For more information contact: Bruce Belson Planatech Solutions Ltd bruceb@as-ltd.co.uk www.as-ltd.co.uk

XLL Plus lets C/C++ programmers produce Excel add-ins in minutes

London - March 20th, 2002 - Planatech Solutions Ltd, a London-based software development and consulting company, today announced the release of version 4 of XLL Plus.

XLL Plus is a developer toolkit for producing Excel add-in libraries in C++. All coding is done in C++ (no Visual Basic is used), and developers need no knowledge of the Excel SDK.

The new release allows C++ developers with little or no experience of writing for the Excel SDK to produce fully-featured Excel add-ins in minutes.

The toolkit is fully integrated with Microsoft Developer Studio, and includes:

• a DevStudio AppWizard which creates all the framework code for an Excel add-in project in DevStudio.
• a Function Wizard which works inside DevStudio to let the developer specify and edit Excel add-in functions. The Function Wizard generates and maintains all the skeleton code needed for each Excel add-in function.
• an extensive library of C++ classes which delivers all the power of the Excel SDK to the developer, while hiding its complexity.
• extensive User Guide which lets the developer get started right away, but also covers every feature of the toolkit.
• complete on-line help (fully integrated into DevStudio).
• many example projects and functions.

XLL+ has now been in use for 4 years and continues to provide a robust platform for C++ developers of Excel add-ins. Customers using XLL+ include many of the world's leading financial institutions.

Planatech's Managing Director, Bruce Belson, said: "We've responded to our customers' requests for a short learning curve and a simple and intuitive user interface, by writing a new User Guide and by adding a host of powerful new features to the Wizards. XLL+ cuts the learning curve for producing add-in libraries from hours to minutes.

"XLL+ uses our proprietary Language Engine technology to generate robust, efficient C++ code. We have successfully used the same technology in our SciIntegrator and SciXL products (both distributed by SciComp Inc), to generate code for COM/ATL, Java/JNI and .NET."

About Planatech Solutions Ltd

Planatech provides software development and consulting for the financial services industry. Planatech's products are used by global financial institutions to manage stable technical solutions to complex trade support problems. Visit www.as-ltd.co.uk or mail us at sales@as-ltd.co.uk for more information.