database program?

On 3/4/15 1:28 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
On 3/4/2015 2:05 PM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 3/4/15 11:15 AM, Jo-Anne wrote:
On 3/4/2015 11:51 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Ken Springer:

snip

Hmm, the only handheld device that I might like to load my database onto
(to take to stores) is my iPad. At this point I don't even know if that
can be done, although FileMaker does work on both PCs and Apple
computers.

I just looked at the FileMaker site, and they do have an iPad app. I
didn't dig into it far enough to see if it will sync/interface with
FileMaker for either Windows/OS X.

The first question I would ask myself is if I really need
synchronization for the book database. Would a simple file transfer of
some type be sufficient. If that's the case, and you have a home
network, you could use the network to transfer a file type of choice
when needed. I'm thinking along the lines of a spreadsheet, and having
Numbers or another spreadsheet that can read a simple spreadsheet
installed on the iPad. IIRC, networking an iPad 1 is a chore, though.

I use my home network for this type of "synchronization", or did, until
I had to do a hard reset of the router. Never have taken the time to
get it all back up and running, lots of time before the idea needs to be
fully up and running.

When it was running, I had 2 dual boot Windows computers, a Windows
netbook, and an Android tablet all configured to let me copy anything
from anywhere to anywhere as I wanted. The tablet at that time was just
one way, as I never got to giving myself administrator privileges on the
tablet, which is apparently necessary for it to show up on the network
on the computers. However, I could access everything from the tablet
end. The NAS device I mentioned to Pete will also be accessible to
everything.


Thank you, Ken.

Your welcome.

I do have a home network, but I haven't done any
sychronizing.

To be clear, my definition here of synchronizing is simply making the
data available to all systems on the network. Nothing is updated
automatically like cloud synchronization does, where you type something
in a program on one computer/device, and in a few seconds the changes
appear on any other computer/device that is turned on. Which means your
data is stored on someone else's computer system.

I know I should, but it's that much more to learn. I used
to love playing with new programs.

For me, the most fun of computers was always trying different programs
to see what made them different from their competition. These days,
about the only real difference I see is in the user interface, not in
the features they provide. This assumes the same general price point if
you pay for the software.

Now I just want things to stay as
much the same as possible.

And that's exactly why I like this Mac so much more over Windows. So
very, very few OS updates compared to Windows. And why I never see me
reverting to Windows for normal day to day use. I am plodding along so
slowly with a history research project that I'll do in Windows, probably
Windows 7. Just don't really like the "feel" of Win 8.

Instead, I now have to start over with a new
OS and go from there. The iPad had a learning curve too, since the
manual was next to useless (got better results with Google)--but of
course it's much less powerful and flexible than a real computer.

That's always going to be a problem when updating, even with OS X. I've
2 versions behind there, but I haven't seen anything in the newer
versions that appeal to me, meaning the touted new features are of no
value to me. Just like I have zero need for "live tiles" and the Metro
interface of Win 8.

As for tablets in general, I don't consider the Surface to be a tablet.
It's a laptop that disconnects from the keyboard.


--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 33.1
Thunderbird 31.0
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On 3/4/2015 3:15 PM, dadiOH wrote:
"Jo-Anne" wrote in message
...

Thank you. Do you use FileAmigo? If so, is it easy to configure? My book
catalog is set up as though each book were on a file card. What I'd want
to do is import the data into something similar.

If your DB was actually file cards - i.e., separate files - I would suggest
Where Is It to you.
http://www.whereisit-soft.com/

Its primary function is to catalog files on other media, be that media HD,
CD, DVD, etc. I use it to keep track of the hundreds of programs I have
downloaded over the years. I know of no other program performing its
primary function that does it anywhere close to as well as Where Is It does.
However, I don't know if it would serve for your purpose or not. A modestly
crippled, unregistered version is available for download so that you could
try it if you think it might work for you. If it does, registration is only
$40.


Thank you. I'll check it out.

Jo-Anne

On 3/4/2015 3:23 PM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 3/4/15 1:28 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
On 3/4/2015 2:05 PM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 3/4/15 11:15 AM, Jo-Anne wrote:
On 3/4/2015 11:51 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Ken Springer:

snip

Hmm, the only handheld device that I might like to load my database
onto
(to take to stores) is my iPad. At this point I don't even know if that
can be done, although FileMaker does work on both PCs and Apple
computers.

I just looked at the FileMaker site, and they do have an iPad app. I
didn't dig into it far enough to see if it will sync/interface with
FileMaker for either Windows/OS X.

The first question I would ask myself is if I really need
synchronization for the book database. Would a simple file transfer of
some type be sufficient. If that's the case, and you have a home
network, you could use the network to transfer a file type of choice
when needed. I'm thinking along the lines of a spreadsheet, and having
Numbers or another spreadsheet that can read a simple spreadsheet
installed on the iPad. IIRC, networking an iPad 1 is a chore, though.

I use my home network for this type of "synchronization", or did, until
I had to do a hard reset of the router. Never have taken the time to
get it all back up and running, lots of time before the idea needs to be
fully up and running.

When it was running, I had 2 dual boot Windows computers, a Windows
netbook, and an Android tablet all configured to let me copy anything
from anywhere to anywhere as I wanted. The tablet at that time was just
one way, as I never got to giving myself administrator privileges on the
tablet, which is apparently necessary for it to show up on the network
on the computers. However, I could access everything from the tablet
end. The NAS device I mentioned to Pete will also be accessible to
everything.


Thank you, Ken.

Your welcome.

I do have a home network, but I haven't done any
sychronizing.

To be clear, my definition here of synchronizing is simply making the
data available to all systems on the network. Nothing is updated
automatically like cloud synchronization does, where you type something
in a program on one computer/device, and in a few seconds the changes
appear on any other computer/device that is turned on. Which means your
data is stored on someone else's computer system.

I know I should, but it's that much more to learn. I used
to love playing with new programs.

For me, the most fun of computers was always trying different programs
to see what made them different from their competition. These days,
about the only real difference I see is in the user interface, not in
the features they provide. This assumes the same general price point if
you pay for the software.

Now I just want things to stay as
much the same as possible.

And that's exactly why I like this Mac so much more over Windows. So
very, very few OS updates compared to Windows. And why I never see me
reverting to Windows for normal day to day use. I am plodding along so
slowly with a history research project that I'll do in Windows, probably
Windows 7. Just don't really like the "feel" of Win 8.

Instead, I now have to start over with a new
OS and go from there. The iPad had a learning curve too, since the
manual was next to useless (got better results with Google)--but of
course it's much less powerful and flexible than a real computer.

That's always going to be a problem when updating, even with OS X. I've
2 versions behind there, but I haven't seen anything in the newer
versions that appeal to me, meaning the touted new features are of no
value to me. Just like I have zero need for "live tiles" and the Metro
interface of Win 8.

As for tablets in general, I don't consider the Surface to be a tablet.
It's a laptop that disconnects from the keyboard.


I thought about a Mac, but it would mean starting over and a higher
learning curve--and my favorite word processor, WordPerfect, wouldn't
work on it unless I used a Windows mode (or whatever it's called on the
Mac).

I agree with what you said about synchronization, and I meant it when I
said I hadn't synched anything. That means if I want to get a file from
my laptop to my netbook (fortunately not often), I put it on a USB stick
and plug it into the netbook.

At this point, I may be ready to synch computers--but I don't know if
the Win7 computer will synch with the WinXP computers. And I suspect my
old HP 4100 LaserJet printer won't synch no matter what. At one point, I
was able to print remotely, but then a nearby lightning strike fried
something in the HP. Now all I can do is connect it to my computer with
a USB cable. I love the printing, however, so have kept the machine.

I checked the iPad too, and it looks like neither of my two printers
match what's needed to print remotely from it.

Jo-Anne

My $0.02 worth is that Borland's DOS based flat file Reflex database program was
the best ever. Al the flat file Db's Ive used since then have alway left
something be be desired. Crosstabs were the best, mouse drag and drop...on and
on. It did run on XP and can be d/l'd but I have my doubts as to being able to
run in on Win7 64X.
R. Wink

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 11:56:01 -0600, Jo-Anne wrote:

On 3/4/2015 11:08 AM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 3/3/15 4:32 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
On 3/3/2015 4:47 PM, mechanic wrote:
On Tue, 03 Mar 2015 12:50:14 -0600, Jo-Anne wrote:

All I use it for is maintaining a database of my book collection.

It's the 21st C. Move the book catalog onto the web:
https://www.librarything.com/index.php
It's been going for a few years and approaches the problem from the
'book' point of view, as a librarian would.


Thank you, Mechanic. I'll look at it to see if there's a way to save the
catalog on my computer. I prefer not to store things in the cloud. Also,
if it's not easy to move the data, it won't help me much. I have over
8,000 books in my database.

Jo-Anne

The one thing no one ever talks about when it come to the cloud is, if
you lose internet connectivity, your programs and computer just becomes
a doorstop. LOL



True, Ken. And since we have a pretty crappy phone company and DSL, we
sometimes lose the internet for hours at a time (much more often than we
lose the phone connection). The last time I called (and I usually wait
at least an hour so others will have reported the outage and I won't get
told to turn my router off and on to see if that's the problem), I got a
robotic voice saying, "If you live in [my area] we know there's a
problem and we're working on it." This was at 1:00 a.m. It wasn't fixed
until around 9:00 a.m.

Jo-Anne

Jo-Anne

Steve Hayes wrote on 3/3/2015 11:28 PM:
On Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:24:29 -0500, Alek
wrote:

Jo-Anne wrote on 3/3/2015 1:50 PM:
I'm about to receive the new Windows 7 Professional computer I ordered;
my old computers are WinXP. I suspect a few of my ancient programs won't
work on this 64-bit machine. Among them is FileMaker Pro, version 3 (I
think the program is up to version 13 now). All I use it for is
maintaining a database of my book collection.

Any recommendations for a free or low-cost database program that I could
import my files into and configure for my purpose?

Lotus Approach is part of IBM/Lotus SmartSuite. I have seen it for $30
and less.

That too is an old program, and has problems running on newer
machines.

Version 9.8 is compatible with Win 8.1.

On 3/4/15 5:55 PM, Alek wrote:
Steve Hayes wrote on 3/3/2015 11:28 PM:
On Tue, 03 Mar 2015 20:24:29 -0500, Alek
wrote:

Jo-Anne wrote on 3/3/2015 1:50 PM:
I'm about to receive the new Windows 7 Professional computer I ordered;
my old computers are WinXP. I suspect a few of my ancient programs won't
work on this 64-bit machine. Among them is FileMaker Pro, version 3 (I
think the program is up to version 13 now). All I use it for is
maintaining a database of my book collection.

Any recommendations for a free or low-cost database program that I could
import my files into and configure for my purpose?

Lotus Approach is part of IBM/Lotus SmartSuite. I have seen it for $30
and less.

That too is an old program, and has problems running on newer
machines.

Version 9.8 is compatible with Win 8.1.

Where can I confirm that online? It's not listed on IBM's Lotus site.
I found a lot of them for sale on ebay, only one claims to be Win 8
compatible. I'd like to know who did the updating. Since it was
written for XP and older, I doubt it was IBM.

SmartSuite has been replaced by Lotus Symphony.

I sure did like the organizer, though.

Even if it does run under Win 7/8, I'd bet it won't read the latest MS
Office file formats.



--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 33.1
Thunderbird 31.0
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On 3/4/15 2:44 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
On 3/4/2015 3:23 PM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 3/4/15 1:28 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
On 3/4/2015 2:05 PM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 3/4/15 11:15 AM, Jo-Anne wrote:
On 3/4/2015 11:51 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Ken Springer:

snip

I thought about a Mac, but it would mean starting over and a higher
learning curve--and my favorite word processor, WordPerfect, wouldn't
work on it unless I used a Windows mode (or whatever it's called on the
Mac).

Corel promised the Mac world it would continue Mac versions of Word
Perfect when Corel purchased it. They reneged.

There are two ways to run Windows software, one is Boot Camp, comes with
Macs, and the other is virtual machine software. With Boot Camp, you
run the computer either as a Mac or as a Windows computer, you cannot
use both operating systems at the same time. I want to do that, so I
use VM software. There are 3 of these programs I know of, Parallels
Desktop, VM Fusionware, and Virtual Box. Virtual Box is an open source
product, and as such is free.

I use Parallels so I can run both operating systems at the same time, as
needed.

I agree with what you said about synchronization, and I meant it when I
said I hadn't synched anything. That means if I want to get a file from
my laptop to my netbook (fortunately not often), I put it on a USB stick
and plug it into the netbook.

At this point, I may be ready to synch computers--but I don't know if
the Win7 computer will synch with the WinXP computers. And I suspect my
old HP 4100 LaserJet printer won't synch no matter what. At one point, I
was able to print remotely, but then a nearby lightning strike fried
something in the HP. Now all I can do is connect it to my computer with
a USB cable. I love the printing, however, so have kept the machine.

If by syncing 7 to XP via a network, it will. I also checked HP's
website, there is a driver for Win7.

I checked the iPad too, and it looks like neither of my two printers
match what's needed to print remotely from it.

Printing from the iPad is a known issue, but I believe there are ways to
accomplish it. Since I don't own one, never took the time to find out
how. My book on the iPad Mini mentions AirPrint, so if you have that
you may be able to do it. There's also a reference to printing via your
network, but I'm not clear on how it's done.


--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 33.1
Thunderbird 31.0
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 15:44:31 -0600, Jo-Anne wrote:

I agree with what you said about synchronization, and I meant it when I
said I hadn't synched anything. That means if I want to get a file from
my laptop to my netbook (fortunately not often), I put it on a USB stick
and plug it into the netbook.

A form of the old tried-and-true Sneakernet.

At this point, I may be ready to synch computers--but I don't know if
the Win7 computer will synch with the WinXP computers.

I suspect that you're asking whether they can be networked, and the answer
is yes.

And I suspect my
old HP 4100 LaserJet printer won't synch no matter what.

Right. Printers aren't good candidates for "sync", but many can be networked
so that you can easily print to them from any PC on the network.

At one point, I
was able to print remotely, but then a nearby lightning strike fried
something in the HP. Now all I can do is connect it to my computer with
a USB cable. I love the printing, however, so have kept the machine.

On the PC where it's connected via USB, simply 'share' the printer to the
rest of the network. All of your other PC's will be able to print to it, but
only if the directly-connected PC is turned on. That's the beauty of true
network printing, in that no host computer is required.

I checked the iPad too, and it looks like neither of my two printers
match what's needed to print remotely from it.

I can't offer anything there. We're Apple free here and plan to stay that
way.

--

Char Jackson

On 3/3/2015 1:50 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
I'm about to receive the new Windows 7 Professional computer I ordered;
my old computers are WinXP. I suspect a few of my ancient programs won't
work on this 64-bit machine. Among them is FileMaker Pro, version 3 (I
think the program is up to version 13 now). All I use it for is
maintaining a database of my book collection.

Any recommendations for a free or low-cost database program that I could
import my files into and configure for my purpose? I have the
home/student versions of WordPerfect Office and Microsoft Office, and as
far as I know they don't come with database programs.

Thank you,

Jo-Anne


Wouldn't it be great if everyone learned to TRIM their replies?

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 22:16:52 +0200, Steve Hayes
wrote:

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 08:45:30 -0700, Ken Blake
wrote:

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 06:26:22 +0200, Steve Hayes
wrote:

On Tue, 03 Mar 2015 12:50:14 -0600, Jo-Anne
wrote:

I'm about to receive the new Windows 7 Professional computer I ordered;
my old computers are WinXP. I suspect a few of my ancient programs won't
work on this 64-bit machine. Among them is FileMaker Pro, version 3 (I
think the program is up to version 13 now). All I use it for is
maintaining a database of my book collection.

Any recommendations for a free or low-cost database program that I could
import my files into and configure for my purpose? I have the
home/student versions of WordPerfect Office and Microsoft Office, and as
far as I know they don't come with database programs.

If you change the order to the 32-bit version, your old programs will
probably work.



It's a very rare program that will work under 32-bit Windows, but not
64-bit Windows.

Most of the oprograms I use most often would not run under Windows 64
bit. I switched to 32 bit and they ran fine.



What programs are these? I didn't say it was never the case, but it is
rare.

When I switched from 32-bit Windows to 64-bit, I ran into no problems
with programs I used not working, on neither of my machines here.

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 10:21:08 -0600, Jo-Anne
wrote:

On 3/3/2015 10:26 PM, Steve Hayes wrote:
On Tue, 03 Mar 2015 12:50:14 -0600, Jo-Anne
wrote:

I'm about to receive the new Windows 7 Professional computer I ordered;
my old computers are WinXP. I suspect a few of my ancient programs won't
work on this 64-bit machine. Among them is FileMaker Pro, version 3 (I
think the program is up to version 13 now). All I use it for is
maintaining a database of my book collection.

Any recommendations for a free or low-cost database program that I could
import my files into and configure for my purpose? I have the
home/student versions of WordPerfect Office and Microsoft Office, and as
far as I know they don't come with database programs.

If you change the order to the 32-bit version, your old programs will
probably work.


Can't do. I tried. 32-bit machines are no longer being made--at least
not by Dell.


I *think* he meant 32-bit Windows, not 32-bit hardware. 32-bit Windows
*will* run on a 64-bit computer.

However, as I said earlier, I disagree with his recommendation. Most
32-bit programs (the great majority of 32-bit programs) will run under
64-bit Windows without a problem.

On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 11:33:35 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 22:16:52 +0200, Steve Hayes
wrote:

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 08:45:30 -0700, Ken Blake
wrote:

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 06:26:22 +0200, Steve Hayes
wrote:

On Tue, 03 Mar 2015 12:50:14 -0600, Jo-Anne
wrote:

I'm about to receive the new Windows 7 Professional computer I ordered;
my old computers are WinXP. I suspect a few of my ancient programs won't
work on this 64-bit machine. Among them is FileMaker Pro, version 3 (I
think the program is up to version 13 now). All I use it for is
maintaining a database of my book collection.

Any recommendations for a free or low-cost database program that I could
import my files into and configure for my purpose? I have the
home/student versions of WordPerfect Office and Microsoft Office, and as
far as I know they don't come with database programs.

If you change the order to the 32-bit version, your old programs will
probably work.



It's a very rare program that will work under 32-bit Windows, but not
64-bit Windows.

Most of the oprograms I use most often would not run under Windows 64
bit. I switched to 32 bit and they ran fine.



What programs are these? I didn't say it was never the case, but it is
rare.

When I switched from 32-bit Windows to 64-bit, I ran into no problems
with programs I used not working, on neither of my machines here.

What I know about Steve (from reading here) is that he runs XP and uses
batch files extensively. Adding 2+2, it wouldn't be a leap to assume that he
runs some 16-bit programs, and those would be fine on 32-bit Windows but
wouldn't run on 64-bit.

Steve, am I on the right track regarding the stuff that doesn't work in
64-bit Windows?

--

Char Jackson

On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 11:32:21 -0500, Karen wrote:

Wouldn't it be great if everyone learned to TRIM their replies?

You should practice what you preach...

--
s|b

On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 13:27:06 -0600, Char Jackson
wrote:

On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 11:33:35 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 22:16:52 +0200, Steve Hayes
wrote:

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 08:45:30 -0700, Ken Blake
wrote:

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 06:26:22 +0200, Steve Hayes
wrote:

On Tue, 03 Mar 2015 12:50:14 -0600, Jo-Anne
wrote:

I'm about to receive the new Windows 7 Professional computer I ordered;
my old computers are WinXP. I suspect a few of my ancient programs won't
work on this 64-bit machine. Among them is FileMaker Pro, version 3 (I
think the program is up to version 13 now). All I use it for is
maintaining a database of my book collection.

Any recommendations for a free or low-cost database program that I could
import my files into and configure for my purpose? I have the
home/student versions of WordPerfect Office and Microsoft Office, and as
far as I know they don't come with database programs.

If you change the order to the 32-bit version, your old programs will
probably work.



It's a very rare program that will work under 32-bit Windows, but not
64-bit Windows.

Most of the oprograms I use most often would not run under Windows 64
bit. I switched to 32 bit and they ran fine.



What programs are these? I didn't say it was never the case, but it is
rare.

When I switched from 32-bit Windows to 64-bit, I ran into no problems
with programs I used not working, on neither of my machines here.

What I know about Steve (from reading here) is that he runs XP and uses
batch files extensively. Adding 2+2, it wouldn't be a leap to assume that he
runs some 16-bit programs, and those would be fine on 32-bit Windows but
wouldn't run on 64-bit.

Steve, am I on the right track regarding the stuff that doesn't work in
64-bit Windows?

More or less.

I use batch files to copy my main data files between my desktop
computer (running XP) and laptop (running Win 7), and so use the same
programs to manipulate those data files. Some do not run under 64-bit
Windows.

My wife has a 64-bit computer, and she always has to ask me to run a
calendar program we both used to use.



My wife
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

On Thu, 05 Mar 2015 11:36:34 -0700, Ken Blake
wrote:

On Wed, 04 Mar 2015 10:21:08 -0600, Jo-Anne
wrote:

On 3/3/2015 10:26 PM, Steve Hayes wrote:
On Tue, 03 Mar 2015 12:50:14 -0600, Jo-Anne
wrote:

I'm about to receive the new Windows 7 Professional computer I ordered;
my old computers are WinXP. I suspect a few of my ancient programs won't
work on this 64-bit machine. Among them is FileMaker Pro, version 3 (I
think the program is up to version 13 now). All I use it for is
maintaining a database of my book collection.

Any recommendations for a free or low-cost database program that I could
import my files into and configure for my purpose? I have the
home/student versions of WordPerfect Office and Microsoft Office, and as
far as I know they don't come with database programs.

If you change the order to the 32-bit version, your old programs will
probably work.


Can't do. I tried. 32-bit machines are no longer being made--at least
not by Dell.


I *think* he meant 32-bit Windows, not 32-bit hardware. 32-bit Windows
*will* run on a 64-bit computer.

However, as I said earlier, I disagree with his recommendation. Most
32-bit programs (the great majority of 32-bit programs) will run under
64-bit Windows without a problem.


The question, however, is not about "most" programs, but Joann's
database program.


--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk