Borland Announces Paradox 7 for Windows 95 & Windows NT; Database Power Made Easy for Users and Developers

Business Wire, Oct 31, 1995

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 31, 1995--Borland International Inc. today announced Paradox 7 for Windows 95 & Windows NT. The new database, which is scheduled to ship in December, offers unmatched levels of ease-of-use, speed, and office suite integration, as well as new developer tools and a smooth transition for existing Paradox users to Windows 95.

"Paradox for Windows 95 and Windows NT continues Borland's commitment to providing database users and developers with tools that take full advantage of the newest operating systems," said Gary Wetsel, president of Borland International. "The roll-out of Paradox 7 and our other 32-bit tools will establish Borland as a leading provider of products for these new platforms."

What's New in Paradox 7

Paradox 7 breaks new ground in end user ease-of-use with new Experts that automate virtually every common database task and a range of usability enhancements that help beginning users start working with their data immediately. It also offers superb database integration with Novell's PerfectOffice 7 and Microsoft Office 95. In addition, the database includes new visual productivity tools that allow power users and professional application developers to easily extend the Paradox environment to deliver the most advanced Windows database applications.

Smooth Transition to Windows 95

"Paradox 7 is an excellent example of Borland's overall mission to provide our customers with the industry's smoothest transition to Windows 95," said Richard Gorman, Borland's vice president of products. "Unlike some of our competition, the new Paradox will support virtually all existing applications and data created with the previous Windows 3.x version, as well as be able to co-exist and share data with those applications on the same network server. This allows organizations to migrate smoothly to Windows 95 at their own pace -- extending their investment by incrementally migrating their users while building new, feature-rich Windows 95 applications."

As a Windows 95 logo-compatible database, Paradox 7 will also take full advantage of the 32-bit architecture and high performance of Windows 95 and Windows NT, as well as the new user interface enhancements and functionality of Windows 95, such as:

o Common Windows 95 dialog boxes

o Long filenames

o Send Mail and other MAPI functionality

o Drag-and-drop OCX controls

o Tabbed notebooks and property sheets

o OLE 2.0 Automation -- Controller and Server

o Tool Tips

o Floating and dockable toolbars

o Right-click context-sensitive menus

o Windows 95 Explorer integration

The Easiest to Use Windows 95 Database

Based upon hundreds of man-hours of end-user testing in Borland's state-of-the-art usability labs, the Paradox development team has simplified nearly every part of the product to make it the easiest Windows 95 database to learn and use. Paradox's powerful features are now much more accessible, and common database tasks have been further streamlined -- so every user will be more productive immediately. From creating tables and ready-to-use, customized applications, to performing mail merges and making mailing labels, Paradox 7 has been enhanced with many new Experts and other tools for greater ease of use.

"Borland has done an incredible job implementing user feedback into this product -- it really shows in Paradox 7's ease-of-use," said Ty Brown, a database developer based in Huntington Beach, California. "With the new Experts and other usability improvements, end users will now be able to go far building a database all by themselves. Paradox 7 is one cool tool."

Experts for End Users:

Paradox 7 introduces a number of new Experts to help automate the most-common database tasks and makes it easier to save the Experts' work for repetitive jobs, such as a report that is run every week. The new scrollable Expert control panel gives users easy access to all of the Experts in Paradox 7.

o The new Quick Start Expert provides first-time users a way to get started quickly and easily with Paradox 7. With no previous knowledge of Paradox or database concepts, new users can be productive immediately by following this Expert's step-by-step instructions.

o The new Database Expert allows novice users to create ready-to-use database applications the first time they use the product -- complete with tables, forms, and reports. By answering a series of questions, users are able to customize one of many pre-defined applications to fit their specific needs and get their database up-and-running fast.

o The new Table Expert gives users guidance in creating new tables. Users follow the step-by-step process to choose common table structures and field definitions. The Table Expert also allows users to customize their new tables by mixing and matching fields from any of the pre-defined tables or custom tables that can be added.

o The new Mail Merge Expert helps users automatically create mail merge documents using popular word processors like Novell's WordPerfect or Microsoft Word, or the Paradox Report writer.