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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/4631
AEC Software is a leading developer of
project-focused and business productivity
software for Windows, Mac and Palm.
AEC Software products aid users in
planning, tracking and managing their
projects easily and efficiently while
enhancing communication and achieving
business goals.
Founded in 1985, AEC Software is known
for delivering software that is easy to use,
intuitive, and flexible. AEC Software
supports a global customer base
numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
These users represent a wide variety of
industries and job functions. Some of the
major industries utilizing AEC Software
products include aerospace, architecture
and construction, information technology,
marketing, publishing, advertising and
design, manufacturing, pharmaceutical,
facilities management, the federal
government, and education.
The latest brainchild of AEC Software is
FastTrack Schedule, which really brings
product management on the Mac into
modern life. Gone are the days of the
Gantt charts that depicted different
projects in a grid format. Just about
everything in FastTrack can be modified in
fine detail. For example, each bar can
display sub-bars for scheduled, revised,
and actual time. Each sub-bar can have its
own color fill, pattern, border, and start
and end points. The user can customize
each of the views to suit his needs and
then save the layout to reuse with other
documents. Then there are the toolbars.
FastTrack has lots and lots of them. The
toolbars can even be grouped together
into custom tabbed palettes.
Version 9 of FastTrack Schedule
consolidates files into a master schedule,
allowing very complex projects to be
carved up into smaller documents but
periodically brought together for a big-
picture view. FastTrack also sports
automatic archiving, which saves an
archive copy of the project file at user-
selected intervals. Distinct from a backup,
archive copies accumulate instead of
overwriting previous versions. FastTrack
now reads and writes Microsoft Project
files, giving Mac users a way to share
Project documents without resorting to
Windows. FastTrack also imports Mindjet
MindManager documents, grouping
parent and child branches into task
groups. Schedules may also be exported
to MindManager XML, resulting in a basic
mind map.
"With FastTrack Schedule, students see
that any process can be broken down into
relevant and related parts. Then they were
better able to translate those production
items into line items in a budget," says
professor William Hazelwood of San
Francisco State University. "I became a
believer in FastTrack Schedule through my
independent production company work. A
Fortune 500 client needed a complex
project turned around quickly. When
asked if I could do it I said, 'Rather than
me telling you I can; let me show you how
I will.' They said they had never seen such
an easy-to-read production schedule."
Hazelwood uses FastTrack Schedule as an
integral part of his curriculum at San
Francisco State. He uses the program to
help students understand the need for
planning in the television and film
production process. Each semester
Hazelwood asks his film production
students to devise their dream work
project. Then, by using FastTrack Schedule
to create step-by-step plans, the students
build production schedules for
documentaries, music events, or television
series. Every activity from brainstorming
creative ideas, scouting location sites,
hiring crews, casting talent, editing scripts,
getting client approval, and starting
distribution can be displayed in FastTrack
Schedule's Schedule View.
If learning FastTrack Schedule seems a
little daunting, AEC offers several online
tutorials on the product and a specific
online help center. Classes include getting
started with FastTrack, Managing FastTrack
Schedules and Enhancing FastTrack
Schedules.
Software packages for the FastTrack
Schedule start at $349 and the company
is offering a free upgrade to the
upcoming FastTrack Schedule 10 with the
purchase of version 9. For more
information on FastTrack Schedule or
other AEC products visit: