for WindowsTM for a couple of years now and thought I was fairly competent. You probably feel the same way. But let's ask a few questions and see where you rank on the WinWord wonk scale:

I just edged onto the chart at the underpaid executive level before reading these two books; PC Learning Labs Teaches Word for Windows 2.0, and Guide to Using Word 2.0 for Windows by Ed Jones. After reading the books, women in fern bars started asking me how the weather was in Redmond.

PC Learning Labs Teaches Word for Windows 2.0 is the perfect text for the new user, the recent upgrader to a full featured word processor, or the individual that likes a well explained, step-by-step approach to instruction. The book, which comes complete with a disk of practice documents, starts out at the most basic level with detailed procedures to open WinWord and load the first programs. Yet, despite the very basic approach, the progress is rapid and the student will not get bored or bogged down in detail. PC Learning Labs Teaches Word for Windows 2.0 offers a well organized pattern with subject material logically grouped and presented. Even the experienced WinWord user will be surprized at the number of new techniques to be learned for everyday tasks many of which aren't readily accessible in the Word for Windows users guide.

The conscientious user of PC Learning Labs Teaches Word for Windows 2.0   will find themselves participating in a classic self-paced instructional program. Each chapter builds on the previous work with periodic reviews, reinforcement training, and section summaries to insure material learned is retained and internalized. And, each chapter offers a convenient stopping place in the work to insure the student doesn't get saturated. Overall, this is a well written, useful volume for the WinWord user who needs a little help in increasing efficiency and understanding of the features of the application.

Guide to Using Word 2.0 for Windows is for the individual who aspires to become a true power user. Right from the start, this is a no-nonsense approach to learning everything there is to know about Word for Windows. There are no disks attached to this text, and no detailed instructions of how to open a document. The assumption here is that you already know the basics, and have now come to the top of the mountain to seek enlightenment on how to best use this mystical tool.

Which is not to say that Guide to Using Word 2.0 for Windows is less useful than PC Learning Labs Teaches Word for Windows 2.0. This is merely a book for a distinctly different audience. Here we are aimed at the total employment of the capability of a sophisticated word processing application. In fact, in the very first paragraph, author Ed Jones indicates we are really dealing with document processing rather than word processing. And he means it.

Guide to Using Word 2.0 for Windows will take you through every aspect of every capability of WinWord. This is the kind of book which you will not work through page by page. This is the one that will sit on your computer desk as a ready reference and source of new word, oops make that document, processing ideas. When you bring the Guide to Using Word 2.0 for Windows home take a few minutes to page through it to gain a feel for the layout and contents. Then look up something. For me it was a question about glossary use. A few pages later, I'm an expert on glossaries. Now, I've got my signature block for correspondence available as a glossary entry. Ditto my company logo. And, Guide to Using Word 2.0 for Windows has got a space next to my monitor. (Plus, I now know what the "spike" is.)

Either of these books would be a good addition to the WinWord user's library. Purchase of both would probably be overkill. If you are new to high-power word processing, then PC Learning Labs Teaches Word for Windows 2.0 is the book for you. If you have been at it for a while, and want to finally get the last ounce of power out of your application than the choice is Guide to Using Word 2.0 for Windows. It's money well spent.

PC Learning Labs Teaches Word for Windows 2.0

Richard P. Scott, Robert N. Kulik, et.al.

Ziff-Davis Press

5903 Christie Ave.

Emeryville CA 94608

U.S. $22.95

Guide to Using Word 2.0 for Windows

Ed Jones

Ziff-Davis Press

5903 Christie Ave.

Emeryville CA 94608

U.S. $27.95

Review by:

Ed Rasimus

Click Here


Ed R Signature


AutoCad Review
       AutoCAD 12

If all you had to do was connect the dots in the Sunday funnies, you'd only need a big sharp yellow pencil with a nice red eraser. However, the complex task of communicating ideas from a designer to a builder or machinist requires something more; a drawing. To an architect or engineer who has to make this drawing, the pencil has been replaced by a computer, Computer Aided Design (CAD) software and a printer. The objective of a CAD program is to simplify this process.

AutoCAD 12 for Windows is an outstanding example of how to do this right. It is more than a simple drafting tool; it is a means of modeling a design. You can test out different design approaches before committing to a final form. Discover your mistakes before the first nail is driven or the first casting is poured.

Getting Started

From the outset, the program just feels right. Double click on the AutoCAD icon and you are on your way. Once in the program, clicking your mouse on familiar pull down menus and buttons work just like Windows. You have the same controlmenu box in the upper left hand corner and the same minimize/maximize buttons in the upper right. When you minimize, don't panic; all of your work is still there but in the form of an icon. From here you can open another program like a word processor, a database manager, a calendar or even another AutoCAD drawing. When you finally come back to your first AutoCAD drawing, everything is just as you left it. Immediately below the controlmenu box line you will find a menu bar with the 11 AutoCAD pull down menus. No need memorizing commands to get started. Each function can be accessed from the pull down menus with a simple click of the mouse. From here you can work with everything that AutoCAD 12 has to offer. In the following sections we'll look at some of the features that really make this CAD system shine.

Help

You've heard the expression, "When all else fails, read the instructions!"  AutoCAD documentation is complete, comprehensive and massive. However, you don't have to reach for the manuals to get out of trouble. The builtin help function in AutoCAD 12 makes it possible to get started and keep going without using the book. Simply pressing F1 brings the Genie out of the bottle. The Contents window comes up with icons for Getting Started, AutoCAD for Windows, Commands, a Glossary and even help with Help.

Once in Help, a button bar lets you look around in a logical manner. When you select Search, a dialogue box asks you to type a word. As you wander through the various help windows, you can click on green words or phrases for more information on these subjects. For really complex problems where more than one subject needs illumination, you can backtrack to the start of your search and branch off in another direction with a click of your mouse. And, of course, you can always Browse in either direction.

If you run across a problem that was particularly difficult to understand, you can print out any material from the help menu for later study. And, once you have solved a mystery, you can make notes in the file that are yours alone. A paper clip icon appears in the upper left hand corner of the window to remind you that you have made notes on this subject.

Toolbar and Toolbox

Located just below the pull-down menu is the Toolbar. The icons and displays on this line are like the push buttons and readouts on a stereo. Want to change stations, push a button; want to switch to AM, push a button; want to know the time, push a button. With the Toolbar, a push of a button can open, print/plot or save a file. One button lets you zoom in on your drawing to examine a feature in close detail. Another, the Aerial View, lets you fly over your drawing to look for a particular area that needs your attention. One window gives you the location of your cursor (like the tip of your pencil) on your drawing. Another tells you what layer you are on. You can move freely from one layer to another by clicking on the Layer button.

The layer feature allows you to create separate designs in the same space. When designing a house, you can put all the electrical work on one layer, all of the plumbing on a second and all of the structural on a third. Changes you make on one layer will not affect another. Each layer can be drawn in a separate color making it easier to see when you look at the complete drawing.

Then, at the end of the Toolbar, just like on your stereo, there are programmable buttons. You select the functions of AutoCAD that you use most often from a dialogue box. An icon for the function will appear on the button making it easy to select when you need it with the click of your mouse.

Like the Toolbar, a handy Toolbox is full of commonly used commands. It can be strung just beneath the Toolbar, along either side of the screen or in a neat little window of its own that you can move wherever you want. Each function has its own descriptive icon. It doesn't take long to learn what the circle, line or erase commands look like. To help, the window shows you the name as you move the cursor over each icon. Want to erase a line? Click on the eraser icon and then move the little cursor box to the line you want erased. It's that easy.

Make a Drawing

Just like working with a pencil, you need to pull out a blank drawing sheet. AutoCAD furnishes you with a few easy to edit samples with title blocks, borders and all of the other goodies you need to get started. Once the form is modified to your satisfaction, your template becomes an endless supply of blank drawing forms.

Starting with a flat surface, you can begin drawing. Click on your handy Toolbox and you have access to the full range of geometric features in the system. For example, you can draw a line from the midpoint of another to a tangent point on a circle in less time than it takes to read this sentence. Don't be concerned about errors. Make a mistake like erasing a circle and just type in OOPS. Yes, OOPS!  What you erased gets unerased. For more complex errors, you can UNDO. This takes you back through each step of your drawing (to the beginning if you want) until you get to where you started off the track. You can UNDO forward one step. You can set a flag at critical points in your design process so that UNDO and REDO move in blocks of commands. Your eraser now has a memory and it forgives.

One button on the Toolbox lets you move things around without having to erase and redraw. But, if you built a complex structure, like a garage for your house and you wanted to move it, there would be smoke coming from your mouse at the end of the day. AutoCAD lets you move complete features all at once instead of individual lines. If you have a standard feature, like a wall socket for your electrical layout, design it, save it as a block and then drop it in when ever you need it. And, you can move it just as easy.

When you have finished all the work on one surface of your part, you rotate or offset the plane and continue with your work. The final drawing looks like a wire frame. The lines represent the edges of all the surfaces and their intersections with other surfaces. In 2-D, the views are relatively easy to understand. But, when you look at your wire frame design in isometric or perspective views, sometimes it's difficult to visualize. This is where AutoCAD solids come into play.

3-D Solids with Advanced Modeling Extension

We all live in a three dimensional world. With two eyes we can sense the distance, size, depth and shape of various objects. But the paper we work with is a flat, two dimensional surface. To convey the third dimension of an object, we make many two dimensional views. A tool and die maker can convert a block of steel into a finished product. He uses these 2-D drawings to guide his machine tool to remove metal from the proper locations, creating a 3-D part.

AutoCAD 12's AME (Advance Modeling Extension) works in a similar fashion. To create a 3-D object, the designer first chooses from an array of solid "primitives" like boxes, spheres, wedges, cones, cylinders and the like. He puts together a lump of these shapes that are larger than his desired final design. Then he removes the parts he doesn't want. For a drilled hole, he removes a cylinder. To make a window in a wall, remove a box of the desired length and width of the window and the thickness of the wall. Mathematical gurus will tell you that this is a Boolean algebra operation in action.

Once you have "machined" out all of the parts of the solid you don't want, what's left is your part. If you want, you can make up sub-assemblies and then "glue" them together to make your final part. As a solid, AutoCAD lets you assign material properties such as aluminum, glass, steel and others to your design. Now your number cruncher can give you information about strength, density, conductivity and other high tech info. You can calculate properties like mass, volume and moments of inertia which designers find useful in keeping a finely tuned machine running at peak efficiencies.

Checks can be made in CAD before the square peg and the round hole reach the assembly floor in a factory. From the 3-D solid model, all 2-D drawings can be easily extracted. When the design changes come, one change to the 3-D model will automatically show up on all the 2-D drawings. They say that there is a point in every project when it is time to shoot the engineer and get on with production. AutoCAD 12 - AME may eventually eliminate engineering changes due to oversights.

Plotting/Printing

AutoCAD supports a full spectrum of plotters and dot matrix, ink jet and laser printers. Once you have finished your drawing, you can select any part or all of it to print. Click the print button and a dialogue box will walk you through the process. Choose the line size, color of pen, size of paper and what you want to print from here. If your drawing is in 3-D solids, you can HIDE the hidden lines. A preview window lets you see exactly what your drawing will look like on paper before it is printed. You get a chance to get it right the first time.

Ins and Outs

We have already seen that it is possible to work on more than one AutoCAD drawing at a time. Let's say that you have been working on a difficult problem and you want to test a new idea before you incorporate it into your design. You can open another drawing, create your new idea and test it. If the idea works out, you can copy the revisions to your original drawing. Each session runs a full blown version of AutoCAD 12.

With Windows Clipboard you can move areas of a drawing to another drawing, to a word processor or to a presentation graphics program. You can also import text and other materials from these sources. The technicians will tell you that the materials will be exported in bitmap (BMP) or Metafile (WMF) formats. This means that you can put together one very impressive proposal document with all of the great features offered in your word processor and the details of a design from AutoCAD. In reverse, you can use some of your best word processing materials to punch up your drawings.

The real magic comes when you crank up our new friend, OLE (not to be confused with a bull ring cheer). Object Linking and Embedding takes us away from our scissors and glue pot and straight into the 21st century. You can create a masterpiece with your word processor and bring in a drawing from AutoCAD. When linked, you can click on the drawing in your word processor and it automatically starts an AutoCAD session. Any changes you make to your word processor drawing will also be made to your AutoCAD drawing. If you do not want to change your original drawing, you can embed the drawing. Clicking on the drawing brings you into AutoCAD but does not change your original drawing.

For a final "Gee Whiz" feature, AutoCAD supports Windows Dynamic Data Exchange. This allows you to connect your drawing to a spreadsheet program. Why would anyone need to do this?  Well, spreadsheets are powerful number crunchers that make complex multiple mathematical calculations a piece of cake. They allow you to test various "what-if" scenarios with ease. Consider a matrix that evaluates the capacity of a machine part based on length, diameter and other factors. You can export your AutoCAD drawing to the spreadsheet in a format that is compatible with the geometric variable in your design. Change a number and move back into AutoCAD. You'll see that you have created new design drawings by simply changing a number. By making changes to a drawing and exporting it to a spreadsheet, you can evaluate the effects your design changes will have on the final product. WOW!  AutoCAD 12 for Windows is just plain awesome.

AutoCAD Release 12 for Windows

(Suggested retail price: $3750.00 and $495.00 for the Advanced Modeling Extension)

Available from:

Autodesk, Inc.

2320 Marinship Way

Sausalito, CA 94965

1-415-332-2344

Reviewed by:

Bob Ellig, President

Bluco Corporation

135 East St. Charles Road

Carol Stream, IL 60188

Click Here


Resume Review
       Swfte Resume

Once I had mastered the fine points of word processing and had acquired a laser printer I was really amazed at the number of new friends I had acquired. Each of these folks appeared, almost out of the woodwork, with their little hands out wanting a variety of documents. It seems one of the more popular requests I get is "could you help me with my resume?"  Despite my ogreish tendencies, I usually don't mind these requests and I do try to help these people where and when I can. But, no matter how hard I try to explain to these people that a computer is merely a machine that must be told what to do, they still think these machines are magic. I even had a fellow tell me one time that he knew that the computer had sample resumes somewhere in the far niches of its memory. Fortunately, to maintain what little bit of sanity I have left, I've developed a very agreeable attitude toward these people. Rather than argue, I simply told the fellow that I had bought a low end machine and that the resume option is only available with 66 MHz  computers.

The one major complaint I have long had with doing resumes is the lack of any type of standardized format. It seems everyone has their own, usually bad, ideas of what the ideal resume should look like. So, along with their list of items for the resume, they drag along a copy of a book of sample resumes. Not only do they expect me to type in all their data, but I'm expected to match the format of the ideal resume they found in the book. The end result is usually a job that should take an hour or so lasting several hours. But now, thanks to the folks at Swfte, I no longer have to bust my buns doing these resumes. Their program Resume is a real boost to anyone who prepares resumes.

Resume, rather than an actual program, is a collection of sample resumes and cover letters all prepared in the Word for Windows *.DOC format. Each of these letters and resume samples include all the necessary formatting and styles to printout a variety of different types and forms of first class resumes. Hell, after reading a couple of these samples, I wanted hire the people they described.

The manual that comes with the software shows a listing of the job descriptions or career filed that each resume sample is aimed toward. These should give you several good points and ideas for the information that should be included in your resume. A second listing of formatting  techniques offer a variety of suggestions and sample resumes to give your final product a crisp and professional appearance.

The package contains 51 sample resumes and 20 sample cover letters. You may use these samples as they are and simply add your own information, or as I like to do, copy sections from several resume samples to get just the right look you're after. The manual and README file, on the disk, offer many valuable hints and tips about preparing very competent resumes. Each of the samples is well written and should offer you many good insights and suggestions for writing professional looking documents. Just looking over these documents may help to remind you of several items to include in your own resume.

So, whether your are looking for a job yourself, or just trying to get your kids employed,  the Resume package is certainly worth exploring. The professionally prepared sample resumes and cover letters are well thought out and very well done. The Resume package may just be just the ticket to your next job.

Resume  (Retail price: $49.95)

Available from:

Swfte International, Ltd.

722 Yorklyn Road

Hockessin, DE  19707

1-302-234-1740

Brought to you by:

Ed Hoffman

Staff Writer

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WinSleuth Review
       WinSleuth Gold Plus

When you get upgrade fever and begin to fill your case with modems, sound cards, CD ROM drives, tape backup units, etc., conflicts are bound to arise. It's a classic case of the more you do, the more problems you have. WinSleuth Gold Plus is a diagnostic, analysis and tutorial utility for Windows that is designed to help one examine their hardware and software systems. It offers a very attractive, animated graphical format that should please your eyes. For purposes of this review, the program was evaluated on both a fairly substantial 16 meg 486-DX33 system and a 4 meg 386-DX25 with a minimal configuration.

At first, WinSleuth Gold Plus provides a look at your basic configuration through this opening screen. The physical system shown can be selected to resemble the type of case your computer occupies. The initial look at my second test system (not the one pictured) reported that Serial Ports 1, 2 and 3 were in use. The machine actually has a mouse on physical port 1, while 2 is unoccupied, 3 is non-existent, and 4 utilized by an internal modem. This experience immediately affected my confidence in WinSleuth's detective abilities.

A button bar at the top of the screen accesses seven main areas, each of which contain their own submenus. If you elect to install the animation module, each section has a small active area on the screen with a number of selections on a pushbutton menu below. A text editor is activated by pressing on any of the INI file pushbuttons or either the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS buttons for quick changes to those files. The seven illustrations below are each animated while displayed.

System: Options for this area includes some data and tests for your Hardware Configuration, an endless list of Interrupts, Network Information if applicable, CPU Benchmarks and Speaker Tests, and a reproduction of a Keyboard and Mouse which react to your input.

Environment: Details of the operating system and cache are shown in the General area. WinSleuth Gold Plus failed to detect the third party cache on the 486, another disappointment, but displayed useful data on SmartDrive installed on the 386.. Further information shown are listings of Tasks/Modules, TSRs/Drivers, Windows/Classes and Open Files.

Disk: Six menu items offer technical information on your disks such as partitions, BIOS disk data (which could not be located on my 486), cylinders, heads, sectors, etc. Bar graphs of the disk's Utilization can be generated, and Benchmarks and Disk Testing are also available.

Video: A great deal of technical information is provided under Device Capabilities, System Metrics and Hardware Information, most of which I cannot believe that would be of any practical use to the typical user. Benchmarks and Hardware Testing are also provided for your video system, with other data for comparison.

Memory: Graphics visually show the General Memory conditions for conventional and global memory and GDI and User Heaps. Upper memory is also graphically mapped, and Descriptors and Objects listed. Finally, Benchmarks are offered and a Chip Test can be conducted using an visual approximation of your motherboard.

Ports: Brief data on your Installed Ports is listed, along with extensive and perhaps somewhat useless information on your installed Printer Capabilities. Port Testing can be done if you have or make a loopback connector (pinouts are provided in the manual) and what's wrongly termed a Multimedia Test displays some information about such system capabilities, but tests nothing. It also incorrectly stated that I had no Joystick installed, not surprising since the Hardware Configuration in the System area claimed I had no game port, which was not the case. A Dariana technical support representative acknowledged faults in this area.

Install: Finally, this option illustrates your Processor/Memory and tests for IRQ and DMA availability, often a critical problem when adding sound cards and the like. The accompanying manual outlines procedures for installing additional equipment and how to avoid the conflicts which almost inevitably occur by using this facility. However, a fundamental failing not considered nor addressed in the manual is the fact that IRQs and DMAs are not constantly used by certain boards and/or drivers, so it is impossible for any system to detect them all. Therefore, it is a fallacy to report an interrupt or Direct Memory Access channel free for use by a new device.

WinSleuth Gold Plus conveniently offers both printing and ASCII export of most of the data which it can determine and show visually. It will also read and save your CMOS information and create a boot disk. In addition, a "Tune-Up" feature is offered which scans your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS and makes useful recommendations and changes, with your permission, to enhance system performance.

The manual provided can be quite educational, though I would have to rate it as "Intermediate-Sketchy". It is technical to the level that if you are purely a novice, its terminology and scant detail would probably not help you, and if you are among the more knowledgeable, you need might further resource material to make use of data the program provides. The 3D wording displayed throughout the program can be triggered by a mouse click for a pop-up explanation, such as "Capabilities of the video device driver, as returned by the Windows GetDeviceCaps() function. This information is primarily of interest to programmers, though the device driver version is important when checking for outdated software". I cannot imagine the information in this column being of much use to most Windows users, but in many cases the explanation is helpful when the data is potentially meaningful.

WinSleuth Gold Plus is a beautiful program, with wonderfully animated and impressive graphics throughout. I am somewhat concerned, however, that some of its elementary and obvious failings to accurately assess characteristics of both my systems may carry through to other, more technical data. This lack of confidence causes me to hesitate to recommend the program, even following a discussion with a technical support representative from Dariana regarding the omissions. WinSleuth Gold Plus seems in many ways more of a semi-technical pretty toy for semi-technical semi-gurus to amaze and astonish their friends with its look, rather than function as a serious system detection tool.

The software requires Windows 3.1, MS/PC DOS 3.3 or greater, 4 megabytes of RAM, 4 megabytes of disk space and a VGA display.

WinSleuth Gold Plus, $189.00 list, $99.95 introductory price through 1/1/94

Upgrades for WinSleuth Gold, System Sleuth Professional, Norton Utilities and PC Tools users is available direct from Dariana Software for $59.95

Dariana Software

5241 Lincoln Avenue, #B5

Cypress, CA 90630

800-892-9950

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PagePLUS Review
       PagePLUS

So, there you are sitting around on a Sunday afternoon, when the light of your life says, "Dear, why don't we use the computer to print up a news letter for the . . ." You know the answer instantly. The reason you don't is that it takes desk top publishing software. And DTP software is expensive, and complicated, and anything less than a full featured program would not give you a decent product, and a lesser software package would not give you room to grow and develop, and the learning curve is too steep, and why can't we wait until the football game is over? Well, I'm here to tell you that, except for waiting for the game to be over, all the other good excuses are no longer usable.

PagePLUS by Serif, Inc. is the reason you are out of excuses. There is no reason why the common man cannot have a DTP program on the home computer that is easy to use, inexpensive to acquire, professional in output, and fully featured enough for the long term requirements of most users. If you have been scared away from DTP by the big names whose product lists for $895. and can be picked up at the local software supermarket for a cool $550., be afraid no longer. PagePLUS is the answer to your dreams. The basic application comes through direct sales from the manufacturer for a sleek $59.95. If you opt for the "bumper pack", you get ArtPack (500 clip art images in .WMF color format), TypePLUS (an OLE text manipulation tool that is dazzling) and FontPack (a collection of 120 TrueType TM fonts to enhance your DTP products) for only $99.95. And, take my word for it, the "bumper pack" is the way to go.

PagePLUS uses the familiar pasteboard screen of the big bucks programs but then makes use of one of the most user friendly "tool box" interfaces I've yet encountered. The ToolBox is a twelve button  grid with a typical array of pointer, text, draw, zoom and import functions. When a function is selected, a secondary tool box appears called a "ChangeBar" which offers a context appropriate set of icons to manipulate the outcome of your basic ToolBox selection. For example if the text tool is selected, the change bar which appears is labeled "Text", and offers bold, italic, and underline buttons as well as a slider bar to set point size of your text. Two buttons on the text ChangeBar offer you additional tools in the form of either a "Property Palette" or a "Fly Out Bar". The twelve buttons of the Property Palette allow kerning, leading, advancing, as well as font selection, color, shading, letter slant and width. The Fly Out Bar offers four buttons for various text wrap and flow features.

But, now you're asking yourself, "What happened to that easy learning curve?" The icons for all of these functions are fairly intuitive, but until you have used the program for a while they will be hard to remember. So, PagePLUS takes care of those of us with a short memory by use of a "hint line" in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. Merely move the cursor over a button in any of the tool box components, and the hint line will tell you what the button does. And for those of us who don't do DTP for a living, it uses plain English along with the technical terms, i.e. "space between lines (leading)." or "space between letters (kerning)." Select the degree of adjustment you want from the available choices on the menu, or enter your desired amount and immediately view the resultant effect. With this kind of on-screen feedback even I was able to turn out a reasonable product in record time. Of course, if you prefer pull down menus from the windows tool bar, all features can be accessed in the conventional way.

PagePLUS offers typical DTP importation of text and graphics from all of your Windows applications, as well as OLE from spreadsheets, databases, graphics and other server applets. The program is particularly well linked to the text manipulation applet, TypePlus included in the "bumper pack". Special text effects, such as arcs, buttons, spirals or text along a bezier curve are easily accomplished. Backgrounds, shadows and rotations in an array of colors make it easy to spice up your publication. Your imagination is the only limit. Then flow in the text from whatever word processor you favor and a couple of pictures for impact and you are on your way.

Column set-up, text flow, and page layout are all exceptionally straight forward operations. Zoom in and out to preset ratios or make a slide bar selection of any degree of magnification to allow accurate detail work in your layout. A full array of ruler and grid choices and snapping options make a professional quality product easy for beginner or expert. When the gang down at the lodge hall sees the monthly newsletter with the text flowing around the graphic from the Labor day picnic, they will demand that you do the next fund-raising flier with PagePLUS. And you can do a great job of that too, since PagePLUS supports both spot and process color separations with PANTONE© colors. It is highly unlikely that you will outgrow this program.

I spent a little time comparing PagePLUS to one of the expensive DTP programs which has been resident on my computer for a while. I was hard pressed to find a feature or function that was missing. Certainly there might be some very demanding professional publishing requirements which PagePLUS couldn't meet, but I couldn't think of one of MY requirements which weren't satisfied. I could pay ten times as much and have to work a lot harder to get that club newsletter taken care of, but I think I won't!

PagePLUS is a product of Serif, Inc. and is only sold directly from the manufacturer.

PagePLUS

Mfr Direct $59.95 (Bumper Pack $99.95)

10 User Pack Site License $249.95

For more information, contact:

Serif, Inc.

P.O. Box 803

Nashua NH 03061

(603) 889-8650

Fax: (603) 889-1127

Review by:

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