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Path: digifix!not-for-mail From: Conrad_Geiger@NeXT.COM (Conrad Geiger) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next.announce Subject: PRESS RELEASE: Introducing QUESTOR: NEXTSTEP Spreadsheet Application Date: 18 Aug 1993 21:56:09 -0400 Organization: Next Announcements Lines: 124 Sender: sanguish@digifix.com Approved: sanguish@digifix.com Message-ID: <24umjp$sd9@digifix.digifix.com> Reply-To: info@alembic.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tyler Janisch Alembic Systems International Ltd. 14 Inverness Dr. East G-228 Englewood CO 80112 (303) 799-6223 (303) 799-1709 (800) 452-7608 Email: info@alembic.com A SUCCESSOR TO IMPROV! Introducing QUESTOR, the serious NEXTSTEP spreadsheet application. Englewood Colorado, August 10, 1993 - Alembic Systems International unveils the long awaited spreadsheet application QUESTOR, as a major software contribution to the NEXTSTEP Operating Environment. The backbone of QUESTOR is a conventional matrix-based spreadsheet application that can easily be used by anybody that has once used spreadsheet applications such as Microsoft Excel, Lotus 123, Lotus Improv, or Wingz. QUESTOR is a spreadsheet specifically designed to take advantage of the graphically rich NEXTSTEP environment, with some inherently powerful features: - A structured scripting language - QScript with an "intelligent" editor including automatic "pretty-printing" and programming support. QScript allows you to customize your worksheet to perform very specific tasks. QScript is an extended version of Xanthus Common Language (XCL), a uniform scripting language used in all Xanthus software products with scripting capabilities. XCL gives you a uniform scripting syntax and a common set of basic functions. In addition, XCL allows you to write extended functions in XCL or Objective-C that can be used by any XCL-based application from Xanthus. - Input controller buttons, text-fields and sliders can be "dragged-and-dropped" anywhere on a worksheet and connected to QScript code or directly to cells by control-dragging. - Output objects like graphs and gauges can be dragged-and-dropped anywhere on a worksheet and connected to cell areas by control-dragging for continuous updating. - Many graph types are supported, including bar, stacked bar, line, combination, stock, area, stacked area, scatter (x-y plot) and pie. - Hot-links to the business graphics application Graphity from Xanthus (like Improv and Presentation Builder from Lotus.) Graphity is a business graphics application from Xanthus that supports 3-D graphs. - Seamless connection to SQL databases like Oracle and Sybase using the Database Kit in NEXTSTEP. - Timers that can trigger complex calculations, database queries or any other event at regular intervals. - A powerful double-directed API that allows Questor to easily control and send data to other applications. The API also makes it easy for other applications to control Questor and to feed data into worksheets. - A ToolBox that includes object palettes and a number of other tools that remove the need for modal panels for filling, searching and sorting data. The ToolBox also includes complete scripting support. - Full support for user palettes. Users can easily create new palettes with customized graphs, graphics and control objects. - Drawing tools that allow you to draw directly on the worksheet. - Images and sound can be dragged-and-dropped anywhere on a worksheet to create stunning documents with graphics and sound effects. - Reads the WKS, WK1 and SYLK file formats, which enables you to import worksheets from Lotus 1-2-3, Lotus Improv, Microsoft Excel and Wingz. - Writes the WK1 file format, which enables you to export worksheets to Lotus 1-2-3, Lotus Improv, Microsoft Excel and Wingz. - Full support for Lotus 1-2-3 bracket macros. - Multi-level undo. All commands can be undone and the number of undos are user defined. - Powerful report layout functions that give you total control over the layout of your document, including direct manipulation and drawing tools. - Full support of object linking. Graphs, cell areas and graphics can be copied and linked into other documents for continuous updating. - The Questor QScript Debugger which allows QScript functions to be debugged in a seamless manner. - Support for multi-user access. Several users can look at the same document but only one can open it in read/write mode. Users with a document opened in read-only mode are notified as soon as the disk version of the document changes. Alembic Systems International Ltd. is an international distributor of North American and European software for the NEXTSTEP Operating Environment. Services also cover the development of custom applications, software training courses for a variety of existing packages, and system integration of NEXTSTEP for Intel coupled with Auspex File Servers. Questor is a registered trademark of Xanthus Software. Improv is a registered trademark of Lotus Development Corp. All rights reserved. -30-
These are the contents of the former NiCE NeXT User Group NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software archive, currently hosted by Marcel Waldvogel and Netfuture.ch.