Have not been able to get 123 r5 to run under Win2000 SP1. Has anyone had success getting it to work? Should it work? Is there a work-around if it doesn't out of the box? Thanks for any info!!!

If I recall, 123 R5 is dos-based. Correct? Turns-out Win2K, unlike Win95/98, is not. There is a DOS emulator program included with WIN2k (Command Prompt), but it does not run many of the more complicated dos-based application programs. I think your only work-around is to find something else (Excel?) to use.

For the Record:  1) Lotus 123 Release-5 is NOT DOS-based - it IS a genuine Windows application.  2) Lotus 123 Release-5 remains the product of choice amongst "power spreadsheet users" simply because it remains THE BEST PROGRAMMING TOOL on the market - to this day.  The reason ? - because it contains THE BEST programming language (bar none).  The Lotus "macro" language in Relase-5 is FAR SUPERIOR to Visual Basic (Excel) and Lotus Script (which is primarily a clone of Visual Basic.  Prediction:  Lotus/IBM will soon release a "next generation" spreadsheet which will include a "compiler".  They will likely purchase "Visual Baler", an existing spreadsheet compiler which has some bugs, eliminate those bugs and regain their position as NUMBER ONE SPREADSHEET IN THE WORLD.   ...Dale Watson

It's a pity that Dale Watson didn't answer the question about 123 Release 5 being compatible with Win2K. A program is no good if it doesn't run on current operating systems.

Well, on my own I've figured out the following:

123R5 is not so much incompatible with Win2K, as it is incompatible with a Win2K install that has the Novell Client for NT loaded. No Novell client = no problems. Novell client loaded = headaches!

That's been my experience thus far.

We use Novell Client 4.8 on our Win2K computers, so that't why we have trouble as well. Unfortunately I don't have the option of not using the Novell client.

I hope there is another answer.

John

I've been researching this for quite some time and can't come up with a fix to the Win2K/Novell problem as of yet. Right now, we can't get rid of the client either for the time being. Novell's site doesn't even seem to acknowledge the problem. Only Lotus' knowledge base has any references to the Novell tie-in to the problem. Please post something here if you learn anything new, and I'll do the same. Good luck!

I think I found one solution to the Novell problem.  If you have PCAnywhere installed uninstall it and it should work.

My problem was that I got a new computer last week with Windows 2000 and I was having performance problems with Lotus 5.0.  Whenever I loaded more than 3 spreadsheets, it took 30 seconds just to change the column width one character. The same went for exiting out of the files. Everything was slowed down about 50 times.  I went over to a friends work and installed Lotus on a machine without the Novell client. It worked fine. Then I talked to the IT Manager at my organization and he remembered a Novell techdoc on PCAnywhere and suggested that I uninstall it. I did and now Lotus works fine.

If you have PCAnywhere, try uninstalling it and see if that makes a difference. I'm curious to see if that is the main problem everyone is having.

I hope this solution will solve everyone's problem with Lotus 1-2-3 Release 5 on Windows 2000 SP1 running Novell Client 4.8 for Windows NT/2000.  I had no problem installing Lotus 1-2-3 R5W, nor running it once.  However, when a user closed and re-opened Lotus 1-2-3, it caused a general protection fault (GPF) in one of the DLL files.  The first solution was to reboot, but that took too long.  Then I discovered that Windows 2000 runs wowexec.exe in the background in order to run Lotus 123 r5w.  When the user closed Lotus, wowexec.exe remained running in the background.  With wowexec.exe running in the background, a subsequent start-up of Lotus would cause the GPF.  I verified this by ending the wowexec.exe process through the task list manager, and restarting Lotus.  So, the next thing to do was to find a way so that it would not be necessary for a user to end the wowexec.exe process manually.  So, the solution is as follows:

1.  Login as the administrator or as a user who is part of the administrator group.
2.  Run regedit.
3.  Traverse all the way down to:

     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\WOW

4.  Look for the entry DefaultSeparateVDM, and change it to yes.
5.  Close the registry editor.

After changing that parameter, Lotus 123 worked fine!  No problems.

I think, and hope, that this will solve the PCAnywhere problem as well.  If it does, please be kind to post your findings here.  Thank you!

~ henry ~

Is Smartsuite 97 the same as Release 5?  

Don

Don,

The "short" answer is simply "NO".  But I expect you ALSO want to know HOW it is DIFFERENT ?

I invite others who have used Smartsuite 97 extensively to express any potential benefits of Smartsuite 97 over Lotus Release 5.0.  However, don't be surprised to find that there are MANY Lotus Release 5.0 users who have purposely decided to REMAIN with Release 5.0 because of TWO PRIMARY REASONS.

1) The basic "look and feel" of the Smartsuite 97 version of Lotus 123 is simply NOT as simple and easy to use as Release 5.0.  It appears that an attempt was made to "convert" the appearance of Lotus 123 into more of an "Excel look-a-like".  Longtime Lotus 123 users can easily point to the MANY SIGNIFICANT reasons why Lotus 123 had ALWAYS been a FAR SUPERIOR product than Excel.  And, Lotus Release 5.0 STILL IS a FAR SUPERIOR product than even the current-day version of Excel.

2) The second Primary Reason...   In attempting to follow Microsoft, Lotus/IBM made a VERY FATEFULL and VERY DISASTROUS decision - to TERMINATE development of Lotus 123's (WONDERFUL, EASY-TO-USE, and POWERFUL) programming language, in favor of adopting Microsoft's "VISUAL BASIC" programming language.  It is my understanding that this action was taken starting with Smartsuite 97, and that Lotus 123's "Lotus Script" is really a clone of "Visual Basic".

Don, I suggest the reason why MANY Lotus 123 Release 5.0 users are sticking with Release 5.0 - and thus their questions about compatibility problems with later versions of Windows - is largely because of the above 2 points.

But, in order for you and others to better understand the SIGNIFICANCE of these points, allow me to be more specific about Lotus 123 Release 5.0's TREMENDOUS ADVANTAGE over Microsoft's Excel.  

Lotus 123's programming language was crafted in such a fashion that it was a "REAL BREAKTHROUGH" in terms of it being a POWERFUL, YET EASY-TO-USE programming language.  Not only was this language EXTREMELY EASY to use, but it ALSO permitted easy-to-use "INTERACTIVITY" with the spreadsheet data and the built-in spreadsheet functions.  In short, it was THE VERY BEST "programming tool" for "application development" - at least for small and medium-sized applications.  And, for larger applications which would require huge database interactivity, Lotus 123 Release 5.0 was also VERY capable of being a "front-end" for such larger applications, wherein Lotus 123 could be used for data-gathering and report-generation for these large databases.

Interesting point - In spite of Lotus 123 Release 5.0's programming language being SO APPEALING because of its combined "Power" and "Ease-Of-Use", Lotus Corporation (now IBM) never gave it a NAME.  To this day, it still officially remains "nameless".  By default, the name that this very powerful language acquired, was simply "macros".  To make matters worse, other software ALSO used the same "generic" term of "macros", and in these other cases, the term "macro" referred primarily to very "simple" procedures.  This, in turn, caused many to "overlook" this EXTREMELY POWERFUL programming language.

A couple of years ago, I decided to do what Lotus Corporation FAILED to do - give this wonderful language a name.  I decided to adopt the name "SNAP" - which stands for "Super Natural Application Programming".  And, of course, using this language, it is certainly a real "snap" to develop applications, ESPECIALLY when compared to Microsoft Excel and their "VISUAL BASIC".

Visual BASIC, while perhaps powerful, is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to learn and use.  It is SO difficult to work with, as compared to "SNAP", that Visual BASIC is effectively "NOT EVEN IN THE SAME LEAGUE" - and it makes Excel VERY INFERIOR.

Why am I so convinced of the difference between "SNAP" and Visual Basic ?  Here's why…

For several years, I had been developing major applications using Lotus 123 and always wondered why no one had developed comparable applications using Excel.  And this STILL applies to this day.  For example I have developed a MAJOR Estimating program using Lotus 123 Release 5.0, and I have yet to see any sign of a comparable product on the Internet.

And, for the past couple of years, since my employer adopted Microsoft Office, I have: 1) worked with "Visual Basic graduates" and 2) developed applications using Visual Basic.  From both these vantage points, I learned first hand that INDEED there is NO comparison - "SNAP" is EXCEEDINGLY EASIER to learn and use.  And, indeed, "power" and "ease-of-use" are an AWESOME combination.  I witnessed first hand, the Visual Basic graduates REALLY STRUGGLE to re-create applications I had ALREADY created in Lotus 123, and I had done so in CONSIDERABLY LESS time.

Longtime programmers who know and use the programming language "C" or "C++" will tell you that if you want PURE POWER, then "C" is THE BEST.  Actually, I understand that the later versions of Lotus 123 were written in "C".   Perhaps with such applications as developing "software" like Lotus 123, pure power IS important.   However, with other "general application development", POWER is not ALL that is important - EASE-OF-USE is ALSO very important.  Visual BASIC users look at "C", and say that Visual BASIC is FAR easier.  I look at Visual BASIC as compared to Lotus 123's "SNAP", and say that "SNAP" is to Visual BASIC what Visual BASIC is to "C".

Lotus Corporation therefore simply "SHOT ITSELF IN THE FOOT" by adopting Microsoft's programming language of Visual Basic.  As mentioned, Lotus Corporation included "Lotus Script" in Smartsuite 97, and apparently is very much a "clone" of Visual Basic.

Then, to make matters EVEN WORSE, Lotus Corporation (now IBM) made a COLOSSUL mistake in the mid-1990's of NOT purchasing the rights to a product called "VISUAL BALER"  (not to be confused with Visual BASIC).

"Visual BALER" is a product which first surfaced as a DOS-based "spreadsheet compiler".  And as a DOS-based compiler, it worked EXTREMELY well.  It adopted Lotus 123's macro (SNAP) language and "enhanced" it with several important extra functions and PROTECTION features that had been and are STILL severely lacking in Lotus 123.

One of the major "selling features" advertised by Baler Corporation, was that their "enhanced" version of Lotus 123's "SNAP" programming language was SO easy to use, that NON-PROGRAMMERS would be very capable of developing applications.  In other words, this software would appeal to the "general population" and not just to "career programmers".  
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE that the world is STILL searching for computer software with which they can develop applications for personal or office use WITHOUT having to "drop their day job" to become a CAREER PROGRAMMER.

After Windows surfaced in the early 1990's, Baler Corporation attempted to convert their DOS-based product over to a Windows-based product.  They did create a product (latest version being "Visual BALER 2.5"), but unfortunately it is full of too many bugs to be useful for most meaningful or "heavy-duty" applications.  It is specifically because of these bugs that the product never gained acceptance and it forced Baler Corporation into bankruptcy.

The product was later purchased by "Patin and Associates" and is still available over the Internet, but I don't expect it is attracting too many takers.

About nine months to a year ago, a "financial backer" apparently contributed some dollars to hire a group of four programmers to investigate the possibility of "refitting" Visual Baler and converting it into a 32-bit application.  I have not yet heard of any outcome.

My final point…    The computer world needs a POWERFUL AND EASY-TO-USE "general purpose", "application development tool", and it ALSO needs a "spreadsheet compiler" to permit the creation of "stand-alone" applications.  The most obvious solution to these needs, is a "merger" of the Lotus 123 spreadsheet together with the "SNAP-enhanced" language of Visual BALER.

At one point, Lotus Corporation, according to a former Baler Corporation programmer, was intimidated by the threat posed by Visual BALER.  Lotus seemingly was concerned that potential Lotus 123 purchasers would be able to purchase "customized" spreadsheets developed in Visual BALER instead of purchasing Lotus 123.  This was plain short-sightedness.  What Lotus failed to appreciate, is that these customized applications would NOT replace the need for spreadsheet users to have Lotus 123 for development of their own "general purpose" applications.

Furthermore, Lotus Corporation failed to appreciate that tremendous "royalties" could have been earned from small and large application developers.  These developers, myself included, would be more than willing to pay Lotus Corporation for each of the "customized" products developed and sold using this new "duo" combination of Lotus 123 and Visual BALER.

My hope is that IBM executives will "tune in" to this "ground level" conversation over what is REALLY happening at "ground zero".  If they TRULY "tune in" to the points raised here, I am optimistic that our NEW MILLENNIUM will soon see the development of "spreadsheet based" application-development-software like a "Lotus 123 SNAP/Compiler Edition" which will be "hotly" embraced by the "general public" as well as career programmers.   This indeed has the potential to enable Lotus/IBM to re-take the lead in the sale of spreadsheet / application development software.

Regards,     …Dale Watson      dwatson@home.com   -or-  dwatson@bsi.gov.mb.ca

Dale,
I have been using 1-2-3 since release 1a, but at a more basic accountants level.  The question that I did not pose is if the Smartsuite 97 version will run on Win2k SP1 or, in the alternative, do I need to upgrade my 1-2-3 license in order to move to a Win2k PC.

Don

Don,

I'm afraid I can't offer any specifics on whether Smartsuite 97 will run without problems on Win2k SP1.

I have recently loaded Lotus 123 Release 5.0 on Windows Me, and it seems to be working without problem, but this of course doesn't help answer your question.

It should be possible to contact Lotus directly, or at least their HELP forum.  However, I presume you might be apprehensive about asking Lotus whether you need to upgrade because they will possibly say "YES" REGARDLESS of whether it is actually required.

If you haven't already heard of the BEST "SEARCH ENGINE" on the Internet, I suggest you try "GOOGLE" - considered by most to be THE BEST.  Using your current search engine, you should be able to locate "Google", and then install it.

Using Google, you can more easily locate other Lotus 123 users, who hopefully will be able to provide the specifics you require.

Regards,   ...Dale Watson    dwatson@bsi.gov.mb.ca

Hopefully this helps - from the MS Win2K Software compatibility engine...http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/server/howtobuy/upgrading/compat/search/detail.asp?OfferingID=32286&DescriptorID=787&h=1&page=1&send=1&Order=&CN=lotus&PN=&PT=1&ProSvr=1&Language=25

Says that 123 97 is Windows 2000 (pro) compatible.

Thanks for your info, Ganners !!!

...Dale Watson    dwatson@bsi.gov.mb.ca

To run Lotus 123 under Win 2000, set up the icon to run Lotus 123 in a seperate memory space.  If you are running Novell Client, you will need to reinstall Novell client after installing Lotus 123.  This has worked well for us here.

Jadar,

You're last post said the re-install the client after the install of 123......what if 123 was installed first?  And it wasn't working then either?  The seperate memory space thing doesn't seem to work either   :(

How do I make an addin stay permanently. I am using F9 addin but it does not appear after shutting down 123 and restarting.

I know this thread is probably dead, and no one will ever read what I write, but... I've programmed in good old ANSI C, as well as Visual Basic. C is easier. C is easier because it easier to read, makes more sense, and good, solid, thorough documentation is available via UNIX man pages. As to Lotus vs. MS; well, if you have to pay for software that is bad, might as well go with MS as they are no worse than lotus and everyone has it.

"response to old post",

Surprise!!!  Your posting IS being read - and just "seconds" after you posted it.  Not bad, huh ?

Your perception seems good, though, that there appears to be not that many participants in this Lotus forum.

I find VERY interesting your comment about "C" actually being EASIER than Visual Basic.  I certainly won't disagree with your point, as I don't know "C".

But I DO have "some" Visual Basic experience, and ALSO know that Lotus 123 itself was written in "C".  The "original" versions were written in "Assembler", but Lotus Corp. later converted the code to "C".

If you've read the explanations I've made in this same thread, you'll see that the basic point I've been driving at is twofold:

1) The world NEEDS a SPREADSHEET COMPILER, and

2) The world NEEDS a programming language SPECIFICALLY for those who do NOT want to (and shouldn't need to) "drop their current career" and "set off to become a computer programmer".  This is generally what one HAS to do in order to deal with the "level of complexity" of languages like "Visual Basic" AND "LotusScript" AND "C".

Regarding your last point - "As to Lotus vs. MS; well, if you have to pay for software that sucks, might as well go with MS as they suck no less than lotus and everyone has it."

You know what, you are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT !!!

BUT, here's the "key" point.  Because they BOTH “suck”, is NOT reason enough to accept the "status quo" and simply go with the one which the (current) majority use.

The computer world obviously has NOT stood STILL, and we should EXPECT the "evolution" to continue.

I agree that the "spreadsheet world" seems to have been "neglected" somewhat - probably LARGELY due to Microsoft having "cornered the market".  HOWEVER, ESPECIALLY because, as you said, their product ALSO "sucks", the world's PC users need to "keep hammering" (as best we can) to get through to those "at the top".

You probably have not experienced the EXTREMELY POWERFUL, YET EASY-TO-USE programming language of Lotus 123 Release 5 - which I refer to as "SNAP" (for Super Natural Application Programming).  So let me assure you that I have on SEVERAL occasions been called on as a last resort to develop applications which other programmers "could NOT touch" without having to spend an ENORMOUS amount of time in comparison.

"C" and other languages are VERY POWERFUL, including "Assembler"!  BUT if it takes an ENORMOUS amount of time and effort, then the primary areas for the use of these languages should be restricted to LARGE applications which warrant such a large commitment of time and resources - applications such as the creation of Lotus 123 itself.  I'm not certain about Microsoft products, but I'd expect they too have been created with "C".

I hope I'm "getting through"... that what the world needs is an EASY-to-use, yet POWERFUL programming language... for smaller applications, AND for those who want to be able to develop their own applications WITHOUT having to change careers and become a computer programmer.  AND, of course, this type of language will also make career programmers MORE capable.

To “underscore” this point about “capability”, I’ll share this information.   I am about to launch a product that I created in Lotus 123 Release 5.  I’ve been scouring the Internet for products that compare, but NONE come even remotely close to the product I’ve developed.  The industry where this product will be utilized has been “crying” for a product to “meet their expectations” for a considerable time, yet NO ONE has been able to “meet their needs”.  Why ? …It’s NOT due to lack of potential revenue – the current best product sells for $7,000 US.  The ONLY explanation I can come up with, is that other programmers have been “hampered” by using languages that are MUCH more difficult to work with, and therefore CANNOT achieve the same degree of “success” as with “SNAP”.
 
Yet, according to your assessment, Microsoft continues to "stick it to the world" (my interpretation) with a language (Visual Basic) which you describe as being MORE difficult than "C".

Obviously it's time for a change.  A "perfect starting point" is to use the "SNAP" language, combined with the spreadsheet compiling ability of the product called "Visual Baler".  These two products have ALREADY proven themselves to be EXTREMELY POWERFUL -AND- "EASY-TO-USE".  If ONLY IBM had not “wasted their resources on converting to LotusScript”, and instead concentrated their resources on enhancements to “SNAP” and incorporation of Visual Baler, they ALREADY would have recaptured the world’s spreadsheet users.

As you, my friend said, I hope "someone out there" is listening !!!

Perhaps employees at IBM who are asked to "struggle" with "LotusScript" will happen to read this, and say, "wait a minute", this DOES make GOOD sense.  And, I CAN do my part, by "firing off an email" to the top executives at IBM.

The "bottom line" appears to be, as with MOST LARGE Corporations, it is "next to impossible" to reach those at the top.  So, IBM'ers, we the "little guys" could use your HELP !!!   

So please "take up the challenge" ...and YOU, IBM and the WORLD will be MUCH better off in the end.

I'm not going to "hold my breath", BUT, if someone at IBM would like to "talk to me", I'm obviously quite willing to share some of my long-held beliefs and ideas that could be useful in the development of this "next generation software" for the world.

Regards,   ...Dale Watson

HOME:  nd.watson@shaw.ca

SmartSuite 97 and Win2000. Recently my computer was upgraded and the new machine came with Win2000. After I installed WordPro from SmartSuite 97 the system could no longer find the network printers that were previously installed. I tried to reinstall them but the system could literally not find them on the network. Network printers which were not installed prior to the SmartSuite installation appear to istall OK. Can anyone shed any light on this and offer me a fix.

We have Lotus 123 installed with novell client 4.8. Sometimes the client gets corrupted and Lotus will give errors and not launch. The fix is to reinstall the client or to maybe upgrade to 4.81. Do not upgrade the client to 4.83 becuase users will not be able to open their files on network drives, I guess this is a bug in the new release. I hope this helps some people since it toke me some time to figure out.

Thanks for the info, everyone.  I am a long-time Lotus 123 user (to original version) and love Release 5.  Have just purchased new PC with Windows 2000 and can get 5 to run, but icon tray doesn't stay open on top, can't change font color and other oddities.  Any ideas?

lotus was working fine on windows 98 and after installing win 98 arabic enabled, none of the files in 123 can be printed. can anyone let me know what i can do to set it right. I cant uninstall arabic enabled windows and go back to win english

We've experienced problems with 123r5 with win2000 AND novell 4.83 client.

Problem: as soon as you type a character in 123 it'll crash giving you an error related to 0x0303030303 memory could not be read.

Solution: We uninstalled both the Novell 4.83 client and 123r5...next re-install 123r5 (btw we're using 9.6), reboot, re-install novell client (same version we used previously) and it resolved the issue.

Hope you have the same luck!

I do NOT have any problems you discuss about Novell.  But, I am having problems with 123 v5 and Windows 2000 in 2 ways:

1)  Cannot save a text file.  For example, select a range in the worksheet, click on file->save as.  In the pull-down list of types of files, select text (txt) and then give a file name.  I get an error:  Cannot access output device.  If I click on F1 in this error dialog box, it says either my printer is not connected to the port or there is not sufficient memory.  Both are impossible!

2)  Trying to send mail.  Same message.

Any clues?

I am having the same problem as bapu - if I use {file-extract mike.txt;text (txt);.......} the message comes back as "Unable to access output device". This also happens using the old commands /pf etc. I am running Win 2000 professional SP2. Any help would be appreciated.!!

The network printer problem I had running Lotus 5.0A through a Win 2000 server (with no Novell drivers in sight) was overcome by capturing the queue. I cannot remember the exact error message, but it was something like "Unable to print".

Mike

I am having the same problem as bapu - if I use {file-extract mike.txt;text (txt);.......} the message comes back as "Unable to access output device". This also happens using the old commands /pf etc. I am running Win 2000 professional SP2. Any help would be appreciated.!!

The network printer problem I had running Lotus 5.0A through a Win 2000 server (with no Novell drivers in sight) was overcome by capturing the queue. I cannot remember the exact error message, but it was something like "Unable to print".

Mike

Same problem as bapu & Mike H.

I have a client with the same problem.
Just wondering where the Lotus people are before I switch another large company to Excel. They must own MS Stock.

Mark

I finally figured out how to create a text file from Lotus 1-2-3 version 5 with Windows NT/2000.

I put the following code into a macro and ran it.  It works! yeah.  This small snipet of code is how I began and then added more complex code to meet my app's needs.  But, this is how I got started.  Try it - you'll be glad.

You can probably search for more information in the help files in your Lotus worksheet for OPEN commands.


{OPEN "c:\testfile.txt";w}
{writeln "hello"}
{close}

Good luck.

I had the same problem as several of the previous people with unable to access output device.  I had been running Windows 2000 with Novell Client 4.81 without any problems.  This error started occurring when I installed the 4.83 version of the Novell Client.  I fixed the error by uninstalling 4.83 and reinstalling 4.81.

We're starting to switch from NT to Windows 2000 on our PCs.  We are encountering the General Protection Fault (GPF) error that keeps Lotus 123 v5 from running (we do have Novell Client 4.8) in the Windows 2000 environment.

I have read the correspondences to date and found the reference to the wowexec.exe process (ending the process before starting Lotus 123) to be a partial fix for us. Lotus does run after ending the process.  But when I followed the directions from henryHI to change the regedit entry value for DefaultSeperateVDM to yes, I still get the GPF error message and have to manually end the wowexec.exe process to get Lotus 123 to start again.

I also discovered that if another 16 bit program is running, Lotus 123 starts with no problem.  Lotus 123 only has a problem when it is the first 16 bit program to run.

Does anyone have a way to have wowexec.exe close itself down after all 16 bit programs are ended?

Thank-you for any help!  - George

I have dicovered that Lotus 123 v5 will run on our systems just fine if opened using the START/PROGRAMS/... button.

I am still unable to open it using the NAL ICON without manually ending the wowexec.exe program, but the START button method always works.

I would still be interested in any replies that have a way to have wowexec.exe close itself down after all 16 bit programs are ended

Thank-you for any help!  - George

There are 4 patches to the Novell Client 4.83 on Novell's website.  I installed them all and Release 5 now works fine on Windows XP.  I'm not sure which patch fixed it.

Hi Bill K,
Is it possible to send me the names of these 4 patches. I have a similar problem, but don't find any patch for it.
Thanks
Herman.Verhoeven@village.uunet.be

I've had some of the problems discussed about when installing 123 on Win2K.  First, I couldn't get it to install.  I was getting FLW+855: Overflow, and the install would terminate.  I discovered that Freelance Graphics wouldn't install on Win2K, so I unchecked that option and it installed fine.  Then I couldn't get 123 to start.  So I re-installed my Novell client (4.8).  Now, we're opening the program.  However, once I close the program, I have to manually end process on wowexec.exe to re-open 123.  I tried the registry fix, with no luck.  Any fixes for the wowexec problem?  
dlord@huber.com

I am currently running 123R5 on both windows 2000 professional and windows XP.  They both run OK with a couple of quirks; 1)123 will crash on the Win2000 machine if I try to edit a smarticon and 2) the WinXP machine will not allow me to see the color panel to select colors.  It's there and it works but for the most part invisible.  I am very concerned that someday my 123R5 will become obsolete and I'm going to be screwed because there are just some things I can't figure out any other way to get done.  I've tried the more recent versions, but some of the things I need aren't there.  I do as much as I can on Excel, and there are things I like about it, but the big drawback is Visual Basic vs. the 123 macros.  There is no comparison.

I am also running windows xp pro with 123 release 5.  I am running into the same problems with the color panel not showing up.  A gentleman in my office called and found out you can obtain an upgrade for 123 release 5 to get it to work properly in xp.  I do not know if it works yet because I just found out about it.  If anybody else hears of an easy fix to this minor problem please post and let me know.  Any help with this one and I'll be grateful.

I am also running windows xp pro with 123 release 5.  I am running into the same problems with the color panel not showing up.  A gentleman in my office called and found out you can obtain an upgrade for 123 release 5 to get it to work properly in xp.  I do not know if it works yet because I just found out about it.  If anybody else hears of an easy fix to this minor problem please post and let me know.  Any help with this one and I'll be grateful.

I am also running windows xp pro with 123 release 5.  I am running into the same problems with the color panel not showing up.  A gentleman in my office called and found out you can obtain an upgrade for 123 release 5 to get it to work properly in xp.  I do not know if it works yet because I just found out about it.  If anybody else hears of an easy fix to this minor problem please post and let me know.  Any help with this one and I'll be grateful.

It is nice to know that there are others that feel Lotus 123v5 is far superior than any other spreadsheet out there.  I am looking for someone who can help me find out if there is a fix out there for the version manager functionality in "post version 5" releases of 123.  Specifically, in version 5, if you made a change in a versioned range, you would have to actively confirm that you indeed wanted to save that change.  In later releases, version manager assumes you want to keep the change and doesn't allow you to revert back to the old data, in fact, it is lost.  Any fixes for this?  I rely on the version manager for my work, and a fix for this would be great because I could use later versions of 123 that calculate much faster than version 5 in the latest versions of Windows.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

JV

I have a Lotus 5.0 / Windows 2000 Pro problem. I am using a macro which uses a {choose-item} that leads to a file name to combine a data file. It uses this file to drop data into a {dialog} for display and editing, and then saves the file back again. This is a loop that is repeated about 40 times, but it invariably gives me a GPF after about 17- 20 entries.

I think it may be a combination of {windowsoff} and the {dialog} and the meemory not clearing properly, but I can't find a work around. It does not crash with Win 95 or 98.

Thanks for the tip on DefaultSeparateVDM = yes - it works for me

Mike,

I can't be certain this will resolve your problem, but perhaps it's worth checking out.

Try the {RESTART} command.

To get the explanation of how this works, simply type {RESTART} into a cell, and hit the Help key <F1>.

Please advise as to how you make out.

Regards,    ...Dale Watson    dwatson@bsi.gov.mb.ca

I changed from Win98 to Win2k(SP2)/NovNet4.831 and work at the moment with both. I also got problems in a (branch) loop, in a macro that runs proper since 123R1a (with some small changes). It's a backup macro. After 50 backups he needs a pause (the memory check shows 100% usage). After 5 minutes I can go slow on - where I normaly start new - or it breaks.

In the first testing I installed the MS compatibility tool, but because I didn't notice any difference to a normal start in some few testing, I canceled it.

Perhaps you test it, installing it's not much work, I will reinstall and test it by time.

Best regards, Reinhard

What a wonderful thread! Very encouraging.
A couple of observations:

R97 is buggy and has a very fragile video interface. It is without doubt the worst version. I'd suggest getting R9.x instead if R5 is not an option.

FYI I've just upgraded to W2k at work and have had few problems.  One was when using {CHOOSE-FILE} a GPF would be thrown if the file was at the bottom of a deeply nested directory structure. Moving the files up a directory level or two solved the problem.

Dale, I love your idealism. Unfortunately LotusScript is needed for Lotus Notes and that is a vastly more important product to Lotus than 1-2-3. Integration is the buzzword now, even if not that many users use their spreadsheet's macro language to access their word processor. I can't conceive of them backpedaling there, much as we both would like. I'm afraid you and I are doomed to be anachronisms.


I think the only challenge to the MS juggernaut will/and is coming from the open source movement (on the LINUX platform).

Thanks for your contributions

Dale, I had tried the {restart} before to no avail,It releases anything stacked.

Reinhard, I have tried running in Win 95, 98 and NT compatibility mode (set withing the Lotus 123 shortcut), again to no avail. Is this the same as the MS Compatibility Tool?

Regards
Mike

Hi again

I thought I would mention a couple more things - I have eliminated the {windowsoff} causing the problem. Secondly the GPF happens immediately after I have saved the extract back to a file:

{file-extract +"data"&a_number&".dta";;;replace;data_range;values}
{blank data_range}

Regards
Mike

Yea I think it's mainly for Win95 compatibility, not special for Win311/16.bit. I don't can state the direct address because I got it from the German pages.

You will find it in the MS Knowledgebase (search for Compatibility). The german article to this is translated from the english one:

Q279792 HOW TO: Enable Application Compatibility-Mode Technology in Windows 2000 SP2 and SP3.

Because of Carnival I took free for a looonger weekend, so I don't can test it at the moment.

Hope it works, Reinhard

Just had to post to this one as another "admirer" of this thread. My step-father is an old 123 user and I too learned all I know on it. Then we got OfficeSuite 97 and soon gave up. My step-dad stuck with older versions(he still has an old DOS version running on Win98 as well as 123 v1 for Win) while I moved on to Borland then Corel office Suite. Now Corel is all but dead and you certainly don't hear much about Lotus anymore. I now have MS running under Win2k and my step-dad came to me last night asking if I had the old 5 1/4 Baler disks. He has something he'd like to sell but the only way to do it with our knowledge and ensure compatability with our customers is to compile a spreadsheet. Though I have MS and used Corel I never got away from Lotus' macros. Seems we're stuck.

Hi

I think I have just found the answer to the GPF problem I reported earlier, and it is just as confusing as the problem itself It involves a looping macro which started with a {choose-item}, which I had given a title of "Data Entry". This resulted in a guaranteed GPF after the 18th entry.

I thought I would keep an eye on the number of entries I had made, so I changed the title to include a running total i.e. +"Data Entry ("&@string(@dsum(data_r,3),0)&" so far)".

Low and behold it no longer gives me the GPF?

Mike

So good to see so many 123r5 fans out there.  Great thread too.

Parts of this thread have dwelt on the GPF problem and various solutions have been proposed.  Our observations and solution run more or less along the lines of henryHI's Aug 31, 2001 contribution.

That's until we started using more than 1 PC loaded with Win2000 sharing files over the network.  The situation now is that when 2 or more PCs operate under Win2000 the users can open the same .wk4 file simultaneously, both can get rights, and both can save the file totally unaware that it's also in use on the other PC.  No file reservation warnings are given !!

Note that we never had this problem when one of the pair of PCs was running under Win95.

I don't know if this failure of the file reservation features of 123r5 is related to the GPF problem.  We may have got round the latter, but this one's proving far harder to solve.

Has enyone come across it?
Better still, has anyone cracked it?

Thanks

Sandro Pisani

I am running 123 V5 and W2K but need to install any Novell client.  On the basis of this forum I have opted for 4.81 with the latest patches but 123 and Freelance crash every time (the GPF mentions module L1WNET.DLL).  I am not using PCAnywhere and I have also modified WOW thru regedit.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

With Novell 4.83SP1 (SP1 is important) it works.
HTH, Reinhard

Thanks for the advice.  Unfortunately I cannot track down 4.83 SP1, which seems to have been removed from the Novell web site (nothing came up on Google either) and SP2 - as you can guess - causes GPFs in 123 and Freelance.

Hello Everyone,
I just am glad to know that I am not the only one out there who thinks that Lotus 123 Release 5 was the best version ever.  I used to use it everyday for about 8 years as a cash flow analyst.  You have no idea how upset I was when Lotus 97 came out.  I missed the old macro language and I really missed the "SHift:" wysiwyg feature for formating a speadsheet.  I loved that.

Any way, I have been using Microsoft Excel for the last 2 years and now I am setting up a business plan for a new company I am starting and I've decided that I'm not going to use Excel anymore if I can help it.  I can't even begin to tell you how much more productive I am in the old R5.  I hate every speadsheet after Lotus Release 5.  So tonight I bought a copy on ebay for $33.  I run Microsft XP and love XP.  I'm hoping that I can get back to doing great speadsheets with ease when I get my R5!

Come on Lotus, get back to your roots!

Good to hear of your experience. Welcome to the club!
Please let us know how R5 gets along under XP.
Sooner or later most of us will have to make that transition.

I got the Smartsuite 96 (contains R5 of 123) today.  I installed it on my XP machine.

When I first installed it, I tried installing the entire SmartSuite 96 package.  I got an error when I tried this.  So, since I'm not interested in anything but 123, I decided to install with just 123 selected and nothing else.

This worked fine.  123 R5 is now installed.  I played around, tried the old "Shift :" for formatting and it worked great.  I can't tell you how much I missed that.  Tried adding through spreadsheet pages and it worked fine.  Now, I don't no if I will have problems in the future or not, but so far no crashes or anything.

One thing that really struck me was how much my fingers remembered.  It was amazing, like riding a bike.  That is what I missed most about 123.  All the things you can do without the mouse that you have to use a mouse for with excel.  And also, the amount of keystrokes required to do things is a lot less in 123 r5 vs Excel.  It's just a damn more productive spreadsheet.

Now having said all that, the first thing that popped up that made me go "ahhhhh" was the old 8 character file names and when navigating your files you only see 8 characters.  I can live with it though.  

So far so good.  I'll keep you all informed.   I have to go find all my old cash flow analysis spreadsheets with all my old macros so I can get working on new spreadsheets.

My last thought is still "What was Lotus thinking after 123R5."  I can't believed they ruined such a good product. Unbelievable.  If you take R5 and modernize it but keep all the old great features, I'd buy 2 copies yesterday.


Thanks

I have a client with the following issue occuring and was hoping to gain some insight.  They just recently upgraded from Windows 98 to 2000, and since then they have had issues with their macros.  Primarily, the commands aren't recognized in Win2K, and so the files aren't printing correctly.  More specifically, the files aren't printing from the correct trays, which is causing some issues with their production of invoices and statements.  There are also other files with more complex macros, and it seems as if Win2K doesn't recognize the classic key strokes they were coded in.  Was hoping to gain some insight on how to advise my client to troubleshoot and remedy this situation.

Hi Filpi01
I think you need to see the help area - type in "{set" and press F1 and you will see some of the set options. Click on Info Components, Info Component Categories and then Printer Setup. You will see there the commands to use to change the bins:

{set "printer-setup-bins";"text"} where "text" is one of the ones available to your printer.

Hope this helps
Mike

I see it has been a while since any one has posted here. Has any one had any problems with slow access to files using File Open? I have a PC running Windows 2000 and Novell 4.81 SP1 and Lotus 123 R5. It takes for ever for the file list to come up on the screen. If you open a file from the most recent list it works fine.

Alan

Alan,

I can't offer a "direct fix".  However, as a work-around, what about creating a desktop folder for the files you need to open?  Then use the folder (Explorer window) to view and open Lotus 123 files.

I hope this helps

Regards,     ...Dale Watson     dwatson@bsi.gov.mb.ca

I would like to thank henryHI (Aug31,2001) for the Registry Fix regarding running Lotus 1-2-3R5 under Windows 2k.

Running Novell Client 4.9 with Netware 5.1 under Windows 2k.
123 Release 5.00 and 5.01 produced the GRP fault at each start up EXCEPT the first after a reboot.

Changing the "WOW\DefaultSeparateVDM" parameter to Yes has fixed the problem.

Thanks

Can somebody how to resolve the next problem.
I cannot print charts from 123 R5 to a postscript printer under windows XP. Under Windows 2000 this worked normally.
I am able to print the charts when using a PCL printer driver. But this only works on my directly connected HP laser printer. Al other network-printers only support Postscript.
When printing a chart directly from 123 R5 using the latest postscript drivers the printed graph only shows the frame around the chart and the Title of the chart. The axes and chart itself is not displayed.

jvenst
on a couple of our pcl printers, we've solved some printing issues by setting graphics to raster and selecting "print truetype fonts as bitmap". Dont know if these settings are available in postscript and/or if they'd help there.

The best way to print grafiks from 123 is to use a PDF-print-driver. That should solve your problem. Also the well known 123R5 grafik bug, printing lines always thin, then is no longer a problem. With a little bit scripting you can do all batchwise.

HTH, Reinhard

I had to make the changes I mentioned in order to print pdf files.

I've installed several pdf-print-driver and there where nothing to change.

123R5, W2kSp2, Acrobat Distiller, PDF-Writer, JAWS-PDFCreator and PDF-Factory.

I would say load down the trial version of PDF-Factory - I think fineline.com - and try it.

HTH, Reinhard

I have a question.  I have read all of these items and haven't quite hit on my problem.  My uncle wanted to use Lotus 123 release 5 because he loves it.  He had installed Lotus Smartsuite, and just didn't like it.  I bought the Lotus 123 release 5 on ebay for $7 (with shipping) - yea - and sent it to him.  He has Windows XP home edition.  He un-installed Lotus Smart Suite and installed Lotus 123 release 5, and it came up fine the first time.  He tried to go to the smart icons and clicked on the open file manager button to add it to his icon bar.....but first tried to edit it.  Got an error :  MAIN123 caused a General Protection Fault in Module MAIN123.EXE at 000C:09BC.   You have to close lotus.  After that you cannot open lotus again until you reboot.  I want to know a couple things...

#1)  why can't he edit the macro and CAN HE ever do that since that's the reason he got the program in the first place was because of the marco - ability

#2)  can we get rid of the GPF error for good?  and can i have a step-by-step to doing this?  Do I have to edit the registry?

This is a standalone computer at a home.....no Novell...no network....has AOL and that's about it.

My Uncle is retired and this is how he entertains himself....he's an accountant, so spreadsheets are him!  I'd love to get this fixed.

HELP

The error is benign: you can click IGNORE several times in quick succession and you can then edit the icon.

A more graceful way to deal with the problem is to reduce the color palette under set up (windows) to high-color from true-color. Then you shouldn't get the error at all.

A while back this was posted:
smo131 (Visitor) Aug 23, 2002
I am also running windows xp pro with 123 release 5.  I am running into the same problems with the color panel not showing up.  A gentleman in my office called and found out you can obtain an upgrade for 123 release 5 to get it to work properly in xp.  I do not know if it works yet because I just found out about it.  If anybody else hears of an easy fix to this minor problem please post and let me know.  Any help with this one and I'll be grateful.

I am having the same problem with the pull-down color pallette and am at a loss as to how to solve it. I haven't been able to find the "upgrade" for version 5 he refers to.

Has ANYBODY got a fix?!!

I found the answer to the "pull down color pallette" problem at Thread69-437781 !!!

All you have to do is right click on the desktop, choose properties, Appearance, then EFFECTS, then DISABLE the first one: "Use the following transition effect for menus and tooltips."

That fixed my 123V5 pulldown color chart problem immediately. Thank you Tek-Tips. I'm soooooooooo releived....

Help !! Please.

I have Lotus 5.0 running on XP. The problems is that when I try to print to a file, it gives me an error message "Unable to access output device". It was working fine under Windows 98. Has anyone experienced such an issue, and what is the solution.

Thank you.

Sherif

Hi Sherif

The print to file no longer works as far as I know! What you need to do is {open} a file and then add to the content of the line by using {writeln}. Increase the row number and write the next line. When done (close} the file - this will create things like comma delimited files etc.

Example
{open +"r:\"&a_file&".txt";w}
{for a_count,0,@rows(printsales_r)-2,1,s1_extractagent}
{close}

SUB-ROUTINE
s1_extractagent (writes each line to the open text file)
{writeln +@index(printsales_r,0,a_row)&","&@index(printsales_r,3,a_row)&","&@string(@index(printsales_r,4,a_row),0)}
{let a_row,a_row+1}
{return}

Long winded, but it works!
mikesherlock

Hope this helps Win 2000 and XP users.

I have a suite of 10 spreadsheets that load data, calculate, print a report and then load the next spreadsheet (without saving anything). With Win 2000 after 4, 5 or 6 (variable) reports coming off it would slow down to a crawl. With XP the printer started sending rubbish.

What I did was disable the undo - {SET "SETUP-UNDO";"NO"} and re-enabled it after use and it cured the problem.

mikesherlock

While I realize Lotus 1-2-3 has a somewhat cultish following but really GET A LIFE.  The software you know and love is dead!  Move on.  The vendor has performed last rites (they haven't had a release in 5 years and haven't patched any of the bugs in over 2 years).  My first IT job was designing reports in 123.  I liked the interface (I still catch myself using "/" in excel), but it is dead, Dead, DEAD!  It has become an almost impossible support millstone to us poor helpdesk, desktop, networking people.  Pronounce it.  Move On.  Or form a coalition to buy the source from Lotus/IBM and fix the damn software.

This is analogous to those die hard mac users that insist on using a mac for things they are not well suited for... like any business app.

hello everyone

I've got just the same problem - win2k on "dell optiplex gx240".. and organizer 5.0 just won't start... without any massage. Simply nothing happens. Is there oany way to fix it?
or
I can switch to organizer 6.0, but for some office reasons, calendar files must be in or5 format. When I open a file without converting to or6 format - the calendar is blanked! When I convert it to or6 format, I cannot save it in or5 format then. Is there any patch or plugin maybe for organizer 6.0 to save files in or5 format?

Best Regards
Michael

I have read through all of these postings, but none of them seem to have the same problem that I am receiving.  I am trying to convert some old lotus 123 presentation files into .ppt files.  The problem arises when I try to open these files with Power Point.  Obviously, power point will not open them.  So I tried to install Lotus 123 R5 and kept getting the error, "Insufficient disk space." I tried copying the files from the cd to my desktop into a folder and running it there and it didn't work.  I am trying to install the program onto a Windows 2000 machine with service pack 4 on it, no Novell client, and no PC-Anywhere.  I have also tried installing SmartSuite 97 with the same error.  I aeven tried installing it through the cammand prompt and is still gave me the same error.  Does anyone have any ideas as what to do?  I am running out of ideas myself.  HELP! :-(

Ohhh yea, I almost forgot, I also have over 35 gigs of free hard disk space left.

I am a long time 1-2-3 R5 user and I have to agree that it is much more powerful than anyone gives it credit for.  It is so powerful I'm running into an issue keeping some programs alive at work.

We recently all (company wide) got new PCs with Win XP Pro.  I need to move some large billing spreadsheets to these XP machines but I'm running into problems during testing.  The screen will not refresh.

I have run one of the programs all the way through so I know the macros themselves are working.  When you crtl-pgup/pgdwn through the sheets the screen will not refresh unless I minimize and then maximize the Lotus window.

The new machines are P4 2.4 Ghrtz with 32 MB ATI Radeon 9000 video built into the motherboard.  Is this a video card issue?  I'm just not sure where to go with this.  Re-writing these apps is not an option.

I've tried playing with the resolution (640x480 up to 1024 x 768) and the colors (256 up to 16.7 M) but nothing seems to work.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Long Live Lotus!!!!!!

Maybe you have to devote a machine(s) to billing process and other activities not requiring most current software and downgrade the operating system.

-------------------------------------
It's 10 O'Clock ( somewhere! ).
Are your registry and data backed up?

SOLUTION FOR LOTUS 123-R5 FOR USE WITH WINDOWS XP

I've been able to get Lotus 123-R5 working completely without any problems whatsoever - in Windows XP.  Try the following steps:

1) Create a desktop shortcut for loading Lotus 123-R5.

2) Right-click on the desktop icon, and choose "Properties".

3) Under the "Shortcut" tab, opposite "Run", specify "Normal window".

4) Under the "Compatibility" tab, set the following...

a) for "Compatibility mode", check off "Run this program in compatibility mode for", and then from the pulldown, choose "Windows 95".

b) under "Display settings", check off:
 - "Run in 256 Colors"
 - "Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution"
 - "Disable visual themes"

c) under "Input settings", check off:
 - "Turn off advanced text services for this program".

Click "OK", and you're done.

I sincerely hope this works for "sbgirling" who obviously is in need of a "Lotus 123-R5" solution.  And I hope others who have struggled with getting Lotus 123-R5 to work properly will also have their compatibility problems resolved by using the above.  

Regards,   ...Dale Watson    nd.watson@shaw.ca