New 1-2-3 Was Worth Waiting For

By the time Lotus Development Corp. came out with the latest version of its best-selling spreadsheet program 1-2-3 last week--18 months behind its original schedule--a number of customers had switched to other products. They bought rival programs such as Microsoft’s Excel, Borland International’s Quattro and Computer Associates’ SuperCalc5 for performing financial and other calculations.

Lotus’ sales didn’t dry up, however. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company continued to dominate the spreadsheet market even though its offering was out of date.

Overall, Lotus claims that since 1-2-3 was introduced in 1983 it has sold more than 5 million copies, which a company official says is more than 70% of the spreadsheet market for IBM-compatible personal computers. And with its newest version, 1-2-3 Release 3, Lotus’ product is nearly as impressive as its market strength.

Spreadsheet programs are used to perform calculations on numbers that are organized into rows and columns. You might use a spreadsheet, for example, to develop a budget or sales forecast. When you revise a figure or modify a formula, all numbers affected by the change are revised as well.

The new program is relatively easy for 1-2-3 loyalists to use. Despite hundreds of new features and improvements, Release 3 looks and feels very much like the old 1-2-3. Every command I tried worked just as it does in the previous version. The only new commands you have to learn are for new features, a major attraction for people who have spent time and money learning to use earlier versions of the program.

The program’s improvements include the capacity to work with several files or work sheets at a time. Previously, you could load only one into memory. Further, a single file can now have up to 256 separate work sheets, and the program can display up to three work sheets on the screen at any one time. Having more than one work sheet on the screen can be very helpful when you need to refer to data that is not part of the work sheet you’re developing.

It’s now possible for a formula in one work sheet to refer to a formula or data in another. In the past, it was sometimes necessary to create very large work sheets to store all the necessary data and formulas. That could become unwieldy, making it difficult to locate necessary information. Data can now be neatly organized into separate work sheets, all of which can be stored together in a single 1-2-3 file.

New Version Speedier

The ability to create linked work sheets is very handy for those who must consolidate data from several sources. If you were creating a national sales forecast, for example, you could have data from each region in a separate work sheet. A separate summary work sheet would have formulas to combine the datafrom each region. Any changes in a regional sheet would be automatically carried to the summary sheet.

Users who work with large or complex spreadsheets have complained that 1-2-3 is too slow. The new version is speedier because it recalculates only those formulas or cells affected by a change in the work sheet. Also, the program is now able to calculate in the background while the user works with the spreadsheet. These speed improvements are not noticeable with small or simple work sheets but can be substantial with a great number of formulas or a lot of data.

I also like the program’s new “undo” feature that allows users to reverse any recent changes, as well as the new search and replace feature that can automatically find and change data or formulas.

1-2-3 is so named because it performs three major functions: spreadsheet, database management and graphics. In the new version, database and graphics functions have been improved as well.

The program is rarely used for large corporate databases such as personnel records, which often are maintained with other database software that runs on minicomputers or mainframe systems. But 1-2-3 is an excellent tool to analyze or play “what if” games with such data.

With earlier versions, it is usually necessary to go through some elaborate conversion process or, worse, reenter the data on files created by other database programs. Now, 1-2-3 can get data directly from the files. Access to databases requires special configuration files, called “drivers.” Lotus provides a driver for dBase III and anticipates that additional database drivers will be developed by other companies.

1-2-3 has always been able to display charts and graphs, but previously the selection of graph styles was limited. The new 1-2-3 displays stunning graphics in your choice of colors. You can mix graphs and numbers on the same screen and watch the graph update itself as the work sheet is modified. You can also mix graphics, text and numbers on the same printed page.

Sophisticated users and programmers have always been able to use 1-2-3 to create custom spreadsheets for such tasks as accounting and income tax preparation. Creating such applications requires learning 1-2-3’s “macro” language that creates mini-programs within 1-2-3. The macro language has been expanded to provide even more options. It’s now possible, for example, to create macros that totally change the appearance of the screen, allowing developers to create custom applications that don’t even look like they’re written in 1-2-3.

Lotus says its suggested retail price for the new 1-2-3 will be $495 until the end of the year, when it is supposed to go up to $595. Those who bought 1-2-3 Release 2.01 after Sept. 6, 1988, however, can get a free upgrade. Other 1-2-3 owners can upgrade for $150. The program runs under both the MS-DOS and OS/2 operating systems.

Computer File welcomes readers’ comments but regrets that the authors cannot respond individually to letters. Write to Lawrence J. Magid, P.O. Box 620477, Woodside, Calif. 94062, or contact the L. Magid account on the MCI electronic mail system.

LOTUS’ NEW 1-2-3

1-2-3 Release 3 is a powerful new version of Lotus Development Corp.’s best-selling spreadsheet program.

Features

The ability to work with more than one spreadsheet at a time, to perform faster calculations and to handle more data. It also has an “undo” feature for correcting mistakes, and the program can now directly access files from dBase III and other database programs. Graphics functions have been improved, and it is now possible to mix text, numbers and graphics on the screen and printed page. The program, which is not copy protected, is able to share files over a local area network.

Requirements

IBM or compatible PC with an Intel 286, 386 or i486 microprocessor with a hard disk and a least one megabyte of random access memory. Works under MS-DOS or OS/2 operating systems, though OS/2 requires at least three megabytes of memory.

Price

$495 suggested introductory price until the end of this year. $595 next year. Free upgrade for users who bought 1-2-3 Release 2.01 after Sept. 6, 1988. Other current 1-2-3 owners pay $150 for an upgrade.