While I am a fan of templates in other types of office applications, I rarely use them in spreadsheet programs. In most cases, I generally find it quicker to create my own layout than spend hours browsing through predesigned documents that don’t look anything like what I had in mind. With that being said, I found the project templates included with Quattro Pro, ones that might actually be of use, especially to those looking for items to help analyze their personal finances.
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One thing that particularly caught my attention in Quattro Pro was the large number of chart options available, many of which are not found in Excel. Although it is possible to create items like histograms and Gantt charts in Excel, it can’t be done with the click of a button or easy use of a chart picker, as it can in Quattro Pro. (See Creating Quattro Pro Gantt Charts for more details.)
Another nice feature in Quattro Pro’s Chart Expert is the Advisor’s Choice button. If you don’t know what type of chart would best represent your data, you can click this button and Quattro Pro will make a recommendation for which type of chart to use.
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In general, the fundamental capabilities of Quattro Pro are very much in line with other major spreadsheet programs today. As in Excel, there are a multitude of pre-defined functions with sometimes less than obvious names, but the Functions dialog box makes it easy to find and pick the one you want.
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