A sort query on the current state of the art in merging, combining & synchronising information databases of the type discussed here. Anybody who's had practical experience on this and feel happy with a certain product? I find this kind of functions are useful in collaborations but also in personal work, i.e. keep separate files for projects and then merge them to a central database when they have been finalised.

Having had bad experience of synchronising in the past, I currently use copies of a single file, editing it only in one location. This becomes impractical though, especially with attachments.

Brainstorm has a useful merging feature with a good range of options. In terms of combining, IDEA! (enterprise edition) seems to offer the best as far as I know, being able to access several databases as one single virtual database, providing seamless searching and updating. Another complementary feature IDEA! has is to set an alternate path for attachments; this way one avoids getting dead links for files kept in different locations at home and office.

alx

Sometime ago I had started this (discontinued) thread on features I considered important not just in a collaborative environment, but also for personal infobase development.

After a lot of experimenting with programs like UltraRecall, I have come to consider the ability to merge databases as essential for my work re information collection and management.

It is actually the main reason I'm now turning to Idea! (Pro) once again, as it seems to be the only program offering this kind of facility. Especially if the Power version planned materialises; this would enable "virtual merging" of databases, i.e. database files remain separate but their records can be accessed as if they were one.

alx