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New SID capabilities |
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SID has been a very popular program and filled a great need - pastors who wanted a full-fledged sermon and illustration database but did not own a database program, most of which are very expensive. And SID did this for free! One feature that has been requested by many users is the ability to export records in a format that other SID users could import (or that the user could transfer to another computer.) The newest version of SID accomplishes this. Specifically, when you click the Export icon you now have three choices: exporting records as a text file, a html file, or a mdb file. MDB is the file extension for databases. The result of exporting as an MDB is a file that is similar to the supplements at the Kerux website. Other SID users can use their Import icon to load those illustrations/sermon into their own database, or a user can transfer their collection from their office to their home. Supplements will only work if each record (sermon or illustration) has its own unique record, called HolwickID for illustrations and Holw-serm-ID for sermons.* The latest version of SID supplies those records automatically. For your database, these numbers will be large - they start at 1,000,000 and go up. This way the updates from Rev. Holwick will not erase your own data. Existing users who have accumulated illustrations and sermons should use the Upgrade file, which will add these numbers retroactively. Bear in mind that if you share your illustrations with another SID user, there may be a conflict if they have their own records with those same numbers. One solution is to send a copy to Rev. Holwick so he can give it a system-wide unique number. (He will also share your material with others, of course.) Those who own the database program Microsoft Access can manipulate the numbers on their own. There is one situation to be aware of - if you do a search that turns up no records, you will be presented with a blank form. You can enter data in that form and it will be saved as a record, but it will not have a HolwickID number. Others will not be able to import this record. Always enter new records with the New icon and a unique number will be given to it. To create your own supplement with your records, just go to the search screen, choose "Collection" in the "Search by:" field, and type your name in the Text field (the same name you entered in the Typist field). All of your records will appear, and you can then create a supplement file that others can import. Rev. David Holwick (This new file represents the permanent solution I promised from Iain and Brett in New Zealand) Main database page: http://www.holwick.com/database.html ________ *You will notice that records in the Kerux database have a variety of numbers, some of which do not show up on the forms. Each record in Pastor Holwick's database has a unique number that he assigns which is called a Holwick number because he controls the content of those records. There are also numbers for each record that are limited to each user's database - for example, it may be a running number (called an AutoNumber) that keeps the tally of the total illustrations in that database. Different people have different numbers of records, so that AutoNumber for a particular record will vary from user to user. In the Access version, users can enter their own unique number in the HolwickID field; the danger is that if the number is too low, a future supplement from Holwick will erase all those records of yours. The solution is to enter a very large number in that field, say 1,000,001. SID does this automatically. Users who have accumulated a quantity of good illustrations that they would like to share with others should email them to Holwick. He will assign them a new Holwick number so that anyone can use them without interference. |