Subject: REVIEW: TurboCalc version 2.0
From: [email-masked] (M D Cox)
Date: 19 Sep 1994 13:18:03 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	TurboCalc version 2.0

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	TurboCalc V2.0 (referred to as TC2) is a spreadsheet program similar
to the MSDOS/Windows programs Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft Excel.  For those
that are familiar with Excel, you will find TC2 very easy to use.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Author:		Michael Friedrich
	Dist. Name:	Stefan Ossowski's Schatztruhe
	Address:	Gesellschaft fur Software mbH
			Veronikastrabe 33
			45131 Essen
			GERMANY

	Telephone:	49-201-78-8778
	FAX:		49-201-79-8447

	E-mail:		[email-masked] (Stefan Ossowski)

LIST PRICE

	I paid $115 (US) for this product.  The only place to find it in the
USA, as far as I know, is from Amiga Library Services.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		512K RAM is required.  1 MB RAM is recommended.

		Space required on hard disk can be 1 MB or less, depending
		on whether you copy over all the example spreadsheets and
		the help file.

		It works very well on my 68030 50MHz CPU and 50MHz FPU.  An
		accelerator or FPU is not required nor even mentioned as a
		recommendation.

	SOFTWARE
	
		Will work on AmigaDOS 1.2 and higher.  I have had absolutely
		no problems with it on my AmigaDOS 3.0 Amiga 1200.

COPY PROTECTION

	None as far as I know.  It does ask you for your serial number from
the diskette label, however, and appears to save it somewhere on the disk,
but you are never bothered by it again.

	Can be installed on a hard disk just by dragging and dropping the
drawer from the diskette onto the hard disk.

MACHINES USED FOR TESTING

	Amiga 1200, 4 MB Fast RAM, 2 MB Chip RAM
	465 MB hard disk (120 MB internal, 345 XDS IDE external)
	Paravision 1230XA 50/50 accelerator
	Commodore 1084 monitor
	AmigaDOS 3.0

	Amiga 500, 1 MB Chip RAM, 4 MB Fast RAM
	46 MB TrumpCard 500 hard disk
	Commodore 1084 monitor
	AmigaDOS 1.3

INSTALLATION

	The installation is EXTREMELY simple.  If you have a floppy-only
system, just make a backup copy and a blank disk for your spreadsheets.  For
hard disk owners, just double click on the TurboCalc disk icon, then drag
and drop the TurboCalc drawer onto your hard disk.  That's all there is to
it!

THE BASICS

	For those who are not familiar with what a spreadsheet is, here is a
simple explanation.  A spreadsheet program is just like a word processing
program, EXCEPT that instead of manipulating letters and words, you will
manipulate numeric information.  You can also enter text, but it is usually
limited to labeling what a column or row of numbers or formulas are.

	A spreadsheet looks like a grid or table with columns labeled by
letters and rows labeled by numbers.  You can pinpoint a specific spot in
the spreadsheet, termed a "cell," using the row and column labels as
coordinates.  For example, cell A5 is found in the first column (A) and the
fifth (5) row.

REVIEW

	The TC2 user interface is very intuitive and includes a toolbar for
the most commonly used commands.  I have heard from users of the demo
version, available on Aminet, that it does not follow the Commodore
guidelines.  I do not really know if this is true as I have not read the
Style Guide.  All I know is that it is very similar to Microsoft Excel and
it is very easy to use.

	TC2 provides well over 100 functions that provide mathematical,
boolean, text, financial, and other commands.  Some of the math functions
supported are ABS, ARC COS, ARC SIN, COS, SIN, and others.  The financial
functions let you calculate things such as interest rate, loan payments, and
others.

	The look of the sheet is entirely formattable.  You can change the
look of a cell so it looks 3D-like, change fonts, colors, and row and column
dimensions.

	What would a spreadsheet be without graphs?  The common types are
supported (bar, histogram, line, piechart).  Once you make a graph, you can
output it as an IFF file or print it on any printer that supports graphics.

	Database functionality is also supported.  A database, in spreadsheet
terms, allows you to manipulate numeric data that can be sorted, searched,
deleted, and copied.  In addition, you can query this data using the above
mentioned formulas.  The database is kept in the spreadsheet and is just a
selection of cells that you define as being a Database Range.  This is
useful, for instance, for keeping company data (profit margins, FEE, G&A,
etc.) in one section of the spreadsheet while your formulas are in another
and they reference the information in the defined range.

	Finally, one of the nicest features is the support of macros and
ARexx.  Fortunately, you can record your macros so you can make repetitive
operations easy to do.  It has an ARexx port and gives some example scripts
to help you out.  I have not fully examined the ARexx capabilities, but all
of the examples worked fine.

	Another great feature of the TC2 package is that example spreadsheets
are included.  These sheets cover the basics, formulas, databases, charts,
etc.  So, if you ever have questions about how certain things work, you have
actual working examples at your fingertips.

DOCUMENTATION

	The manual is very well written and consists only of 191 pages, which
includes contents, index, and several helpful appendices.  As it was
originally written in German, the English translation is very
proper-sounding, but it causes no problems in understanding.  Also, you will
sometimes see decimal numbers written in the European style with a comma
instead of a decimal point, "130,00".

	The manual begins with a tutorial and is very easy to follow.  Even
if you are a beginner in spreadsheets, this tutorial will bring you up to
speed on the basics.  As a matter of fact, the manual is designed linearly
so that you can start from the beginning of the manual and learn all of the
program's capabilities as you go through each chapter.

	The chapters are separated into areas of functionality.  After the
tutorial, inputting of data and formulas is explained.  This is then followed
by how charts are created, the macro/ARexx commands, menus and toolbars, and
it is finished by a listing and explanation of all the built-in functions
that can be used in formulas.  The appendices cover error messages and
provide tips on improving printouts.

LIKES

	I love this program because it is so much like Excel which I use at
work.  It also imports SYLK very nicely and almost perfectly.  Most
importantly, though, is that I faxed them with the question "Do you still
support TC2?"  A couple of days later, I received a reply saying yes and
that they were interested in hearing about my suggestions for the next
version.  Their email address will be used for support, too.

DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS

	The only real problem is that not all of the formats of a cell's
borders are imported.  I am not sure if it is caused by TurboCalc or if it
is a limitation of the SYLK format.  The only suggestion that I would have
to improve this program is to abandon AmigaDOS 1.3 and go to 2.0+ only.

BUGS

	None showed their faces to me!

VENDOR SUPPORT

	As I said above, they are supporting their product and are looking
for suggestions on improving it for TurboCalc V3.0.  Fax or email them with
any requests.

CONCLUSIONS

	This is an excellent product.  It is being supported, which is a very
important factor these days.  If you need a spreadsheet program to balance
your checkbook or track your results in the office football pool, this is the
one to get!

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	Copyright 1994 Michael David Cox.  All rights reserved.

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