*nb"BUG1/1/013" *lm6:rm78:pl66:tl60 *p#13:hd1:B128 Users Group Journal,, *ft4:----------------------------,page #,----------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- *cn1;Calc Result Reviewed by Ken Leigh *cn0 The purpose of this report is to provide some insight into the spread sheet program that is available for the B-128. I ordered this program as part of a package from Protecto Enterprizes at a cost of $99.00 and knew only that it was a spreadsheet program. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened my software package to find I was the proud owner of Calc Result from Handic Software. I had a chance to try a similar program on the Commodore 64 called Calc Result Advanced and knew this was a powerful program, and as I had expected, the two versions are very very similar. The B-128 program is nicer because of the additional function keys and the faster disk access. The program consists of a cartridge and a disk, both of which are used at the same time. The manual is a 9" by 8" loose leaf binder with 168 pages and pockets for the disk and cartridge. It also allows you to make a working copy of the program disk so you don't have to use the original. The manual is divided into three parts and appendices. Part one covers such things as getting started for the first time, minimum equipment, backups, etc. Part two covers five tutorial lessons and part three covers all the commands and functions. For the most part I found the documentation easy to follow and the tutorials were informative and orderly. Many of the commands are lumped together and the format is given for only one of the group. This is not a big problem but does require some investigation the first time through. The biggest fault I found was in the reference section. It is often difficult to look up a particular command or function because of the generalized nature of the index. The spreadsheet itself is conventionally arranged and contains 63 columns by 254 rows on each page. The computer can hold two pages in memory and the program can use up to 32 pages by using the disk memory. All the functions seem to work very well and the list of all of them would be too long. Some of the features that are very helpful include split screens and windows, graphics, storing information in DIF-format so other commercial programs can use them and complete communications capabilities for those who need to transmit data over the phone. Calc result can be used with a hard disk (D9060) and can be set up to be used with a multi-user system. I particularly like and use the graphics function which is activated on any row or column with two simple keystrokes. When the graphics (vertical bar charts) have been viewed it is easy to print them on paper if you have a dot matrix printer such as the Commodore 4023. The program allows you to set the upper and lower limits and insert a heading and two rows of comments or titles at the bottom of the graph. I have used other spreadsheets with graphic functions but this is the one that works best for my needs. Still other options include an if-then-else command, screen dump including row and column numbers, formatted print-out, formula print-out, and zeroing all values of the page. Continued on page 14
Amiga7878