An updated version of TextEase is now available from Elesar Ltd, offering a double triplicate; one of minor bug fixes, and one of new features. Those three new features are:
- The TextEase Table (spreadsheet) component is now able to import data directly from Excel 5.0 files – those ending with .xls on Windows computer systems. When working on two different systems, this makes it much easier to get the information into TeTable; rather than view the Excel file and manually type the data into TeTable, you just need to load the file into the latter. Note, however, that TeTable doesn’t support the full range of features found in Excel, so it only handles those features for which TextEase has an equivalent.
- When exporting as Draw with any editable text, the text is now given a transparent background to ensure it blends nicely against other images – and when coloured spreadsheet cells are exported, they also now gain a solid fill in the Draw file.
- When deleting a selected piece of text using the Delete key, the selection is now copied to the internal clipboard. It can then be pasted with the Insert key, or Ctrl-x and Ctrl-v can be used as before.
Elesar Ltd notes that with a version number of 5.99 for this release, a roll-over to version 6.00 is now just a fraction away – now might therefore be an opportune time for users to get in touch with the company to suggest features they’d like to see in the next version.
For people who have yet to wander into the TextEase Studio, the product began as a Softease product in the 1990s with an educational focus on making publishing easy. It went on to win awards, including the Educational Computing and Technology Primary Award at the BETT exhibition in 1999.
Over time, with the software available for other platforms, the RISC OS version became a historical note – until late last year when, with permission from the software’s current owners RM Ltd, Elesar Ltd became responsible for further development, and has become an outlet for the suite.
It is fully 32-bit compatible, and will work on any version of RISC OS from 3.60, and availability provides yet another triplicate – this time of component combinations!
- TextEase Home costs £60.00 including VAT, and includes the base DTP package, the paint package, and the 153 page manual.
- TextEase Educational is priced at £78 including VAT, and adds a branch classification database and a turtle language based on Logo to the contents of the Home option.
- TextEase Professional, at £96 including VAT, is the full suite and includes all of the above along with the spreadsheet and charting, and presentation slideshow packages.
Shipping will need to be added to all of the above prices. The software can be ordered online.
