.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE Create handy handheld databases with HanDBase
.AUTHOR Heather Wardell
.OTHER
.SUMMARY Why would you need a handheld database management program? There are thousands of ways you could answer this question, because everyone need to carry different data. In fact, that’s the answer: everyone needs to carry some data at all times. Whether it’s a shopping list, a membership list, a list of medical terminology, or the measurements for oil well drilling components, a handheld database can be an essential help. In this important review, Contributing Editor Heather Wardell tests out HandDBase and lets us know just how HanD it is.
As I started to work on this review, I was stuck on what to use to test HanDBase Professional from DDH Software. As a full-time writer, I don’t handle tons of data that require a database. In my free time, though, I am the secretary of the local concert band, and it’s almost time to collect membership fees. As well, I need to make sure that everyone’s contact information is up to date. Perfect!
.CALLOUT Breaking my usual routine, I actually read the manual.
Our data was in Microsoft Word, not exactly the best platform for organizing the contact information for nearly one hundred people, and nearly useless for easily being able to tell who has paid their fees and who hasn’t.
.H1 The basic import
I started by cutting and pasting the data into Excel, and then had Excel export to a CSV. CSV is a Comma Separated Values format with commas separating each piece of information. At last I was ready to import the membership data into HanDBase. I was pleasantly surprised to find that HanDBase brought the data in quickly and easily. For the sake of the members’ confidentiality, I am blurring out their information in the screen shots.
Figure A shows how the data appears in HanDBase, with an inset of how it appears on the handheld. In both cases, it’s clear and functional, but not very fancy. For a lot of applications, this might be all you would need.
.FIGPAIR A You can see the same data in HanDBase on the desktop and on the handheld.
It was almost certainly all I needed for my band list, and yet there was a whole other area to review: HanDBase’s Forms Designer. This program promises to make your data look more like a regular software program, and it delivers.
.TEASER Learn about designing forms, creating new databases, sychronization, and more.
.H1 Designing forms
Breaking my usual routine, I actually read the Forms Designer manual. I didn’t find the software intuitive at first; choosing "Open" to get to forms I hadn’t yet created didn’t seem right to me. If you think of it, though, that you are opening an existing database to add forms, it makes more sense. Forms Designer is available on the handheld and the desktop. I expected to find it easier to use on the desktop, but I was wrong.
On the desktop, it’s not clear exactly how much screen space you actually have. I set up an elaborate design, only to discover when I synchronized that it didn’t fit well at all. As different handhelds have different amounts of screen space, I can understand why this is, but it did turn me off the desktop version.
Something that confused me early on was the relationship between the Forms Designer and HanDBase itself. Once forms are created in the designer, they are included in the HanDBase file. When you create the form, you have the option to have it used when a new record is added and/or when one is edited. Once you choose that option, your form appears seamlessly instead of the bare-bones standard form.
Figure B shows three handheld screen shots. The first shows a layout in progress in Forms Designer, the second shows the completed form in action, and the third shows the standard form.
.FIGPAIR B Here we have a layout in progress, the completed form, and the default form if you choose not to create your own
You can also include buttons, like the "Status" button I’ve put on my first form. Buttons can make your forms much more interactive. They can add records, delete records, or take you to another form, as mine does.
.H1 Managing your information
Once your information is all in HanDBase, the fun really begins. The software, handheld or desktop, is outstanding at sorting and filtering your information. You can create as many views as you want, showing different fields each time. I have a view set up to show only the band’s executive members, one to show the section leaders, and one to show who hasn’t yet paid their fees.
A view "remembers" its filtering information, so I don’t have to ask the program to "show only people who haven’t paid" each time. I can just choose the "Unpaid" view, and get the list. The program will also do reports for you, showing what percentage of your data meets a certain requirement. You can show these on the screen or export them to memo format.
.H1 Creating a database
While I had pre-existing data for my band list, I also wanted to test the program when creating a database from scratch. To this end, I created a database to list the information about the food I can eat on the commercial diet program I’m currently using.
Creating a database is easy. When you start, you enter the name for the database, and then the various fields that you want. Fields can be text, integer, decimal numbers, checkboxes, and a number of other things. This is the most time-consuming part; deciding what fields you need and what kind they should be can take forever. Once you decide, though, HanDBase makes it easy to fill them out. Figure C shows my list of fields.
.FIGPAIR C Fields can be added and changed easily.
After the fields have been created, you can either create forms to go with your new database, or just use the default form to enter information. This database won’t need to be updated much, so I stuck with the default. Figure D shows the data.
.FIGPAIR D Entering this data took less than five minutes after the database had been created (which took maybe fifteen minutes).
.H1 Synchronization
Synchronization is one of the most crucial areas for a database, and I have spent a lot of time testing HandDBase in this area. I had issues with one of my first test databases, but was not able to duplicate them in later tests, so I would chalk those up to my inexperience with the software. I would strongly recommend creating a test database for practice prior to risking significant data.
If you modify the same record on the handheld and the desktop, upon synchronization whichever one was modified last will be the one that "wins". In other words, if you make a change on the desktop and then on the handheld, the change made on the handheld will appear in both locations after the synchronization.
I tried deleting a record on the handheld, then modifying that record on the desktop, and the modified version appears on both platforms once synchronization is complete. HanDBase does not make a note in the HotSync log to inform you that this has happened, which is probably because it could end up being a huge number of notes.
To ensure that your data is safe, I would suggest that, whenever possible, you make changes on only one platform, then synchronize before accessing the database on the other platform.
.H1 Conclusion
HanDBase does what it’s supposed to do, and it does it well. Reading the manual is vital, as is a little time spent with a test database, but once you understand how it works, HanDBase is a solid handheld database solution. I rate it a four out of five.
.RATING 4
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For mor einformation on HanDBase, visit http://www.ddhsoftware.com/handbase.html.
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