C
Craig
Have you used OOo Base?
I'm looking for any feedback from people who're using OOo 2.0.x Base. We
were thinking about using it and have stopped for now. I've written up
a ditty on our limited experience w/it and am wondering if others have
had the same issues.
tia,
-Craig
---
John H wrote in "Somewhat OT - ACT Goldmine replacements" about rolling
your own ACT-like app using, among others, openoffice's Base. I'd been
playing with Base during the pre-release and, recently attempted a trial
run in production.
Background:
My business is buying IC's of all kinds and selling them into what's
known as the MRO market. Lots of specs. Lots of part numbers. Some
mapped to other part numbers through obsolescence. And then...lots of
potential suppliers, all with different terms...you get the idea.
Setting up Table & Reports:
I set up a table such that each record had w/15 fields defined using the
wizard. Similarly, I used the wizard to set up 3 different reports
based on the table (one for purchasor, one for supplier and one for
customer). I added a couple of items to the table, ran the reports...So
far so good. The data-entry guy took it on w/instructions to add 50
active items. Wizards were easy to use. Help doc was useful(!)
Data Entry - Problem:
At record 20, I'm called over. The table is showing record #17 as
completely blank. No data was lost, the record was just "skipped over."
Not sure how it happened...entry guy said he was tabbing all the way
through, no special characters, etc.
I try to "edit" the phantom record. Base crashes.
I try to delete the phantom record. Base crashes.
Both times, OOo regroups well. I relaunch the app, it says it can
recover the following tables. I say "please do," and it does so.
Again, no data lost. Phantom record is now gone. We finish up the data
input together, everything's fine.
Modifying Reports - Problem:
The reports Wizard was very easy to deal with. Pretty templates, etc.
After creating a report template, I chose to edit it (fixing certain
column widths, adding time-stamps & co. logo). On save/exit, Base
crashed. Base, y.a. recovered gracefully - no loss of data. Since
then, I've gone through the same motions w/o a problem.
Although everything seems fine at this point, we've gone back to
spreadsheets. Although OOo's recovery module works like a charm, the
crashes spike my blood pressure.
I'm looking for any feedback from people who're using OOo 2.0.x Base. We
were thinking about using it and have stopped for now. I've written up
a ditty on our limited experience w/it and am wondering if others have
had the same issues.
tia,
-Craig
---
John H wrote in "Somewhat OT - ACT Goldmine replacements" about rolling
your own ACT-like app using, among others, openoffice's Base. I'd been
playing with Base during the pre-release and, recently attempted a trial
run in production.
Background:
My business is buying IC's of all kinds and selling them into what's
known as the MRO market. Lots of specs. Lots of part numbers. Some
mapped to other part numbers through obsolescence. And then...lots of
potential suppliers, all with different terms...you get the idea.
Setting up Table & Reports:
I set up a table such that each record had w/15 fields defined using the
wizard. Similarly, I used the wizard to set up 3 different reports
based on the table (one for purchasor, one for supplier and one for
customer). I added a couple of items to the table, ran the reports...So
far so good. The data-entry guy took it on w/instructions to add 50
active items. Wizards were easy to use. Help doc was useful(!)
Data Entry - Problem:
At record 20, I'm called over. The table is showing record #17 as
completely blank. No data was lost, the record was just "skipped over."
Not sure how it happened...entry guy said he was tabbing all the way
through, no special characters, etc.
I try to "edit" the phantom record. Base crashes.
I try to delete the phantom record. Base crashes.
Both times, OOo regroups well. I relaunch the app, it says it can
recover the following tables. I say "please do," and it does so.
Again, no data lost. Phantom record is now gone. We finish up the data
input together, everything's fine.
Modifying Reports - Problem:
The reports Wizard was very easy to deal with. Pretty templates, etc.
After creating a report template, I chose to edit it (fixing certain
column widths, adding time-stamps & co. logo). On save/exit, Base
crashed. Base, y.a. recovered gracefully - no loss of data. Since
then, I've gone through the same motions w/o a problem.
Although everything seems fine at this point, we've gone back to
spreadsheets. Although OOo's recovery module works like a charm, the
crashes spike my blood pressure.
