Inmagic has released version 17 of the its popular desktop database management system, DB/TextWorks, with several new features, such as:
1. Undo Record Deletion
Ah, we've all done this... deleted a record we didn't mean to, or worse, clicked Batch Delete instead of Batch Modify and wiped out hundreds or thousands of records. Oops. Of course, we all have robust backup systems (right?) so we've been able to recover from our mistake without too much grief.
But now we can recover deleted records with a couple of clicks within DB/TextWorks. This new feature needs to be specifically enabled for each DB/TextWorks user (in Tools > Options).
Once active, whenever you delete a record, a copy of it is first written to a CSV text file in your User Files directory. This applies both to single record deletions and to batches. The file is stored for 5 days, so you have a short window in which to realize your mistake, but there is no limit to the number of records that can be stored this way. There is then a new menu option (Records > Undo Delete Record(s)) to recover the most recently deleted records, working backwards through all deletions.
One important caveat is that fields in your textbase which are Automatic Number, Automatic Date and similar system-generated fields will most likely not be restored to their original values, but rather set to new ones. For example, if you have a field that stores the date a record was created, when you undo record deletion, the restored records will have today's date as the created date. A small price to pay for the ease of recovering from a mistake, though.
Savvy Windows users who want to rely on this as an even longer term insurance policy could get around the 5 day storage period with a script that runs nightly on their PC to copy the CSV text files to some other folder for permanent storage, where they won't be deleted. (Contact us if you need help with something like that).
2. Search for Duplicate Records
A new entry on the Edit menu, "Browse Duplicated Terms", opens the Query Choices Browser with a new radio button option, "Duplicated Terms", selected. This shows all entries in the selected field which are present in more than one record. In other words, where the Term Index shows all entries, this omits all those that appear in a single record only.
This feature is useful for fields that ought to be unique, such as Call Number in a Library Catalogue or Accession Number in an Archival Accessions or Descriptions database. You,ll quickly be able to see, find and correct inappropriate duplicates.
3. Send Report as Mail supports specifying alternative port
This feature is handy if you use a service such as SendGrid to send bulk emails to addresses stored in a DB/TextWorks databases, as these sorts of services often require that you use a specific port, rather than the email default port of 25.
Bug Fixes
Also addressed in this release are fixes several issues that appeared in the previous one:
- Specified sort in Genie report is ignored.
- Dead URL Link Checker: cannot handle TOC info (pound sign) in URL. The checker is more robust, but some URLs still may not be handled correctly (Due to obsolete WinHTTP stack in 32-bit window).
- Copy Special operation may not include all data in a record.
If you upgrade from a version prior to 15 directly to 17, be sure to read the instructions about the necessary upgrade to your textbases as well as the software. If you're already using version 15, 15.5 or 16, you'll have done this already.
Customers with a current Inmagic maintenance subscription will receive emails from advantage@inmagic.com with instructions for downloading this release. As always, contact us with any questions about this new release, to check the status of your maintenance subscription, or for help upgrading.
