singer@uwovax.uwo.ca (01/23/90)
I have been using Tracker text retrieval for academic purposes now for several months and it has features not found in other such programs. It runs well with Desqview and is flexible in fields and length of field values, with a mix and match structure that allows you to make changes in forms even after having used old ones. It has rather good report capabilities and reports can be easily exported to word processors. It is, of course, fast on indexed variables and relatively slow with non-indexed values. It is much more intuitive than such programs as AskSam, and thus can be used with just a few minutes experience--well, maybe a few hours in some cases. It permits text up to 32k, enough for the longest note (or perhaps even a chapter). I believe it can be used as a mix-and-match research tool with cases or data mixed in with journal notes and bibliography; I see uses in academic medicine, clinical medicine, social sciences and most other academic subject areas. Support from the company, Dayflo, 17701 Mitchell Ave., North, Irvine, Ca 92714, has been very good.Sorry, I don't know their 1-800 number. ----------- Ben Singer Department of Sociology University of Western Ontario Singer@uwo.ca London, Ontario Singer@uwovax.bitnet N6A 5C2 (519) 660-0671 (home) (519) 679-2111 Ext 5137