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Index Page

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  Cache La Byte Commentary,  by Thom Foulks

  PageMaker 5.0,  by Ed Hoffman

  Stacker 3.1,  by Tami Brydone-Jack

  PageMaker 5.0 Utilities,  by Ed Hoffman

PMproKit

Sonar Bookends

  MyAdvancedLabelDesigner,  by John Morris

  WinMaster 1.5,  by Bob Gollihur

  PaperDIRECT Paper Templates,  by Ed Hoffman

  WinDings,  by Tami Brydone-Jack

  Learning PageMaker 5.0,  by Ed Hoffman

Introduction To PageMaker 5.0

PageMaker 5.0 - Advanced

PageMaker 5.0 - Secrets & Timesavers

  Modem Specials

  BoardWatch Top 100 BBS Winners


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Cache_Commentary

A Letter To MAW

I think Microsoft Corporation is in violation of the spirit of U.S. antitrust laws, and that Bill Gates is simply too darned rich. So?  A majority of the Federal Trade commission doesn't agree with me, and we're ALL somewhat jealous of Gates' financial success.

Either way, the fact is that Gates and Microsoft have a broader vision of America's technological future than any other individual and corporation in a position to make that vision come true. So, much of what he says, and what his corporation does, will impact the daily lives of all of us.

(I once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Bill, at the back of a darkened room where a Microsoft product demonstration was under way. We both came late, and couldn't find a seat. I'm taller than he is. Another time and place, we chanced to take a coffee break at the same table in a VIP lounge. He drinks his black, like me. Seems like a nice guy, albeit a little intense.)

Bill's latest vision is one that will affect anyone who works in a business office, anywhere. Its name is "Microsoft At Work" -- which produces the unfortunate acronym MAW. (I had considered subtitling this column, Letter from MAW -- Microsoft's PR people said they hoped I wouldn't.)

By formal definition, MAW is a computer systems architecture. What that means in real world language is a system by which computers can talk to non-computer devices. As example, you could command your PC to make 25 copies of a staff memorandum and it would begin rolling off the copying machine down the hall a couple of seconds later. Or, you could have your PC record your voice on a nasty comment to a low-producing sales rep, then tell your PC to send it to his voicemail  -- even if you're in Atlanta, and he's in Toledo.

Hey, we've seen this kind of stuff on StarTrek  so what's new?

What's new? is that we'll start seeing some of MAW begin appearing as early as next spring. The first appearance will likely be a computer-fed copying machine, with quality that can't be rivaled by existing copying machines (because there's no dust-catching glass plate between a computer's digital image and the printing drum of a copier). That copying machine may also be a plain-paper fax printer, using the computer's fax card to receive digital data and instantly printing it to good ol' standard bond paper.

MAW was announced by Gates at a computer-industry meeting in New York City, in June. That it was not a spur-of-the-moment inspiration was proven by supportive announcements at the same meeting from a half-dozen other computer firms  biggies like Compaq and Hewlett-Packard. Gates, saying we've been working on this for years, told listeners about 60 companies have already pledged support for (and commensurate products) the MAW architecture.

Can you think of another industry where 60-some companies would announce their mutual support of anything? And that's why Microsoft's dominance of the PC industry is so critical to bringing about such revolutionary change. A phone call from the Bill surnamed Gates can certainly bring more people to the conference table, more agreeably, than a phone call from the Bill surnamed Clinton.

It's ironic that MAW depends more upon such agreement than it does from any great technological advance. Digital-data transfer capabilities have long existed for such office standbys as copying machines; are essentially inherent to fax machines; are heard whenever you hear a CD disk on the radio; and are spreading across the nation as telecommunications systems upgrade their transmission facilities.

The only thing lacking has been agreement among the multitude of data-handling industries as to how information should be transferred among their various devices. MAW will tell them how to do it.

Starting next year, we'll find out if MAW is as smart as Bill thinks she is. MAW's always right  right?

Thom Foulks

5311 Alta Loma

Colorado Springs, CO 80918

719-598-7828 Voice

719-528-8545 BBS

Click for Table Of Contents


PageMaker_Review

PageMaker 5.0

Desktop publishing has certainly come a long way in the last few years. Just a short while ago desktop publishing was an activity best left to the skilled professionals. However today, virtually anyone can use this technology to produce newsletters, booklets, brochures, pamphlets, and many similar publications. Despite these advances, for quite some time desktop publishing was the one area where the PC seemed to lag behind the Mac. The Windows 3.1 interface has narrowed the gap between these systems considerably. But it was not until the newer desktop publishing programs came on the scene that the gap has narrowed or possibly disappeared. The newer desktop publishing programs, such as PageMaker 5.0, are a definite cure for Mac-envy and almost sure to make substantial penetration into the desktop publishing markets.

PageMaker is one of the most tried and true programs available today. In fact as one of the early converts from the Mac world, PageMaker has long been the program that all other desktop publishing programs are compared against. The new version of this program, retains all the strengths of the prior versions while removing many of the limitations of the earlier programs. So, if you're familiar with earlier versions, PageMaker 5.0 will feel quite comfortable. Correspondingly, if you are new to desktop publishing or to this program, the basics of PageMaker 5.0 can be mastered quite quickly.

With over a hundred new features or enhancements of existing features, PageMaker 5.0 offers everyone, from the novice to the power user, a wealth of capabilities. Having used the previous version of this program for a few lengthy projects, I found many of the operations and procedures somewhat unorganized and clunky. No more though, rather than repeated trips to the menu bar searching through menus and dialog boxes, PageMaker 5.0 now has a context-sensitive control pallet.

The control pallet functions are all context-sensitive, so when working with text for example, all text related controls are grouped together. You can now change the font type, size, and attributes without repeated trips to the menu bar. Likewise you can also manipulate paragraph alignments, indents, adjust text frame size, and set all other paragraph characteristics from a single pallet. When working with graphics the control pallet permits you to make necessary adjustments to the position, height, width, rotation, cropping, skew, and scale of an image.

The overall precision of the program is also quite impressive. Font sizes, for example can now be set to a guaranteed accuracy of 1/20 (0.05) of a point. Likewise line weights may also be customized in weights from 0.1 to 800 points. Text and graphics may also be rotated or skewed in increments as small as 0.01. This rotation may be from the center of the text/object or from any of the handles around the outside.

One other very useful addition to the program is the Panose font matching system. This matching system indexes the characteristics of many major typefaces, allowing a suitable substitution for those fonts unavailable on your system. So, if you open a document having fonts not presently loaded on your system, the program suggests alternatives. This allows you to retain the original format of the document from machine to machine no matter what fonts are, or are not, installed on the different computers.

A variety of new or improved filters are also added to the program. These include a PICT-to-Metafile and Metafile-to-PICT conversion, as well as filters for DXF, WPG, Kodak Photo CD, GEM and Ventura Publisher. OLE (Object linking and embedding) is also supported as a client application. EPS files may be embedded in a publication or left out, still maintaining a link for easier updating. Images may also be scanned directly into a PageMaker 5.0 publication, using the new TWAIN standard.

Another useful feature of the PageMaker 5.0 program is a number of add-on modules called Aldus Additions that expand the capabilities of the base program. Included here are tools for drop caps, bullets and numbering, editing kern tables, building booklets, creating PostScript multiple masters font variations, template selector, and a command for running batch files called scripts that execute a series of operations from within the PageMaker program. The Aldus Additions area will also allow third party programs written for PageMaker 5.0, for specific operations, to be added to the base program.

Just a few of the other additional features of the PageMaker 5.0 program that you may find useful for your desktop publishing activities are:

Intuitive Control palette that will position, scale, or crop objects and select the type attributes of individual characters or whole paragraphs.

Specific nudge amounts for exact positioning.

Cropping of rotated objects.

Numeric kerning, baseline shift, and sophisticated kerning and track editing.

Process-color separations of PageMaker text and graphics, as well as imported CMYK TIFF, DCS, and EPS images, without leaving the program.

Choice of printing individual inks of process-color separations, spot-to-process conversion at printing, and overprinting for any spot or process color or tint.

Printing of non-consecutive page-ranges.

Automatic scaling of the page to the paper size and automatic page centering.

Separate line and fill attributes.

Choice of transparent or opaque dash lines with line and fill settings specifiable on the colors palette.

Support for up to 18 language dictionaries, plus any number of installable hyphenation dictionaries and new search-and-replace capabilities for a character's position and case.

Ability to open and work on as many PageMaker publications as memory allows as well as complete drag and drop capability for text and objects among open publications.

Tile and Cascade features for organizing publications on the screen and listing of all open publications for easily navigating among open publications.

Library palette, with drag and drop, for storing common images.

Custom magnification, up to 800%, for zooming in to a particular part of the page.

As well as much, much, more.

PageMaker 5.0 introduces many new features that can both increase productivity and provide greater freedom of design. So, if you are involved in desktop publishing or plan to move in this direction, PageMaker 5.0 should definitely be on your shopping list. If you already have an earlier version of the program and are undecided about upgrading, this program sure offers alot of bang-for-the-buck. But, if you're worried about learning a new system, I've heard it said that it takes less time to master the new features of PageMaker 5.0 than it does to install it.

(Retail price: $895.00)

Aldus Corporation

411 First Avenue South

Seattle, WA  98104-2871

1-206-628 2320

Brought to you by:

Ed Hoffman

Staff Writer

Click for Table Of Contents


ED_POP


Stacker_Review

Stacker 3.1

by Tami Brydone-Jack

In the pursuit of more disk space, I have tried a number of things to get around having to go out and buy a bigger drive; including a shareware program that crashed numerous times and DOS6 DoubleSpace. My latest solution is to replace my DOS6 DoubleSpace drive with a Stacker drive.

I must say that I have had no problems with the DoubleSpace drive, but I wanted to give Stacker a try, so I decided to go for it.

Unfortunately, the manual did not cover converting DoubleSpace drives to Stacker drives, (the information is on a "readme" file on the first installation disk), so I experienced more angst than necessary in the conversion. I backed up all my data and went through some pains in reformatting my DoubleSpace drive to remove DoubleSpace. Gee, I guess I ought to read those "readme" files before I install! Stacker 3.1 can convert DoubleSpace drives, so, keep that in mind if you decide to give Stacker a try.

One of the features of Stacker that I really like is the "Stackometer." The Stackometer displays a graphical representation of how well Stacker is performing. This gives you the compression ratio, free and used disk space and a fragmentation gauge. My compression ratio is low because I keep very little data on my disk, I have mostly executable files, which compress less. Bitmaps and data compress better, and the actual ratio would be much higher for those types of files.

Stacker gives you several options on how you want your data compressed. You can choose high speed with standard compression; less speed with better compression; best compression; and you also have the option of using the Stacker co-processor board. I have chosen best compression for my method, because I really need the space. I tried all software levels, and found that the speed difference was virtually unnoticeable.

Stacker has to perform some of its functions, such as the defrag utility and resizing the Stacker drive in DOS. You can start them up in Windows, but Stacker will exit to DOS, and in the case of resizing the Stacker drive, will restart the computer. Be sure that you have saved your work and have properly exited from other applications before starting up Stacker's tools.

Stacker's tools and graphical displays make it very appealing, however, I did not get any difference in compression ratios using Stacker from my DOS6 DoubleSpace drive. Stacker also does not have some of the problems that DoubleSpace has, therefore, I believe that Stacker is a good buy.

Stac Electronics

5993 Avenida Encinas

Carlsbad, California 92008-9708.

Brought to you by:

Tami Brydone-Jack

    (Click Here)

Click for Table Of Contents


Tami_Signature


PMaker_Utilites

PMproKit

Sonar BOOKENDS

The new PageMaker 5.0 program is quite an improvement over earlier versions of this popular desktop publishing program. One of the more unique features of this new version is the Aldus Additions area in the Utilities menu. This area adds several new features to the program as well as expanding the capabilities of other utilities. One feature of the Aldus Additions I've found quite  useful is its ability to support a variety of utilities from sources outside Aldus. These are third party utilities and are specifically designed to fill the voids or omissions in the basic PageMaker program. Two such third party utilities, PMproKit and Sonar BOOKENDS, are the subject of this review.

PMproKit

The PMproKit addition is a collection of professional tools used to expand the capabilities of the basic PageMaker 5.0 program. The features offered in this program, though designed with the professional desktop publisher in mind, will nevertheless help anyone working with PageMaker 5.0.  The program consists of seven basic elements. The following is a brief description of these elements.

PMproKit-Rotate and Merge Text:  The text rotation feature of the new PageMaker 5.0 program offers a simplified method of rotating text. The Rotate and Merge Text addition takes this text rotation to a new level. With this feature you simply type the text you want rotated, then draw a rule (line) at the specific rotation angle and at the exact length of the text. Then select both the text and the line and click on  Utilities, Aldus Additions, PMproKit-Rotate and Merge Text and the text automatically rotates to the desired angle and the rule is erased. This feature can also be used to force a headline or similar text to fill a desired measure.

PMproKit-Set Up Columns: The PageMaker program allows you to set up columns in your document, but if you need specific column sizes or varying columns on the same sheet, the process becomes a bit more detailed. The Set Up Columns feature of this program allow you specific control over virtually all aspect of these columns.

PMproKit-Distort Type:  The PageMaker Set width command allows text to be distorted to suit a specific percentage value. The Distort Type feature of the program allows the type to be expanded or condensed to a specific size rather than to a percentage. This gives you a more precise control over the way the text will appear.

PMproKit-Pica Gauge: The Pica Gauge feature of this program allows precise sizing and placement of objects in PageMaker 5.0. To use this feature simply select the object, and select the Utilities, Aldus Additions, PMproKit-Pica Gauge. You are then shown a dialog box where the various attributes and sizes are listed. You can then choose to move or resize the object by entering the information in the desired areas.

PMproKit-Ruler:  The Ruler feature is used to set precise rules in a document, such as those found in forms. This feature gives you control over the size, number, and exact spacing of lines for grids or similar vertical or horizontal pattern sets of rules.

PMproKit-Tab Text: This feature allows precise tab settings based on the width of text lines to be established. The tabs are established based on the widest text line in each column. The tabs can be forced to the full column size or centered within the column.

PM Tracker and PM Letter Tuck PFM: This area of the program allows the user complete control over the tracking and kerning for PageMaker 5.0. Tracking and kerning are methods used to adjust the spacing between letters. Tracking is typically applied to words or passages of text while kerning is applied to specific letter combinations. Within PageMaker the tracking may be set from Very loose to Very tight. The PM Tracker allow the user to control the specific tracking for any fonts. The PM Letter Tuck controls the specific kerning between letter combinations.

The PMproKit is a very useful addition to the PageMaker 5.0 program. Whether you are a professional or simply an experienced PageMaker user, the PMproKit will be a welcome addition to your desktop publishing activities.

Sonar BOOKENDS

The SONAR BOOKENDS addition to PageMaker resolves and simplifies one of the more tedious functions in desktop publishing: creating indexes and tables of contents. The program, though discussed here with respect to its function within PageMaker, is actually a program that works well with a variety of other programs. As an index  generator SONAR BOOKENDS is capable of producing both indexes and tables of contents from a variety of different file formats and different publishing and word processing programs.

The SONAR BOOKENDS program is a utility that has limited application, that is it only does indexes and tables of contents. But, it performs these functions admirably. In fact, I've not seen any similar program that can simplify this task any better. Anyone who has ever prepared an index knows the hassle of going through the complete document tagging words and phrases for the index. With the SONAR BOOKENDS however, this process is greatly simplified because the program does virtually all the work for you.

The program can prepare basic or multi-level indexes. The index can include chapter or file names and may be applied to a single file or an entire directory. Even cross-referenced information can be included in the index. The SONAR BOOKENDS program can produce three basic types of indexes:

Word Frequency.	Here the frequency of the words in the document is used to help generate 	the index. Common words, used quite frequently in the document are 	usually unimportant, so they are automatically eliminated.

Word/Phrase List.	With this method the index is generated from a word or phrase list supplied 	by the user. This list is a simple text file and may be created using a 	PageMaker, another word processor, or imported from a database.

Proper Nouns.	The program can also find and index proper nouns. Using the rules of 	punctuation and capitalization the program determines the words that make 	up a proper noun.

The SONAR BOOKENDS program also has a variety of other features that increase the flexibility and versatility of this utility. These include:

  Case sensitive option

  Support for non-English characters and special symbols

  Capability of reversing first and last names

  Treatment of hyphens based on context

The SONAR BOOKENDS program adds a great deal of versatility to the indexing process. When installed, by simply copying a single file to the Aldus directory, an Export to Sonar Bookends option is added to the Aldus Additions area of the Utilities menu. So, if indexing documents is one function you would rather not do within PageMaker, the SONAR BOOKENDS program may actually make this a pleasurable experience.

PMproKit (Retail price: $149.00)	Sonar BOOKENDS (Retail price: $99.95)

EDCO Services, Inc.	Virginia Systems Software Services, Inc.

4107 Gunn Highway	5509 West Bay Court

Tampa, FL  33624 	Midlothian, VA 23112

1-800-523-8973	1-804-739-3200

Brought to you by:

Ed Hoffman

Staff Writer

Click for Table Of Contents


LabelDesigner_Review
MyAdvancedLabelDesigner is fun. It also proved more powerful than I thought I had a right to expect. MyAdvancedLabelDesigner comes from MySoftware Co., an outfit that advertises software that takes "less than five minutes to learn" and "does one task incredibly well."

Ever since I started computing -- about a decade ago -- I had looked for a good way to handle labels. Custom tractor feed labels struck me as incredibly expensive, especially when you don't need as many as it takes to bring down the cost per label. Several times, I ordered individual custom labels, then addressed them on an old Selectric typewriter that I kept around for the purpose. As most of us have done, I also sometimes ran plain tractor feed labels. When one of my programming clients needed name tags, I wrote a routine to force large printing on plain labels to stick on a "Hello, my name is..." tag. When a friend needed disk labels for a shareware program he'd written, we experimented with a desktop publishing program and Avery paper for a laser printer.

And what a nuisance it all was!  I mean, good grief. Most of the time, all I wanted was a few of this, a few of that. Some disk labels, labels for large manila envelopes, price stickers, file folder labels, those things where the typewriter or pen remained mightier than the word processor.

Then I began to hear rumblings about MyAdvancedLabelDesigner. The first I saw of its output was on certificates of completion for a seminar run by a couple of friends. Nice stuff. Borders, fonts, graphics. Mass printed from a database of names.

And that's just part of what's fun about MyAdvancedLabelDesigner. It inspires you to try things it wasn't exactly designed to do.

But first the basics.

MyAdvancedLabelDesigner is the Windows version of MySoftware Co.'s MyLabelMaker. You can choose from over a 100 predesigned dot matrix or laser label formats. Or you can design your own formats. Dot matrix or laser output is selected from the Label option on the main menu. Set up and ready to go are formats like price tags, name tags, mailing labels, shipping labels, rotary index cards, index cards, postcards, file folder labels, return address labels, and audio and video cassette labels. Based on any of these, you can create and specify up to 20 custom formats -- or design your own from scratch.

The program comes with dozens of clip art images. It imports graphics in .EPS, .PCX, .BMP, .DIB, .WMF, .TIF, and .GIF formats.

Fonts are as easy to deal with in MyAdvancedLabelDesigner as they are in Windows word processing and DTP programs. Lines and borders are quickly available from the on screen menus and toolbars.

Among the nice touches is a serial number capability. You can run raffle tickets or just ask MyAdvancedLabelDesigner to number the labels on your backup disks.

MyAdvancedLabelDesigner comes up with a main window with three windows inside. The WYSIWYG Design Window, with its toolbar and rulers, is ready for your layout. The Data Entry window accepts data for individual labels -- just as if you were typing the material on custom labels on a typewriter. The third window is called an Index Window. It displays your data file and provides rudimentary management of your database.

The Design window has horizontal and vertical rulers with nine tool buttons along the left side. The arrow button is the default. The "ABC" button is for "static text," text that remains the same on all labels. Click on it, and you can position a box for text anywhere on the label. The size of the box can, of course, be adjusted. The "[FIELD]" button lets you position similar boxes for database fields anywhere on the label. A camera is the icon for graphics boxes. Three more buttons let you position boxes, and horizontal and vertical lines.

I rather admired the "PACK" button. The Pack tool squeezes out dead space between data fields. If your data file, as it probably should, separates first names from last names, you typically have trailing blank spaces after the first names. The Pack tool drops the trailing blank spaces -- both horizontally and vertically. Not only are "John" and "Doe" now separated by a single space, but if you run a line for Address1 and a line for Address2 lines, MyAdvancedLabelDesigner automatically eliminates the blank line whenever information is missing for either address.

The final button is a "Quick Address" button. In one mouse click, it sets up a complete set of fields for address labels -- first and last name, address1, address2, city, state, and zip. Slick stuff. Handy and intuitive.

Once you've designed a label, you go to the Data Entry window. If you want to create a data file, you do it here. With mouse clicks you can go to the top or end of the file, preview the effects of Packed fields, check to make sure information fits in the space provided and handle any deletions.

The Index window provides similar data browsing capabilities and includes reasonably versatile sort options. The data browsing in the Index window is beefier than that in the Data Entry window. Press the "J" button, for instance, and the first "J" record in your file shows up. The record selected in the Index window appears in the Data Entry window, so the two windows work well together.

Personally, the feature I found most exciting was the data import. Most database programs will export a quote and comma delimited file. MyAdvancedLabelDesigner imports ASCII files with a variety of delimiters. The program's approach is clean, simple and effective.

The first import test I ran was on a small high school class reunion file, about 125 records. Could it run a 1-line/record report?  I didn't push hard, but it ran pages with about 50 records a page.

How about larger files?  I had a dBASE-style database with 9867 records in it. I exported the name and address info, used the Quick Address design on the default label and told MyAdvancedLabelDesigner to "go get it."  (The label design phase took less than a minute for 3-across labels.)

The import appeared rapid and sure-footed. Because the database contained duplicate records, and because MyAdvancedLabelDesigner tells you a sort "may take several minutes," I was not sure how a sort would go. A sort on last name plus first name took at most a few minutes. A lookup on names beginning with "Z" wasn't flashy but was quite acceptable for a "labels" program.

MySoftware Co. offers labels, and the stock numbers for both MySoftware and Avery labels appear in the program. For the moment, I'm printing on plain paper and affixing labels with a glue stick.

Impressions:  MyAdvancedLabelDesigner inspires use. It's friendly enough -- and inexpensive enough -- for small jobs, powerful enough for many large ones. There are nice touches throughout. Most buyers will find themselves using it more than they expected to. If you think you might need it, buy it. You won't go wrong.

MyAdvancedLabelDesigner

(Retail price:  $59.00)

Available From:

MySoftware Co.

1259 El Camino Real, Suite 167

Menlo Park CA  94025

1-800-325-3508

Reviewed By:

John A. Morris

Click for Table Of Contents


John_Signature


WinMaster Review

WinMaster

version 1.5

WinMaster is a generous group of useful Windows tools: a Windows Shell, a Program Launcher, and Windows-specific Disk and File Utilities all in one package under one banner. The latest version also bundles their disk cache and RAM Drive programs, and offers a CD-ROM cache as a bonus upon registration. PC-Kwik provides copious amounts of documentation with its programs, written in a friendly and thorough fashion for newcomers, but including the more technical details for the more adept user. A booklet entitled "Optimizing Windows Performance" illuminates some of the jargon associated with disk caches, fragmentation, resources, etc., and can be an aid to the novice's understanding. A well-written on-line tutorial provides clear instructions for the centerpiece of this suite of tools, the Toolbox.

   TOOLBOX

The WinMaster Toolbox can serve as an alternative Windows shell, with program launching and multiple nesting menus in the form of toolbars. These toolbar groups can be easily created from scratch or from an existing program group, and supports drag and drop to add additional launch icons, but not to move from one to another. When first activated, Toolbox comes equipped the WinMaster programs and a couple useful mini-utilities right out of the box and creates unlabeled icons for your existing program groups. Written descriptions of the for the icons appear in a window at the base of the toolbox. Toolboxes are very flexible in their appearance, vertical or horizontal toolbars or blocks and can be custom sized. They can be called for instant use with a double click from your right mouse button.

   KWIKFIND

The file finder included with WinMaster goes beyond the average. Additional features include the ability to delete, view files in several formats, print, copy information to the clipboard, and modify file attributes. Search criteria supports wildcards within filenames and text. Though this is not the quickest file finder I have used, it is quite adequate and the additional features make the slight additional wait worth it.

   KWIKINFO

KwikInfo consists of a toolbar of twelve icons, each representing a sub-function that either provides immediate or ongoing information about your system. They include System Information, Memory, Display, PowerScope™ Drive Information, Printer, Tasks (task manager replacement), Fonts, CPU Usage, Memory Usage, System Resources, Drive Space, and Super PC-Kwik® (disk cache). The last five will appear as a iconized or larger meter. Some provide information of interest and have the facility to print data, but certain selections are somewhat inconsequential.

   KWIKVAULT

The concept behind KwikVault is the ability to archive seldom-used files or directory structures, freeing up disk space. The original directories remain with no indication as to where their contents went. The archives are stored in a directory you specify, oddly enough with their original filenames, but don't try to read or run them without restoring them first. A password option is available to completely protect the contents from prying eyes. As with all the WinMaster utilities the interface is complete and easy to use. A find function is available, but the archiving process seems far too slow for frequent storage and retrieval. Data compression is stated as 35-85%, but as with all such functions, the type of file dictates the ratio you can expect.

   POWER DISK and the SCHEDULER

Power Disk is a group of disk utilities that can analyze, defragment and reorganize directory structures. There is also a scheduler to automatically run the reorganization program based on criteria that you choose.

   POWER SCOPE

This selection contains disk oriented utilities including a graphical usage tree of all directories, a pictorial disk map using symbols to show file type placement, drive usage, fragmentation and the boot record information.

   SUPER PC-KWIK AND PC-KWIK RAM DISK

The Super PC-Kwik disk cache is well respected as one of the "players" in the world of cache programs, and its inclusion with WinMaster is indeed a bonus. My experience installing and using the cache varied, and one installation resulted in a call to customer support. My inquiry resulted in a faxed reply within four hours of my call, although the response truly didn't address my precise question. My conclusion is, while the automated installation program appears to know what it is doing, it is fortunate that the documentation for this portion of the program is also comprehensive. Options for the cache are very clear and shouldn't require hands-on fine tuning of a file. Dialog boxes provide multiple checkboxes and the like to easily configure the cache to your specifications. The RAM disk specifications and setup are within the same install program.

   CD ROM CACHE

CD ROM users should be pleased that a cache program is mailed as a result of identification of your drive type and mailing your registration to PC-Kwik. A disk with an updated version of PC Super-Kwik along with the CD ROM cache arrived quickly along with a few pages of additional documentation. Both were installed and performed satisfactorily.

In summary, the PC-Kwik folks have packed a lot of product in this package. It's a difficult package to categorize, since it contains such a wide variety of Windows oriented programs. All seemed well engineered, attractive, easy to use, and most are more complete than many of the alternatives I have seen. Their customer support response seemed far better than my recent experience with most companies, whose response is measured in days rather than hours. With the sheer volume of the content, you could easily justify a purchase even if only parts of the program appeal to you, since it is relatively certain that some of the components of WinMaster duplicate the functions of some programs you already own. However, it's worth a look since they might do it better.

Minimum Requirements: IBM AT, PS/2 or true compatible, 386/486; Windows 3.0 or higher, DOS 3.1 or higher, 4 Mb free disk space; 2 Mb extended memory and a mouse are recommended.

List Price  $129.95

PC-Kwik Corporation

15100 SW Koll Parkway

Beaverton, Oregon 97006-6026

800-759-5945

503-644-5644

a review by

Bob Gollihur

Staff Writer

Click for Table Of Contents


bobgpopup


PM_Templates_Review
Spicing Up Your Documents

One of the more unfortunate aspects of modern computer technology is the great disparity between the documents we create on our computers and those we present on paper. Although we may create fantastic documents on the computer screen, when printed, most are simply black letters and lines on white paper. To add a little extra, you could print your documents on colored paper. But here again, even colored paper lacks the pizzazz most of us would like to have in some of our documents.

I think few would disagree with the idea that color will help achieve the maximum impact from our documents. But, not many people are willing to invest in a color printer just to print an occasional flyer or brochure. So, the question then becomes how can you achieve professional looking publications at a reasonable cost. One way is with preprinted papers. It's been said that clothes make the person,  likewise, the paper you select will either make or break your documents.

Preprinted papers are available from a variety of sources, in a range of types and styles. Personally, however I get all my preprinted papers from PaperDIRECT. Not only does this company have the widest selection of papers, but they also have software templates to make using the papers much easier. So, whether the document I need is a tri-fold brochure, a paper frame, or a letterhead and envelope combination, with their selection of papers I can easily match the paper to the requirements.

An example of the types of papers and templates available from PaperDIRECT  is shown here. This is one of their several styles of tri-fold brochures. As shown, this is a two-sided brochure with a Rolodex® card attached. This is one of the templates in the PageMaker set. The PaperDIRECT software templates make setting up and printing these preprinted papers a snap. To create a document first select the appropriate template matching the paper you want to use. Then simply fill in the various areas of the document. Unlike similar programs that limit the templates to only a single program, the PaperDIRECT software templates are available to suit virtually any page layout or word processing programs. These software templates are presently available for the following programs:

WordPerfect (Windows & DOS)

Word for Windows

AmiPro

CorelDraw

PageMaker

Microsoft Publisher

PFS Publisher

The contents, though somewhat standardized between the different template set, do vary from one type of program to another. For example, each of the template sets is also furnished with about 180 templates, 20 T/Maker ClickArt® graphics and at least two additional fonts. While the PageMaker template set has postscript fonts, the Word for Windows set is furnished with True Type fonts. The PageMaker set for example has two Bitstream® fonts: Cloister Black (Old English style) and Embassy (elegant script style). These fonts coupled with the graphics will give you a good start toward creating better documents.

So, if you're looking for a way to make your documents look better the Paper Direct papers and paper templates can help. Believe me, my documents have never looked so good. And  now that I have the PaperDIRECT  papers and templates, I will not be returning to plain white paper for my fliers, brochures, and proposals anytime soon.

PaperDIRECT Paper Templates (Retail price: $39.95 per set)

PaperDIRECT, Inc.

205 Chubb Avenue

Lyndhurst, NJ 07071

1-800-272-7377

Brought to you by:

Ed Hoffman

Staff Writer

Click for Table Of Contents


WinDings_Review
Windings information round-up

By Tami Brydone-Jack

Yippee Ay Oh Hi Ay! Aptec has come up with a nifty little PIM with a western motif! Windings is not only fun, it's functional.

Each of Winding's modules is easily accessible from this colorful main screen. Show Your Cards is similar to an automated Rolodex.

You can search for cards by category, or by clicking on a letter of the alphabet, you can look at any entries for that letter. Adding cards is simple, just click on the "Add" button and input the information. The "Notes" section is useful for adding other information, such as where you met the person, birthdays, etc. "Show Your Cards" and "Howdy" are related in that "Howdy" will dial the telephone numbers in "Show Your Cards."

"Howdy" is an automatic telephone dialer with the option of dialing any of three telephone numbers for each person.

The "World Scout" will caculate times for different parts of the world.

The "Loan Arranger" is a loan amortizer, useful for "what-if" calculations. The amortization schedule is expandable and printable.

Finally, the "OK Corral" is for keeping track of all sorts of miscellaneous information, such as insurance policy numbers, social security numbers, or any other type of information you may need to keep track of that does not fall under the other categories.

Windings are fun and colorful. A mouse is not required, however, it's recommended. Any computer capable of running Windows should have no problem running Windings.

  Please contact Adptec at the number on the "Show Your Cards" graphic.

Brought to you by:

Brought to you by:

Tami Brydone-Jack

    (Click Here)

Click for Table Of Contents


Learning_PMaker
Introduction To PageMaker 5.0

PageMaker 5.0 - Advanced

PageMaker 5.0 - Secrets and Timesavers

For all the power of the new PageMaker 5.0 program it does require the user to learn yet another Windows program. Most of the commands found in PageMaker 5.0 are straight forward and often intuitive, but nevertheless, you must sit down and work with the program to learn how these commands can be applied to your documents. The PageMaker program is furnished with a tutorial that will step you through many of the features, but even this is only an introduction to the program. The best way to learn the PageMaker program is by watching someone who knows how the program operates. But, since few companies and even fewer individuals have such a person to turn to, the next best alternative is watching someone on video tape.

Video tape is rapidly becoming a preferred method of training for both individuals and companies. This is especially true with computer and software training. One of the main benefits of this type of instruction is in the ability to stop the tape and re-view the material. Likewise, as people develop more skills with a software program they can go back to the tapes to refresh their basic skills and to learn more advanced procedures. One source for high quality, affordable, and well-prepared video tapes on a variety of computer software programs is ViaGraphix. As part of this review I used their video tapes on PageMaker 5.0. Since I have a working knowledge of the PageMaker program I actually expected to learn little from these sessions. Well, I was wrong. Not only did I find a wealth of new features and ideas, but I also found easier and faster ways to do the tasks I thought I knew quite well. I feel the time spent viewing these tapes was put to very good use and I intend to refer to the tape frequently to jog my memory.

There are three video tapes covering PageMaker 5.0. Each of these tapes is furnished with a Learning Disk covering the lessons contained in the tapes. Throughout the tapes, each process and example is explained using these disks. The following is a brief run down on the contents of each of the PageMaker 5.0 tapes.

Tape #1 - Introduction To PageMaker 5.0

I must admit that this tape did not do much for my adrenaline when I first looked at the title. I figured I already knew the PageMaker program so this would be wasted time. So, I watched it anyway, just for the review. Well, here I am humbled by technology again. Though  an introduction to PageMaker, this tape contains an awful lot of information I suspect I should have known, but didn't. Starting with the installation process this tape takes the viewer through the complete PageMaker layout, menu system, and the tools pallet. You'll then create and edit a sample one page flyer. Here the story editor is introduced and completely explained. You learn how to place text and graphics as well as how to make everything fit where it should. The second example set covers making an odd-sized advertisement. Here the tape steps you through a variety of typical PageMaker operations. There is a rather well done explanation of fonts and how they are sized and changed in your publications. Finally the tape covers several hints and tips to make using the PageMaker Program easier.

Tape #2 - PageMaker 5.0 - Advanced

The second tape builds on the information contained in the first tape. Here the tape covers the more advance aspects of the PageMaker 5.0 program by starting off with creating a four-page newsletter. In this area master pages and styles are thoroughly covered and well illustrated. I found the section on creating and editing styles quite informative and I plan on using much of this information very soon. The next topic covered is creating and editing an index and table of contents. Here the complete process of indexing is well explained and you are stepped through the process with several examples. PageMaker's color capabilities and advance text options are illustrated next on the tape. Here you are introduced to the color pallet and shown how standard colors are selected. The tape also describes the process of creating you own custom colors. In the advanced text area, text rotation, paragraph options and using the control pallet are described and shown with several examples. The table editor is also described in this tape. Here the various options and methods of setting up and editing columns and rows of information are explained and illustrated. Even the PageMaker linking commands are described and shown in this tape. Though I thought I knew the PageMaker program rather well, this tape has certainly shown me a wealth of information.

Tape #3 - PageMaker 5.0 - Secrets and Timesavers

The third tape in the PageMaker 5.0 trilogy is a collection of hints and tips that can definitely make you more productive. The tape starts with several fast and efficient techniques for moving around in your documents. A variety of mouse techniques, keystroke commands and shortcuts are also described and illustrated. Several tips to speed your indexing chores as well as the filing and file saving options are also described. Even the steps necessary to create a personalized preference and default setups are covered and well explained. Using standard and specialized templates are also covered in this tape. Here you are shown how to use the existing PageMaker templates and the methods you can use to personalize the templates for your own use. The steps and procedure for importing and manipulating spreadsheet data as well as a few table editor techniques are also described. The tape concludes with the methods you can use to setup drop caps, hanging indents, and working with special characters. Even the new bullets and numbering options of PageMaker are described and nicely illustrated.

So, if you're looking at moving into PageMaker 5.0 but were afraid of the time it would take to learn the program, these tapes may be just what you need. These tapes are well done and are a very good learning and reference resource. The folks at ViaGraphix have produced a real winner with this PageMaker 5.0 series.

Introduction To PageMaker 5.0 (Retail price: $49.95)

PageMaker 5.0 - Advanced (Retail price: $59.95)

PageMaker 5.0 - Secrets and Timesavers (Retail price: $39.95)

All 3 PageMaker Videos (Retail price: $119.95)

ViaGraphix

5 South Vann

Pryor, OK  74361

1-800-842-4723

Brought to you by:

Ed Hoffman

Staff Writer

Click for Table Of Contents


BoardWatch_Top_BBS

(BBS Name. - Sysop Name - Type of BBS - Phone Number)

  1  Software Creations	Dan Linton 	PCBoard	508-368-7139

  2  EXEC-PC 	Bob Mahoney	Custom 	414-789-4210

  3  deltaComm BBS	Zack Jones 	PCBoard	919-481-9399

  4  PC-OHIO	Norm Henke 	PCBoard	216-381-3320

  5  GLIB	Jon Larimore	TBBS   	703-578-4542

  6  Westside	Dave Harrison 	Custom 	213-933-4050

  7  Albuquerque ROS	Steven Fox 	ROS	505-299-5974

  8  Odyssey	Michael Allen 	Custom 	818-358-6968

  9  Wizard's Gate BBS	Joseph Balshone   	SHS BBS	614-224-1635

 10  Pleasure Dome	Tom McElvy 	Wildcat	804-490-5878

 11  Blue Ridge Express	Webb Blackman 	RBBS   	804-790-1675

 12  Deep Cove BBS	Wayne Duval	TBBS   	604-536-5885

 13  Totem Pole BBS	Alan Myers 	Wildcat	313-238-1178

 14  Planet BMUG	Dong-Gyom Kim 	FirstClass	510-849-2684

 15  Prostar BBS	Robert Michnick   	MajorBBS	206-941-0317

 16  Chrysalis	Garry Grosse	TBBS   	214-690-9295

 17  OS/2 Shareware 	Pete Norloff	Maximus/2 	703-385-4325

 18  Microfone Infoservice	John Kelly 	TBBS   	908-494-8666

 19  Nashville Exchange	Ben Cunningham	TBBS   	615-383-0727

 20  Eagle's Nest BBS	Ron Olsen  	QuickBBS	303-933 0701

 21  Plains Bulletin Serv	Rob Kirkey 	PCBoard	701-281-3390

 22  City Lights	Brian Elfert	Wildcat	612-633 1366

 23  Lifestyle	Marc Kraft 	Oracomm	516-689-5390

 24  Monterey Gaming Sys	David Janakes 	Custom 	408-655-5555

 25  Windy City Freedom	Robert Copella	Wildcat	708-564-1069

 26  Micro Message Service	Mike Stroud	TBBS   	919-779-6674

 27  Liberty BBS	Stephen Grande	MajorBBS	714-996-7777

 28  File Bank	Brian Bartee	TBBS   	303-534-4646

 29  Cracker Barrel	Kevin Graham	Remote Access 	703-899-0020

 30  Source BBS	Chip North 	Wildcat	310-371-3737

 31  America's Suggestion	Joe Jerszynski	TBBS   	516-471-8625

 32  Garbage Dump BBS	Dean Kerl  	MajorBBS	505-294-5675

 33  Windows OnLine	Frank Mahaney 	PCBoard	510-736-8343

 34  Springfield Public	Matthew De Jongh  	TBBS   	413-536-4365

 35  O.U. BBS	Ronnie Parker 	TBBS   	405-325-6128

 36  AlphaOne	Toby Schneiter	TBBS   	708-827-3619

 37  Advanced System BBS	Alan McNamee	TBBS   	702-334-3308

 38  Godfather	Jim Sharrer	PCBoard	813-289-3314

 39  Fantasy Party Line	Charles Henderson 	DLX	713-596-7101

 40  Hello Central	Stan Shelhamer	MajorBBS	206-641-7218

 41  Datamax/Satelite	Ron Brandt 	PCBoard	215-443-9434

 42  Tampa Connection	Bobby Dominquez	Custom 	813-961-8665

 43  H H Infonet	Lee Winsor 	PCBoard	203-738-0342

 44  Radio Wave BBS	Tyler Myers	PCBoard	609-764-0812

 45  Executive Network	Andy Keeves	PCBoard	914-667-4567

 46  Invention Factory	Kathy Sussell 	PCBoard	212-274-8110

 47  Father and Son BBS	Dale Lloyd 	Wildcat	215-439-1509

 48  Legend of Roseville	Richard Leneway   	PCBoard	313-776-1975

 49  Radio Daze BBS	Michael Shannon   	Wildcat	219-256-2255

 50  CoSNUG BBS	Joe Adams  	TBBS   	719-578-6088

 51  Rusty and Edies BBS	Rusty Hardenburgh	PCBoard	216-726-2620

 52  Space BBS	Owen Hawkins	PCBoard	415-323-4193

 53  Techtalk	Jerry Russell	TBBS	407-635-8833

 54  Hotlanta BBS	Mike Deen	DLX	404-992-5345

 55  24th Street Exchange	Don Kuhworth	TBBS	916-448-2483

 56  Mog-UR's EMS	Tom Tcimpidis	Wildcat	818-366-1238

 57  After Hours	Conrad Ruchelman	MajorBBS	512-320-1650

 58  Starship II BBS	Phil Buonomo	TBBS	201-935-1485

 59  Prime Time BBS	Bill Martian	MajorBBS	818-982-7271

 60  3rd Eye BBS	Michael Vetter	TBBS	615-227-6155

 61  Arizona Online	Shawn Striplin	SuperBBS	602-294-9447

 62  Digicom BBS	Gary Barr	Remote Access	812-479-1310

 63  Cajun Clickers BBS	Michael Vierra	PCBoard	504-756-9658

 64  Channel 1	Brian Miller	PCBoard	617-354-8873

 65  KBBS Los Angeles	Dale Porter	MajorBBS	818-886-0872

 66  Eagles Nest Comm	Mike Labbe	PCBoard	401-732-5290

 67  Argus	Pam Morrison	MajorBBS	617-674-2345

 68  TCSNet	Al Charpentier	PCBoard	206-692-2388

 69  S-Tek	Eric Blair	TBBS	514-597-2409

 70  Infoquest	Charles Strusz	PCBoard	618-453-8511

 71  One Stop BBS	Gary Hedberg	PCBoard	509-943-0211

 72  Kandy Shack	Mike Bernstein	PCBoard	714-636-2667

 73  Texas Talk	Sunnie Blair	TBBS	214-497-9100

 74  BCS BBS	Bill Weinman	Wildcat	213-962-2902

 75  Higher Powered BBS	Bob Jacobson	PCBoard	408-737-7040

 76  Zoo BBS	Chuck Goes	DLX	312-907-1831

 77  Toolkit	Ken Prevo	ProDoor	219-696-3415

 78  Electronic Tribune	David Carlson	MajorBBS	505-823-7700

 79  YA WEBECAD	Dan Habegger	Wildcat	812-428-3870

 80  Wayne's World	Wayne Greer	FeatherNet	918-665-0061

 81  TGC Services	David Heath	Wildcat	812-284-1321

 82  Computers & Dreams	William P. Stewart	PCBoard	212-888-6565

 83  WinPlus	Bill Ryalls	MajorBBS	206-630-8203

 84  U.S.A. BBS	Jeff Johnson	TBBS	501-753-8575

 85  Capital City Online	Joe Goeller	Wildcat	206-956-1206

 86  Nightbreed	Randy Faulk	MajorBBS	512-345-5099

 87  Cloud 9	Devin Singleton	TBBS	619-737-3097

 88  Mercury Opus	Emery Mandel	PCBoard	813-321-0734

 89  Wolverine	Rick Rosinski	Searchlight	517-695-9952

 90  Heat In The Night	Rob Murdock	MajorBBS	515-386-6227

 91  BMUG Boston	Roz Ault	FirstClass	617-721-5840

 92  Seaside	Les Jones	GAP	805-964-4766

 93  Psycho Ward BBS	Dennis Ryan	CNet	203-371-8769

 94  File Shop BBS	Walt Lane	Remote Access	816-587-3311

 95  Aces Place	Bill Paez	Wildcat	209-357-8424

 96  Frog Pond	Nick Francesco	Remote Access	716-461-1924

 97  CRS	Neil Fleming	PCBoard	416-213-6002

 98  Studs	Hans Braun	Wildcat	415-495-2929

 99  Collector's Edition	Leonard Hult	PCBoard	214-351-9859

100  Batboard	Mark Chambers	TBBS	314-446-0475

Click for Table Of Contents