PSPNUM.TXT                   7th December 1995
**********

Prospero Software Products Limited
41 Athol Street
Douglas
Isle of Man IM1 1LA
United Kingdom

CONTACT: Frank Vipond

PHN: +44 (0)1624-681090
FAX: +44 (0)1624-681097
EMAIL: CompuServe 100332,1257

About File PSPNUM.ZIP:
----------------------

This ZIP file contains a full working demonstration of version
2.2 of the PSPNUM VBX (a Custom Control for use with Microsoft
Visual Basic V1.0 or later or with compatible environments).

The PSPNUM VBX is a special type of Edit Box control. You use
it only for decimal numbers or decimal numeric arrays. You specify
through edit masks how you want numeric values displayed in the
edit box e.g. "123.45-" or "US$123.45CR". The VBX also supports
a range of operations for numbers - add, subtract etc.

This VBX addresses the shortcomings of 1) the native VB
'currency' data type and of 2) floating-point data for
accurate storage and manipulation of numeric field/array
values. If you are familiar with decimal numeric fields/arrays
from commercial programming languages such as RPG or COBOL,
then the PSPNUM VBX should be both intuitive and very useful.

Both the User Guide and Help file (see below) in the ZIP file
contain a much fuller description of how different PSPNUM is
from alternative numeric data types available in VB.

PSPNUM.ZIP Contents:
--------------------

Use 'PKUNZIP -d PSPNUM.ZIP' to unzip the contents with one
subdirectory. Total unzipped size is approx 600K (0.6 MB)
giving the following files:

PSPNUM.VBX: The PSPNUM VBX (demo version). This has ALL the
functionality of the production version, but only allows a
limited number (20) of instances of the PSPNUM control to be
in use at any point in time. You may need to move/copy the
VBX to another directory for general VB testing/use.

PSPNUMUG.DOC: Full 40-page PSPNUM User Guide. Prepared using
Microsoft Word version 6.0. In particular, see sections 1.3
and Appendix B for an explanation of why PSPNUM is so much
better than the VB 'currency' data type or floating-point
fields.

PSPNUM.HLP: On-line Help file for the VBX. Substantially the
same content as the User Guide. You may also need to move/copy
this HLP file to another directory for general VB testing/use.

HISTORY.TXT: A brief description of previous releases and
proposed developments for PSPNUM.

LICENSE.DOC: PSPNUM License agreement. Includes prices. Also
prepared using Microsoft Word version 6.0.

DEMO\*.*: A full VB 3.0 project with several forms showing the
capabilities of PSPNUM. Open project PSPD1.MAK from within
VB itself. This project has been tested under VB4 16-bit.

Further Action:
---------------

PSPNUM is NOT freeware/shareware.

PSPNUM.ZIP provides enough for a very full demonstration
and evaluation of the PSPNUM VBX. You may well find the
demo version useful without acquiring the full production
version. However we strongly believe that it is not in your
best interests to use unsupported software. If you acquire
the full production version of PSPNUM in terms of our license
agreement, we can support you, help you, and upgrade your
software if needs be. Whereas as an unlicensed user, you
really are on your own.

If you like PSPNUM, open LICENSE.DOC in Word. Examine the
license conditions. If the conditions are acceptable to you,
contact us first. We can then discuss license pricing in
further detail. For some users, we are prepared to negotiate
very reasonable rates. Whatever rates are agreed, you will
only get the production version of PSPNUM after we receive
the signed license agreement. So it makes sense for you to
look at the license first.

If you have any problems with using Word 6.0 documents, we
can quite easily fax you copies or prepare documents in
another format.

We welcome any enquiries about the PSPNUM VBX (contact
details at top of this file).

