Simon & Schuster

Rescue Me, "The Rebuilder For Damaged Spreadsheets," is a 1988 software package from Simon & Schuster for IBM, Tandy, Compaq, and compatible computers. Rescue Me recovers damaged spreadsheet files and generates extensive damage reports. Rescue Me works with Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS and all compatible spreadsheet files, such as, Symphony, Quattro, Surpass, Twin, and VP Planner. Rescue Me only needs 128K of RAM to run.

When a spreadsheet file is damaged, your spreadsheet program will usually not even load it.

Rescue Me makes three passes on a damaged spreadsheet file. First, it searches the file byte-by-byte for information that is not compatible with the spreadsheet program. Second, it uses special pattern matching routines to reconstruct the incompatible data into a format that can be used by your spreadsheet. Third, it checks the data for validity and rejects any information that isn't perfectly acceptable for your spreadsheet program.

In its damage reports, Rescue Me tells you the number of formulas, values, and labels that were damaged, their locations, and what was done to repair them. These damage reports can be viewed on screen or saved and printed later.

I am writing this review in October, 2008. I still use Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS. It works just fine on my AMD 64 machine running Windows XP Media Edition. It is good to know that Rescue Me is still covering my back.… (more)