This is certainly one of the most comprehensive applications of its type. It enables you to browse through:

• An encyclopedia which allows you to get to articles on more than 5000 topics.  Icons and hypertext within an article link to related information;
• A world atlas that displays interactive maps of the world, continents and countries;
• A dictionary/thesaurus, that gives you definitions and synonyms for more than 100,00 words;
• An almanac to give you facts and statistics on thousands of subjects in the form of articles, tables and/or charts;
• A home medical guide where you can find articles on health, safety, first aid, diseases and many other medical related topics;
• A geographical dictionary that gives you descriptions of geographical places, including continents, countries, regions and cities;
• A world history encyclopedia for those that are interested in information regarding historical eras as well as events and places that have shaped history;
• A writer’s handbook on grammar and punctuation and (which we all can use).

They also include an Internet Directory to find Web site descriptions and a Multimedia area to display animations, pictures, slide shows, etc. in the Media Viewer.

You can search for keywords, or browse an alphabetical list of topics. It also enables you to click on a reference icon to search its contents.  It allows you to type in a topic in the text box and that topic will be highlighted in the alphabetical list.  If you click on the viewer icon to access the viewer’s drop down menu, you can see a picture of what you requested in the topic area.  One of the icons enlarges the viewer to full screen size, and if you click on it again it reduces the size of the viewer, and of course, you can use a scroll bar to move text up and down.  Within the text they have different colored links. One indicates words found in a search, and the other is a link to related items in the same reference.  Also, you can double click on a word to look up its meaning and synonyms in the dictionary/thesaurus portion of this encyclopedia.

The Option Buttons are a feature that I haven’t seen before. The Tableau button changes the layout of the Find, Media and Article Viewers.  The Viewer button toggles among viewers when one and two are hidden.  The Tools displays a menu for accessing various program settings and features and the Notebook will open up a built in word processor so that you can type, copy and paste text that you may need.  You can also Backtrack with a special button to return to a previously viewed item.

The use of many icons makes for a very user friendly application, and a thoroughly enjoyable trip around the world.

If that isn’t enough to browse through, also include is another $49.00 value (if you bought it separately) in the form of a most magnificent cookbook.  You get about 2500 recipes in addition to a Menu Planner, Nutritional Value for various foods, and the preparation time for any of the menus that you choose.  You can go into the category area and find information about ethnic food, garnishes, various food groups, and so much more.  They have also included chefs tips on every type of food, beverage, fruit, spices, etc. Not only all of the above, but they have made it an interactive cookbook so that when you go to help, there are verbal explanations of where to go in the cookbook to get where you want to go.  You can search for recipes by category or name; you can work with the Chef’s tips and how they relate to various recipes, you can customize recipes or create new ones with their tips.

Lastly, they have a menu planner and wizard, which always helps with the busy homemaker/business person.  That is worth just about everything.