Ragtime 5.0.1
Company: B & E Software GmbH
US Distributor: ComGrafix
Estimated Price: $495
Upgrade: $195
Educational: $145
http://www.comgrafix.com
http://www.besoftware.com

Overview
Ragtime 5 is an integrated office suite for professional document processing. It provides an electronic container that can hold: text objects that have excellent layout features; drawings or graphics; true three-dimensional spreadsheets; pictures; sounds; movies; and even buttons. Ragtime's components are not stand alone pieces; they are all part of the same document. There is no need to connect documents, re-import files, or cut and paste data.

Ragtime can be used as just a word processor by creating a text document and not including any other data types. However, if needed, other data types can easily be inserted at a later time.

Robust support of AppleScript permits automated processing of repetitive tasks. The recording capabilities make it easy to make and use scripts with Ragtime.

Master layouts facilitate the maintenance of page layouts. The word processor supports multiple columns and text flows around irregular shapes. It is WorldScript II compatible and uses Unicode for worldwide document exchange. Automatic generation of index, table of contents, and footnotes are included. The three-dimensional spreadsheet cells can serve as containers for all data types, as can all containers.

Ragtime 5 includes support for ICC color matching profiles, and uses the LAB color space, the largest color space available. It performs conversions of the color space of imported files to allow integration of multiple files with different color spaces in one Ragtime document.

An inventory gives an ordered overview of all the components in a document, easing the administration of large documents.

Ragtime comes with English, French, German, and Swiss-German versions on one CD. It is available for Macintosh and Windows.

MS Office Killer?
Ragtime is being used by the state government of one of the largest (population) states in the USA to prepare their annual reports, so it is making inroads into the office suite market.

Features include full word processing capabilities, flexible document layout controls (which appear to be capable of professional print document creation), stationery, master documents, style sheets (not just for text but also for drawing objects such as lines), a more than full featured spreadsheet, a large set of drawing tools, buttons and drop-down menus which can be included in any component, dictionaries, and extensions for document import/export, etc. Functionality can be extended by the use of modular extensions (plug-ins). Recent additions are the capability to do presentation slides (with an optional SlideTime plug-in), and to import FileMaker databases (using the FileTime plug-in).

Ragtime uses a container/object paradigm similar to Apple's OpenDoc technology. This SHOULD be the future of document formats, since it greatly simplifies the task of organizing different types of data and different document types into one overall container, simplifying the user's tasks.

You can add components to a Ragtime layout using familiar tools, menus, or by using drag and drop. B&E includes an extension to allow the use of OpenDoc Live Objects. Ragtime has toolbars that change to match the context of the task in progress.

Each component of Ragtime (text container, spreadsheet container, etc.) has all the capabilities of all the components, since any component can be included in each other one. All components have access to formatting, style, layout, and template options, making this a very powerful package. For example, spell check not only checks the text in text containers, it also checks the words in spreadsheets, axis labels in graphs, and labels for drawings and graphics. Number formats work in spreadsheets, text, graphs, etc. However, spell check requires the purchase of an optional dictionary CD.

The broad range of components are well integrated. You can start with a layout and incorporate any mix of component types, or you can start with a text component and add spreadsheets, drawings, graphs, etc. as desired.

Exchanging data between Ragtime and other applications is easy. Ragtime can import from and export to many popular formats, including most word processors, drawing programs and spreadsheets. Ragtime also supports drag-and-drop editing. Ragtime includes extensions for import and export of data with AppleWorks, Word 97/6, Excel 5, and fax, RTF, SLYK, and XTND formats. Several foreign language dictionaries are available for purchase.

I was able to import MS Word 6 (Mac and PC), 97 (PC), and 98 (Mac) documents. I had no Word 2000 files to try, but the converter is present in the install (it is labeled "Microsoft Word 97 Converter" in the Finder, but lists Word 97/98/2000 in the dropdown menu inside the program). I normally use WordPerfect and AppleWorks, not MS Word. Ragtime imports files from the latest WordPerfect for Macintosh. I was unable to import AppleWorks 5 files.

Of interest to those of us who push other spreadsheet programs to or beyond their functionality limits, Ragtime has a true three-dimensional spreadsheet. This means that a single spreadsheet can be made up of planes, and formulas can address the set of planes in one range statement, e.g., Sum([1]A1:[8]D8). This gives the user the capability to easily model complex real-world systems, such as the three-dimensional concentrations of hazardous material in a dispersing vapor plume. Microsoft Excel, for all its bloating in recent years, still does not have this capability, which is severely restrictive to users such as myself (I specialize in hazardous and energetic material predictive accident analyses).

Ragtime comes with a GIS mapping extension, which I did not attempt to use. This extension is documented on both the ComGrafix and B&E Software websites.

The B&E Software website includes several FAQs, including one with AppleScript scripts for creating and exporting emails with Ragtime.

Moderate Curves Ahead
Since this application is such a leap from current office suites, the learning curve is a bit steep. And the interface is unique at times, which also makes the learning process a little more involved. Some options are only available when certain objects are selected, which can be a bit confusing when you try to locate that particular option again.

The documentation is extensive, and includes detailed tutorials which cover the range of use from beginner to advanced user. However, when going beyond the tutorials the reference documentation is sometimes sparse on examples, so it sometimes takes a little experimentation to make the more advanced instructions work.

One feature that I had trouble with was the inability to select a range of spreadsheet cells when the desired starting cell was already selected. The program insisted on moving the selected cell instead of extending the selection. An easy work-around is the use the "shift" key and click in the final cell of the desired range to extend the selection.

Requirements
Power Macintosh, System 7.1.2, 16 MB RAM, 30 MB HD space, CD-ROM drive (Mac OS 8.x or later, 32 MB RAM, 73 MB HD space recommended).

Summary
Ragtime is a viable alternative to the current top office suite. The powerful capabilities of Ragtime make the learning effort well worthwhile. The convenience of having multiple data/program file types in one layout is a considerable benefit. The three-dimensional spreadsheet capabilities make the program compelling for advanced spreadsheet users, in my opinion.

MacMice Rating: 3.5

David E. Price
david@mymac.com