When I reviewed Acornsoft's ViewStore database management ROM in Beebug Vol. 4 No. 5, I was full of praise for this excellent piece of software. I did, however, point out that to get the full power from this package, you needed to study the manual very carefully. Perhaps I should have been more forthright and said that the manual was not as easy to follow as it should have been and lacked in detail in certain areas.

This criticism I think would also apply to the manuals that accompany the rest of the View family. The View productivity software suite is indeed excellent and powerful, but the manuals are neither comprehensive, nor easy to follow, particularly for those new to computing.

Dabs Press has not been slow to seize on this long-standing weakness, and following on from its initial Dabhand Guide to View, it has now released a guide to both ViewSheet and ViewStore in one book.

The Dabhand Guide to ViewSheet and ViewStore is a 340 page spiral-bound book aimed at thoce who want to get the best from their View database and spreadsheet. It is written by Graham Bell who is the editor of Acorn User.

The book is a complete tutorial and reference guide to both software packages, and contains several examples of setting up and using a database and a spreadsheet. A number of very useful utility programs are included, and these can be purchased on disc at a cost of £7.95 if you do not want the chore of typing them in.

Apart from clarifying and expanding on the information in the original manuals, the book provides a host of hints and tips, which make using both pieces of software that much simpler and quicker. Also provided are some excellent quick reference guides to both commands and error messages.

To give a detailed breakdown of the matter covered by this book is not really within the scope of this review, as there is just so much information on both pieces of software. Suffice to say that it is very comprehensive indeed, and certainly provides answers to the many questions left by the original manuals. As an example, the REPORT utility in ViewStore is one which has caused problems to many, myself included, as the detail in the original manual was so vague. This book has a large section devoted to this particular area. By use of several examples it unveils the mysteries and enables the setting up of some very complex reports with relative ease.

The book is written in an easy to follow style and should find favour with both newcomers and old hands. There are numerous examples which help to illustrate the areas covered. In addition to the information on ViewSheet and ViewStore, the author has provided details of ViewPlot and the OverView package for the Master.

In conclusion, I can find little to criticise in this book. It is well-written, instructive and informative, and provides all the right kind of information that users of ViewSheet and ViewStore are likely to need. Highly recommended.