Bye Design Ltd SpreadCE 2.02

John Ottini | Handheld PC Reviews
March 16, 2008

Stephen Bye of Bye Design LTD has been fine tuning his SpreadCE (Handheld PC version) and Spread32 (desktop PC version) spreadsheet software since 1999 and in all honesty the product keeps getting better and better with each release.
Version 2.02 of SpreadCE is packed with many great features and options not found in Microsoft’s Pocket Excel software, the ROM based spreadsheet found in most Handheld PCs. The many shortcomings of Pocket Excel, is probably the main reason why several developers have forayed into the HPC spreadsheet market with very positive results.
This software supports literally hundreds of functions, and provides so many great features, that it is realistically impossible for me supply in-depth information on many aspects of this software. Therefore, my modest goal, is to provide an overview of what SpreadCE has offer and encourage readers to visit the informative Bye Design LTD website for more specific details.

The Basics

I’m not sure that the maximum size of a spreadsheet is of great importance to the average HPC user, but if it is, then rest assured that SpreadCE can handle a 256 column by 65,636 row spreadsheet, with the option of creating up to 32,768 sheets. Sheets may consist of worksheets, chart sheets or macro sheets. Unlike Pocket Excel, SpreadCE allows you to open and close multiple spreadsheets, in fact, the number of spreadsheets you can have open is, unlimited.
The software supports all of the common math functions; add, subtract, divide multiply, percentages, square roots, etc and has a whopping 327 different worksheet functions. There are 176 macro functions for those who wish to create user defined commands and functions. The list of Functions include, database, time & date, engineering, financial, information, logical, reference/lookup, math/trig, statistical, text, macro control, macro command and last but not least DDE/external functions. Most of these functions far exceed my limited spreadsheet use and knowledge, but it’s good to know that they are there if I need them.

File and Editing Tools

File functions include; creating new, opening existing, closing and printing any spreadsheet. Edit functions include 16 levels of undo, cut/copy/paste, special paste, fill (up, down, left right, series), clear (all, formats, contents or comments), delete (rows, columns or entire sheets), sort, find and replace text or got to a different cell.

Insert & Formatting Tools

You can insert; rows, columns, worksheets, charts, macros, function, comments, Controls (label, group box, command button, check box, option button, list box, combo box, scroll box, scroll bar and spin control), drawing and even hyperlinks.
A large array of formatting options are also available to format, cells, rows/columns, sheets (rename, hide/unhide gridlines & headings, protect, freeze, zoom etc), font type, size and alignment, borders, patterns and much more. Cells can be protected by being hidden or locked.

Charting

SpreadCE allows you to create 8 different types of charts/graphs from spreadsheet data. These include, column, bar, line, pie, scatter, area, doughnut and radar. Once you’ve created the Chart, there are all sorts of formatting options that allow you modify the chart title, axes information, Legend layout etc, so that the graph looks just the way you want it to. There is still room for improvement in this area, but Bye Design LTD is always adding new functionality with each software update.

Important Tidbits

You can import or export Excel 95/97 files, Pocket Excel 2.0 files and CSV files. Toolbars, scrollbars, sheet tabs, formula bar, status bar, gridlines and headings can be displayed or hidden. Drawing tools include: line, rectangle, oval or text boxes.
I’m almost certain that I left out a number of details that might be important to some of you readers, but that’s why I suggest that you visit Bye Designs website or read the informative text files provided with the software.

Great Support

I’ve been a registered user of this software for several years and I have to admit that Stephen Bye, provides the best customer service for the HPC, bar none! He promptly responds to all emails and he is always open to suggestions on how to improve his product. He recently opened a user forum, at http://spreadce.freeforums.org/ which he monitors on a regular basis and is always ready to answer any and all questions you may have about his software.

Where can I get a Copy?

You can download a free trial version from the Bye Design website where he has a version for every HPC, OS and language imaginable. If you don’t see a version you want, just drop him an email and he will make every effort to help you get what you need. This software is offered as shareware, but a mere $20.00 USD (£14.71 GBP, €17.65 EUR, ¥2,287.94 JPY est.) USD buys you a lifetime of upgrades and support, so please register this software if you plan on using it past the 30 day period. Price, value and service are why; I highly recommend this excellent spreadsheet software!

System Requirements

Windows CE 2.00 or higher
StrongArm/XScale, SH3, SH4, MIPS, x86

More information on Bye Design Ltd SpreadCE 2.02 can be found at
https://www.byedesign.co.uk/

Ratings

Cost: Usability: Built-in Help: Customer Service: Overall:	Pros: Very user friendly, excellent charting and graphing functions, good value for the price Cons: Great for small to medium size spreadsheets, but slow when running very large spreadsheets

Further Discussion