50 under $50: the greatest software values on the market - Buyers Guide

Home Office Computing, March, 1995

ClickBook

(WIN/MAC)

ClickBook is far and away the simplest tool for creating your own booklets using a printer. Activate ClickBook from within your word processor and instantly your documents are ready to be printed in any of 20 standard booklet sizes and types. ClickBook even creates an instruction sheet for each printout, telling you which way to reinsert the paper in your printer and how to assemble the booklet when it's finished, making for complete dummy-proof execution, $49.95; BookMaker, (415) 354-8161, (800) 766-8531.

PentaCalc Pro

(WIN)

One of the nasty little secrets learned during last year's Pentium debacle was that Windows's calculator application also makes mistakes. If that's not enough reason to pick up PentaCalc Pro, the program's running tape should be. Instead of losing your calculations, copy and paste them into your proposals so anyone can follow your logic. PentaCalc even supports all those Hewlett-Packard notations you learned back in Finance 101. $49; Headgate, (801) 298-3800, (800) 230-0652.

Creative Whack Pack

(WIN/MAC)

One problem of working on your own is that you often don't have someone to help you brainstorm new ideas for clients. When you're bushed at the end of the day, Creative Whack Pack gets your creative juices flowing. It asks you questions about your situation and then tells you a story based on your input. Your responses help you see your situation in new ways so you can begin to generate new ideas. $29.95; Creative Think, (415) 321-6775.

Business LetterWorks

(WIN/DOS/MAC)

Don't agonize for hours over your business letters. The LetterWorks series of prepenned correspondence will help you. Business LetterWorks provides starting points for dealing with angry customers, bidding for new business, or getting an estimate from suppliers. Explanations detail how best to use each letter and what style they should be, whereas an export feature places them in your word processor for final editing. $49.95; Round Lake Publishing, (203) 438-5255.

Instant Results

(WIN/DOS)

Templates allow you to customize your core applications--but who's got the time to create them? Instant Results provides templates designed as standard business forms for invoices, receipts, packing lists, and automobile expenses. These add-ins to Word for Windows, WordPerfect (DOS and Windows), Excel, Quattro Pro 5 for Windows, and Lotus 1-2-3 (DOS and Windows) sharpen your look. $49.95; Data-Cal, (602) 813-3100, (800) 223-0123.

Design Your Own Home: Interiors

(WIN/DOS/MAC)

Drag and drop your desk onscreen rather than on your foot. Design Your Own Home: Interiors helps you redecorate your home office effortlessly--from mapping out your floor plan to choosing and rearranging three-dimensional furniture, windows, and doors. You can even experiment with colors and patterns before you start laying carpet, reupholstering, hanging wallpaper, or painting walls and ceilings. And once the office is done, you can move on to the kitchen, bathroom, living room, or bedroom. $49; Abracadata, (503) 343-2324, (800) 451-4871.