>
>
> Does anyone here have experience with software from Hillary
> Software?
 
On Wed, 3 Jan 1996 [log in to unmask] wrote:
 
> Their spreadsheet import product is called "SheetMate", and it seems to
> be fairly reliable.
 
I have mixed experiences with the Sheetmate.
 
1. It extracts smartly the columns from a spoolfile like a Query or BRW
report.
 
2. When the user is am not satisfied with the recommended column types,
he/she has to retype the _whole_ column specification, not only the
modifications, in forms of positional parameters.
 
3. It creates several types of output: dBase files, different spreadsheet
files.
 
4. It transfers the files automatically to the PC. If somebody does not
use the upper half of the ASCII code table the everything is in order.
However, if such characters are among the transferred data, code
conversion problems arise. Consider a dBase file: if the user selects
BINARY file transfer, then no conversion is made and the national
characters in the upper half of the ASCII table must be converted by a
user written program; in case of ASCII file transfer the unprintable
characters in the heading of the dBase file and in the body will be
substituted a period.
 
  I suggested to Hillary that they should allow the user to define
his/her own character conversion table - if they want to sell their
product outside of the English-speaking countries.
                                              Frank
 
  |\  /~ ~~|~~~ Family : NAGY; first name : FERENC; title : Ph. D.
  | \ |   -+-   Institute of Isotopes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
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Fax: (36)-1-156-5045, work phone: (36)-1-275-4351, home phone: (36)-1-277-4229.
Home address: H-1214 BUDAPEST Raketa u. 29. I. 3.
 
There are 3 kinds of programming errors:  syntactical, semantical and mystical.
The programmers have to suck up the users just as much as absolutely necessary.