Author Topic: NANY 2011 Release: Snap DB (Read 212031 times)

skwire · « **on:** December 26, 2010, 10:07 PM »

NANY 2011 Entry Information

Application Name	Snap DB
Short Description	Simple, flat-file database/list app
Supported OSes	Windows 7. Probably works, but not tested, on Windows XP/Vista/8.
Web Page	Website
Download Link	Download
Author	Jody Holmes - Skwire Empire

Description
Simple, flat-file database app.

Screenshots

NANY 2011 Release: Snap DB

NANY 2011 Release: Snap DB

Usage
Installation
Download the zip file and extract its contents into a new folder. Run SnapDB.exe to start the application.

Using the Application
Pretty self-explanatory; right-click things and use the menu and toolbar buttons.

Uninstallation
Delete the folder you unzipped it to. The application doesn't write to the registry.

Known Issues
This is an app I wrote a while back and use for lists of almost everything (games I own, books to read, etc.). I decided to pretty it up for a NANY 2011 release. The feature-set is hardly finished and I plan to further develop this.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #1 on:** December 26, 2010, 10:18 PM »

Nice screenshot, Skwire. I like apps with a clean interface, that are simple to use, yet useful. Might be able to put this to work. I notice the file extension is .snp. Is it in essence a text file, or non-text but flat in the sense that there is no internal hierarchy of tables, etc., such as in a structured database? In other words, could the files created/used by the program be opened in a text editor?

mouser · « **Reply #2 on:** December 26, 2010, 10:18 PM »

looks fantastic.

couple of quick suggestions:

1) on first use, in help file, and maybe even at bottom statusbar on startup it should explain "right-click on column titles to rename them"
2) have it auto-reload the last database file, OR the database file in the current directory if no config file entry for last database file exists; one reason this would be SO useful is because it would let users SHARE the exe+database with someone by sending it to them, and all they would have to do is run the exe to have the data loaded and ready.

skwire · « **Reply #3 on:** December 26, 2010, 10:28 PM »

Nice screenshot, Skwire. I like apps with a clean interface, that are simple to use, yet useful. Might be able to put this to work. I notice the file extension is .snp. Is it in essence a text file, or non-text but flat in the sense that there is no internal hierarchy of tables, etc., such as in a structured database? In other words, could the files created/used by the program be opened in a text editor?
-kyrathaba (December 26, 2010, 10:18 PM)

Yes, the format is pretty simple to figure out. The app was inspired by a couple of apps. One is called List² and the other was called Table Tool which, sadly, no longer exists though you can still download the app from web.archive.org. The format is very similar to what those apps use(d).

1) on first use, in help file, and maybe even at bottom statusbar on startup it should explain "right-click on column titles to rename them"
2) have it auto-reload the last database file, OR the database file in the current directory if no config file entry for last database file exists; one reason this would be SO useful is because it would let users SHARE the exe+database with someone by sending it to them, and all they would have to do is run the exe to have the data loaded and ready.
-mouser (December 26, 2010, 10:18 PM)

Can do.

Ath · « **Reply #4 on:** December 27, 2010, 06:06 AM »

It's great

One (big, in size) feature request would be to be able to sequentially output the records to print in some form, so I could enter my christmas card addresses into SnapDB and print them nicely (for next years cards ofcourse)

skwire · « **Reply #5 on:** December 27, 2010, 11:05 PM »

@Ath: Thanks for the feedback; basic printing is on the roadmap.

mouser · « **Reply #6 on:** December 28, 2010, 11:26 AM »

minor suggestion:
maybe justify columns on data should really justify on max(data,column) or offer a third chioce for justify on both.

mouser · « **Reply #7 on:** December 28, 2010, 11:34 AM »

I agree printing would be a really nice feature, but it might be hard to implement.

I can think of two options:

1) there may be a standalone free commandline printing tool specialized for tables -- hey if there isn't, then that is a GREAT idea for someone to code.
2) perhaps more realistically, a reasonable solution would be to export an html file, and open it, and let user print from there (you could even triger the printing automatically probably using javascript); nice side benefit would be html export feature could be useful in and of itself for people who want to post their db on the web.

skwire · « **Reply #8 on:** December 28, 2010, 11:45 AM »

Any printing I add will be very simple text output...maybe a simple HTML output, too. However, the file format is such that anybody and any language can parse it and come up with their own exports.

skwire · « **Reply #9 on:** December 28, 2010, 11:57 AM »

Website | Download v1.0.1 - 2010-12-28 ! Fixed toolbar glyph issue under Windows 7. (Thanks, mouser)

skwire · « **Reply #10 on:** December 30, 2010, 03:49 PM »

Website | Download v1.0.2 - 2010-12-28 + Last loaded database is automatically loaded after application startup. + Snap DB will automatically load an .snp file if both of the following are true: 1) No config.ini file is present. 2) There is a .snp file in the same folder as the SnapDB.exe file. This allows you to bundle the SnapDB.exe file and a .snp database file together for easy viewing. (Thanks, mouser)

mouser · « **Reply #11 on:** December 30, 2010, 03:54 PM »

This allows you to bundle the SnapDB.exe file and a .snp database file together for easy viewing.

great!

techidave · « **Reply #12 on:** December 30, 2010, 04:08 PM »

This looks great on a first look skwire! I don't know how useful this would be but could it also import say a csv or txt file?

I must hurry home to play with it some more

techidave · « **Reply #13 on:** December 30, 2010, 04:47 PM »

whoops, may have found a glitch.

I added two columns after the default of 4 columns but there is no option to rename them or even add another new column on either side. If I add a column to the right of the 4th column, then I get the option to rename it.

Add on: I also cannot delete these columns

skwire · « **Reply #14 on:** December 30, 2010, 10:06 PM »

This looks great on a first look skwire! I don't know how useful this would be but could it also import say a csv or txt file?
-techidave (December 30, 2010, 04:08 PM)

Yes, both are easy to do and are on the immediate roadmap.

whoops, may have found a glitch.
I added two columns after the default of 4 columns but there is no option to rename them or even add another new column on either side. If I add a column to the right of the 4th column, then I get the option to rename it.
Add on: I also cannot delete these columns
-techidave (December 30, 2010, 04:47 PM)

I can't seem to reproduce. Can you give your exact sequence of right-clicks and such (and the position of your clicks)?

techidave · « **Reply #15 on:** December 30, 2010, 10:15 PM »

i will try to give a screenshot but let me see if I can clarify it first.

by default snapdb gives you 4 columns. If you create a new column to the left of any of the 4 original columns, then it works like it should.

if you add a new column to the right of the 4th column, then that is when I had the problems.

techidave · « **Reply #16 on:** December 30, 2010, 10:19 PM »

I was just playing with it again and if I make the window wider to get rid of the horizontal scroll bar then it works like it should. how weird.

techidave · « **Reply #17 on:** December 30, 2010, 10:42 PM »

ok, skwire here are some screenshots. I decided to zip them to save space. also included in the zip file are details of the screenshots.

skwire · « **Reply #18 on:** January 02, 2011, 07:11 PM »

Sorry about the delay, techidave. I've been able to recreate this but I'm not sure I can fix it elegantly since this appears to be a listview bug and not something within my code. I'll keep at it. For now, resize the form or resize the columns as that appears to fix things. Very strange issue.

skwire · « **Reply #19 on:** January 07, 2011, 12:06 PM »

Website | Download v1.0.3 - 2011-01-07 + Added tab-delimited text file import. + Added CSV file import. + Added ability to paste in tab-delimited data directly from the "Edit" menu. ! Last saved file didn't work from the "Recent" menu.

mouser · « **Reply #20 on:** January 07, 2011, 12:07 PM »

nice update

alexsan01 · « **Reply #21 on:** January 09, 2011, 10:32 PM »

Hey, I just saw your software on the NANY list. I have been looking for this exactly tool for a while. I got a Phone numbers list on Excel and I was trying to find for a tool that would let me filter the records and instantly find a number, kinda like the application "Everything" (check it out if you haven't, really useful), in which you just open the window and start typing the name of file you are looking for and it shows the result instantly.
Can I have a small request? Can you add an option to automatically place the cursor on the filter, with the filter option enabled and if possible with certain column already selected? This would prove useful if you just want to open the application and inmediatly start typing what you are looking for. Or maybe you can add a "ALL COLUMNS" in the column selection so you can search for a specific text in any column, and have it selected by default.

Thank you for this useful application. Good luck in the NANY event.

mouser · « **Reply #22 on:** January 09, 2011, 10:39 PM »

Can you add an option to automatically place the cursor on the filter, with the filter option enabled and if possible with certain column already selected?

Maybe cleanest solution is to allow ctrl+F to put cursor in search box and enable the filter (and maybe ctrl+F again to toggle it off).
I like the ALL COLUMNS idea; and it could remember the last column selected in the filter.

skwire · « **Reply #23 on:** January 09, 2011, 10:43 PM »

The "any/all column" functionality was on my roadmap. Alexsan01, would a ctrl-f hotkey to toggle the filter mode be an acceptable solution?

skwire · « **Reply #24 on:** January 09, 2011, 11:53 PM »

Website | Download v1.0.4 - 2011-01-10 + Added an extra choice in the Filter dropdown called "Any column." This will allow you filter using a string that matches any column. + Added ability to save chosen filter per-database. This means, to make use of this feature, you will need to set the filter and then save the database file on each database you wish to use this on. (Thanks, alexsan01) + Added ctrl-f hotkey to toggle Filter mode. (Thanks, mouser) + Added View > Filter mode menu option.

alexsan01, let me know if this will work for you. Thanks.