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1991-10-10
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%OP%WC2,1238,162,980,0,0,0,0
%OP%VS3.40R (11-Oct-90), Mrjc, R9200 7500 3900 8299
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%C%Major enhancements in PipeDream 4
PipeDream 4 is a fundamental revision of PipeDream 3 with changes in
almost all areas. Whilst the most striking areas of improvement are
its stunning charts, the new spreadsheet power and the upgraded user
interface, there are many detailed enhancements which are too numerous
to mention here. We would like to thank all PipeDream 3 users who
contributed their ideas in our user surveys and other correspondence.
Some of the more important new features are:
Charts
Spreadsheet
Format block
Repeat command
Templates
Headers, footers
Transpose
Print in columns
Linked columns
@@N@@, @@L@@
%H2%User interface
Graphic borders
Auto-width
Line height
New mouse
Menus
Function keys
%H2%Other
Copy/move/delete
Paste
Window position
User Guide
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Seeing is believing! PipeDream 4 introduces Penguin
Graphics to the Archimedes in addition to the more
usual Pie, Bar, Line and scatter charts. All charts
are completely dynamic and very fast. You can
include overlays with multiple scales. Highly
flexible chart editing for fine tuning, including
adding and deleting data from chart. One reaction
was: "PipeDream 4's graphs blow your socks off."
PipeDream 4 is, by a wide margin, the finest
spreadsheet package on the Archimedes. In addition
to 162 built-in functions (including full string,
date, matrix and complex number functions), PipeDream
4 provides custom functions for you to program your
own function libraries, and arrays. Arrays are
groups of data within a slot enabling you to perform
powerful operations very easily. (These are not to be
confused with Schema's "arrays" which are merely
ranges.) PipeDream 4 continues the PipeDream
tradition by being the fastest ever RISC OS
spreadsheet whilst providing an even higher level of
background recalculation.
Other new goodies are names to help define quantities
like VAT, an optional formula window (which pops up
only when you ask for it), and function and name
pasting from the function menu, to reduce the need to
look in the reference book.
Reformat a marked block. Useful when changing fonts
or margin settings.
Repeats the last command. Gives quick keyboard
operation for any command.
You can specify template files to help the creation
of new documents.
Headers and footers can be up to three lines long.
Swaps the rows and columns of a marked block across
the leading diagonal.
Prints wide spreadsheets and databases one page width
at a time.
Link the margins of several columns to give greater
control when word processing.
@@N@@ gives the current time in 24 hour clock format,
@@L@@ gives the leafname of the current document, for
easy reference.
Column borders and margins can be dragged using the
mouse for quick refitting of columns.
Tell PipeDream to Auto width for even quicker
refitting of columns. You'll wonder how you ever got
by without this one.
The document now appears in the window in the line
height to be used when printing. Very nice.
Mouse operations have been simplified and brought
closer to other RISC OS applications. Always use the
left button to click in slots and mark blocks.
Always use the right button to adjust marked blocks.
New Mark Block Box for instantaneous setting and
clearing of blocks.
Short menus are now configurable so you specify only
those and all those commands you want. Or you can
set PipeDream up for someone else to use.
Particularly useful in a learning environment.
The function key layout is much simpler than before
and F3 and F4 are now set to Save and Search. For
those whose fingers can't be retrained, a command
file is provided to configure PipeDream 4 to the
PipeDream 3 layout. But learn the new one; it's much
better. Really!
These block operations have been reworked and are
both more powerful and safe. No more column sliding
and you can safely move blocks left and right. Copy
and move overwrite the target area if it is blank.
If not, they insert blank slots over the %H2%whole%H2% row
and then overwrite. Move and delete clear the block
and only delete the slots if all slots to the left
and right are blank, in which case it deletes the
whole row. Try it; you'll like it.
This isn't new but it's amazing how many people don't
know about it.
The position of the caret in the window and the
position of the window on the screen are remembered
so you restart exactly where you left off. This
saves a lot of time.
The User Guide is no more. In its place are the
PipeDream 4 tutorial for new users and the PipeDream
4 Reference Guide with its unique cross-referencing
structure for advanced users. The PipeDream 3
documentation was highly praised; we believe this
documentation is seriously better.
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