Haba Systems
£59.95
The first in a series from Haba
entitled 'Solutions', this program is further titled 'Personal Information
Manager and Phone Dialer'. It is basically a small database with
fixed fields for keeping name and address type information although
it can be used for other purposes.
Haba seem to have a policy of producing
software that is easy to use and the major strength of the PhoneBook
is its simplicity for the user. All control, apart from the actual
typing in of the information is by the mouse and it really is a
joy to use. Each record in the file has 16 fields which are set
up for name and address, home and business phone, company, title,
category, comment and notes. To enter information you merely click
at the appropriate field and type away. Once your records are completed
you may organise them by any particular field and can call up a
summary in alphabetical order with a feature that looks just like
those tab index flip-up telephone books. Again very easy. The summary
appears with just four fields from each record but if you want to
see the full information on any record just click the mouse and
the full record will appear.
If you need a hard copy of your
records, or of particular records, they can be printed out using
various criteria for searching. In addition, there is a facility
to print mailing labels which is again all mouse controlled and
could not be simpler. The final facility is the ability to dial
any of the phone numbers via a Hayes compatible autodial modem,
just by clicking the mouse on the appropriate number. I have my
doubts about the usefulness of this part of the program to the majority
of users in this country but it is there if you want it.
If you are looking for a small
database to keep your personal records without having to work out
how to set it all up then Habadex PhoneBook is ideal. It does have
search and sort facilities and can be changed to suit many other
record keeping tasks, provided they fit within the fixed format,
but it will not do anything more complex. Top
marks for ease of use. Weaknesses lie in the lack of flexibility
but then many people don't need a super sophisticated database.
My only other reservation is the price. At £59.95 you may need an
awful lot of friends to justify throwing away your old address book!
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