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From: carlson@gateway.mitre.org (Bruce Carlson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Wanted: Graphing Software
Message-ID: <49037@linus.UUCP>
Date: 11 Apr 89 13:38:01 GMT
References: <649@jarthur.Claremont.EDU> <617@eeg.UUCP>
Sender: news@linus.UUCP
Reply-To: carlson@gateway.mitre.org (Bruce Carlson)
Organization: The Mitre Corporation
Lines: 34

In article <617@eeg.UUCP> roseann@eeg.UUCP (White) writes:
>From article <649@jarthur.Claremont.EDU>, by kfink@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Kevin Fink):
>> I would like something fairly easy to use, perhaps modeled after a
>> spreadsheet. I currently use Quattro, but it's oriented more toward business
>> graphs. I'm not interested in pie charts, bar charts, etc. It can't do any
>> curve fitting (other than straight lines), error bars, etc.
>We are looking for a good graphics package for our XT clone.  Right
>now we are trying out hardvard graphics, which is pretty user friendly.
>However Quattro seems to be more of what we are looking for!!!!
>Roseann Fowler-White, Operations Manager, EEG Systems Laboratory
>roseann@eeg.com postmaster@eeg.com {pacbell,lll-winken,ucsfcgl}!eeg!roseann  

Quattro is a very good program for the price, but Harvard Graphics has
a lot more flexibility for graphics.  Quattro is a spreadsheet program with
good graphics, while Harvard is a business graphics program that can
read in spreadsheets and Lotus PIC files.

Which program is better for you will depend on your priorities.  Harvard
Graphics can't do any complicated calculations like you can
in a Quattro spreadsheet, but Harvard allows you a lot more choices in
the graphs you make and you can use the annotate mode to add comments or
highlight a certain point.  I have been using Harvard Graphics to print
the graphs two-to-a-page in portrait mode, which fits in very well
for the papers I do.  If I have a briefing on overhead slides I print 
a 1/4 size copy in Harvard, which gives me 4 slides to a page for the
hard copies I hand out (saves a lot on photocopying).  
One big advantage Harvard has for text slides is that it so easy to learn.  
The average secretary or tech staff person can learn how to make text
slides in about a half hour.

I would have a hard time doing without both Quattro and Harvard Graphics, so
I don't consider it an either-or choice.

Bruce Carlson