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^C^1Spreadsheet Templates

   Templates are what make a spreadsheet work.  They are pre-arranged layouts
with appropriate rows, columns, and formulas for a particular task.  With an
appropriate template, you can do useful things on a spreadsheet without having
to know how to use the full power of the spreadsheet program yourself.  The hard
work has already been done by the creator of the template.

   Four templates for ExpressCalc are included on disk 2 along with the program
itself.  The templates are BUDGET, AMORT, FUNCTION, and CRAPS.  The BUDGET
template is an aid for household budgets.  It is set up for a two income family.
The bills and expenses are broken into two columns, the 1st and the 15th of the
month.  The income is separated the same way.  Money going into savings is also
totaled and then subtracted from income to give a total balance.  The columns in
the box are for your savings account.  Off screen in columns K and L is a total
that represents what must be in savings at the end of the year to pay such items
as insurance, taxes and dues.  The total is divided by 12 and placed at the top
of the "into savings" column.

   AMORT is a simple amortization calculation that illustrates the use of the
PAYMENT, PERIODS, PRINCIPAL, and RATE functions.  More complex formulas are used
in the IRA vs. Mutual Fund comparison.  FUNCTION illustrates the use of most of
ExpressCalc's functions.  CRAPS is a simulation of the dice game using the
RANDOM and LOOKUP functions.

   These templates are useful, but they probably don't solve all your problems.
You'll probably be designing templates yourself to suit various needs.  If any
templates you design are of general interest, why not submit them to BIG BLUE
DISK, for us to publish in a later issue?  In fact, let's make a contest of
this.  We'll award a prize of $100 for the best template for ExpressCalc that is
submitted by a reader.  One or more "Honorable Mentions" will also be awarded
$25 each.  Entries must be the original work of the person submitting them, and
must not have been published or submitted elsewhere.  All winning entries will
be published in a future issue of BIG BLUE DISK.  Use the entry form in the next
menu item.  Templates may be of any subject matter, whether it be in business,
finance, home budgeting, mathematics, engineering, or even recreational.  The
judgment of our staff is final; our employees and their families are ineligible.

   The design of spreadsheet templates is an artform in its own right, and they
can be as complicated and powerful as computer programs themselves.  In fact,
there are some commercial firms engaged in designing and selling templates
specialized for various tasks.  However, unlike a full program, a template is
useless unless the user has the appropriate spreadsheet program.  The user must
purchase the full spreadsheet program even if he only needs to run one "canned"
template.  Or, at least, that used to be the case.  According to an announcement
that fortuitously landed on my desk just as I was beginning to plan this special
Spreadsheet issue,  SoftLogic Solutions has just released a "spreadsheet
compiler."  Named @Liberty (pronounced "At Liberty"), it takes a template from
Lotus 1-2-3, MultiPlan, or some other popular spreadsheets, and produces
compiled code which does not require the full spreadsheet program to run.
Instead, it requires SoftLogic's RUN module, which can be licenced at only $10
per user, much cheaper than purchasing a full spreadsheet program. For more
information, contact SoftLogic at One Perimeter Road, Manchester, NH 03101.
Their phone number is (800) 272-9900, or (603) 627-9900 in New Hampshire.
