[Odb-help] Important ODB updates...

[odb-help at lists.democracygroups.org]

Good afternoon!

   I hope you all are enjoying the beginning of summer.  We
have been very busy with ODB lately, thanks to the persistence
of one or two ODB users and some experiences we had doing a
demonstration last week.

   The demonstration was supposed to be done from our own
computers, with special software that would allow about 15
environmental organizations in the Pacific Northwest to see
what we were doing on the screen.  However the DSL connection
in our office, and all other users of Verizon, went down two hours
before the demo was supposed to occur.  So we ended up
scrambling to find an office somewhere else in the building
where they had a computer, where we could install ODB, set
up demo files, practice with the software, etc. all within 45
minutes of the demo!

   Believe it or not, it all worked!  But it was also a bit of
a learning experience.  We decided as a result to make
a few changes in the ODB software.  So we have updated
the "Database Scrambler" utility, the "Database Update"
utility, and we have even prepared a totally new version of
ODB 0.9.5a that will be available to everyone in the next
two weeks.  If you want it now just email us, it is ready to go.
Below is a list of what has happened since May 20 when
we first announce 0.9.5.

-rich cowan
 (email: odb2004 at organizenow.net)


Recent ODB fixes/improvements  (June 2004)

1.  We found a bug in the ODB Updater.  The "Updater" is the
     program that adds new fields to your ODB database and
     initializes them properly to make sure that you can take
     advantage of all the features added to ODB since 2002.
     The updater would get as far as adding the new Date of
     Birth field to ODB, then it would quit.  If you previously
     applied the 0.9.4 updater, you would be ok, but if you
     were starting from an older database, the updater would
     not finish its job.  So if you started using ODB a while
     ago and you never used the updater, we recommend it.
     The link is:
http://www.organizenow.net/odb/convert095.exe


2.  We found out that the version the Database Scrambler that
     was on the web site was not the most recent, so we went
     ahead and uploaded the newest version of this tool.  The point
     of the scrambler is to remove most personal information from
     an ODB database so that it can be used in a public demo.
     Try it at:
http://www.organizenow.net/odb/dbscrambler.exe

3.  We found out that the "fixnulls" utility was not doing everything
     it should, thanks to feedback from Janet at Mass. Peace Action
     and Garrett at Student Peace Action Network.  So we updated
     it.  The utility resolves any ODB problems that may result from
     editing and ODB database using some program that is not
     ODB (i.e. microsoft Access).     Try it at:
http://www.organizenow.net/odb/fixnulls.exe

4.  We found out that a key feature of our thank you note generation
     system was not working.  That feature would allow you to print
     a batch of 20 or 40 or more thank you notes, and allow the
     thank you notes to use different text for different kinds of
     donations.  In our case, about 25% of our donations are actually
     through our web site, using Groundspring as the provider.  So
     it is really nice if the thank you letter mentions the fact that they
     donated online: it makes people remember their donation better.
     The problem in 0.9.4 and 0.9.5 would result in either blank
     thank you notes or an error message when you tried to print,
     and this was an issue only if you were using the ODB setting
     "thankyoudefs" that we added in January of 2004.  0.9.5a now
     resolves this issue.  Thanks to Liat from our own office for
     documenting the problem.

5.  The problems with early versions of 0.9.5 where the software
     would give you a false error and prevent you from repointing
     your ODB to a different database should be resolved now.

6.  A problem when you tried to look up records by ID number,
     when your database had an ID number greater than 9999, is
     now fixed.  Thanks again to Janet at Mass Peace Action!
     The manual describes how you can type the number off of
     the reply slips generated by ODB to access the records that
     need updating whenever a reply slip comes back.

That is it for problems resolved, but it is a significant list.  We
have added a couple of new features to 0.9.5a.  The main one
is that you will be able to take an Activity Code and move it
to an Issue code or Constituency code if you want to.  And
you can move a SRC code to Activity Code, and vice versa.
This makes it much easier to reorganize your codes without
having to call a computer consultant for help!

If you want access to 0.9.5a just email us at 
odb2004 at organizenow.new and we will give you the info
you need to try it.  Thanks!

-rich