Green Mountain Software, the creator of DOCMaker, the stand alone document application creator, introduces Engineering Assistant, an invaluable scientific and engineering utility for the Macintosh‚Ñ¢. Engineering Assistant provides three powerful utilities for Macintosh‚Ñ¢ users:
 
An extensive unit conversion utility
 
A powerful material property and constants
database
 
A flexible formula database
With Engineering Assistant, you will never need to grab for your calculator to make quick conversions or even pull out your manuals to find a material property, constant or formula. Engineering Assistant provides an easy and convenient method for storing and retrieving all this important information for you. All three utilities feature simple, yet powerful editing capabilites so that you can add, delete, or modify its contents. With Engineering Assistant you can have an unlimited number of conversions, frequently used constants, and formulas easily accessible.
 
The Conversion Utility
Engineering Assistant’s conversion utility is divided into categories (i.e. acceleration, temperature, length, weight, etc.). Within each of these categories, are defined the units of the category. For instance, the category “temperature” would contain the units Farenheit, Celsius, Rankine, and Kelvin. Each category has a “base” unit which relates all the units within that category. Although Engineering Assistant already contains an extensive database of categories and conversion units, you can add new categories and units of your own. For instance, you can define a new length unit called “grid” in the “length” category. Once defined as a unit of length, a unit of “grid” can be converted to and from the units of feet, inches, metres, yards, or any other measurement of length defined in the “length” category. The ability to add, delete, and modify categories and units is what makes the conversion utility such a powerful feature of Engineering Assistant. Numeric values may be pasted into the conversion field and results may be copied from the results field. Both decimal and scientific notation are recognized as valid input to the conversion field.
 
The Constants and Properties Database
The constants and properties database feature provides you with the means to store and retrieve all types of “constants” data (i.e. temperature constants such as the freezing point of water). Like the conversion utility, the constants and properties database is divided into categories which relate each constant type. Each category (like the conversion utility) has a defined “base” unit. Additionally, Engineering Assistant allows you to view a category of “constants” in a different or “alternate” unit instead of the “base” unit. For instance, all the constants within the “Length” category can be viewed as another unit such as “miles”, “metres”, or “inches” instead of the base unit “feet.” The conversion to the “alternate” unit is provided by Engineering Assistant’s conversion utility, therefore, any conversion unit defined in the conversion utility can be used to view the “constants” data.
Therefore, the unit length “grid” defined in the above example could be used as the “alternate” unit for the constants category “Length.” Add to this the ability to sort constants in each category by value or name, and Engineering Assistant becomes a flexible and powerful tool for quickly accessing frequently used constants to be viewed and copied.
 
The Formula Database
The formula database allows you to store and retrieve formulas for referencing. As are the previous utilities, the formula database is also divided into categories. Each category contains formula listings which relate to the category title. The formulas are displayed as a PICT graphics and text notes, which can be copied and pasted at your discretion. Therefore, with Engineering Assistant, you can store graphical representation of formulas and retrieve them for pasting into documents or just as a referencing tool to help you keep up with those formulas you can never remember. The formula database may also be used as a “Super Scrapbook” to store any graphic and text note you wish!
Engineering Assistant — three powerful utilities in one application. Engineering Assistant is System 7 compatible. It provides full balloon help, and supports the new Alias feature. The files which hold the conversion, constant, and function data may be placed on a network server and aliases placed on all individual’s hard disks. This way a common set of data may be accessed by a working group. Of course Engineering Assistant is also compatible with all 6.0+ versions of the System software. Engineering Assistant makes a versatile System 7 “Apple Menu Item” addition. When Engineering Assistant is in the “background” under System 7 or MultiFinder, it can display a small moveable icon/window (see the Preferences menu.) By holding the option key down and click/dragging on the small background window, it may be moved to a convenient spot on your desktop.
To use Engineering Assistant, place the files (or aliases of) “Conversion Data”, “Constants Data”, and “Function Data” into a folder on your hard disk or floppy disk. Then the first time you run Engineering Assistant, you will be asked to locate the data files. The location of the datafiles is “remembered” so that next time Engineering Assistant will find them without asking.
If you find that you use Engineering Assistant, please take the time to send in the shareware fee for each copy that you need. If you really look at the public domain and shareware products available for the Macintosh™, you’ll see a tremendous wealth of interesting, fun, enlightening and useful packages. Those packages would not be there if it weren’t for the inquisitive and hard-working, independent ‘hackers’ among us who just can’t see why a computer has to be difficult, or expensive, to be good.
All I’m asking is TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS ($20.00 for the software and an extra $5.00 to cover the price of postage, mailer and disk.) Included is an extensive user’s manual. The manual explains, in detail, every feature of Engineering Assistant, which includes information on how to add your own conversions, constants, and formulas. What more could you ask?
• YOU MAY RECEIVE A FREE UPGRADE DISK FOR ANY NEW VERSION BY SENDING YOUR ORIGINAL DISTRIBUTION DISK TO GREEN MOUNTAIN SOFTWARE.
Chapter three of this document is a registration form. Choose ORDER FORM from the Chapters menu or click on the popup menu at the lower left of this window to go there. Then all you have to do is Print it, fill in the blanks and post it with your check. What could be easier than that? Not sending anything would be easier, but that’s what the ‘others’ do. Not you, right? There are very few shareware products of the caliber of this one still available, and this one is just $25!
