Section B.2. Capabilities

Table B-2 shows a grid of the major desktop functions and the key capabilities that every desktop solution should provide.

Table B-2. Desktop requirements
Desktop function	Key capabilities
Graphical desktop environment	Consistent look and feel Standardized menu and toolbars, keybindings, and color schemes Integrated help system Internationalization support Plenty of useful applications
Word processing	Ability to generate simple office documents such as memorandums and business forms Option to generate complex office documents with embedded spreadsheets and charts and tables Sophisticated style sheet support Auto correction and spellchecking Template support
Spreadsheets	Ability to generate simple formulae, charts, and statistics Ability to include the options for conditional coloring of cells and data display customization using various fonts
Presentations	Ability to insert and edit rich text Support for complex layouts of media objects Functions for playing presentations with transitions and other effects Publishing tools for exporting presentations as HTML to a web site
Database management	Small database management tools Mail merge
Web browsing	Availability of a standards-compliant rendering engine (HTML 4.x, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript) Full support for safe and secure web browsing (HTTP 1.1, SSL) Ability to support rich multimedia (Flash, streaming media such as RealNetworks and Windows Media)