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You use your Palm device to keep track of contacts, appointments, and to-do lists. If you're on the go and want to modify a spreadsheet, though, you've had to bring a notebook along. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way to crunch numbers on your Palm?

You can do just that with the $39.95 Quicksheet 5 from Cutting Edge Software. (Those who purchase before August 31, 2000, can buy Quicksheet 5 for $29.95.) Think of Quicksheet as a mini-Excel. The software includes a Palm application that you install on your handheld, as well as an add-in for Excel 5.0 or later that you install on your desktop system.

If you don't mind running spreadsheets on a small, low-resolution screen, you can have an honest-to-goodness spreadsheet running on your Palm or Handspring Visor. However, it's best to think small. While the program handled simple spreadsheets quite well, large and complicated worksheets are not what Quicksheet was designed to manage.

You can purchase Quicksheet from Cutting Edge Software on CD or as a download. The Web site offers a 15-day demo, as well as downloadable manuals.

You'll need a Palm III, IIIx, IIIe, IIIc, V, VII, or Vx; an IBM WorkPad; a Handspring Visor; or any Palm OS 3.x-compatible device. Also required is a desktop system with Windows 95, 98, NT, or 2000 and Microsoft Excel 5.0 or later, as well as HotSync 3.0 or later.

Excel With Quicksheet

Quicksheet supports Excel workbooks and individual worksheets. According to Cutting Edge Software, the program supports up to 996 rows by 254 columns per sheet. Quicksheet supports only Excel's 60 most frequently used formula functions, such as AVG (average) and SUM. And because Palms have limited memory and resources, Quicksheet supports only the most essential spreadsheet functions, such as worksheet grid, workbooks, and absolute and relative cell addresses. Advanced formula functions, Visual Basic, and built-in charting commands are not supported.

On your desktop system, Quicksheet creates a menu within Excel from which you can open and save Quicksheet files. You can also save new or existing Excel workbooks as Quicksheet files so that you can open and edit worksheets from either your desktop or your Palm. You can also create new worksheets from within Quicksheet. Whenever you perform a HotSync, modified Quicksheets are synchronized between your Palm and your PC.