Columns, columns, everywhere
Posted by srdiamond15
on 5/19/2005
srdiamond15
5/19/2005 6:39 pm
There was a time when using columns in an outline-based database was a really bright idea. This first occurred on the Macintosh platform with the programs InControl and Fair Witness (later infoDepo).
Windows was late to this party, and the availability of the spreadsheet format in an outliner in MyInfo and ADM--high end and ultra high end pims--seemed groundbreaking.
But it now appears that the beauty of columns was in the very idea, and now that this idea has spread, columns may be had on the cheap. It does not seem that getting them requires much programming time, and it need not cost the user big bucks.
If columns are what you need, you can have a competent version of them today for a mere $29. They're available in BlackHole Organizer from Lincoln Beach for that money. (http://www.lincolnbeach.com
Stephen R. Diamond
Windows was late to this party, and the availability of the spreadsheet format in an outliner in MyInfo and ADM--high end and ultra high end pims--seemed groundbreaking.
But it now appears that the beauty of columns was in the very idea, and now that this idea has spread, columns may be had on the cheap. It does not seem that getting them requires much programming time, and it need not cost the user big bucks.
If columns are what you need, you can have a competent version of them today for a mere $29. They're available in BlackHole Organizer from Lincoln Beach for that money. (http://www.lincolnbeach.com
Stephen R. Diamond
zeoli
5/19/2005 8:24 pm
Stephen,
No quibble with your main point, I just want to set the record straight: ECCO Pro featured columns ten years ago. And before that, GrandView used columns in the DOS environment.
Steve Z.
No quibble with your main point, I just want to set the record straight: ECCO Pro featured columns ten years ago. And before that, GrandView used columns in the DOS environment.
Steve Z.
zeoli
5/19/2005 10:02 pm
Some further thoughts on columns:
Columns are a convenient way to view metadata, but they can be much more than that. Some programs allow you to build columns that do things... that is, they are more than just a repository for metadata. For instance, in Zoot, you can create a folder column, so that when you enter a word or a phrase in that column, it creates a new folder that displays just the items that have checked that folder in this column. Or click Yes in a column to mark the item as complete and move it to the completed items folder. ECCO provides columns that can include GANTT chart information.
Additionally, to be fully functional, the program should allow you to print tabular reports of your outline with the column data, but most don't. Zoot and ECCO can do this. I don't know about ADM. MyInfo and BlackHole Organizer don't.
So, not all columns are created equal.
Steve Z.
Columns are a convenient way to view metadata, but they can be much more than that. Some programs allow you to build columns that do things... that is, they are more than just a repository for metadata. For instance, in Zoot, you can create a folder column, so that when you enter a word or a phrase in that column, it creates a new folder that displays just the items that have checked that folder in this column. Or click Yes in a column to mark the item as complete and move it to the completed items folder. ECCO provides columns that can include GANTT chart information.
Additionally, to be fully functional, the program should allow you to print tabular reports of your outline with the column data, but most don't. Zoot and ECCO can do this. I don't know about ADM. MyInfo and BlackHole Organizer don't.
So, not all columns are created equal.
Steve Z.
stephenz
5/20/2005 11:51 am
And yet a little more about columns:
A piece of software that does a nice job with columns, allowing for custom columns, column sorting, and -- most significantly -- printing a tabular report of your columned-lists is InfoStore.
www.mhsoftware.co.uk
It is similar to ListPro, in that it is primarily a list-making program. However, items in the outline can be either lists or RTF note items. Put another way, this is a typical hierarchical, free-form note/information manager with the added bonus of having a very powerful list-building facility. And it is only $19.
Steve Z.
A piece of software that does a nice job with columns, allowing for custom columns, column sorting, and -- most significantly -- printing a tabular report of your columned-lists is InfoStore.
www.mhsoftware.co.uk
It is similar to ListPro, in that it is primarily a list-making program. However, items in the outline can be either lists or RTF note items. Put another way, this is a typical hierarchical, free-form note/information manager with the added bonus of having a very powerful list-building facility. And it is only $19.
Steve Z.