News
`Excel 4.0 set to debut --Windows spreadsheet to ship April 6
`JOEL SHORE
`485 words
`23 March 1992
`Computer Reseller News
`CRS
`
`3I
`
`ssue: 466
`English
`(Copyright 1992 CMP Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.)
`New York
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`Microsoft Corp. this week will attempt to take another leap ahead of the spreadsheet competition with the
`simultaneous announcement of Excel version 4.0 for Windows and Macintosh. No OS/2 version is expected.
`
`Excel 4.0 for Windows is slated to ship April 6, the same day as Windows 3.1, with the Mac version to follow
`shortly thereafter, according to Excel product manager Hank Vigil. Both versions use the same documentation.
`
`While Excel 3.0, introduced in January 1991, was considered a milestone for the Redmond, Wash., developer,
`version 4.0 contains its own bevy of new features-so many that the manual, a copy of which was obtained by
`CRN, devotes 17 pages to an overview.
`
`Feedback from beta testers was mostly positive, the sole exception being disappointment that support for macros
`written in Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 extends only through the long since obsolete release 2.01.
`
`"Microsoft should have built in macro support for release 2.3," said one otherwise impressed tester. "I can see not
`supporting Lotus' 3.x platform, but the 2.x product line is Lotus' meat and potatoes."
`
`While the reconfigurable toolbars constitute Excel 4.0's most visible new feature, others such as AutoFill,
`spell-checking and ChartWizards address ease of use. And the Crosstab Report Wizard and Analysis Toolpak
`ease statistical analysis of complicated analytical scenarios.
`
`Excel 4.0 builds on the version 3.0 foundation-a platform considered innovative with the introduction of the
`ToolBar icon palette and real-time keystroke support for 1-2-3/DOS users. But the new product goes much
`further, allowing users to move and redefine ToolBars as well as work with several on-screen simultaneously.
`
`Among the most requested features is the ability to move or copy cells simply by dragging the rectangular cell
`cursor to a new location or range of cells. A similar feature that supports dragand drop of text was implemented in
`Word for Windows 2.0 last October.
`
`Pricing for Excel 4.0 remains the same as its predecessor, with a full list price of $495, competitive upgrade for
`$129, and upgrade from prior Excel versions is $99.
`
`Excel 4.0 will be presented today at the Canadian Windows trade show and at the Boston Computer Society later
`in the week.
`
`Yet despite the long list of new features, at least one competitor-albeit one with no competing product to
`ship-remained unimpressed.
`
`"Contrary to what Microsoft wants the world to believe, users are not moving pell-mell to their applications," said
`Lee Phillips, director of product management for Borland International Inc.'s applications business unit. Borland,
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`Page 1 of 2 © 2016 Factiva, Inc. All rights reserved.
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`CiM Ex. 1030 Page 1
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`which has failed to get its much-anticipated Quattro Pro for Windows out the door, will not ship until the product is
`ready, said Phillips.
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`Page 2 of 2 © 2016 Factiva, Inc. All rights reserved.
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`CiM Ex. 1030 Page 2