Ecco - the software that would not die. I need to update my wife's computer which is still running XP, and this has caused a bit of CRIMPing and GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) to come forth, especialy since XP's life is rapidly running out, if it is not already out.

I'll spare the GAS details, but in my researching of options for my wife's computer, Ecco crossed my mind because the stock program does not easily install in Win7 and beyond without modification. I was considering installing XP Mode on my machine to see if that was workable, but it seems to be somewhat involved, and I am not sure if Ecco will work in this environment. I also see that the folks in the two Yahoo groups continue to modify the original program, and are installing it in Win 7 and 8. Has anybody used XP Mode or the "extended" version of Ecco that is being offered? If so, what are your thoughts?

--Ken

Running Ecco right now under Windows 8.1 64-bit, no problems at all.

Just download this file, unzip into any folder and run.

http://forums.eccomagic.com/forum/Attachments/pre-release-Manual_Install_001.zip

Download the latest eccoext from ecco_pro group, unzip the files into your ecco folder. run eccoext.exe.

i should be clear - no need to run ecco in "xp mode". just unzip and run under Win 8.

while you're at it, you might give infoqube a try:

http://www.infoqube.biz

jimspoon wrote:

Running Ecco right now under Windows 8.1 64-bit, no problems at all.

Just download this file, unzip into any folder and run.

http://forums.eccomagic.com/forum/Attachments/pre-release-Manual_Install_001.zip

Download the latest eccoext from ecco_pro group, unzip the files into
your ecco folder. run eccoext.exe.

Thank you for the link. Is this web site/forum an offshoot from the two Yahoo groups? I used to keep up with all the comings and goings, but dropped out a few years ago. I remember that there was Ecco Extension by slangmgh, IIRC. And I thought he was participating in the forums and his work was lat available at the Compusol board for a fee. Now I see they are offering more products and charging what looks like an anual fee.

I did look at IQ several years ago, but while the efforts by Pierre looked significant, I found the program complex, and the instructions and web site difficult to follow.

--Ken

Hi Ken,

You can download the Ecco Extension for free from the Yahoo group jimspoon mentioned. No need to pay anything for either the main program or the extension.

I'm running Ecco + eccoext on 64-bit Windows 7. Works great, and the extension really makes Ecco even more powerful.

Chris

Hi Ken,

The download link I gave you is from the eccomagic site - I think that is run by the guy who goes by the name "yoursowelcomethanks" in the "ecco_pro" group. I don't know why he makes that link so hard to find. I think he offers some ecco-related utilities on his site.

The other group "eccopro" (without the underscore) was taken over by a guy named Frederic Dohmann. He gets people to pay him an annual fee for an "installer", which is really unnecessary. The group has very little activity, and my advice, stay away from that guy. The folks in the other group "ecco_pro" will give you all the help you might need, and wont try to get money out of you for something they didn't create.

and by all means download and use the "ecco extension". It improves Ecco in many ways. I just wish he could crack the limit on the total number of items in a file, which is about 64K.

jim

Thank you both. This is a helpful update. Does the extension need my original disc, or does it contain the last release files of Ecco?

--Ken

Ken, the zip file I linked you to contains the files of the last release of the Ecco program from Netmanage. It is better simply to download this zip file, unzip it into a folder, and run it, as opposed to running the original Ecco installation program. The Netmanage installer will search all your disks for an existing installation and this takes a very long time. Plus the zip file fixes a problem with the original default.ect template.

The zip file does not contain the "Ecco Extension". That is a separate download. To get that, you need to go to the ecco_pro group files area, download that zip file, unzip it, and copy those files into the folder where you put the ecco program files.

you won't be disappointed!

oh, and by the way, after you put the ecco extension files in the ecco program folder - don't start ecco using the original "ecco32.exe" command - start ecco by running "eccoext.exe" - that's the way you get the extended version of Ecco rather than the original Ecco. good luck.

jimspoon wrote:

Ken, the zip file I linked you to contains the files of the last release
of the Ecco program from Netmanage. It is better simply to download
this zip file, unzip it into a folder, and run it, as opposed to running
the original Ecco installation program. The Netmanage installer will
search all your disks for an existing installation and this takes a very
long time. Plus the zip file fixes a problem with the original
default.ect template.

The zip file does not contain the "Ecco Extension". That is a separate
download. To get that, you need to go to the ecco_pro group files area,
download that zip file, unzip it, and copy those files into the folder
where you put the ecco program files.

you won't be disappointed!

The extra instructions are much appreciated. I am assuming that the program is just as stable and will read old files. And, I am also assuming it will create the alarm and database files in the Windows directory like the original version.

Thanks again,

--Ken

Ken wrote:

The extra instructions are much appreciated. I am assuming that the
program is just as stable and will read old files. And, I am also
assuming it will create the alarm and database files in the Windows
directory like the original version.

It's very stable, will read old files. The special config files - like ecco.alm, ecco.cfx, ecc.fdb, can end up in different places besides c:\windows - particularly if you are running 64-bit windows, or if you have user access control turned on - the wise owls in the ecco_pro group will help you if you have any problems with these config files.

I've been using Ecco Pro since 1998 and it's still my main program for notes, though I use several other PIM's to varying degrees. My biggest frustrations with Ecco are two pretty simple things that are still missing despite the excellent extensions that have been developed:

1) There's no way to move columns to the left of the item list. To my eye, some things are much easier to read and use if they're to the left of the main item text (eg movie ratings or task priorities).

2) There's no way to highlight text (change background color). I use highlighting extensively in notes and it really pains me that it's missing from Ecco Pro. As a substitute, I use bold text of varying colors, but it's still not as good as highlighting. I thought I might have a workaround if I could find a font that has built-in background colors, but apparently there's no such thing.

Wayne

Wayne K wrote:

1) There's no way to move columns to the left of the item list. To my
eye, some things are much easier to read and use if they're to the left
of the main item text (eg movie ratings or task priorities).

2) There's no way to highlight text (change background color). I use
highlighting extensively in notes and it really pains me that it's
missing from Ecco Pro. As a substitute, I use bold text of varying
colors, but it's still not as good as highlighting. I thought I might
have a workaround if I could find a font that has built-in background
colors, but apparently there's no such thing.

Hi Wayne,

Both of these are easily possible with InfoQube (recent discussion right here on OutlinerSoftware). In recent versions, the UI has been significantly simplified, so you may want to give it a go.

Pierre
IQ Designer
http://www.infoqube.biz

jimspoon wrote:

Ken wrote:
>The extra instructions are much appreciated. I am assuming that the
>program is just as stable and will read old files. And, I am also
>assuming it will create the alarm and database files in the Windows
>directory like the original version.

It's very stable, will read old files. The special config files - like
ecco.alm, ecco.cfx, ecc.fdb, can end up in different places besides
c:\windows - particularly if you are running 64-bit windows, or if you
have user access control turned on - the wise owls in the ecco_pro group
will help you if you have any problems with these config files.

Good to hear. I am in the midst of reevaluating all of my needs (hardware and software) - work, home, etc. but I will probably join the ecco_pro group when I finally get Ecco installed.

Thank you again,

--Ken

Wayne K wrote:

I've been using Ecco Pro since 1998 and it's still my main program for
notes, though I use several other PIM's to varying degrees. My biggest
frustrations with Ecco are two pretty simple things that are still
missing despite the excellent extensions that have been developed:

1) There's no way to move columns to the left of the item list. To my
eye, some things are much easier to read and use if they're to the left
of the main item text (eg movie ratings or task priorities).

2) There's no way to highlight text (change background color). I use
highlighting extensively in notes and it really pains me that it's
missing from Ecco Pro. As a substitute, I use bold text of varying
colors, but it's still not as good as highlighting. I thought I might
have a workaround if I could find a font that has built-in background
colors, but apparently there's no such thing.

Wayne

I started using in 1993, and Arabesque was just across the lake from where I was working. I believe they even offered to do a demonstration for our IT staff at the time.

Regarding highlighted text, I just used colored text to function in a similar manner. It is not the same, and will not meet everybody's needs, but it is an option.

--Ken

Pierre Paul Landry wrote:

Both of these are easily possible with InfoQube (recent discussion right
here on OutlinerSoftware). In recent versions, the UI has been
significantly simplified, so you may want to give it a go.

Pierre
IQ Designer
http://www.infoqube.biz

Hi Pierre,

I will give it another look to see how the new UI works for me. I know that you have put a lot of time and effort into this program, so reconsideration is the least I can do.

Thanks,

--Ken

Pierre,

Yes, thanks. I downloaded the latest version a couple of days ago and am giving it another try. I know that it's capable of doing that and a lot more,and the fact that it's somewhat modeled on Ecco Pro makes it an obvious choice for me. I've just had a hard time grasping it in the past. Usually, I can go into a new program and pretty quickly figure out how it works. That hasn't been the case with InfoQube. I end up frustrated because it does things I don't understand and because I can't figure out how to get it to do what seems like simple things.

I really appreciate the work you've put into this project. The fault is on my end. I'm just going to have to put in the time to really work through it and go back through your website tutorials. I know you've been very generous in offering your help to users and I may need to call on you for some more of that.


Wayne

Ken,

Yes, I use colored text, too There are only three that work well: red, dark blue, and dark green. I sometimes use gray italics in place of strikeout text for completed items. I still miss highlighting, though.

I never realized it wasn't possible to apply a "highlight" format to selected text in Ecco.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ecco_pro/conversations/topics/13198

But Slang did implement text highlights for various purposes ... e.g. highlighting of hits on search text.

So it seems a bit odd that highlighting of selected text wasn't made available.

Actually, eccoext does allow you to apply a highlight - sort of. Choose an item, right click and choose "Background color." The only caveat is that it applies to an entire item, not just selected text.

OK, that's better than nothing. I haven't kept up with all the enhancements. A while ago I posted a question about it on the Ecco Pro forum and was told it wasn't possible.

Wayne K wrote:

Pierre,

Yes, thanks. I downloaded the latest version a couple of days ago and
am giving it another try. I know that it's capable of doing that and a
lot more,and the fact that it's somewhat modeled on Ecco Pro makes it an
obvious choice for me. I've just had a hard time grasping it in the
past. Usually, I can go into a new program and pretty quickly figure
out how it works. That hasn't been the case with InfoQube. I end up
frustrated because it does things I don't understand and because I can't
figure out how to get it to do what seems like simple things.

Wayne,

I feel the same way. Its not that I do not like reading the manual, as I do, but if an action that I do not use often is not clear, then I have issues because I do not want to be spending time always having to look up commands and actions. I suspect that I did not have this issue with Ecco because I used it every day for so many years that actions were being done by "muscle memory" (like driving a manual transmission). Also, a program needs to be somewhat compatible with my expectations as to how it should operate. Like many of us, I have been using software for some time (since 1984), so I have seen my fair share of what makes sense and what does not. For example, while I have been using Adobe Lightroom since its introduction, I find much of their software to be quite unintuitive (especially PS Elements). I am willing to invest some time and effort, but there is a limit. At that point, I begin to seek alternatives. When my schedule permits, I plan on giving IQ another chance. But if it is too hard for me to get productive, then I would suspect that I am not the target audience.

--Ken

I really appreciate the work you've put into this project. The fault is
on my end. I'm just going to have to put in the time to really work
through it and go back through your website tutorials. I know you've
been very generous in offering your help to users and I may need to call
on you for some more of that.


Wayne

I know you've been very generous in offering your help to users and I may need to call
on you for some more of that.

Wayne

Yes, the free 30 minute phone call / skype should get you going, as it has for many other IQ users in the past.
Do not hesitate to ask.

Pierre

It's not hard to use IQ pretty much like you use Ecco. A lot of the terminology is different though. I even like to put the IQ "properties" pane on the left side of the IQ window, where it provides the function of the Ecco "folders" pane, and much more. The IQ "grids" are quite similar to the Ecco "notepad views". A lot of the Ecco keyboard shortcuts also work in IQ. Ctrl+F will bring up a find window in IQ as it does in Ecco. Double-clicking a folder in the Properties pane will display its contents in a Scratch grid, just like double-clicking a folder in Ecco. And so on.

While we're on the subject of Ecco Pro and IQ (hope I'm not taking the thread too far astray)...

I find IQ to be an amazing product, I own a license, and although I'm primarily on Mac, every once in a while I fire up Parallels and try to get into IQ again. Every time I'm impressed by the sophisitication and power of the program. But the one thing I still can't get over in the transition from Ecco Pro to IQ is the loss of hierarchical folders. Grids basically take the place of folders, and grids offer all kinds of additional functionality that folders do not, but, at least last time I checked, grids can't be organized hierarchically. That becomes a deal-breaker for me. I suppose this is a question to raise on the IQ forums, but I'm curious if any of you Ecco Pro users who now use IQ have found a good way to deal with this issue. Is it practical to have hundreds grids (as I used to have hundreds of folders in Ecco Pro), even if the grids can't be arranged hierarchically? Or is there a better way to approach this?