Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!ihlpa!lincoln
From: lincoln@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Lincoln)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: V.I.P. Professional, LDW Power, and XPRO
Summary: Yes, LDW Power does use GEM (& 1-2-3 commands)
Keywords: VIP Professional, Spreadsheets
Message-ID: <11172@ihlpa.ATT.COM>
Date: 9 Jan 89 16:06:43 GMT
References: <2086@van-bc.UUCP> <968@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM> <3103@ihuxv.ATT.COM> <951@scbhq.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Naperville, Illinois
Lines: 39

In article <951@scbhq.UUCP>, ooa@scbhq.UUCP (O.Atkins) writes:
> 
> Does LDW Power use GEM as VIP does.  I kind of like some of
> the features of GEM, though it slows VIP down considerably!

Yes, you can use either the mouse or 1-2-3 style commands.  After
using both VIP and Power, I've found I like the speed of Power
and it's compressed display mode (allows you to display about 30
lines in a window).  VIP's control panel is a little nicer, but it's
a minor advantage.

Others have noted that Power is compatible with 1-2-3 version 2,
which isn't entirely true.  It will read version 2 files (.WK1)
and it does have all the version 2 functions, but it's macro
capabilities are only compatible with version 1a (I haven't
found this to be a major drawback yet since I haven't run across
any spreadsheets that use version 2 macros).  It also doesn't
support the real-time clock display or a CAP-lock mode indicator.
The only other incompatibility I've discovered so far is that
1-2-3 allows you to embed escape sequences in headers and footers
(to print bold headers, for example).  Power gets horribly confused
when it encounters the escape character when reading in a macro
from a file.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Power will even read VIP's native
file format (.NAT) although this feature may not be fully implemented
since it was unable to read one VIP file until I converted it to 1-2-3
format.

Overall, Power is a good clone of 1-2-3, with some nice enhancements
provided by the GEM interface.  It runs faster on the ST than
1-2-3 runs on 8 MHz XTs, probably comparable to most ATs without
floating point co-processors.  The latest version is 1.03, and
according to someone I spoke with at LDW last month, no updates
are planned before this Spring.

Chuck Lincoln
att!ihlpa!lincoln
(Opinions are my own...)