Q: I put ADAMCalc on a disk by itself and deleted all the files that come with it. Then I put my budget spreadsheet on the disk. When I try to write to the file and store the revised version, I get a message saying, "Can't add file." But the filecard shows no other files. Why can't I store my file?"

A: First of all, you have the right idea. If you don't need those templates that come with ADAMCalc, you should delete them, as you have done, to save space (on your WORKING copy, of course... never on your master backup! Someday you may want those templates!) But, I think you forgot that, if you deleted them from ADAMCalc, it automatically made a backup of each one, just in case. The backups don't show from ADAMCalc, but they take up exactly as much space as the originals! There are all sorts of ways to delete the backups, but the easiest way is to get your directory in SmartWriter (the word processor). Then, you press SmartKey V, which will show you the backup directory. Hit your delete key and delete those files forever. Now you will have room for your budget spreadsheet and the automatic backup that you will get when you revise it each month. (That's a total of two files... each new backup will replace the old backup, just as in BASIC or word processing.) You should even have room left over for your taxes and three.or four other files!!

Spreadsheets take up a lot of space, and, as you know, disks don't have all that much space to begin with. So, if your disk is full of backups, you will use up your allotted space quickly. The smart thing to do is to keep backups of all your files on an entirely different disk. You won't need to put ADAMCalc on that disk, because you won't be using it except in emergency; leaving ADAMCalc off will save you even more space. Of course, if you STILL want more space, you can use tape. That will slow down loading and storing, but not using the program. And, you could keep your files on a separate medium from ADAMCalc. It depends on whether the extra space is more important to you than the convenience of having everything on the same medium.

Q: Sometimes my spreadsheet is too large for memory. Can I circumvent that?

A: If you are answering "YES" when asked if you want on-screen help- you are using up some of your memory. If you really do use the on-screen help feature, fine; but likely you don't use it that much. Try answering "NO" and using the manual or quick-reference guide when you need help. Also, use DELETE instead of BLANK to erase unused areas of the spreadsheet, especially around the edges. The former command really deletes them and tightens up the spreadsheet; the latter leaves them where they are, but empty.

Q: I just started using ADAMCalc, and it seems SO SLOW! Is there anything I can do to speed it up?

A: OH, YES! When ADAMCalc loads, it is set up for automatic recalculation every time you enter any information... even if it's text. Use SmartKey VI: MORE to get to the screen with SmartKeys labelled "Auto Recalc" and "Manual Recalc". You will see that "Auto" is highlighted. Press the key for "Manual". Now the program won't stop to add everything up each time you press "Return", and this will speed things up dramatically!

Q: When I print out my spreadsheet (which covers 4 or 5 pages) on fanfold paper, each page has a smaller top margin than the previous sheet. How do I correct this?

A: Believe it or not, I rarely ever print out my spreadsheets! I can't answer this one. It sounds like it might be related to the SmartWriter problem ... the extra half-space linefeed bug. You might try putting a period in the first cell of any blank rows, but other than that, I don't know. Can any of our readers answer this question? (The person who asked it uses the standard ADAM printer, not a dot-matrix.)