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Text File | 1993-02-14 | 14KB | 229 lines

     Calendar Creator Plus for Windows
     Review by Gary W. Wodka, Madison PC User's Group

     I don't know of too many people who haven't seen Calendar Creator Plus
     (the DOS version).  It has become one of the most popular calendar and
     scheduling programs in the DOS world.  Published by PowerUp!, it has
     long been used in business and personal applications.  However, since
     Windows has become such a popular operating environment, many have
     wondered how long it would be  before PowerUp! took notice and
     re-introduced Calendar Creator plus as a Windows application.  Sure,
     the DOS version can be run in Windows as a DOS application, but the
     GUI would be a great addition to this popular program.

     Wait, the wait is over, and it was worth it!  PowerUp! recently
     introduced the Windows incarnation: Calendar Creator Plus for Windows
     (CCPW).  Previous versions of this program had a small, stapled
     instruction manual that could be read in a matter of a few minutes.
     This version is different.  Its manual is a bound, 225-pager that also
     has a Supplement of 60 pages, listing corrections, amendments,
     troubleshooting tips, error messages, and the documentation for the
     standalone program included in CCPW Power Album.

     And not only the manual is different.  The minimum hardware
     requirements have also changed.  For CCPW you'll need a minimum of a
     386 CPU with at least 3 MB of free memory.  To install the program,
     you'll need 9 MB of available space to include the sample files and
     art files.  If you just want to install the basic program, 5 MB is
     all you'll spend.  And, of course, you'll need a VGA, SVGA, or greater
     resolution display card, a mouse, and if you're still using Windows
     3.0 (WHY??? Upgrade NOW!!!), you'll also have to have a Windows font
     manager such as Adobe Type Manager.

     The Install program will get you up and running in no time.  It's
     customizable, and you can exclude files you don't think you'll need.
     The basic installation will install the program files, graphic
     filters, all events lists and clip art files.  It will also install
     several templates, called Workspaces, that emulate the formats of
     popular hard-copy calendars.  As you select what to include and
     exclude, the Setup screen will tell you how much space you have, and
     how much you'll need for the options selected.  In addition, you can
     select which pieces of art to load, which templates (rather than
     simply "all" or "none"), and which events calendars you'll use.

     If you're familiar with the old version, the new interface will knock
     your socks off (assuming you're wearing socks).  Display can be
     configured to display just a calendar, just a list of events, or a
     combination of both. It's nice to be able to "choose a view" that is
     customizable at any time from the second row of the Toolbar.  In fact,
     just about any function that can be performed can be performed from
     one of several Toolbars included with CCPW.

     The basic concept of CCPW is the Events List.  In CCPW you will enter
     different types of events in separate event lists.  Each list is a
     collection of activities or occasions that CCPW saves together as a
     file.  You can build events lists that relate to one subject, such as
     business appointments, or  comprehensive, all-inclusive events lists.
     As you create the events lists, CCPW enters the information into a
     calendar that conforms to the format you've selected.  You get
     automatic calendars, immediately!  And by combining lists, such as
     business lists and personal holidays (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.),
     you'll get calendars that combine all the selected lists.  You can
     even combine lists of several different people into one calendar.  In
     addition to simply listing the events, you can attach notes to each
     event for your own reference, and can even print out those notes on
     the calendars.

     Another basic concept is that of Layouts.  A layout is a calendar
     design that covers a specific time period, such as one day, a week,
     month, or several of any of the above.  The layout is like a blank
     form.  It's completely independent of the events you place in it. And
     each layout has its own preset design.  You can use the layout as it
     is, with no extra formatting or options, or can modify the preset
     layouts by adding your own titles, different type settings, or
     pictures.

     The last concept that is new in CCPW is that of Workspaces.  A
     workspace is the environment in which you work.  It consists of the
     currently selected layout, the names of the open event lists and
     graphic files, the current screen settings, plus the layout options
     currently in effect for all the layouts.

     The Menu bar includes the pull-down menus for File, Edit, View,
     Format, Layout, Events, Window and Help.  These are pretty standard
     drop-down menu items.  The next bar is the Toolbar, and includes
     icons for adding events, searching event lists for specified events,
     and adding or editing a note attached to the selected event. Drop-down
     items on the Menu bar include options for changing the calendar layout
     and the style of the selected event.

     You can also change the type size of the elected event or selected
     calendar type.  Also available are the traditional word processing
     options of bold, italics, underline, and left, center, and right
     justification.

     CCPW gives you many ways to see the calendar and event list windows
     on the screen.  These options appear both on the view bar and in the
     View menu.  You can use the icons to select just the Calendar view,
     the Events List view, or combinations of either.

     The last bar is the Calendar Control bar, which includes an icon to
     quickly move to another time period (selectable by clicking the mouse
     on the appropriate year, month, and date).  The Calendar Control bar
     also includes the Zoom icon to rapidly see a selected portion of your
     calendar.

     A 20-page tutorial does a good job of familiarizing the user with all
     the tools available and the basic methods of selecting a template,
     creating and amending calendars, and printing the finished product in
     any number of formats.  Following the tutorial are the in-depth
     reference chapters that take each part of the program and tell you all
     about those things you were afraid to ask about.

     Outside of just having a pretty (inter)face, what does the Windows
     version do that the DOS 4.0 version didn't?  If you've got a color
     printer, you're in for a real delight!  CCPW does COLOR!  And not just
     two or three colors, but an array of colors to dazzle the casual
     observer.  You can now print multiple calendars per page, and also
     print on both sides of the page.  This is a great feature if you're
     used to carrying a pocket calendar.  You can print out daily, weekly
     or monthly pocket guides that take up no more than one sheet of paper.
     In fact, you can print out up to 12 calendars per page.

     Start- and stop-times, as well as length of appointments, can be
     printed for each event.  Repeating events are easily integrated into
     your calendars, and CCPW will keep track of those repeating events
     from year to year!  And the ways you can display the events is almost
     unlimited.  You'll have access to all the fonts installed in Windows,
     so you can use those extra-fancy fonts for special occasions, and the
     special font characters in WingBats, Zapf, etc, are all available to
     give your calendars that certain something.

     Printing the calendars is totally user-controlled.  In addition to
     selecting full sheet, loose-leaf, and loose-leaf stacked (which allows
     for variation in assembling the calendars), you can choose the
     InstaBook output.  An InstaBook is a small booklet that you can print
     on ordinary paper, cut, fold, staple, and take with you.  You can
     print an InstaBook on any paper stock that has an even number of
     forms in the direction of the binding.  And the printing can be done
     landscape or portrait, with several finished-fold sizes.

     Of course, pictures make calendars more attractive and more fun. They
     can  also help to communicate an idea. CCPW includes a wide selection
     of graphic files to enhance your calendars, including over 300 files
     in the WMF format, in such categories as business, personal, holidays,
     government, religion, sports, and others.  And if those included with
     the program aren't enough, you can import your own collection of
     graphics in PCX, TIF, CGM, BMP, or DRW formats, giving you total
     creative control.

     Finding those graphics to be used can be a problem with other calendar
     programs.  Not with CCPW!  A new applet called Power Album is an
     integral part of the CCPW program.  Power Album solves the problem
     of choosing the right pictures from directories that may contain
     hundreds of graphic files.  With  Power Album you can locate and
     select pictures easily because you can an organize your graphic files
     into categories, search for pictures by file name, file type or key
     words, and choose pictures from a page of images, instead of selecting
     a file name from a list.

     Being able to view your graphics on the screen in full color makes it
     easy to make sure you get just the right one to convey a particular
     event.  You can display up to 24 pictures at a time.  If a category
     or directory contains more than that, leftovers will be carried
     forward to more pages.  The Power Album interface looks like a photo
     album, displaying your graphics files for easy selection.  To import
     a graphic, simply double-click your mouse, and, voilà, there it is.
     Power Album is a dynamic feature that can be added to, subtracted from,
     and rearranged to suit your personal preferences.

     But what if you're using an earlier version of the old-fashioned DOS
     Calendar Creator.  You've got calendars set up for the next year, and
     you don't want to have to go back and re-enter every item.  What
     should you do?  Get Calendar Creator Plus for Windows.  It imports
     data directly from all previous versions of CCPlus, as well as Lotus
     1-2-3 files and dBase III and IV.  The old files need no special
     preparation.  Only one caveat: When you import a file, the even style
     information from the DOS version is not included.  All calendars
     will be assigned the "Normal" style from CCPW.  You can then modify
     the characteristics of the assigned DOS styles.

     The Supplement included with CCPW lists some 100 error messages for
     the Calendar Creator/Windows program, and an additional 31 from Power
     Album.  I didn't receive any of the messages after using the program
     for a few weeks. In fact, I was surprised at how smoothly the program
     worked, since my computer is not what you might call normal, and I'm
     constantly putzing with it.

     You're going to like Power Album so much, you'll wish you could use it
     in  other Windows applications.  Funny you should ask!  PowerUp!
     includes a copy of the program that is a standalone version that can
     work like an online photo album, reducing images to thumbnail sketches
     of your graphic files, displayed in frames.  The Calendar Creator Plus
     installation program installs the  stand-alone version along with the
     integrated version.  The Power Album will have its own icon in the
     Windows Program Manager, and will work much the same way as the CCPW
     version, but provides additional category and album management features.
     It can be used with any application that can import pictures from the
     Clipboard.

     There are a few missing features that would be great additions,
     especially if this program is to be used in a business environment
     (as I use mine).  One would be the addition of an event alarm to
     notify the user in advance of an upcoming appointment or event that
     needs to be attended to.  The other would be a to-do list option for
     those InstaBooks we talked about earlier.  Every  day my to-do list
     changes (as well it should), and it would be nice to  eliminate all
     those little sheets of stick-em paper I have stuck to my calendars
     and notebooks.

     When I first loaded the CCPW program, it looked so different from the
     DOS version that I was afraid I'd have to slog through the manual to
     get it up and running.  However, by simply referring to the included
     Quick Reference Card, I was able to get it up and running in no time.
     Calendar Creator Plus for Windows is an extremely flexible, usable
     program.  It will beat On Time for Windows hands down.  It will dance
     circles around the Windows Calendar.  If you use Windows, you ought
     to have this program.  Though it retails for $79.95, there is an
     upgrade program available through PowerUp! for only $39.95.

     Calendar Creator Plus for Windows is available now at most software
     locations around town, or directly through:

     PowerUp! Software
     P.O. Box 7600
     San Mateo, CA  94403
     [phone]
     [phone] (fax)