Specifications and Requirements ------------------------------- Software Title: Business Card Designer Plus (Version 3.1) Author or Company: Chris Maresco 105 Bayview Avenue E. Patchogue, New York 11772 TEL: (516) 654-2908 E-Mail: CMaresco@AOL.COM 75207.2232@COMPUSERVE.COM Registration Fee: $24.95 (plus $5.00 shipping and handling if outside US and Canada.) Availability: Windows Forum Software Library Filename: BCDPLS.ZIP Filesize (zipped): 300,435 bytes Filesize (unzipped): 352,847 bytes Keywords: Maresco, Designer, Graphic, Design, PK204, Win 3.1 Requirements: Windows 3.1, mouse recommended. Rating (1-10): 9 Date of Review: 6/26/95 Installation ------------ Installation Rating: Description of Installation Process: You will need to create a temporary directory in which to extract the BCDPLS.ZIP file into. Once this is done run SETUP.EXE. This opens a "readme" text file giving you instructions. Next you are prompted for the name of the directory you would like Business Card Designer Plus installed into (if you want it in a directory different from the default just type it in). You also have the option of installing all the programs files or to NOT overwrite existing files which are newer. Once this information is entered the program files are copied into the specified directory and a Program Manager group and icons are created. Finally you are asked if you would like to view the programs Help file. (Don't forget to delete the files in the temporary directory once the program is installed. They are no longer needed.) Features -------- Listing/Description of Features: Business Card Designer Plus (BCDPlus) v3.1 lets you easily create 3.5" by 2" professional quality business cards. Simply use the mouse to add, modify or delete any objects or text you want. Your card is displayed on the screen in the way it will look when printed. Under your card's display is a Status Box which tells you what Mode is currently selected (Text, Line, Box, Circle, Bitmap, or Select) and gives you hints on using that Mode. It also shows you the current postition of the cursor (in X and Y coordinates). BCDPlus comes with a variety of tools arranged in floating boxes (or accessable from menus) which make creating a business card a snap. Here is a brief list of them and what they do. The Tool Box has buttons for Text Mode (opens dialog box in which you type text to be placed onto your business card), Line Mode (lets you draw straight lines), Box Mode (lets you create squares or rectangles easily), Circle Mode (allows you to draw circles, ovals, etc.), Insert Bitmap (allows you to insert a Bitmap graphic into your business card), and Select Mode (lets you select any object on a card for modification or deletion). The Line box has buttons displaying various line thicknesses from which you can choose. The line thickness you select is used in drawing lines, boxes and circles. The Rotate Text Display shows you the current alignment for any text you type in. Clicking on this display calls up the Rotate Text Box where with just a click of the mouse you can change the alignment of new (or selected) text to anywhere between 0 and 360 degrees. The Color Display box shows you the currently selected background and foreground colors. Clicking on this display allows you to change either of these colors. BCDPlus has powerful printing features. You can preview your cards before printing them (to make sure they are just right). You can print a single card or a whole sheet of cards and you can have these printed with crop marks (small crosses printed at the edges of each card so you can easily cut them out yourself). You can adjust the offset settings so the entire page can be shifted up/down or left/right when printed. You can also adjust the horizontal and vertical gaps allowing you to increase or decrease the space between each card on the printed page BCD Plus utilizes full "click and drag" which allows you to size, move, cut, copy, and paste objects or text very easily. It makes use of the right mouse button to call up a floating menu. The options available on this floating menu depend on the type of object you are working with and the position of the cursor. If you activate the menu while your cursor is NOT within any selected object the menu options are: Paste, Set Foreground/Background Color, Set Font, Set Rotation, Set Linesize, and Adjust Margins. If you call up the menu while the cursor is in a selected text object its options are: Cut, Copy, Delete, Vertical/Horizontal Align, Foreground/Background Color, Font, Rotate Text, and Edit Text. If you activate the menu while the cursor is in a selected graphic object (line, box or circle) the menu choices are: Cut, Copy, Delete, Vertical/Horizontal Align, Linesize, and Foreground Color. If you call up the menu while the cursor is within a selected bitmap graphic the menu options are: Cut, Copy, Delete, Vertical/Horizontal Align, and Graphic Info (this displays the actual and displayed width, height and aspect ratio of the bitmap graphic. It also shows you the X and Y scale (as a percentage), the size of the graphic (in bytes) and the number of colors (16, 256, etc.). BCDPlus Menu Options: Its File Menu has options for: New (create a new card), Open (open an existing card), Close (close current card), Save, Save As, Print Preview (allows you to see a sheet of cards on screen before printing), Print Sheet (prints a complete sheet of business cards), Print One (prints one card - great for a finished sample before printing a whole sheet), Printer Setup, and Exit Program. The Edit Menu's options are: Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete. The Mode Menu's choices are: Text, Line, Box, Circle, Graphic, and Select (these are the same as for the "boxes" described above). Its Text Menu has options for: Font (style, type and size), Rotate Font, and Edit (lets you modify existing text). The Color Menu lets you set the Foreground and/or Background Color. The Alignment Menu has options for: Setting Margins, Left Align, Center Horizontally, Right Align, Top Align, Center Vertically, and Bottom Align. The Options Menu choices are: Configurations (allows you to change program preferences), View Toolbox (on/off), and View Linebox (on/off). The Window Menu has options for: Cascade, Tile, Arrange Icons, and Close All. BCDPlus's Help menu lets you either call up Help or the programs About box. Toolbar and Statusbar: The program has a Toolbar with buttons for: Create a New Card, Open an Existing Card, Save Card, Print Sheet, Print Preview, Cut, Copy, Paste, Set Font, Set Font Rotation, Edit Object, Set Foreground Color, Set Background Color, Align Left, Center, Align Right, Align Top, Align Middle, Align Bottom. It also has a Status Bar, at the bottom of the screen, that explains each program function and also displays the status of your Caps Lock, Number Lock and Insert/Overwrite Modes. Help/Documentation Rating: 9 BCDPlus comes with "readme" text and Windows format Help files which adequately answer most questions you may have about the program. (NOTE: BCDPlus is so easy to use that I did not need to consult the Help file for any program feature.) Summary ------- Business Card Designer Plus is another fantastic winner from Chris Maresco. Its easy to use but, powerful interface makes creating a business card as simple as can be. Almost all of its features can be used by simple point, click and drag methods. After installing the program I had my first stunningly attractive business card designed and printed in less than 15 minutes. Once again I take my hat off to Chris Maresco and his ability to write programs that are complex in features but super simple to operate. If you would like to design and print out you own business cards (saving a lot of money in the process) then download and register BCDPlus - Today! I fully recommend it!!! Problems and Suggestions ------------------------ List of Problems found: There were no conflicts, General Protection Faults (GPF's) or program errors encountered during my evaluation of this software. Technical Support ----------------- Technical Support Rating: 9 Description: All inquiries made about the program were answered within 24 hours (via E-Mail) with helpful and intelligent responses. What do you get when you register? ---------------------------------- If you do not have the most recent version of BCDPlus when registering you can receive it on diskette. If you are registering the most recent version then you will receive the code to disable the registration reminders. Registration entitles you to free technical support by regular mail, telephone or E-Mail. You are also entitled to free minor upgrades of the major version you register. Chris Maresco also offers a mailer you can receive once you are registered. As an added bonus for registering, you will also receive a copy of Label Designer Plus (see my review of Label Designer Plus elsewhere in this edition). This has all the features of BCDPlus, plus many, many extra capabilities (create and print labels, envelopes, index cards - anything (even full page layouts)!! Disclaimer ---------- (DISCLAIMER: This review is provided for information/entertainment purposes only. The author will not be held responsible or liable for any problems which may occur in the use of any of the reviewed software. The author will also not be held responsible if the program reviewed does not operate, in the way stated. With there being so many system configurations possible confilcts/problems can arise which may prevent the reviewed software from operating in the way indicated. This is not the responsibility of the reviewer.)