The set of Spreadsheet Composer documents comprises the following.

	ReadMe.txt (This file which includes the program history.)
	Composer Overview.txt
	Composer.xla
	Composer Guide.doc

Spreadsheet Composer can be installed as follows.

It is assumed that Microsoft Excel and Word are both installed on your computer. 

Determine the directory on your hard disk which normally holds ".... xla' files.  Typically, this might be "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Library".  Add the file "Composer.xla" to this directory.

Open an Excel worksheet and select "Add-Ins" from the "Tools" menu.  Select "Browse" and then find and highlight the "Composer.xla" file. Select "OK" and "Spreadsheet Composer" will appear as an option in the add-ins list.  Select this option and then select "OK". Spreadsheet Composer is now installed.

Now read the introduction to Spreadsheet Composer in the Word document 'Composer Guide'.

Do not move any of the Spreadsheet Composer files from their original directory or the program may fail to function correctly. 

Spreadsheet Composer was developed under Excel 97.  It has been tested under Excel 2000 and appears to run correctly.  


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SPREADSHEET COMPOSER HISTORY
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ISSUE 1.0:  NOVEMBER 2003
Initial issue.

ISSUE 1.1: JANUARY 2004
Update to address a potential bug.

One potential user reported a problem arising from use of the 'Copy' button.  The author has been unable to replicate this fault, but has nevertheless rewritten the code in order to avoid potential problems of the type reported.  If any further problems do occur, arising from the use of the 'Copy' button, then it is conceivable that they might be avoided by ensuring that all windows are closed other the window for 'Spreadsheet Composer'. 

The author would be interested to hear of any apparent bugs, the exact conditions under which they arose and, where relevant, any work around.   

ISSUE 2.0: July 2004
Reissued as freeware, following a failure to attract interest as shareware.


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CONTACT WITH THE AUTHOR
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Please write to me telling me of your experience with this software.  (Send your views to Admin@dustfreesolutions.com with the heading 'Spreadsheet Composer Correspondence'.)  I would be interested to hear whether Spreadsheet Composer operates with the more recent versions of Excel.  I would also be interested to hear of any limitations, (though, now that the software is free, there is a limit to the level of support that I am prepared to offer).  If you use the software and find it helpful, then it is polite to send off a quick e-mail to say 'thank you'.

For anyone else who is considering producing shareware in this field, here is my experience.  I chose a relatively expensive price (50 USD) for my shareware because I had read that people didn't take business shareware too seriously if it was too cheap.  Perhaps I should have chosen a cheaper price.  I had been advised that it would have been better to sell my program via 'RegNow' rather than via shareware.  The problem with this is that I needed my program to be thoroughly evaluated first, so I needed some initial success via the shareware route.  However, I didn't receive any significant response to my shareware despite the fact that I achieved a good number of downloads.  Perhaps there was a bug in the program that people did not make the effort to tell me about.  Perhaps shareware is dead, other than for a few select mega-applications.  I would be interested to hear of anyone else's experience.


Terry Johnson

July 2004
