[odb-help] Re: Important Fine-Tuning of ODB

[Rich Cowan]

Dear ODB users:

Friday's response indicates that the format I was using worked well, so let's
not mess with success.  See below for more "Have you ever..." questions.
The answers below apply to version 0.9.2 as well as 0.9.3.

It was especially nice to hear about 3 more groups using the ODB software.
I don't know if you all realize, but if we can document that there are 300
groups using ODB, as opposed to 100, it means that we can more easily
raise grant funds to improve the software.  So even if your group
is low on funds and you cannot afford to make a contribution or pay a
support fee, please let us know that you're a user, OK?  You can remain
anonymous if you wish; just send an email to odb@organizenow.net.

[It is also OK to email the entire list; my tendency is to paraphrase questions
  or to conceal email addresses, so that your email can still be understood
  by a human, but not by an automated program that reads email addresses
  out of the archives of email lists.]

Of course, if you can make a contribution, using the link at the bottom of the
web site http://organizersdb.org, this is an excellent time.  We need to
acquire and set up computer into the office for our internship program;
one of the interns, Vananthorn Charoenpitaks from the Univ. of Missouri,
will be working entirely on support and documentation for ODB.  In-kind
donations of computers (400Mhz or better) or 17" monitors are also welcome.

-rich cowan


HAVE YOU EVER...

1) ... wanted to remove the Congressional and political fields
from your copy of ODB?  (Bill from Triangle Rails to Trails
Conservancy asked this question.) You can do this: go into the
Wrench and modify settings.  There are 3 settings documented at:
http://organizenow.net/odb/odbcustom.html, allowing you to hide
fields and labels: hidepeoplecontrols, hidesearchcontrols,
hidegroupcontrols.  The names of the fields (txtCD, lblCD, etc)
that you want to hide must be separated by spaces.  Try putting
the word "test" into one of these settings, exit ODB, and then go
back in.  This will give you additional information on what you
can change, which has been modified slightly over the last couple
of months.

2) ... wanted to search on the last name of the 2nd person in a
couple, on line 2 of someone's address, without having to go into
the Select Records screen? You can do this:  right-click on the
main Search button and choose "Search First Two Lines of
Address".  This feature was added in version 0.8.7, about 18
months ago.  Liberty (below) asked this question; note that she
is interested in searching the 3rd line of the address as well, a
possible future feature!

3) ... wanted to have a comment over 255 characters?  Well, you
can do this. We have been pretty conservative about enabling this
by default, but all you have to do is go into the wrench, click
modify settings, and change the "maxcomment" setting to 1000.
Note: do not set this value greater than 65535, which is the
maximum size of a "memo" field in the database engine ODB uses.
Note: if you set it to a small number, it will cause ODB to trim
comments to that length every time you save them!

Liberty also asked a question about sending mass emails.  ODB is
designed to make it easy to quickly send thousands of the same email;
however your email software and your internet access provider might
not make this easy.  If you want to share your stories about this,
get them to me by Monday and I will report back on methods people
have used to bypass these restrictions.

Now a question for all of you:  Did anyone try out the new
conversion utility on the ODB web site?  If you try it tomorrow
morning, we will have an extra person, Tim, here to help you if
you have any questions.  The utility is listed at
www.organizersdb.org. as the 0.8.8 to 0.9.3 conversion utility.

-rich cowan


At 08:40 AM 5/10/2003 -0500, Toxics Information Project (TIP) wrote:

>I've been using the database at
>Apeiron Institute for Environmental
>Living, where I'm administrative
>assistant, for quite a while.
>I liked it so much I downloaded
>it for my own organization, Toxics
>Information Project (TIP).
>
>I have several suggestions and a question.
>
>1. One annoying thing is that it is difficult
>to find an organization if you don't have
>or remember the name of a person working
>there.  You can't enter the org. name
>on line one, and if it is in line 2 or
>comments box you can't necessarily bring
>it up.  For example, if I put the person's
>title on line 2 followed by the org. name,
>then the org. name will not bring up the
>file in Select Records.  Only by taking
>out the person's title will it work.
>In general, trying to find orgs. is
>catch as catch can.
>
>2.Same problem with Mr. & Mrs., or, as
>is common today, two people with different
>names at same address who want only one
>copy of E-Mail or letter.  Not possible
>to bring up by both names - only the one
>entered on line one.
>
>3. Could there be more space for comments?
>The comment box is very useful in keeping
>track of the history of contacts with
>the person.
>
>Question:  At Apeiron we can send mass
>E-Mails using your database.  They have
>a dial up internet provider (IDS?)
>TIP is on Cox high-speed cable internet.
>Can we use the broadcast feature?
>
>In general, very grateful for ODB.  Thanks!
>
>Liberty G
>**********************************
>
>Liberty Goodwin, Director
>Toxics Information Project (TIP)
>P.O. Box 40441,
>Providence, RI 02940
>Tel. 401-351-9193
>E-Mail:TIP (at) toxicsinfo.org