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The Windows presentation graphics market has heated up considerably this year, as developers vie to produce the best combination of clear, good-looking output with intuitive, easy-to-use interfaces. Even DOS stalwarts Freelance and Harvard Graphics have leapt upon the Windows bandwagon.
Lotus has beaten Software Publishing Corp.'s Harvard Graphics for Windows to market with the release of Freelance Graphics for Windows 1.0. This product gives Lotus a Freelance package on three platforms: DOS, Windows, and OS/2.
In one fell swoop, Freelance Graphics for Windows leapfrogs its aging sibling Freelance Graphics for DOS (see product comparison, September 16, page 61) and stands tall among the Windows-based packages, which include Aldus Persuasion and Microsoft PowerPoint. Freelance Graphics for Windows one-ups the competition with full presentation features and optimal layout designs, while providing great ease of use.
FEATURES:
Freelance Graphics for Windows typifies state-of-the-art presentation software. It has top-down organization that lets you concentrate on producing quick presentations that are coherently organized and aesthetically presented. Although it has shortcomings in some specific capabilities, overall it's a top-notch example of how a Windows package can be sophisticated and intuitive.
Freelance Graphics for Windows offers the standard presentation graphics features found in other packages, such as an outliner, clip art, and charting. However, this package includes three notable features. First, SmartMasters offers 60 predesigned layouts with eight blank-page formats. All layouts are fully customizable, and you can create your own. Second, Freelance offers SmartIcons, which are single-click buttons for accessing often-used menu commands. Finally, this program is tightly integrated with Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows, Ami Pro 2.0, and cc:Mail 1.1.
We tested Freelance Graphics for Windows on a 33-MHz 486 system with an internal math coprocessor, 256K of cache, 8 megabytes of memory, an 800-by-600 Super VGA adapter and monitor, and Epson EX-800 dot-matrix and Hewlett-Packard LaserJet II printers.
Scores are based on the criteria we used in our last presentation graphics product comparison. (See September 16, page 61.)
PERFORMANCE:
Presentation organization: Freelance Graphics for Windows has a complete repertoire of presentation tools. As with the best packages, Freelance Graphics for Windows stores your complete presentation--including your data, charts, palettes, and formats--in one presentation file. This allows you to easily edit your presentation globally.
Lotus includes an outliner for making...