** PD/Shareware / 480 words **
90%
Utility/Business
Shiuming Lai
Shareware
1Mb memory, all resolutions 640x400 (ST high) and above, SpeedoGDOS/NVDI 3 or higher

GRAPH 1.49

Shiuming Lai test drives some Gallic graphs...

Ever judged a book by its cover? We all know we shouldn't and it was in this spirit I started to review Graph. I was expecting a simple graph plotting utility and instead I got a modern GEM interface offering an amazing range of options to display data as graphs.
Graph, programmed by Bernard Le Tirant in France, includes basic text handling features but really comes into its own when used to do the job it was designed for - displaying graphs!
Data can be imported or entered directly, then manipulated in a similar manner to a spreadsheet, assisted by a comprehensive selection of standard mathematical functions in the calculator.
Graphs can be displayed in various styles including line, scatter, pie chart, histogram and so on. Each includes its own parameters enabling fine tuning. For example a line graph can be set to use "spline-interpolation" which guesstimates a smooth curve from just a few data points.
At least one concession to presentation seems to be on hold - there's a greyed-out option for 3D pie charts, in fact the overall style of graphs, and the amount of control allowed over them, suggests Graph is aimed at scientific use.
As a stand alone program, Graph performs admirably but used in conjunction with other programs such as Papyrus it really comes into its own. 
Graph requires GDOS and is happiest with either SpeedoGDOS 5 or NVDI 3 or later which provide access to vector fonts.
Editing individual page elements is achieved by invoking external programs. For example, I set up Kandinsky as my preferred GEM metafile editor. If the author added support for the OLGA protocol Graph could automatically communicate with other applications further enhancing its usefulness.
Two versions of Graph are supplied, one for standard STs, the other for machines with a 68030 processor (or later) and a 68882 maths co-processor. Operation is generally fast, even on an ST, with enhanced features MultiTOS/WINX users.
Unfortunately some minor window redraw bugs have appeared, since the author fixed some earlier problems but these do not seem to impede performance. I'd also like to see keyboard shortcuts added, especially the keyboard shortcut for cycling windows ([Control]+W).
Graph is shareware without restrictions - which is unusual these days, so if you find yourself using Graph regularly, repay the author's trust and send the £20 registration fee to:
Bernard Le Tirant, 37 Av Alsace Lorraine, F-38000 GRENOBLE, France
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** Captions and images **
** MAIN.GIF **
Simply a breeze to use, even first time results look great!
** EDITMENU.GIF **
A bit of French polish in the layout selection menu
** TOOLBAR.GIF **
Clicking the right mouse button pops up this handy toolbar
** EXAMPLE.GIF **
A five minute job!