The Cutting Edge: Computing/Technology/Innovation : Two Database Programs That Can Help You Get Organized
The only problem with organizing information in databases and spreadsheets and personal information managers is that the software programs assume that your information is already organized.
But what is to be done with the random collections of telephone messages, scribbled notes from meetings, to-do lists, memos, clippings and other miscellany that clutter my--and, I assume, many peoples’--desks?
Fortunately, a couple of programs for Windows-based computers are designed to handle just this sort of information hodgepodge.
AskSam for Windows 2.0 is sold directly for $149.95 by its publisher, askSam Systems, P.O. Box 1428, Perry, FL 32347, (800) 800-1997. Info Select, Windows Edition, is sold directly for $99.95 by Micro Logic Corp., P.O. Box 70, Hackensack, NJ 07602, (800) 342-5930.
What they have in common is the ability to organize random information and allow you to find and retrieve items easily. AskSam is definitely worth the extra $50 it costs, but Info Select--or even the $19.95 trimmed-down version called Info Select Express--may be all you need.
Although Info Select is a Windows program, its DOS heritage is still apparent. The program primarily is meant to store unstructured text, which it does in a series of windows, or boxes, on the screen. Each window contains information on a particular topic, and you can see as many windows at once as will fit on your screen.
For instance, several windows might contain names, addresses, and telephone numbers while another contains a draft memo. Yet another could contain preliminary sales totals just telephoned in from branch managers. There can be dozens--or hundreds--of others, such as windows with the text of letters into which names and addresses from other windows can be merged.
Info Select has several methods for finding data: the common “and” and “or” search combinations, as well as a unique “neural” search method. That one lets you enter a number of different words, then finds the windows that contain the maximum number of those words.
Special features enable you to add columns of numbers or sort data by column. You can also set up structured forms complete with database-style fields to make invoices or purchase orders, for instance. There are 13 samples of forms to get you started.
AskSam for Windows 2.0 is a more powerful and versatile program, better for producing reports and managing mail. This program calls each separate file a database. Within a database are several documents, the equivalent of records in a conventional database.
AskSam for Windows can handle both unstructured and structured information, so each document within the database file can have a different format.
AskSam displays only one document on the screen at a time, but you can set up sophisticated searches that let you pull together common documents from within a database. In addition to the usual “and,” “or” and “not” search methods, the program has proximity searching, by which it will find only the documents where one word is within a specified proximity of another. When a document with a phone number is called to the screen, the program will place the phone call for you.
AskSam for Windows has a separate report designer, unlike Info Select, which has none. It is quite good, even letting you tie the document selection criteria together with the report layout. Then you can save the report definition and rerun it whenever you need to.
Business Computing welcomes your comments. Write to Richard O’Reilly, Computer File, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, or message oreilly@la times.com on the Internet.
