OVER 2 YOU, 019 (01/03/01)

SEATING PLANS

I have to do seating plans for functions for up to 250 people. I hear that there is some software for doing this but have been unable to find out the name or address. 

Ann Ball, via email

There is seating plan software available as part of party/wedding planning shareware available from:

www.altrealityinc.com/wedplan/demo.htm   

www.fivestarsoftware.com

www.rad-solutions.co.uk

All are available as free trial downloads to try before you buy. I can't vouch for the relative merits of any of them as I have only just downloaded the demos myself but the on-line hype is impressive.

Liz Kershaw,

Choreosoft, based in the United States, produce wedding software which from the description on their website seems to track all wedding details as well as produce a seating plan. The advertised cost is about $40 plus postage and packing. Their website is http://www.choreosoft.com/ I also found a Company called Tidy at http://www.tidy.co.uk/SeatPlanProduct.htm but it is vastly more expensive costing an advertised price of £499 upwards (to £8,000!!) There is also Smart Wedding at http://www.smartwedding.com where you can download a free demonstration (over 10Mb), which you can convert to the full program by ordering online. This is also in the USA and the advertised cost is $30 plus P&P

Bill Hall,

DANCE STEPS

My wife and I go Ballroom Dancing and when we learn a new figure I try and write down the steps as soon as we get home. The problem is that, in a couple of weeks time, when I go to refresh my memory, the long hand instructions often don't make sense. Before I start the laborious business of doing them myself, does anyone know where I can get the footprint graphics that are often used in books to illustrate the steps?

Laurie Harris

I suggest that the couple should buy Guy Howard's book, Technique of Ballroom Dancing published by International Dance Publications, Bennett Road, Brighton.

It doesn't contain footprints of the steps but it does explain all the technical terms and gives detailed step by step instructions for all the standard ballroom figures for both man and lady in Quickstep, Waltz, Foxtrot and Tango. My wife and I used it when preparing for the professional ballroom teachers exam last year.

Jeff Ramsden,

MUSIC PROGRAMS

As an amateur pianist who is frequently called on to entertain groups of pensioners or disabled folk I find it necessary to compile music programs which demands recourse to a list of light music titles.  As matters stand I resort to publishers printed catalogues and my own memory but the idea would be a computerised database to which I have added notes to classify the various titles by style such as sing along, dance, jazz, etc and to indicate speed, musical key, etc. I have from time to time contemplated compiling my own database using Excel or Access which would take a great deal of time I can ill afford. It would help enormously if a basic list of titles was already available from some source and if so, I would be most grateful for advice where it could be obtained.
D G Clarke, via email

May I suggest that he attempts to acquire a copy of Masterfile PC. This runs in DOS and is a relic from the Spectrum days of computing. However, it is the best data base programme I have come across. It is simple to use and highly adaptive to individual needs. On a modern PC it is lightning fast. It was originally produced by Campbell Systems in Enfield but I think they have gone out of business.
Eddie Pugh,

PHOTOGRAPHER

I am a photographer who is looking for a website, which gives information on lighting techniques and technical information. For instance I may have a photographic idea, but need some information on how to approach that kind the shot for best results. The site may give lighting plans, which could be used as a guide. I know most photographers know their craft, but this can sometimes be a money saver, when working in a highly competitive industry.

Matthew Guy, via email
 

Best suggestion I can think of for anyone who is serious about photography is to apply to join the AOP (Association Of Photographers). Among all the other brilliant benefits we have an e-mail forum.  Post a technical question there and see how many lovely people rush to your aid - You will be very pleasantly surprised. If you are interested check it out www.aophoto.co.uk

George Solomonides,

The Kodak site provides comprehensive information to assist the photographer, categorised by "Lighting", "Exposure", "Composition, "Choosing Film" etc. It may be found at www.kodak.com, and then by following the links through "KODAK e-magazine" and then "Guide to Better Pictures"
Andrew McNeillis,

HERALDRY

Is there a software program available for designing heraldic coats of arms?  The only one I've seen was a sub-program of a family history package and had a very limited library of creatures etc.  I would appreciate one that spoke the rather esoteric language of heraldry too!

Steve Wilson, via email

Try the Home Views Clipart collection at www.homepage.ntlworld.com/rtallen. This contains .wmf files which can be transformed and combined and has subjects such as shields, beasts, plants and weapons.
R. T. Allen,

100 CLUB

Can you tell me if you know of any software, which is available to run a '100 Club'?  We need to administer the members etc. and generate the winning numbers.

Judith Stodel, via email

For several years now I have run a ‘100’ Club, although with about 115 members subscribing to over 250 units. We have a monthly draw with five prizes with a sixth, large, prize every quarter. Ours is in fact called a 50/50 Club because we distribute one-half of all subscriptions as prizes, the other half being retained by our Association. I use 3 spreadsheets in an Excel workbook. The first is a straightforward members address database (‘DBASE’) for labels etc, the second (‘UNITS’) has the name of the member against each unit number and shows details of prizes won, together with a running summary of number and percentage of winning members, also of winning units, and shows checks against bank balances and amounts distributed/retained.

The third worksheet (‘DRAWS’) and perhaps the one stumping Judith Stodel is the one used for the monthly draws. The 5 or 6 prize amounts are listed in one column, and in the next column the winning numbers are generated by the following formula/functions: TRUNC(RAND()*n)+1, copied into each corresponding cell where n is the total number of units in the draw. This can, however, be automatically inserted into the formula from the ‘UNITS’ sheet.

The actual draw is made by pressing SHIFT+F9. The winners’ names are then filled in the adjacent cells by reference to the 'UNITS' sheet, at the same time the prizes are recorded on that sheet against the units.  Occasionally the same number will be thrown up against two prize amounts, in which case a second ‘draw’ is made for that prize.

David Gowers,

CAN YOU HELP?

We are a Church of England Church in South London and we would like to do our accounts with more user-friendly software.  The present Treasurer is fairly computer literate but whoever takes over in the future may not be as good. We need to have a package that is very easy to learn, use and produce accurate results to send off to the auditor once a year.  Can anyone suggest a package that will suit us? We have not only the church accounts but also those of our hall and any fundraising that we do.
Sarah Bucknell, via email

Are there any British residents chat rooms in France?  If so, can anyone supply any addresses?  

Charles Hall, via email

I have 60 photographs of black and white handprints. I would like to know what area consists of black and white (and also different shades of grey)? Is there a program that can do such a thing? This is for my dissertation experiment, taking 60 Kirlian photographs. I need to measure the change in the corona electrical discharge around the handprints.

Mr.Preston Lee, via email

I need to plan car rallies without being forced to take the quickest/shortest routes. I can get MS Autoroute to take the roads I choose by inserting zero length stops, but this clutters up the itinerary instructions and covers the map with labels. Does anyone know of a program, which allows 'way-points' to be chosen, without such clutter?
David Dudley, via email