Spreadsheet speaks English - Software Review - Lotus Development Corp.'s Lotus Improv for Windows 2.0 spreadsheet software - Evaluation

Home Office Computing, June, 1993 by Stephen L. Nelson

Lotus Improy for Windows Rating: *** 1/2

For Windows

AT A GLANCE: A cleverly designed spreadsheet that lets you use words for column and row names, provides easy rearrangement of data, and much more.

EASE OF USE: Very easy to use-once you get used to its unique worksheet. DOCUMENTATION: Though generally clear, the manual overcomplicates its explanation of items, categories, and groups--the three components of an Improy worksheet; the included animated "tour," however, is a friendly introduction to these new concepts. SUPPORT: 90-day unlimited toll-free support, $129 per year after that. The line was busy the first three times I called; when I finally got through, the technicians were well meaning but faltered on a couple of tough questions.

VERSION REVIEWED: 2.0
LIST PRICE: $495
AVERAGE STREET PRICE: $325
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: 4MB 386 PC or
higher; hard-disk drive; EGA, VGA, SVGA;
DOS 3.3 and Windows 3.1 or higher.
PUBLISHER: Lotus Development, 55 Cam
-bridge Pkwy., Cambridge, MA 02142; (617)
577-8500, (800) 343-5414

Lotus Improy for Windows represents the next generation of spreadsheet. Improy uses an unusual but intelligent type of worksheet with several extremely clever enhancements.

Perhaps the most striking difference between a traditional spreadsheet such as 1-2-3 and Improy is that it lets you name your rows and columns rather than using predefined letters and numbers. What does this do to a spreadsheet? Formulas suddenly resemble English. For example, a formula that used to look like L81 K412 now reads as Profit = Revenue - Expenses. (While other spreadsheets let you construct "plain-English" formulas once you've renamed individual cells, Improy formulas always read with words.)

Flexible data. Another interesting aspect of Improy is that the rows and columns of a spreadsheet aren't fixed. Every row or column (items, as they are called in Improy) is assigned to a category. By dragging icons representing the categories, you rearrange the dam. For example, revenue data that's organized by product line can be reorganized geographically, then by customer, then by product profit, and so on.

There's also something very clever about the formulas Improy uses. With Improy, unlike traditional spreadsheets, you don't enter formulas into the cells of a worksheet. You enter them into a separate formula list, called the formula pane. Among other things, the formula pane lets you specify which cell or cells a formula should calculate and, when you click on a formula, it highlights those cells the formula was applied to. This seemingly subtle feature has a huge effect. It means that one Improy formula can do the job of dozens of cell-specific formulas in a traditional spreadsheet. As a result, Improy worksheets are physically smaller and easier to error-check.

Progamming power. Another noteworthy aspect of Improy is that it includes a builtin structured programming language called LotusScript. This is not a macro command language (the kind included with Excel and 1-2-3) but really an extended version of the popular BASIC programming language, with roughly 200 special commands added for dealing with functions specific to Impfor and to Windows.

Given all this, the obvious question is this: Is Improy a better spreadsheet than 1-2-3, Quattro Pro, or Excel? Yes and no. Improy's unique worksheet is much better than its competitors'. You'll conclude this after only a few minutes of working with it. Improy's built-in programming language also makes it a serious candidate for people who use spreadsheets as platforms to build other applications.

But relative to its more traditionally designed competition, Improy is hampered by a few weaknesses. Its worksheet functions the set of shorthand formulas you use to calculate such things as loan payments--is better than 1-2-3's but probably not as good as Quattro Pro's and clearly not as good as Excel's. Though easier to use, Improy's charting capabilities aren't quite as good as Quattro Pro's or Excel's either. And for power-users, one other relative deficiency of Improy is that it lacks some of the esoteric modeling commands--tools for optimization modeling (such as linear and nonlinear programming), regression analysis, or what-if analysis (including solving for a target value) that the other programs have recently included.

So, what's the verdia? When you weigh the program's strengths and weaknesses it's pretty clear that for most people Improy will be a superior spreadsheet. Its strengths--meaningful column and row names, general formulas, and easy data manipulation--are extremely valuable to spreadsheet users. On the downside Improy's charting could be better, and the expanded worksheet function set may be overkill. But the same is probably true of the quantitative modeling commands that Improy is missing. After all, if you don't plan to use a spreadsheet for a complex function like linear programming, this deficiency may not matter.