Quartam Reports Released

[SimPLsol at aol.com]

Dan,
     That was NOT a quick judgment call. I met with Jan at Mac World in 
January of 2004. We talked for 5 hours. I was adamant about the necessity to 
accommodate data in scrolling fields. I have repeatedly told Kevin why this is 
necessary. I have repeatedly volunteered to be a beta tester for any reports system 
they wanted my to help test.
     I have actually been extremely patient. We have all been patient. 
Revolution promised a report maker for version 2.0, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5 (where they took 
away everything else and told us to expect "a third party alternative"). 
Revolution STILL does not have a viable report maker.
     You ask:
          "Nothing about all the great stuff it DOES make possible?"
     Well Dan, if you buy a cookbook and   then find it doesn't have any 
recipes, it doesn't make any difference if it is lavishly illustrated or if it 
contains wise and witty saying - it won't help you cook! A modern report maker 
MUST accommodate scrolling fields! There is no need to look further.
     Consolidating data can be done in a stack; you don't need a report maker 
for that. You don't need (and probably don't want) HTML text. The bells and 
whistles can't hide the fact that Quartam Reports doesn't do basic the basic 
stuff it needs to do.
     I have spent over 30 years designing business systems. I have used a lot 
of programs. Anything I'd use today would accommodate scrolling fields. 
Modern Invoices, Statements, Quotes, Contracts require them - unless I confine my 
business to companies that only write one page orders...
     Today we still cannot build a business system in Revolution that has repo
rting capabilities equal to circa 1992 HyperCard.
     So, it was not a quick call, just a slow boil.
Paul Looney