From: Conrad_Geiger@NeXT.com (Conrad Geiger - Manager, International NeXT User Groups)
Newsgroups: biz.next.newprod
Subject: Xanthus Announces Questor, Spreadsheet Application for NeXTSTEP
Date: 18 Dec 92 19:05:50 GMT
Reply-To: user_groups@next.com

For more information please contact:

   Jesper Lundh
   Phone:+46-8-612 89 95
   Fax:+46-8-612 89 96
   Email:questor@xanthus.se


Xanthus International Announces Questor,
the State-of-the-art Spreadsheet Application for NeXTSTEP


Stockholm, November 17, 1992 - Xanthus International AB today
announced Questor, its spreadsheet application for the NeXTSTEP
computing environment.

Aimed at everybody that has been waiting for a high quality
matrix-based spreadsheet application tailored for the NeXTSTEP
environment, Questor offers the ease-of-use of traditional
spreadsheet applications combined with the extra power offered by
NeXTSTEP.

For example, Questor can easily retrieve data from relational
databases like Oracle and Sybase using the Database Kit in NeXSTEP
and display the data in full color charts that can be placed in
other documents and automatically updated by the Object Linking
mechanism of NeXTSTEP.

"Questor brings the power of the Database Kit to everybody," says
Jesper Lundh, marketing manager at Xanthus."Questor will increase
the productivity of anybody with a computer running NeXTSTEP on
their desk."

Questor is the perfect tool for all the things traditionally done
with spreadsheet applications, like budgets, scientific calculations,
creating tables and charts for presentations etc. In addition to the
basic spreadsheet power, Questor comes with user interface objects
like buttons and sliders as well as a powerful and easy-to-use
scripting language called QScript. These tools will allow users to
customize spreadsheets to perform very specific tasks.

The open architecture of Questor, with an extremely powerful API,
also lets users control spreadsheets from other applications written
in objective-C and Questor to control any other application with a
Speaker/Listener interface through the QScript language.

Selected Questor features:

 - A structured scripting language - QScript with an
"intelligent" editor including automatic pretty-printing and
programming support. QScript allows you to customize your spreadsheet
to perform very specific tasks.

 - Input controllers like buttons, text-fields and sliders can be
drag-and-dropped anywhere on the spreadsheet and connected to QScript
code or directly to cells by control-dragging.

 - Images and sound can be drag-and-dropped anywhere on the
spreadsheet to create stunning documents including graphics and sound
effects.

 - "Output objects" like charts and gauges can be drag-and-dropped
anywhere on the spreadsheet and be connected to cell areas by
control-dragging for continuous updating.

 - Drawing tools that allows you to draw directly on the spreadsheet.

 - Seamless connections to relational databases like Oracle and
Sybase using the Database Kit in NeXTSTEP.

 - A powerful double-directed API that allows Questor to easily control
and exchange data with other applications.

 - External functions can be written in C or in QScript and be loaded
into Questor for easy extensibility.

 - A ToolBox that includes object palettes and a number of other
tools that removes the need of modal panels for filling, searching
and sorting data. The ToolBox also includes complete scripting
support.

 - Full support for user palettes. Users can easily create new
palettes with customized charts, graphics and control objects.

 - Full support for Lotus 1-2-3d bracket-macros.

 - Unlimited undo.

 - Full support for object linking.

 - The Questor QScript Debugger which allows functions to be debugged
is a seamless manner.

 - The Questor Macro Stepper which allows macros to be debugged on
different levels of granularity.

 - Basic support for multi-user access. Several users can look at the
same document, but only one can open it in read/write mode. Users
with a document opened in read-only mode are notified as soon as the
disk version of the document changes.

Questor is now beta tested at selected beta sites.

Questor will be available Q1 1993 through selected resellers
worldwide.

Xanthus International, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, is a
privately owned software development company that specializes in the
NeXTSTEP platform. Questor is the fourth in a series of
general-purpose productivity tools for NeXTSTEP. In May 1992, Xanthus
started to ship its first product CraftMan, the multimedia
programming tool for the NeXT computer. The second product was
LaserMan, a tool for controlling Laser Disc Players and other devices
from a NeXT computer.  The third product was SplitBuilder/Receiver, a
tool for sending large files via NeXTmail. LaserMan and
SplitBuilder/Receiver started to ship in September 1992. Xanthus
International was founded in 1990.


NeXT and NeXTSTEP are trademarks of NeXT Computer Inc.