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576

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 04:03 PM »

But I am going to guess, based on superboyac's comments that it is using a MVC approach, with the data stored in a DB and the grid (I think that is what it is called) is just a view into that DB. If I am correct, it might be useful, PPLaundry, to explain what that means in term of (not) losing data when you simply delete a view.

-tinjaw (December 03, 2007, 12:12 PM)

Yes you could say that SQLNotes uses an MVC approach. It is definitely true that data is completely decoupled from the presentation. Item exist whether they are displayed or not. So deleting a grid has absolutely no impact on the data. Grids are windows to view your data. No data resides in a grid (unlike word, excel). In fact grids take up very little space in the database. The same applies to forms. Lastly, grids/forms are the first (and currently only) method to view items, but others are planned (calendar, phonebook, card-view, mind-map). Data stays put, but other views will present it differently.

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 02:09 PM »

>album tracks have been manually set in the order they appear on the album

I'd have a field TrackOrder and put the order there. This will allow you to easily restore the sort.

578

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 01:15 PM »

Do you have Grid > Save item states checked?
If that is not enough, you could have 2 grids with the same items but with different configuration

But if that is not enough, I'll add it as a suggestion, to be able to save/restore a 2nd set of expand states

To have 2 or more different sorting, you could use sorting fields

BTW cursor position (which item is selected) is already saved.

579

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 12:48 PM »

So there's no doubt I'll be testing/using SQLNotes more soon... If only I could sync my palm with it. My life depends on it.

-Armando (December 03, 2007, 12:45 PM)

A number of people are waiting on palm sync too. A few even said that they are just waiting for the API to write the conduit themselves. It would be great. Otherwise I'll do it when I get some time...

What does your palm sync with ? Google Calendar sync coming?
[edit] sync calendar and phonebook sufficient? Or are notes a requirement?

580

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 12:44 PM »

Let's say I take a grid, sort it just the way i want (not logically, but manually).  Is there a way to save that "state"?  Because what if I do some automatic sorting later and lose what I had arranged earlier?

-superboyac (December 03, 2007, 12:40 PM)

Currently Top Level Items (TLI) order is determined by the sort criteria. Sub-items order can be manually set

It is planned to allow for manual positioning of TLIs when sort criteria is empty.

581

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 12:37 PM »

What? No free cameras, motion detectors and highly sophisticated facial recognition plugin to automate it for you? 

-app103 (December 03, 2007, 12:30 PM)

It will have an API and the data engine will be available as an ActiveX, so feel free to include that most useful feature 

582

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 12:35 PM »

A question for you PPLaundry. Although it is a *HUGE* reason to buy SQLNotes, as it would take thousands and thousands of manhours of coding to do, but would you say that SQLnotes is like taking MSAcess and pre--building hundreds, or thousands, of customizable views? I am asking, because I am trying to understand what is at the raw core of SQLnotes.

-tinjaw (December 03, 2007, 12:29 PM)

No, the concept is very different. In Access, you work with tables. Adding fields requires to lock the table and cannot be done if other users have it opened. Linking between tables requires database knowledge. Equations must be done through code. Outlines and hierarchy is non-existant and I could go on and on.
Yes JET is used for storage, but SQLNotes and Access are very different

583

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 12:26 PM »

I think you forgot the "spouse filter".   Depending on whether or not the spouse is in the room also filters out what gets displayed on the computer screen. 

-tinjaw (December 03, 2007, 12:24 PM)

The filter has a toggle button, which can be used to quickly change the grid content if desired   

584

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 12:23 PM »

BTW I'm offering free one-on-one phone conversation to help you get going. [email protected] to set-up a convenient time (as in... now if you want!). No obligation of course!

585

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 12:21 PM »

ok, i got it back thanks.  Yeah, I forgot that I was trying to use that top bar with the filter/sort fields.  So, what's the deal with that top bar?  Whenever I try to use it, I get that bright red status bar on the bottom with some error dialog in it.

-superboyac (December 03, 2007, 12:15 PM)

It is actually a key aspect of SQLNotes. It allows you to decide what to display in the grid (and how to sort it). If you like the folder metaphor, it is the folder you are opening to see its content. If you like the spreadsheet metaphor, it defines which rows (from all rows) to display. 4 pieces are ANDed:
1- the source (from the source bar)
2- the filter (from the source bar)
3- the Alpha-numeric filter toolbar
4- the date filter toolbar

586

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 12:18 PM »

PPLandry,

I have installed SQLNotes and fired it up to make sure it was properly installed. However, I have not yet used it. But I am going to guess, based on superboyac's comments that it is using a MVC approach, with the data stored in a DB and the grid (I think that is what it is called) is just a view into that DB. If I am correct, it might be useful, PPLaundry, to explain what that means in term of (not) losing data when you simply delete a view.

Again, just guessing both on the "issue" and that such an explanation would be helpful.

-tinjaw (December 03, 2007, 12:12 PM)

There is some documentation in the wikispace, but quickly, it follows the Ecco concept. Items can have any number of field values. Items exist in the database. YOU choose what to display in a grid. So even if items are not displayed, they still exist. To see all items, set the grid source, filter (etc) to blank. All items in the database will be displayed. Hope this helps

587

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 12:14 PM »

Well, PPL, I think I'm pretty much sold on your program.  I think SQLNotes is pretty revolutionary.  I don't know if you're aware, but a while back, I wrote the big notetaking review here:
https://www.donation...oteTakers1/index.php

SQLNotes definitely belongs on top of that list.  It offers features and flexibility that are truly unique as far as I can tell.  I will say one thing; it's not for everyone.  I'm not saying it's difficult to use, but it's not what you expect from a notetaker.  I don't even think I would call it a notetaker.  It's more of an outliner than a notetaker, but it does notetaking as well as any notetaker.  Furthermore, it's Access for normal people.

-superboyac (December 03, 2007, 11:29 AM)

Thank you very much. A lot of thinking and effort has gone into this project. Your input will be very valuable.

I've read your review and I'd like to compliment you on this excellent review . I was hoping that SQLNotes, or whatever the final name will be, could one day be included  

588

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 12:11 PM »

Well, now that I'm going to commit to SQLNotes, I'm going to have lots of suggestions for it.  Here's my first one.

Searching should be an essential feature of the program.  Other notetaking software like EverNote and Zoot have awesome searching capabilities.  If SQLNotes is used like I'm thinking it's going to be used, it's going to have a ton of information, and it should be easy to find what you're looking for, especially if you don't remember where you put it.  RIght now, SQLNote's search doesn't work at all for me, but I think it's because I deleted the Search grid that came default.  For some reason, it doesn't work in the default database for me, I don't know why.  Anyway, I'm sure PPL will beef up the search, it's pretty important.

-superboyac (December 03, 2007, 11:38 AM)

It is a good idea to dedicate a grid for search results. If the original is deleted, create a new grid and check "detault grid for search results" in the grid properties

To search, simply hit CTRL-F. type what you want to find
- for text: enter the text, use the comma to separate text blocks
- for dates: enter the date to search
- for number: enter the number you're looking for

You can specify what field to search for, or leave blank to search all fields

You can specify a source grid to limit the search to items in that grid

You can choose where to put the results. Leave blank to show it in the default search grid

If the search results are not quite what you want, you can edit the filter box which was generated by the search

You can specify a source to the search results grid. This will be taken into account. i.e. you want to exclude old stuff, you can put ItemCreated > now - 365 to search in the last year

History is coming soon (browse back, forward) to quickly go back to a previous grid state.

589

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 03, 2007, 12:00 PM »

OK, I hate to say it, but I just lost all my data again.  I get an error saying "error opening grid. check grid source criteria".  All the backups say the same thing, so it looks like I lost everything.  This is a concern for me.  I love the program, but I'm going to be putting a lot of time into my grids, and I can't really afford to lose that information.

-superboyac (December 03, 2007, 11:47 AM)

Don't worry. Nothing is lost. First try to do a repair. If that doesn't work, checkout the source, filter, sort criteria. If all else, send me the file ([email protected]).

590

General Software Discussion / Re: i've outgrown keepass, whats next?

« Last post by PPLandry on December 02, 2007, 08:00 PM »

IMO, it would do exactly what you want and much much more it you wish. But you'd need a separate password generator which is no big deal.

-Armando (December 02, 2007, 01:08 PM)

Thanks Armando. Yes SQLNotes could be used to store passwords (and much much more). Adding a password generator should be trivial. Other than chr length, what other spec. (other than being random) ?

Typically can be:
Password Length:  (4 - 64 chars)
Include Mixed Case:  (e.g. AbcDEf)
Include Numbers:  (e.g. a9b8c7d)
Include Punctuation:  (e.g. a!b*c_d)
No similar characters:  (e.g. i, l, o, 1, 0, I)

BTW, yes the database can be encrypted and password protected

591

General Software Discussion / Re: GemX - missing in action

« Last post by PPLandry on December 01, 2007, 11:38 PM »

4) Notekeepers and Outliners: I'm a crazy fanatic of outliners.

-borengate (October 03, 2007, 02:26 AM)

If you're a fanatic of outliners, you must know Ecco Pro? Perhaps the best one-pane outliner + grid...
You may want to checkout www.sqlnotes.net. It is a rich text one-pane outliner + grid, custom folders, forms, notepads, same as Ecco. Plus many improved features. It is completely free while in beta!

592

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

« Last post by PPLandry on December 01, 2007, 05:53 PM »

>removing an item from the grid

Item appear in the grid if (1) they meet the grid criteria and/or (2) they are sub-items of items that meet the grid criteria. Like I said earlier:

In your example, you are viewing the MusicItem field (or folder if you like the folder metaphor). Any item that have something in this field will be shown. If on line 96 you erase the MusicItem cell (=Alien), that item will no longer be shown in that grid (F5 to refresh)

>Copying items
Top level items (TLI) position is determined by the sort criteria. Sub-items can automatically be sorted if Grid>Sort criteria applies to sub-items is checked. Otherwise, you can drag-drop (or use buttons) to move sub-items up/down or right-click on the parent and click sort ascending or descending.

The same item can appear more than once in a grid for a number of reasons:
1- It has multiple parents. If these parents are displayed in the grid, opening each parent will reveal the sub-item
2- If hierarchy is not checked and both a parent and the item meet the criteria, then the item will be displayed in the grid (as a TLI) and as a sub-item of the parent (if the parent is opened)

If you want the same item to appear in 2 different places in a grid, you can assign it 2 or more parents. If the parents are shown, each will show the item.

To know if two items are really just one, you can look at the itemID (or other info, such as parents, values, etc)

I prefer not to use the word duplicate which can be confusing. The same item can appear in different grid (of course) but as explained just now above, in the same grid also. 2 different items may have the same text for a field, but they are totally distinct.

593

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

« Last post by PPLandry on November 30, 2007, 09:23 PM »

I'm still not understanding the intricacies of deleting, removing, copying, duplicating.  I'm a little afraid to go on until I understand it completely because I don't want to screw up again.

-superboyac (November 30, 2007, 05:43 PM)

In your example, you are viewing the MusicItem field (or folder if you like the folder metaphor). Any item that have something in this field will be shown. If on line 96 you erase the MusicItem cell (=Alien), that item will no longer be shown in that grid (F5 to refresh)

The folder metaphor is sometimes useful (in particular for yes/no fields). You can put items (i.e. notes) in that folder (i.e. check that field).  Double-click that folder in the properties pane will display all items in it (i.e. all items that have a value for that field)

Another interesting metaphor, is to view your database as a large spreadsheet. Each item is a row. Each field is a column. Grid allow you to choose which row to display (the source, filter, etc) and select which column to display.

594

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

« Last post by PPLandry on November 30, 2007, 08:50 PM »

>So, I think I understand the Grid->Hierarchy option.  If it's checked, the items appear in the proper hierarchies.  If not, the items appear in the hierarchies AND as individual items in one long list.

If hierarchy is not checked (and save item state is off), all items that meet the criteria will be displayed regardless of the parent-child relationship. This list is exactly what Excel would see if you linked Excel to SQLNotes data. It is also what the pivot table/chart will see. I can explain further if needed.

>Also, the ItemParent fields you made are not working.  I dragged them into my column, but they don't display the parent in the field, and unlike yours, mine is not read-only...I can click inside it and type stuff.

This is a small bug. When dragging a field some settings are not applied immediately. Also changes to fields are not applied to opened grids. Close the grid and re-open it. It should work just fine.

595

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

« Last post by PPLandry on November 30, 2007, 03:55 PM »

SQLNotes makes backup on file close .SNBK1 and .SNBK2. You can try those.

>If I see an item in a grid and I don't want it there anymore, but that item also appears in other grids or even in the same grid somewhere else, how do I just remove that one item line?

An item is displayed in a grid if it meets the criteria. Check the source of the grid. Typically, if the source is SongItem, the item will be displayed if the SongItem field is checked, or has text, for that item.

Deleting an item, does just that. It is removed from the database.

If items appear as duplicates in the same grid, it is usually because Grid>Hierarchy is not checked.

596

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

« Last post by PPLandry on November 30, 2007, 03:44 PM »

>Also, how do I control duplicate items?  As in, how can I have duplicates (I change one they all change) or copies (each one is separate, but my have the same content)?

Copy/paste will create a duplicate item. Otherwise, change an item, it will change whereever that item is displayed (in the same grid or in another grid)

597

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

« Last post by PPLandry on November 30, 2007, 03:40 PM »

Oh sh--!  I just screwed everything up.  I was deleting items in one grid and apparently it's linked to the original items in my first grid.  Now all my titles are gone!  What's the rules for deleting stuff?  How do I know if I'm deleting something from the grid only or from the entire database?  Also, how do I control duplicate items?  As in, how can I have duplicates (I change one they all change) or copies (each one is separate, but my have the same content)?

-superboyac (November 30, 2007, 03:36 PM)

Items don't belong to a grid. Items exist period. Delete an item in a grid, it is deleted from the database. You don't delete items from a grid, you remove them. To remove an item, delete the field value which included it in the first place.

Try opening a backup to get your info back.

598

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

« Last post by PPLandry on November 30, 2007, 03:38 PM »

Ah! I don't blame them. Ecco has been dead for more than 10 years, and NetManage promised many times to release open-source, but never did. Frustration is high and they are afraid that it won't run anymore on new OS's.

Plus, many projects were started, inspired by Ecco, but never made it through "vaporware" stage.

Also, some loud-mouths individuals, which have interest in Ecco, do not want to see a replacement.

SQLNotes is significantly different than Ecco, IMO it is better, but there is always resistance to change. But I had good support from the Ecco community in general, 2/3 of the 500+ registered users are from Ecco.

Last, Ecco was at version 4.0. I'm in pre-beta and still have significant work to do to bring SQLNotes to a released level.

599

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

« Last post by PPLandry on November 30, 2007, 02:44 PM »

Thanks! Actually, it was a baby girl. Now a real (pink) princess.

600

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

« Last post by PPLandry on November 30, 2007, 02:10 PM »

very cool.  This program is very well thought out.  What inspired you to make this program?  How long did it take, and how much help did you have?

-superboyac (November 30, 2007, 01:51 PM)

I started it 4 1/2 years ago. I had been using Ecco for my information management (since 1993) and got more and more frustrated at it. When my now 4 year-old was born, I took 6 months off from my consulting activities and looked at creating my own Ecco.

The first version took 6 months or so. I've been adding features, improving UI, improving the back-end database logic, etc since then. I have 10-15 licences sold to companies (here in Montreal) who use it for CRM type applications and/or as a flexible database. I started using it for my own consulting activities 3 years ago and it does everything for me (calendar, contacts, tasks, proposals, project tracking, billing, notes, reporting, etc). I've purchased some components, otherwise, I did it all.

In june 2007, after a heated discussion at the yahoo ecco_pro group (where skeptism was obvious), I decided it was time to go public. It is evolving from a flexible database towards a power PIM. Official release of V1.0 is planned in 2008Q1