Time for our regular roundup of RISC OS rarities.

We start with a new version of the acclaimed ViewXLS, which makes Microsoft Excel files accessible on RISC OS. Toni Reiser's application now offers CSV export, adjustable cell widths and heights, different formats for zero and negative numbers, and some bugs have been fixed in the bargain too.

Iyonix owners can now enjoy the full potential of their input devices thanks to new USB drivers from X-Ample Technology. HID is shareware and provides functionality for scroll wheel mice and special buttons on keyboards and mice. It even allows multiple keyboards and mice to be used.

Director is another of those popular utilities without which a desktop isn't complete. It allows you to customise your desktop by creating menus of useful commands and icons, and allows an alternative directory menu file viewer. The 0.37 stable release includes fixes and features from several developers.

TextSeek, the fast file search program, reaches version 1.43 with the correction of a nasty bug that can cause menu entries to disappear between sessions. Harriet Bazley recommends that all users should upgrade.

Sometimes it can be awkward displaying debugging information when developing a desktop program. Reporter from Martin Avison provides a solution. A debugging window can hold text and variable values from applications and Obey files. Version 2.54 provides several formatting and functional updates, and includes a major new component called ReportTA. This analyses TRACE data from BASIC programs, allowing (for example) heavily used source sections to be identified (and then optimised?).

Finally we come to Httplint from one of the NetSurf developers, James Bursa. It performs various checks on HTTP/1.1 headers returned by a web server, checks the syntax and content, warns about missing headers, and suggests improvements. Webmasters, server admins, and the downright nosey may all find it invaluable. Get it from here.