WPC  2BVgW?3|Jman 10pt (ASCII) (Port) (FW) aeWA,,}}Wo> PA"^(08Tx,@DT$8(,TTTTTTTTTT0,Ltlt|pd<@pp|dp\hxltdpH,DT(XTHTH0HX,,T,XXTT8@0XLpD@@TTTIYMSRIYMSR.PRS}Wo> PA,,0#o2  W\3|W"^,40\p(88T,4,4\\\\\\\\\\00Xllxtl`x(ThXxhpl`thddd<4 PA,,0#o2 gqsE"^(88T(@@T(8(,TTTTTTTTTT,,Pptth PAb?F5$,%Fo> PfQZ^hVA(,N}d}V [ PASwiss Roman 10pt (ASCII) (Port) (FW)Swiss Roman 8pt (HP Roman 8) (Port) (FW)Dutch Roman 10pt (ASCII) (Port) (FW)Dutch Italic 10pt (ASCII) (Port) (FW) OaeWA,,}E}Wo> PAPb?F5$,%Fo> PfQZQ^hVA(,N}d}V [ PAaeS>(,s}q}S `> XiA2 <<d    ,,  Fo> PfQ IYM Software Review "3,4 4" Page 21 y%,dddy   8%҇ }V [ PAd sorting results"), and you're ready to go to work. If you run into trouble, FormBase's multifaceted help system (it can be ah  a little overwhelming at first) is only a keystroke or mouse click away. XCompletely unique in its approach to organizing data, FormBase does not require that you specify data types or field ah  lengths. All fields default to text, but you can specify number, date/time, and two types of image fields. In a most welcome change from one of the biggest problems plaguing the few other databases that don't require fields lengths to be specified, resultant file lengths can be shorter than corresponding files in more rigidly structured programs. A simple dBase file that occupied 73 kilobytes of space needed about ah  107K when imported to FormBase, but quite a few records ah  could be added without expanding the file any further. On the other hand, a dBase file that included a long memo field and ah  occupied 163K of disk needed only 98K in FormBase, and ah  still left room for additional records to be added before it grew! The limit on size of an entry in any field is "about six thousand characters". XYou define databases by setting up an onscreen layout that presents information in whatever way you'd like it to appear, and FormBase does all the housekeeping required to create ah  the database structure for you. Each database can contain multiple "views" of the same data, among which you choose (from a menu that pops up) when you load the database. Relational abilities, such as displaying three children's names for each employee record, are so easy to implement that the question of training in how to establish relationships is all but eliminated. Again, simply clicking on the appropriate spaces in dialog boxes that are called up with a couple of mouse clicks is all there is to it. Whether data resides in the current database or another is almost immaterial; setting up relationships is equally easy in either case. XIn using FormBase, you choose between "drawing" and ah  "typing". The latter restricts you to data entry, while the former also allows you to modify form layout. Moving objects in your layouts is as simple as point, click, and drag, while resizing them is similarly easy but is one of the areas requiring use of the right side mouse button. You can password protect databases securely, and views can be similarly protected against editing, as can individual fields by making a "noedit" attribute choice. Color control is such that drawing users' eyes to a particular area of the screen by applying highlights is simple. Printing what you see can be limited to form only, data only, both, or to a simple nonfontdependent "report" layout. Print area size is calculated automatically, with an option for manual override. FormBase can check data ah  for validity before you are allowed to enter it. XData retrieval is as easy as data entry. Using what is essentially a userdefined querybyexample (QBE) format, you locate information by typing the appropriate information into the field(s) that you want to query by. For example, to find all people who live in "Parsippany", you just type that town's name into the "city" field on screen. Multiple "and" criteria are specified by filling in more than one field, and "or" queries are processed by touching "PgDn", and filling in the same field on multiple forms. Relational operators >, <, =, n/ !=(not equal), and ::(falling within a range of values) are also supported. GHWe take exception to the printer and font support in FormBase. Despite a long list of devices supported, Ventura ah  seems to have taken the "if it can emulate HP or Epson, it doesn't warrant support" stance we've railed against in the past. While this is not a problem for printing text or pure graphics, that middle ground known as downloadable fonts is effected. We've gotten Bitstream's Fontware to work on our ah  Panasonic laser printer in the past, so we can only fault the installation process. While that was probably written by Bitstream, it surely was done working with specifications provided by Ventura. Customer support was unable to help us with this problem. (An aside: the folks at Automated Technologies of Lewisville Texas (selfproclaimed FormBase ah  experts) tried for several hours to help us with this problem. While they couldn't help us with the problem either, they were instrumental in narrowing the cause of the problem down.) GHFormBase also includes an excellent formula editor for ah  calculated fields (see figure), and the ability to create keystrokeandmouseactivity macros that work, oddly, at the same speed you do. Watching a macro execute is a lesson in just how slow people work. Still in all, FormBase may ah  revolutionize database work by starting the migration toward a truly paperless office; it's that good. If you're going to standardize on Windows, buy FormBase today . If not, you ah  ought to take a look at it, because it just may be enough to make you change your mind. GL` SuperPrint ă GL_Zenographicsă GHWindows is good at many things. Printing, particularly with ah  a HewlettPackard LaserJet or compatible isn't one of them. ah  SuperPrint goes a long way to solve that particular problem  ah Ԫ a very long way. If you use a PCL (HewlettPackard P rinter ah  C ontrol L anguage) printer, go buy SuperPrint, then come back ah  to read the rest of this article. GHOK, now that you're back, here the scoop: SuperPrint ah  contains separate elements that act as replacements for Windows' LaserJet and PaintJet printer drivers, and Print ah  Manager, the print spooling device that accompanies Win ah ԭdows. In short, the drivers are faster (more so for graphics ah  then text) and better (documents produced on Postscript printers translate more accurately using SuperPrint's drivers), ah  offer extra features such as dithering and multitasking fine tuning and the option of sending multipage documents to the printer in reverse order, and the spooler is much faster then Print Manager. SuperPrint has to live with one handicap ah  imposed by Windows: as with Print Manager, only Windows ah  applications are supported. GHHow much faster is SuperPrint? On a complex test docu ah ԭment containing a mixture of text, line characters, and bitmap graphics, an unadorned Print Manager handled and printed in between 2.7 and 3 minutes(nearly all of which was downtime as the HPPCL.DRV driver fed information to the spooler), while SuperPrint freed the keyboard in under four seconds and ah  displayed marginally better print times. By indicating to