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5451

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« Last post by superboyac on December 13, 2007, 12:17 PM »

PPL, will SQLNotes have any slowdown as the database grows larger?
I've noticed this with a lot of notetaking programs.  The speed of SQL is pretty good right now, and it's important that it doesn't slow down significantly because the program's power and flexibility is suited for keeping large databases in it.  Will SQL support storing additional content in the future, like displaying pictures and so forth, because things like that cause slowdowns.

5452

General Software Discussion / Re: GemX - missing in action

« Last post by superboyac on December 13, 2007, 12:08 PM »

I'll throw in my two cents here...Betaclock.  It's the greatest system tray clock you will find.
http://www.betaclock.com/


Everything is customizeable.

5453

General Software Discussion / Re: GemX - missing in action

« Last post by superboyac on December 13, 2007, 10:17 AM »

I just tried Yagoon, it's one of the better calendar softwares I've seen.  Much better than the GemX calendars.  I still think the absolute best calendar software is Calendarscope.

5454

General Software Discussion / Re: Software to visually track network connection/map.

« Last post by superboyac on December 12, 2007, 07:37 PM »

that sounds familiar!  I think that's it.

Maybe I understood the program incorrectly.  This program seems to tell you how the network information once outside your computer (ISP, server, etc.).  Is there a similar thing to track what is happening inside your computer before it goes to the outside world?  Like, how can you tell if a program you're using isn't dialing home occasionally?  Questions like that.  I just bought calendarscope, for example, and it seems to me that it tries to access it's web server even though there's no real need for it to use the internet at all.

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General Software Discussion / Software to visually track network connection/map.

« Last post by superboyac on December 12, 2007, 06:54 PM »

I remember seeing this on bits du jour sometime ago, but don't remember what it was called, or even how to describe it.  It was a cool visual way to track how network information on your computer gets processed.  For example, if you start a program, that exe will call a dll, which will access the internet through some protocol.  So, the program will draw a visual picture and you can trace the line going from the program through the various files and protocols until it reaches the internet.  It was cool, it lets you identify where the problems are happening and where the bottlenecks are and stuff.

If anyone can remember this, or software like it, please let me know.

5456

General Software Discussion / Re: Software to help share files between home/work?

« Last post by superboyac on December 12, 2007, 05:25 PM »

Thanks, I remember that thread, but couldn't find it because I was using the wrong search terms.

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General Software Discussion / Software to help share files between home/work?

« Last post by superboyac on December 12, 2007, 04:51 PM »

Is there a special software out there that can be used to help share files back and forth between home and work?  Let's say you're working on a document.  You make some changes at work, but you want to work on it at home also, so you want the file at home to get updated also.  Furthermore, you don't want to carry around a USB stick or anything.  I'm sure there is a kind of specialized ftp software out there that can help do this.  Any suggestions are appreciated.

5458

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on December 12, 2007, 10:12 AM »

>Sweet!  Are you saying you can add a colored box around the date selector numbers that match the associated category (like Calendarscope)?
>When will this feature be available for SQLNotes?  If not pretty soon, i'm just going to buy Calendarscope in the meantime.

Yes colored box around the date selector number is possible
As to a date, all I can say is that I'm working on it. Perhaps for Xmas. Key criteria are complete integration with SQLNotes and that it be fast!

-PPLandry (December 12, 2007, 08:05 AM)

Well, sounds like you're working on it as fast as possible.  I bought Calendarscope last night anyway.  It's the best calendar ever.

5459

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on December 12, 2007, 12:13 AM »

Date selector: I don't like the one that is bundled. Will most likely use a different one
Day bar height: I'll check on that. [edit] The Office 2000/2003 themes are nicer for that aspect

-PPLandry (December 11, 2007, 11:50 AM)

I checked and...: the date selector can be color coded and the Day bar can be customized 

-PPLandry (December 11, 2007, 08:42 PM)

Sweet!  Are you saying you can add a colored box around the date selector numbers that match the associated category (like Calendarscope)?
When will this feature be available for SQLNotes?  If not pretty soon, i'm just going to buy Calendarscope in the meantime.

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General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on December 11, 2007, 12:53 PM »

well, it's not really that expensive, but when there are so many free ones available, it makes you want to spend less.  I'm a cheap bastard!  OK, I'll probably go buy it tonight.

5461

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on December 11, 2007, 12:30 PM »

Yes, the other themes are much better!  Do you think you can get the program to show all 7 days in the month view so it doesn't bundle Sat/Sun into one box?  How closely can you get it to resemble the Calendarscope view?

You should really try Calendarscope to see all the things it can do.  I've looked into a lot of Calendar programs, and I really feel Calendarscope is unique in terms of visual appearance and customization (not necessarily in function).  I've come across several people who also feel Calendarscope is the best.  But they are turned off by the pricing, that's the only thing.

5462

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on December 11, 2007, 11:37 AM »

OK, here are the subtle things that make Calendarscope so great:

--Fast.  The program is very lightweight and fast.  This is a big deal compared to most other calendar software.  Also, most other calendar software are integrated into larger suites like yours which will make it invariably slower.  However, SN is special because of it's ultimate flexibility, so even I would consider using it as part of the larger suite.  Before this, all I wanted was a calendar program and nothing else.

--Colorful.  Calendarscope has a very simple way of coloring the individual items; it's just based on categories.  Different (user-defineable) colors each category.  The custom category creation is important.  I didn't see that on the SQL module.  Also, in that mini-calendar on the sidebar, Calendarscope has the option color in the dates with events on them.  In this module, the dates just get bolded.  In Calendarscope, the dates were filled with the color of the event (or another color for multiple events).    Very helpful, visually.

--Customizeable view of the main calendar.  In Calendarscope, besides the normal options for viewing (week, day, month) you can also set a user customizeable setting (I liked to use 6-week view).  I find that a lot of calendar software focus on the detailed daily/weekly views and don't give as much attention to the larger, monthly views.  I use primarily the monthly views and rarely use the daily/weekly views because I never have more than one or two things to do in a day (I'm not a CEO or anything).  Calendarscope has a great monthly view because it's colorful, easy to read, and helps your eye focus on the right spots.

--Speaking of focusing your eye, I find that on you module, the bar on the calendar view where the day number is show...the bar is too big, it's as big as an event, and is confusing because it looks like an event!  I don't know if you can control that, but that's something I noticed.

Anyway, there's probably more stuff, but I'm tired of typing.  It's mostly visual, or customizing things.  The basic funcionality of most calendar programs are the same (there isn't really that many creative things you can do with it).  Calendarscope is just so perfect.  My only complaint with it is it's price and upgrade fees.  but maybe I'll just suck it up and get it.  Here's screenshots comparing the two and should show why calendarscope just gets it right.
 

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General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on December 11, 2007, 10:35 AM »

That's a pretty good calendar!  How customizeable will the calendar module be on your end?  Can you tweak some of its finer details yourself, or is it something that you as a programmer don't have much control over since it's 3rd party module?

The reason I ask is because I have a lot of little suggestions that would make the calendar great, but you would be the only person I'd have direct contact with.  I've been thinking of buying Calendarscope for a while, but would hold off on it if the SQL calendar was similar.  I can make a list of things of why Calendarscope is the best if you would find it helpful.

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General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on December 11, 2007, 10:08 AM »

PPL, I was recently thinking about buying a calendar software.  But since SN is going to have it, I may hold off on it.  Do you think you can give a sneak preview screenshot of it for us here?

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General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on December 10, 2007, 01:03 PM »

About the outline number field (the "#" column).  I see that the number gets automatically assigned as you add each new item.  I also noticed that when you move an item in the hierarchy, it's number stays the same.  Should the number of moved items automatically get adjusted according to the new position?

5466

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on December 10, 2007, 11:40 AM »

I think I found a bug:
In the Options, where it says "Create backup on program close", I keep changing it to "Yes" and it keeps going back to No.  That's why I didn't have backups saved that one time.  The setting doesn't stick.

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General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on December 10, 2007, 11:33 AM »

All... This is not what you want to do?

-PPLandry (December 10, 2007, 11:25 AM)

Well, in this case it works.  But I only want to copy the musicitems for these particular items, not the entire database.  What if I had another grid somewhere and I'm using both the MusicItem AND the Item fields?  Then I don't want one to overwrite the other.  I just want to copy/paste for a selected few.


Oh!  I forgot about one of my favorite feature requests...
Will there be a way to password-protect certain items/grids/databases?  Let's say I wanted to keep an outline of personal information, and I wanted to protect a couple of items that had a password, could I do that?  Similarly, I might want to add protection to individual grids or even an entire database.

Zoot allows you to password-protect the database.  Mybase allows pretty good flexibility in that you can protect the individual notes with a password, and you can also protect the whole database file with another password.  I talked about these in my notetaking review a little.

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General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on December 10, 2007, 11:24 AM »

This feature will be added. Currently, you can do with in Field Properties:
1- Select the item field
2- In Equation enter = MusicItem
3- Click Update
4- Remove the equation from the Equation field
5- Close the Field Properties dialog.

-PPLandry (December 10, 2007, 10:55 AM)

If I do it this way, is it going to copy all the MusicItem's into Item for the entire database, or just the ones in this grid?

5469

General Software Discussion / Re: SQLNotes...what is it exactly?

« Last post by superboyac on December 10, 2007, 10:47 AM »

PPL, how do I copy multiple items within SQL?  What if I want to copy some items from one column into another colomn, and I also want to retain the tree structure?  Look at my screenshot below, I want to copy all the musicitem data into the Item column and also retain the tree structure.  It doesn't work if I select them all and do a copy/paste.

I don't know if SN already has the ability, but there should be several ways to copy/paste within the program, kind of like Excel's "paste special".  For example, copying an item including all children item, copying an item without children item, copying only the formatting of an item, etc.

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Found Deals and Discounts / Re: on sale: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

« Last post by superboyac on December 06, 2007, 01:53 PM »

Man, this thread got me thinking about the strip again.  I used to read it religiously in the bathroom from the age of about 8 until 21 (serious!).  Now, I don't read it anymore, but I remember how great that comic was.  You know, high society makes a big deal about "high" art (trivia: can anyone recognize the C&H strip I'm referencing here?) like paintings, architecture, acting, operas, etc.  But things like Watterson's comics are often ignored or disregarded in that respect.  The man created something that is beautiful, funny, intensely personal, and no less of a masterpiece than any other art this past century.  He's a genius.

5471

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: on sale: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

« Last post by superboyac on December 06, 2007, 01:37 PM »

Here's a somewhat off-topic question:  Does anyone here know how much money Watterson could have possibly made with his wildly successful comic, with syndication and everything?  I know Seinfeld makes a killing with syndication, how is it for Watterson?

5472

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« Last post by superboyac on December 06, 2007, 01:17 PM »

I can't answer that since I don't know anything about programming.  You'd probably have to make a FF extension like evernote does.  I will say one thing, Evernotes web-clipping extension is amazingly accurate.  A lot of webclipping programs are not very accurate, but Evernote does it right pretty much every time.

5473

General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« Last post by superboyac on December 06, 2007, 12:59 PM »

>Will the filter-as-you-type be able to search the html pane?

The HTML pane uses a field just like all others (ItemHTML, a text field), but with a specialized editor. So yes it will work. A related field is ItemHTMLText which contains the text part of the HTML (without all the markup). I recommend using that one for searching since formatting markup will not get in the way.

-PPLandry (December 06, 2007, 12:53 PM)

Great!  That means I can use SQL as an Evernote replacement if I want.  This program continues to amaze me.

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General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« Last post by superboyac on December 06, 2007, 12:44 PM »

Thanks for the info, Pierre.  That looks amazing.  Truthfully, I don't expect SQL to match Evernote just because SQL has so many more things to search.  Basically, Evernote is searching its database which consists of just notes (which would be analogous to the HTML pane content in SQL).  But besides the HTML pane, SQL also has data in fields, multiple grids, further complicated by the fact that everything is organized into an outline with levels.  Evernote basically has one level of just notes.
So, the searching can't be the same for the two.  However, I think you are doing an excellent job coming up with innovative ways to search in SQL.

Also, SQL is so flexible, I can make a grid and call it "Evernote-replacement", and just dump notes in it without organizing them (all top level).  Then I can use your filter as you type to find anything in there.  So that one grid will essentially act like Evernote.  Will the filter-as-you-type be able to search the html pane?

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General Software Discussion / Re: General brainstorming for Note-taking software

« Last post by superboyac on December 06, 2007, 10:32 AM »

You are quite right that this aspect of SQLNotes does need improvements It should be as simple as: Select text in your browser > right-click > Send as a new item, or > Append to the current item

@ superboyac and Armando: Thank you both for such encouraging words.

@ superboyac: The SQLNotes grid does have a search-as-you-type mode. It is called auto-search. Check it out! Also Filter-as-you-type is coming soon

-PPLandry (December 05, 2007, 08:44 PM)

The auto-search is cool.  The difference with Evernote's search is that evernote will search all text in the database, not just the first word like the auto-search seems to.  Also, as each letter is typed in evernote, any item (note, in their case) that doesn't match the search disappears from the list, so all that is left is a short list of matching items with all the matching terms highlighted.  If your auto-search gets to this level, it would be amazing.  Maybe that's what your filter-as-you-type will do, I'm not sure.

It's a little more complicated with SQL because there are so many more things to search.  In evernote, there's just the notes.  With SQL, there's going to be all the fields, the different grids, the html pane.  So will a filter-as-you-type search all of those things?  Or just the fields?  Ideally, you can customize how the filter works.