Lotus articles from November 1992

Lotus archives from November 1992

A new edition. (Editor's Viewpoint) (Editorial)
November 1, 1992... When Lotus Development Corp. sold LOTUS magazine in January 1991, it marked the beginning of a unique relationship between a leading PC-software vendor and a global publishing company. For almost two years LOTUS has been part of International...

Lotus adopts X.400 standard. (Lotus Development Corp.'s cc:Mail Router X.400 electronic mail system) (Brief Article)
November 1, 1992... In a move designed to broaden cc:Mail's appeal, Lotus Development Corp. announced a plan to add support for the X.400 international standard to its electronic-mail system. The X.400 standard sets procedures for exchanging messages between...

Lotus dumps LotusWorks for Windows. (Lotus Development Corp.'s integrated package) (Brief Article)
November 1, 1992... Customers weren't clamoring for the Microsoft Windows version of LotusWorks, according to Lotus Development Corp., so in September, the company cancelled the job of adapting its low-end integrated package to Windows. LotusWorks for Windows...

Interface agents learn your work habits. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology's professor Pattie Maes research interface agent for electronic mail systems) (Brief Article)
November 1, 1992... If computers are so smart, why must we tell them to do the same things over and over again? That's a question Pattie Maes, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, is trying to address. She's developing an...

VIM has vigor. (Vendor Independent Messaging interface; Lotus Development Corp.) (Brief Article)
November 1, 1992... In September, seeking to strengthen its lead in the E-mail market, Lotus Development Corp. became the first company to deliver software that conforms to the Vendor Independent Messaging (VIM) interface. VIM, championed by Lotus Development...

No appeal for Borland International in copyright suit. (Lotus Development Corp.'s Lotus 1-2-3) (Brief Article)
November 1, 1992... Lotus Development Corp. on tinues to get the best of Borland International (Scotts Valley, Calif.) in the federal courts. In a late September hearing, a federal judge refused to allow his partial summary judgment against Borland to be taken...

Lotus extends customer support. (Lotus Development Corp. to offer more telephone support) (Brief Article)
November 1, 1992... Starting in January, telephone support for all Lotus Development Corp. products will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to customers in North America and Europe. The company plans to extend the service to the Asia/Pacific region and...

Little things mean a lot. (Lotus Development Corp.'s Lotus 1-2-3 for Macintosh 1.1) (Upgrade Clinic) (Product Announcement)
November 1, 1992... When Lotus Development Corp. intrOSuced 1-2-3 for Macintosh late last year, the program's stunning graphics and innovative Draw layer prompted some users to call it "the best 1-2-3 ever." But as the new upgrade shows, the product still had...

Iffy propositions. (IF command in Lotus 1-2-3) (Advanced Macros) (Tutorial)
November 1, 1992... If 1-2-3's macro code was your first programming language, you may have no complaints about the {IF} command. But anyone who's worked in other programming environments knows that 1-2-3's version leaves much to be desired. This month we'll...

Putting up a good front. (Lotus 1-2-3 as a front-end tool) (Cover Story)
November 1, 1992... The need to use 1-2-3's familiar and powerful interface to access mainframe, on-line, and other external data has been evident for years. Although mainframe query languages have long been available, "it was clear that people did not want to...

What kind of cell is that? (Lotus 1-2-3's atCELL and atCELLPOINTER attributes) (Tutorial)
November 1, 1992... Formulas and macros must often make decisions about what to do in a worksheet. For example, a macro might add a 596 sales tax to the taxable items in a 1-2-3 database. Similarly, a formula could add a shipping charge only to those orders...

Simplify leasing decisions. (using Lotus 1-2-3 model) (Tutorial)
November 1, 1992... Leasing the equipment your company needs can have many advantages. You don't have to finance a purchase or take on new debt, and you can control how long you hold on to the leased item. Also, day-to-day costs are often much lower than they...

Manage 1-2-3 jobs with NewWave. (using Lotus Development Corp.'s spreadsheet macros with HP's graphical user interface) (Tutorial)
November 1, 1992... Hewlett-Packard's NewWave, a desktop manager for use with Microsoft Windows, has long lived in the shadow of Microsoft Corp.'s famed operating environment, slowly gaining market share and user awareness of what it can do. But HP's product...

A NewWave primer. (functions of HP's desktop manager; graphical user interface) (Manage 1-2-3 Jobs with NewWave) (Tutorial)
November 1, 1992... NewWave's most basic function is to match a data file with a parent application to form an object. For example, you can easily create an icon on the NewWave desktop by combining the 1-2-3 for Windows logo and the name of a current 1-2-3/W...

Organize a search party. (Lotus 1-2-3 2.2 spreadsheet; includes related article on how to set up a worksheet) (Start Here) (Tutorial)
November 1, 1992... When a worksheet expands beyond a few dozen entries, finding particular entries may become a chore. Back in the days of 1-2-3 Release 2.01, people who grappled with big worksheets used several methods to find specific sections or entries,...

Capture your keystrokes. (using Lotus 1-2-3 2.2, 2.3, 2.4's Learn feature) (Macro Basics) (Tutorial)
November 1, 1992... You don't have to know a lot about writing macros to automate a worksheet task. As you perform a procedure, 1-2-3's Learn feature (available in Releases 2.2, 2.3, and 2.4) records your keystrokes and stores them as macro commands. You can...

Answers to your questions about Lotus products. (questions and answers) (Column)
November 1, 1992... Q I have a formula that doesn't work when it refers to a blank cell. For example, enter the labels in range A1..A3 and the values in range B1..B3 of the figure. Copy range A1 ..A3 to cell B6. Enter the following formula in cell A5 and...

August contest results.
November 1, 1992... In the August issue we asked users of 1-2-3 and Symphony to submit the best formula that returns the number of days between an invoice date and the date a payment was received, Several invoices may be issued in a single day, but the invoice...

More tips on using Lotus products. (Good Ideas)
November 1, 1992... 1-2-3 Find duplicate records You can use the Data Query command to find records in one list that duplicate records in another list. To follow the discussion, enter the labels in the figure. Each list that you want to test must have...

Spreadsheet brain power. (Talon Development Corp.'s atBrain Neural Network Development System; add-on to Lotus 1-2-3) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
November 1, 1992... Neural networks are poised to enjoy newfound popularity under 1-2-3. In September, LOTUS reviewed Braincel, Promised Land Technologies' neural-network addin for 1-2-3 for Windows. Now Talon Development Corp. has released @Brain Neural Network...

Statistical analysis made easy; Windows menus do wonders for stat-pack giant SPSS. (SPSS for Windows statistical software package) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
November 1, 1992... Under DOS, the major statistical-analysis packages have at least one thing in common: They're difficult to learn and use. Does the variety and complexity of statistical-analysis procedures lend itself any more favorably to Microsoft Windows?...

Get more from your hard disk. (review of five data compression software packages compatible with Lotus 1-2-3; includes related article on how the five products were tested) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
November 1, 1992... As Microsoft Windows and its multi-megabyte applications gain market share, personal computer owners are developing a case of hard-disk overload. Many 1-2-3 users, no strangers to large data files, are already familiar with file...

Dashboard for Windows. (HP's program launcher and utilities) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
November 1, 1992... Can the Microsoft Windows market support yet another combination program launcher/utility pack/ toolkit/desktop? Hewlett-Packard Co. thinks so, and if you try out HP's Dashboard for Windows, you may agree. Dashboard displays your...

How to Use Lotus 1-2-3 Release 2.4. (training course on cassette tape) (Brief Article)
November 1, 1992... How to Use Lotus 1-2-3 RElease 2.4, a training course on four audiocassettes, explains how to work with SmartIcons and WYSIWYG, use @functions, write simple macros, and more. At selected points in the lesson, you can flip the tape over to get...

Symwatch Fa. (Rabeck Inc.'s spreadsheet model for monitoring food and drug intake) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
November 1, 1992... Allergy sufferers can monitor their food intake and allergy symptoms by using Symwatch Fa, a model written for 1-2-3 Release 2.2. The model keeps a record of food and drug intake and corresponding reactions. $24.95, from Rabeck Inc., Upper...

Custom Laser Greeting Card Kit - Holiday Edition. (PaperDirect's holiday software package) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
November 1, 1992... Print own holiday greetings with the Custom Laser Greeting Card Kit--Holiday Edition. The kit includes cards preprinted on 8-1/2-by-11-inch stock. You use the kit's software template to design an inside message and print a greeting on a...

UltraFAX. (ZSoft Corp.'s facsimile management software) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
November 1, 1992... Enhance the quality of fax images both on-screen and on paper with UltraFAX, a Microsoft Windows program for managing PC-based facsimile transmissions. In addition to image enhancement, UltraFAX offers document management, optical character...

PAL Utility Library (EMS Professional Shareware's library) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
November 1, 1992... EMS Professional Shareware is shipping an updated version of the PAL Utility Library, which has 100 new programs for use with Borland International's Paradox database manager. The package offers 211 public-domain and shareware programs,...

Eclipse Fax. (Eclipse Systems Inc.'s facsimile software) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
November 1, 1992... Amid a rising tide of fax software for Microsoft Windows, Eclipse System Inc.'s Eclipse Fax stands out like a beacon. The package is extremely easy to use and significantly faster than any of its competitors. And it introduces breakthrough...

FAS1000. (Best Programs Inc.'s fixed-asset management program) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
November 1, 1992... Best Programs has introduced FAS1000, a program that simplifies fixed-asset management and reporting. FAS1000 imports WK1 files directly and calculates more than 20 standard depreciation methods and up to 36 customized methods per company....

Golden Retriever. (Above Software Inc.'s file management package) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
November 1, 1992... Organize your computer files as you would paper files with Golden Retriever, a Microsoft Windows-based desktop utility. The package lets you group worksheets, word-processing documents, and other files by subject rather than by application....

Battery Boost. (Lucid Corp.'s power-management software) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
November 1, 1992... Extend your notebook or laptop's battery life with Battery Boost. This power-management utility prolongs battery life two ways: It reduces the amount of hard-disk access required by applications, and it automatically turns off the screen...

Before I go.... (software industry, with focus on Lotus Development Corp.) (Essay) (Column)
November 1, 1992... (Editor's note: As I wind up my tour of duty with LOTUS magazine, I can't resist prevailing upon you one last time with my own prognostications.) It is certainly true that Lotus Development Corp. is facing its most significant challenge...