Review: Smart List To Go

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Summary

SmartList To Go, by DataViz, is a Palm relational database package.

Overview

Manufacturer: DataViz
Platform: Palm and Windows
Current Version: Palm: 3.003 (I run version 2.603)

Pros and Cons

Pros (for my version)

• Solid performance
• Optional sychronization with Access
• Import/Export functions
• Good desktop component

Cons

• Not all that easy to set up relationships
• The formula editor can do some odd things
• The desktop interface has some interesting defaults on buttons
• Can’t copy using Ctrl+C from the desktop application

Why Did I Download/Buy This?

I bought this software when it was ThinkDB, before it was purchased by DataViz. The features I loved are still intact in the version I use. It allows me to connect between tables, set up generated keys, enter on both PDA and Windows, and import/export to various formats, including Access.

How I Use This?

This software is the repository of my time and billing information. I have four tables set up: Client, Project, Task and Hours. I do data entry into the Hours, and have an Access database that generates my status reports and tracks my billing.

I also use this application in conjunction with Access to generate my personal website. Movies, books and software all go through it and are translated into my HTML pages for updates.

Why Didn’t I Upgrade

When DataViz did their first and last major revamp on the software, I was still in the “if it’s newer, I’ll upgrade mode”. So I dutifully plunked down my money. To my horror, DataViz had destroyed the Windows user interface, and made it so that if you hooked up to Access, it would do so every time you synched your PDA, rather than when you wanted to do the export. Within one day I asked for my money back and went back to my old program. I consider the version 3.0 unusable.