Re: COMP: Record keeping databases
From: "John Bruce" <jbruce@infinet.com>
When my iris collection was small (around 300-500), I chose Microsoft
Excel to keep the records in. I did this because it was a)available and
b) I was already very adept with it. As RosalieAnn points out,
spreadsheets
used in this way become unwieldy as they attain a certain size. With over
1700 irises to track now, I can attest to that.
Since I am lazy, and a terrible typist, I chose MS Access to use as a
database
program. It "talks" to Excel, allowing me to import the data without
retyping.
Once you learn the program, it is very easy to build an input form to enter
the
information in an expedient fashion. The only drawback is the cost of the
program--
if you already have MS Office, Access is about 110$. If you do not have
Office,
the cost is around 350$. One of the folks in our local club uses a database
program called Alpha Four. His version operates in a DOS window in
Win95/98,
but I understand there is now a version that operates in the Windows
environment.
It is called Alpha 5 and is around 125$.
For those of you with newer computers, many have Microsoft Works, which has
a database module that is probably suitable for simple databases, and is
somewhat user friendly. Before spending a lot of money on database programs
and learning new software,WinIris from Superstition is really worth a look.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
John Bruce jbruce@infinet.com
SW Ohio, USDA Zone 5b, Sunset #35
USA--Mid-Midwest
AIS Region 6, SSI,HIPS,TBIS, SIGNA
President, Miami Valley Iris Society
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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