New software releases by Lotus and announcements by Microsoft and WordPerfect reflect the different strengths and directions of each company
Daniel Gasteiger and Rick Dobson
Recalculation speed, macro-language enhancements, and ease of use will always be important considerations when evaluating spreadsheets as stand-alone applications. However, Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft Excel, and Quattro Pro (which was recently acquired by WordPerfect) are increasingly being sold in software suites and must be judged by how well they work with their brethren word processing, database, presentation, and network applications.
A case in point is the new 1-2-3 release 5 for Windows, which Lotus expects to release by the end of August. As a stand-alone spreadsheet, the new 1-2-3 feels more like a release 4.5. But as part o
f the new Lotus SmartSuite 3.0 for Windows, which is slated to ship by the end of September, the release 5 designation will seem valid to people who want more database management power and integration with Lotus Notes. Four applications in the new SmartSuite--1-2-3, Approach 3.0, Ami Pro 3.1, and Freelance Graphics 2.1--have been upgraded to take advantage of Notes/FX 1.1 (the FX stands for Field Exchange). This technology lets users share information from their Lotus desktop applications throughout an enterprise via Notes.
Recent developments at Microsoft and WordPerfect emphasize the importance of group collaboration in the office-suite category. By the time you read this, Microsoft should have released updates of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows that provide Notes/FX support. The company also says its office applications will support the Microsoft Exchange Server software for information sharing and electronic messaging. Microsoft Exchange Server, which is expected to ship in 1995, will provi
de an integrated messaging, scheduling, and management infrastructure for applications, company officials say.
New features planned for WordPerfect's new PerfectOffice 3.0 suite for Windows, which is slated to ship this fall, reflect the company's recent merger with Novell. Features made possible by the suite's integration with network and workgroup services will include the ability to install and update software across a network; client software for integrating with Symmetry, WordPerfect's E-mail, calendaring, and scheduling program; and support for workgroup publishing via the inclusion of WordPerfect Envoy.
When Lotus releases SmartSuite 3.0 for Windows, the package will not have a cross-application scripting language comparable to that of the Applications Edition of Microsoft's Visual Basic. But the new suite offers much stronger ties to Notes. Lotus 1-2-3 release 5 offers three levels of Notes interaction: Notes/FX; a new NS4 file type; and a Notes ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) driver.
Through Notes/FX, 1-2-3 users can exchange application- and user-defined data to automate front-office processes and collaborate on forecasting and budgeting. Application-defined data refers to information about a file such as its author, size, creation date, revision information, and number of worksheets. A new Doc Info dialog box lists most application-defined fields, and information you store via the Doc Info command becomes available to users with whom you store worksheets via Notes.
User-defined fields in 1-2-3 refer to worksheet cells. When you embed a release 5 spreadsheet in a Notes document, you can specify those cells whose contents are to become available to Notes as fields. Changes made in a spreadsheet can affect the associated Notes database, and vice versa. Approach 3.0 can also publish database fields and application-defined data to Notes databases.
The new NS4 file type enables multiple users to display and modify range values of a spreadsheet without overwriting each oth
er's work. People can work on a file, store it locally, and, through Notes' replication facility, update and merge information in a central Notes database. NS4 files also support Notes' security, so administrators can manage the way that NS4 files are merged into Notes.
The third way to integrate 1-2-3 (as well as Approach) with Notes is through the ODBC driver for Notes SQL, which lets you work directly with Notes data on your desktop.
Interacting with Notes is only part of the new 1-2-3's interoperability story. Lotus 1-2-3 uses OLE to borrow capabilities in Approach. A new Tools Database Form command lets you create custom forms to input, edit, and search for data in 1-2-3 databases. An Assistant guides you through the form's creation. Other Assistants help you build database reports using Approach and access Approach's mailing-label facility.
For stand-alone users of 1-2-3, the most dramatic addition to release 5 is Lotus Maps, which lets you associate maps with your geographic data.
A much-improved Print Preview mode lets you view more than one page at a time.
When choosing your office suite, your best choice will depend on your commitment to key applications. Organizations with a heavy emphasis on Notes will find the special hooks in 1-2-3 and Approach strong incentives to choose Lotus SmartSuite. Those with a commitment to Visual Basic will appreciate the power and ease with which they can cobble together applications in the current Microsoft Office suite using Visual Basic for Applications and OLE automation. The jury is still out on PerfectOffice, but with WordPerfect's acquisition of the Quattro Pro spreadsheet and 1 million licenses of Borland's Paradox database for Windows, the company has served notice that it has no intentions of being just an also-ran in this product category.
Integration Strategies: Lotus vs. Microsoft vs. WordPerfect
SmartSuite: Shares data and functions such as mailing-label generation and
dynamic cro
ss-tabs between desktop applications.
Office: Shares data between desktop applications.
PerfectOffice: Will share data between desktop applications.
SmartSuite: Has ODBC and Notes/FX links to Notes, in addition to custom
links from 1-2-3 and Approach.
Office: Has ODBC connectivity to Notes in Excel and Access; will have
Notes/FX connectivity to Notes in maintenance releases of
Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
PerfectOffice: Will have ODBC links to Notes in Quattro Pro, Paradox,
and WordPerfect.
SmartSuite: A common macro programming language and a full-fledged
implementation of the OLE 2.0 standard are due in 1995.
Office: Has common programming languages for building custom
integrated applications with OLE automation.
PerfectOffice: A new PerfectScript allows cross-application programming
and macro recording.
SmartSuite: Has comm
on SmartIcons, menus, and dialog boxes across 1-2-3,
Ami Pro, and Freelance.
Office: Has common icons, menus, tools, and dialog boxes across
desktop applications.
PerfectOffice: Has common icons, menus, and dialog boxes across desktop
applications.
Illustration: Lotus 1-2-3's reliance on Approach for added database management functionality is both a blessing and a curse. If you don't have SmartSuite or at least Approach, then you can't effortlessly generate fill-in-the-blanks data-entry forms, like the one shown here, on top of the worksheet that contains its associated database.
Into the Enterprise
