#3. Tree Note programs
I have remarked a few times elsewhere that I do mixes of old school paper and computer notes. I had been using a program called "TreeDBNotes Pro". For non experts like me it was a perfect blend of power and ease of use. It was the winner of a six month search for note programs without even having an end goal in mind ... total "I'll know it when I see it" territory!
In the end the Killer App (feature) became a "12 click export" of the entire database into a web page. I'm using it right now to index authors for a SciFi webzine. Then upon the reports of a couple of reader/users, I began scratching my head.
"I *know* I fixed that... why is it not done??!" So I did a couple of bug studies...
And ...Collapsed. Completely. "You have ... GOT .... to be kidding."
The *only* core thing a data organizer needs to do is ... organize the data. So get this ... when I filed a piece of data, and then tried to re-file it, it *undid* up to 25 (or more - I never did get the upper bound!) pieces of data previously filed! This includes saves!
Think about it. File 25 things. Move one. Unfile all 25.
Black Hole Horizon level chaos. No. ... Just ... No.
So what do you do when the sole winner of a program search with a killer feature completely implodes?!!
I got *extremely lucky* in that *in the intervening year* *another program* happened to decide to put in the "12 Click Export" feature ... except that this one didn't ruin my data every time I moved something. (I'm pretty sure it wasn't there before because my computer recognized the name but I would have noticed if it had the export.) So the switch was a snap, even forfeiting the old version's paid fee.
The lesson/question here is what happens when a "mission critical" program goes bad. I don't know what I would have done. ANYTHING was better than total loss of data confidence, but back to any of 30 Grade C alternatives would have been miserable.
