| ★ APPLICATIONS ★ BUREAUTIQUE ★ MASTERFILE 8000 ★ |
| Masterfile 8000 v1.4 (Amstrad Magazine) | MASTERFILE 8000 (8000Plus) | MASTERFILE 8000 (Popular Computing Weekly) | MASTERFILE 8000 (Aktueller Software Markt) |
The masterly Masterfile Masterfile is easily the best database available on the CPC micros short of some £400 CP/M monoliths. I've waited a year to see Masterfile 8000 on the PCW - now that it is here has it lived up to my expectations? Databases fall into two broad categories. There are those, like dBase, that can be programmed like a computing language. They allow the user to create specialist applications to suit particular needs. The second type, like Masterfile, is essentially based on a card index file - simpler to use, but less flexible. Beyond these classifications the programs are more variable than people suppose. The basic capabilities of a word processor are fairly predictable, but many people have spent a lot of money on a database only to find that it doesn't do what they need. They have different maximum record sizes, different methods of storing information, different abilities for presenting and printing data, different options for manipulating the information. To be fair I must first note Masterfile's statistics and its one or two weak points. Firstly it does not allow you tc easily automate any regular updating process, although changes to data are now ver\ easily achieved by editinc the data as it is displayed Printing options are vastly improved over the older versions of the program but, unlike some databases, you can only do mail merge etc, if you use a word processor as well. Masterfile's maximum file size depends on the size of your memory drive; 110K on an 8256, maximum record size is just over 2K, there are up to 80 fields per record and the maximum field size is 250 characters. Having lost the few readers to whom these minor limitations are critical I can confirm that for the rest of us Masterfile 8000 is a tour de force that will spoil you for any other program. For months I have searched in vain for a PC utility that can do the same things that Masterfile can on the PCW. Masterfile stores all of its data in Ram which makes it lightning fast when sorting or searching. Particularly clever is its ability to store information of variable length without wasting any space. The other feature I cherished from the original was its data search. Not only do you have the standard options, such as Name = Smith or Age > 18, but there is a very powerful global string search. Say you want to find a name and address but you can't remember all of the details ('Dave Somebody — lives in Wapping!'). The name will probably be filed Surname first and the address with the number and street-name first. In the early days of this project Campbell Systems were worried about the graphics limitations of CP/M. They have obviously overcome these problems. The program is now controlled by pop-up overlapping menus and there are line drawing, large text and fill options for decorating your data display. Some of the demonstration files are almost cheeky in the way they flaunt these new abilities. One minor irritation of the original versions was that you had to define a display format before you could review the data you had typed in. A new option is a simple, permanent, format that lists the data. Other brand new features include a calculation function whereby new data can be produced from existing figures using a mathematical formula. Date records are also allowed now which can be another useful way of searching the data. One field in the file can be set as a key by which the data is automatically sorted. You can at any time re-sort by another field, something else that, as far as I know, is unique to Masterfile. Masterfile has always been flexible at selecting a working set of data. Any record that meets your search criteria can be added to, or removed from, the currently active display. This option has been greatly improved by the ability to define up to eight sets of active records, based on any criteria you wish, and these sets can be instantly switched, combined or redefined. The program's relational features, which were so unique on the CPC, are now more powerful and easier to use. Up to eight files can be linked together such that data can be extracted from one to be displayed with another. For example a file of customer names and addresses need only be typed in once but can be read and displayed by a file of orders, a file of dispatches, a file of customer complaints and so on. The disc comes with ten example databases that are very useful demonstrations of the program's options, and cover a wide range of typical uses so they can be immediately cannibalised for your own use. To underline Mas-terfi/e's flexibility: the readme file, giving latest information, a file full of troubleshooting tips and an index for the manual are all provided in the form of databases. The final feature I cannot overemphasise is that the new Masterfile is fundamentally easier to learn and use than the old versions. It has been substantially rethought to be quicker and more^ obvious to use. It also holds more data, has more power, and I've no doubt it will have many more satisfied customers. Tony Kendle , PCW |
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