by Ron Bel Bruno
You can reclaim precious megabytes of hard disk space as Quarterdeck's CleanSweep leads you on a journey through directories and subdirectories you've never seen before--or at least haven't visited in a while. CleanSweep helps you root out files from the hall of lonely display drivers, the duplicate text-file alley and other monuments to wasted bytes.
In one of my tests using a beta version of the program, CleanSweep discovered 20 duplicate files that occupied more than 500KB of space. But the next step of this purge--the system-file search--gets trickier. CleanSweep offers its system file options in a tabbed dialog with choices for Unused Fonts, Display Drivers, DOS Files and so forth. Select one of these, and CleanSweep gives you a comprehensive file list, including what each file does (or doesn't do) for you, along with a general explanation of the category. The program even lets you view text files and icons, simplifying your save-or-kill decisions.
Although CleanSweep doesn't make such decisions for you, it will guide you toward a good decision. In the case of system files, it offers conditional advice such as "If you plan to run Windows only in 386 Enhanced Mode...'' or "If you never want to run a DOS program again...''
During deletions, you get the option to do a quick batch deletion or a more deliberate file-by-file purge (recommended). There's also a backup option, which puts deleted files in a single compressed file. If you ever need one of the files again, it's only a menu selection away from decompression.
You also can uninstall entire programs. CleanSweep doesn't just uninstall program files and directories; it detects and deletes all related lines in the WIN.INI file. It can't, however, get rid of WIN.INI entries left behind by previously deleted applications.
CleanSweep helps make the most of the disk space you already have. With CleanSweep, you may be able to put off a hard disk upgrade.
INFO FILE
CleanSweep
Price: $39-$49 (estimated street price)
Quarterdeck Office Systems
800-354-3222, 310-392-9851
by: Hailey Lynne McKeefry
Psssst ... C'mere, I'll let you in on a little secret.
I own a Mac. Let's keep that between you and me. But I'm excited because I found a program--Conversions Plus 3.0--that lets me navigate comfortably between the two operating systems whether I'm using text or graphics. That's good news for those of us who are closet dual-platform users.
Conversions Plus, which I tested in beta, converts dozens of PC and Macintosh file formats. It maintains the formattingof the original files, rather than just transferring themfrom PC to Mac without regard for their formats. You can also use Conversion Plus to translate between PC file formats or to convert your text-based files to binary files.
Perhaps the best feature of this program is its straightforward interface. Translating a file is as easy as selecting the source and then a destination for the file. Once you specify these two items, the program walks you through the file conversion process. The interface is reminiscent of Windows File Manager because it lists all of the drives on your system with the folders and files on those drives. Version 3.0 of this utility adds new translators and the ability to convert graphics files, as well as a File Preview feature.
Conversions Plus let me switch between various word processor formats, including Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Ami Pro and MacWrite. A translator for WordPerfect 6.1 has been tacked onto this version. Other new features include translators for the word processing, spreadsheet and database applications in some suites, including Microsoft Works 4.0 (Mac), ClarisWorks 2.x and 3.x (Mac and Windows) andWordPerfect Works 2.0 (Windows). Translators for Quattro Pro 5.0 and 6.0 and Lotus 4.0 and 5.0 are expected in the shipping version but weren't in the beta.
Once you have your computers talking (with text files), you can help them share the same vision (with graphics files). A Version 3.0 update lets you translate graphics files, including TIFF, JPEG, .GIF, .BMP, and .PCX. You can also translate the .EPS format, but only between thumbnails.
The File Preview feature lets you look at a graphic or text file before converting it. You can select one, several or all of the files in a directory. Using the preview mode, you can flip through your chosen images until you find the one that you want. By clicking on the Convert button, you can convert the file from within Conversion Plus' preview. This feature also lets you designate a portion of the graphics file to be converted, rather than converting the whole thing. Once the program is done with the conversion, you're returned to the preview mode. On the downside, you can't flip back through files you have already previewed.
Version 3.0 adds significant power to an already nifty utility. All's quiet on the Windows front now that my PC and Mac are interacting peacefully.
-- Info File --
Conversions Plus 3.0
Price: $149
In Brief: Conversions Plus is a handy utility ifyou work on both Windows and Mac platforms. It makes it easyto convert popular file formats from one operating system tothe other..
DataViz
800-733-0030, 203-268-0030
By James E. Powell
What made Dashboard such an indispensable tool in Windows 3.x shines through in its Windows 95 incarnation: multiple virtual screens (similar to those offered in Norton Navigator), a calendar with alarms (which can also trigger system tasks such as backups), printer control (you can drag a file to the icon to print it), shortcut buttons to applications and program groups galore, and a memory monitor. Oh, yes, and several small casino games to occupy your hands while you wrestle with some conceptual problem.
Dashboard 95 enhancements include a more complete Resources panel that monitors CPU activity and threads. The tabbed Quick Launch groups, which can float or be docked, let you customize shortcuts to your favorite applications. The Tools Panel provides access to new Windows 95 tools, such as Explorer, Network Neighborhood, Printer Setup and the File Find utility.
Dashboard adds a miniature version of the Windows 95 taskbar at the bottom of its toolbar. In fact, except to shut down your system, there's no longer a reason to use the taskbar. You can choose how many of these tools are displayed and in what order, and Dashboard can be docked to any side of your screen to suit your personal preference.
Instead of adding utilities to your system, Dashboard makes what's already available more easily accessible. For example, you can use Dashboard Run to jump to a dialog box that provides a DOS command line. In the same dialog box, a small window shows your results. No more will you waste time searching for the MS-DOS icon you'd have to find in Windows 3.1.
Remarkably, the program has somehow managed to maintain its "slimware" concept, since it ships on only one diskette. With so many productivity gains crammed on one diskette, Dashboard is a winner all the way.
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Dashboard 95
Price: $49.95 (street)
In Brief: New system monitors, new launch buttons and more mean you don't need the taskbar now--except to shut down the computer.
Disk Space: 2.8MB
System Resources: 7%
RAM: 4MB
Starfish Software
800-765-7839, 408-439-0942
By James E. Powell
HiJaak was one of my favorite utilities under Windows 3.x. I never knew a TIFF file had so many variations until one application I was using couldn't handle it. As it turned out, a TIFF isn't just a TIFF. HiJaak converted the TIFF flavor I was using into a file format my application could easily handle. HiJaak also came with some thumbnail and organizational tools, but I rarely used these; it was graphics compatibility I was worried about.
HiJaak 95 is even more useful. For example, you can have Explorer remove those boring file icons from its display and replace each with a thumbnail of the file it represents. This takes some time when you open a folder for the first time, but after that HiJaak caches the images, so the delay is minimal. Rather than dragging a boring file icon into an OLE 2 application, you can now drag a thumbnail to insert an image. Either way works, of course, but HiJaak's thumbnails make the whole process more intuitive. HiJaak also integrates its features into right mouse menu options of the common File Open dialog box, My Computer or Network Neighborhood windows.
The program lets you view, organize, convert and print graphics, capture screens or output from your printer, and locate images by user-defined keywords or file size and date. It also searches for text you've assigned to the graphics information database it builds or within a vectorgraphic file itself. You can enhance images by adjusting the contrast and brightness, and rotating an image. Convert images to gray or black and white.
When it comes to conversion, HiJaak 95 supports 75 distinct formats (and dozens of variations thereof), including the new Windows 95 .EMF format. Like Windows MetaFile .WMF files, .EMF is used as an intermediate format to move data between applications.
If you work with graphics files, HiJaak is a must-have utility.
--Info File--
HiJaak 95
Price: $49 (street)
In Brief: Without a doubt, HiJaak is a must-have utility if you work with graphics files
Disk Space: 11MB
System Resources: 5%
RAM: 4MB
Inset Systems
800-374-6738, 203-740-2400
by: James E. Powell
If a picture's worth a thousand words, a movie's value may be priceless. With Lotus ScreenCam 2.0 you can create animated "movies" to illustrate how to perform a task in a Windows application.
ScreenCam movies are compact animated captures of what you do on your screen. It's like having a personal video camera to record your every move, augmented by your simultaneous narration.
To record a ScreenCam movie, you start the program and press the Record button on its small VCR-like control panel. From that point on, you're recording all your keystrokes and mouse movements. Hook up a microphone and choose the sound option, and you can add your comments to the on-screen action. You can use the VCR panel to play back the movie, with pause, stop, rewind and fast forward controls. You can also use ScreenCam's runtime playback module, which you can distribute freely, to view a movie.
This version, which I tested in beta, adds long-awaited features. For example, you can now use hotkeys to stop a movie, rather than having the stop button visible at all times. And you can customize your presentation with a bitmap of a logo or other graphic. ScreenCam's File/Open dialog previews a movie's first screen, and a file information box provides details, like the size of the movie file, its duration, sound track sample rate and size, author's name and so forth.
You can also rework the movie's image and sound portions separately. While you can't edit specific parts of screens or sounds, you can delete either entirely and recreate it. You can keep things in synch by viewing the movie as you rerecord the sound track. If more complex editing is required, you can extract the sound track to a .WAV file, use a third-party sound editor to make changes and then merge the sound file back into your movie.
Version 2.0 adds command-line playback options to hide the VCR panel and mouse pointer during playback and to set the number of times you want the movie to play. Options for embedding a movie in another document are new, too. You can send your movie via Notes or VIM-compliant e-mail (MAPI is not supported). ScreenCam now integrates with Notes via Notes/FX, so you can store file information or a movie in a Notes database.
You can get more movie per megabyte using version 2.0's sound compression. I found that ScreenCam reduced a movie's size by roughly 25 percent when its sound was compressed. Compression maintained sound fidelity, though the sound recorder uses an 11kHz sample rate and 8-bit sample size, which is acceptable only for voice.
Captioning is, perhaps, the most useful new feature. You can create boxes with text that pop up during your movie. You can adjust the borders, size, position and font for caption boxes. After creating your captions in the order you plan to use them, they're saved to a file. As you record your movie, you use a hotkey to display or hide the captions.
Captions aren't animated--they just pop up on the display--and you can't use any fancy graphics, such as arrows pointing from the caption to a spot on the screen. Still, captions are a good alternative if the viewer doesn't have a sound card or finds the audio a nuisance or inconvenient. Also, by using captions instead of sound you can store up to 15 minutes of movies on a single floppy, as compared to the one-minute limitation for sound-enhanced movies.
ScreenCam is an excellent product for creating presentations that help you show--rather than describe--how to get something done. With Version 2.0 your presentations will look better and, thanks to the program's sound compression, be easier to distribute.
It's as easy to make a ScreenCam movie as it is to operate a VCR--but you won't be harassed by a flashing "12: 00" on its display panel.
-- Info File --
Lotus ScreenCam 2.0
Price: Not set at press time
Lotus Development Corp.
800-343-5414, 617-577-8500
By James E. Powell
The name Norton is synonymous with helpful utilities, and Norton Utilities for Windows 95 is no exception. It offers continuous, automatic system protection. System Doctor constantly monitors system resources and data integrity. When it finds a potential problem, it alerts you, takes corrective action (such as defragging your hard disk) and lets you launch the proper utility. System Doctor also allows you to set thresholds for action (such as when disk fragmentation hits a particular percent of your hard disk), and it supports compressed drives.
You may want to pick up Norton Utilities before you load Windows 95. Its preinstallation tune-up features, including a Space Wizard that frees up disk space in temporary files or directories, are most helpful. The UnErase Wizard protects against accidentally erasing files. You can create a bootable emergency diskette, too.
When you want to snoop around your system, the new System Information utility provides benchmark information and a detailed memory map. It can make over 80 different measurements, such as CPU utilization and network throughput.
The integration of utilities is the principal feature that separates Norton from its competitors. For example, if Speed Disk finds a file error while it is defragging your hard disk, it launches Disk Doctor to fix it right then and there.
--Info File--
Norton Utilities for Windows 95
Price: $119 (street); upgrade, $59 (street)
In Brief: The seamless integration of these utilities sets this package off from its competitors.
Disk Space: 13MB }
System Resources: Varies by module
RAM: 4MB
Symantec Corp.
800-441-7234, 503-334-6054
By: James E. Powell
When two applications want the same comm port at the same time, Windows says, "No." But TurboCommander PRO says, "Yes."
The program is a breeze to set up and use. After installation, I launched TurboCommander Pro. I then started Microsoft Remote Mail, followed by E-Mail Connection to check MCI and CompuServe for e-mail. TurboCommander managed the programs' conflicting requests for the same comm port and deftly yielded it to E-Mail Connection. When I was done, I closed E-Mail Connection and the port was returned to Remote Mail. I tested TurboCommander with four different communications programs open simultaneously and had the same success.
TurboCommander's status window shows the current data-transfer rate along with a set of indicators that mimic a modem's lights and flash for sending, receiving and so forth. You can also view detailed information, such as the current baud rate, parity setting and number of stop bits.
The standard version of the TurboCommander handles four ports (instead of Pro's nine) and doesn't include a set of sophisticated debugging utilities that the Pro edition has. However, these utilities came in handy when I installed the company's dual serial-port board and ran into problems because of the way my Gateway 486/33 controls COM1 and COM2.
One of TurboCommander's utilities monitors the communications API and shows the functions the application is using. A global log utility reveals which functions failed because they addressed unsupported or nonexistent ports, and a third shows the contents of the Device Control Block (DCB) and Device Equipment Block (DEB). Based on the information these utilities gleaned, Pacific CommWare was able to diagnose the interference between the Gateway's built-in ports and the new board's COM3 and COM4.
You can configure comm ports and drivers from TurboCommander, including the IRQ and address of each port. The program replaces the standard Windows comm drivers and supports communications up to 115.2Kbps.
TurboCommander Pro is a must-have for anyone who spends a lot of time with a modem and several communications programs.
Info File
TurboCommander Pro 1.0
Price: $99.95; standard version, $49.95
Disk Space Required: 1MB
System Resources: 4%
RAM: 4MB
Pacific CommWare
800-856-3818, 503-482-2744
by: Rich Castagna
While few Windows devotees doubt the benefits of Windows 95, many wonder how well their current hardware will support the new operating system. WIN'95 Advisor, a Windows 3.1 utility, can determine if your PC will be an adequate platform for Windows 95.
When I started a beta version of WIN'95 Advisor, it analyzed the state of the parts that make up my system. During this process, it dipped out to DOS and returned a minute or two later to report its results in a window dominated by a large dial gauge. The gauge pointer swept around the dial and stopped at 71, the overall Windows 95 suitability rating for my system.
To the left of the dial, WIN'95 Advisor summarized my system's components, and below, a big button indicated that 71 was a "Good" score. Five buttons on the right side offered details of system, memory, disk, media and bonus results.
A click on the Good button revealed WIN'95 Advisor's final verdict: "Your system can safely run Windows 95." The five buttons provided more details and tallied points for each category. My disk was rated at 12 points out of a possible 15--it had ample capacity but if I didn't delete files, Windows 95 would gobble up most of the free space. You can drill down to more information, too, including graphical representations of the test results.
My system's 16MB of RAM got a thumbs-up and the CD-ROM drive was a plus. Win'95 Advisor wasn't impressed with the CPU, awarding 15 of 20 points for the 66MHz 486 processor. It was downright disappointed with the BIOS and ISA bus, doling out a measly score of 1 (out of a possible 6) for each.
In the Bonus category, the system picked up points for a video adapter running at 800x600, a fax modem, a sound card and ample ports.
Advisor's Clean-Up utility, which ferrets out and deletes old and redundant files, will help get your machine up to snuff. The program also includes a list of Windows 95-compatible devices, including PCs and Plug-and-Play peripherals. Another long list provides the names of hardware and software vendors and their phone numbers.
WIN'95 Advisor is not a performance tuner for Windows 95, so be sure to use it before you start shoveling Windows 95 diskettes into your PC.
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WIN'95 Advisor
Price: $39.95 (street)
TouchStone Software Corp.
800-531-0450, 714-969-7746
By James E. Powell
If you spend a lot of time downloading files from online services, you know how much you need an unzipping utility. WinZip is a good one. Once it's installed, you need only double-click on any archived file in Explorer, drag and drop a file onto the
WinZip icon, or use the standard Open option when selecting a file and using the right mouse button. WinZip opens a list of the files within the compressed file, including their date and time, size and compression ratio, as well as the number of compressed bytes. When you drag a noncompressed file to WinZip, the program can easily add it to the archive it has listed.
Naturally, you can extract files from within a Zip file. If it's an executable file, it will be launched. Otherwise, Windows 95 opens the file with the application noted in the Registry.
Printed documentation is not included, but the program is so simple to install and operate that the online help should suffice.
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WinZip 6.0
Price: $29
In Brief: File compression and decompression are fully integrated into Explorer and the Windows 95 desktop.
Disk Space: 0.73MB
System Resources: 2%
RAM: 4MB
Nico Mak Computing
800-242-4775, 713-524-6394 (order from Public Software Library)