InfoQube IM - Community

Submitted by crgrove on 2009/07/29 14:22

Firstly, I can't BELIEVE how much trying to find simple information about this program is SOOOO hard that I have built up enough tension to explode.

WHERE is the FAQ? A forum search is simply not good enough.

Why can't I start a new, BLANK file?

I expected that I would be able to create an outline that was a little more sophisticated than what WordPerfect can do without having to learn EVERYTHING that the program can do. Doesn't seem that way!

Before I go buy WhizFolders I will post this here. If I can't get some reasonable answers then I will toss it, buy WhizFolders and then tell everyone else I know who wants an outliner to use that.

How does one create a new, blank file?

Secondly, can one not just press a combination of >Enter< and some other key to get a sibling or child subtopic??? Why when writing an outline should one have to take their hands off the keyboard?

It SEEMS that this program is created by someone who is simply a control freak and wants people not to learn by trial and error.

Am I wrong?

Regards,

Christopher Grove

Comments

No, you aren't wrong. In fact when you weren't here all of us on the forum had a get together and discussed how we could make the program so difficult to learn about that we could force you to learn by trial and error. We wanted to see if we could get you so upset that you'd burst a blood vessel so that we'd be able to take credit for the first case of software induced blood vessel bursting.

Now if you want to ask your questions polititely I'd be glad to offer an answer. In the mean time I suggest medication for high blood pressure and paranoia, and some happy pills too.

[quote=crgrove]

Firstly, I can't BELIEVE how much trying to find simple information about this program is SOOOO hard that I have built up enough tension to explode.[/quote]

Sorry about all your tension. Had any of us known of your dilemma, we would have sent EMS.

[quote=crgrove]

WHERE is the FAQ? A forum search is simply not good enough.[/quote]

Have you checked the manual area of the forum. It's a work in progress but is broken down into specific / common tasks. Also the forum members here are very helpful & patient

[quote=crgrove]

Why can't I start a new, BLANK file?[/quote]

You can. Main Menu > Database Management > Delete all items or Delete all items, fields, forms & grids.

Personal suggestion: delete all items but leave yourselfl some structure until you get a good handle on IQ

After that, you can start w a totally blank file or remove what you don't need quite easily, i.e. <DEL> key

[quote=crgrove]

wrong. see above

[quote=crgrove]

Before I go buy WhizFolders I will post this here. If I can't get some reasonable answers then I will toss it, buy WhizFolders and then tell everyone else I know who wants an outliner to use that. [/quote]

You may find whizfolders more to your liking. Threatening to buy it is kind of silly IMO. And threatening to badmouth a program you're only frustrated with but don't understand yet is just plain un-necessary & nasty -- again IMO -- and not the best way to start out a relationship with a bunch of strangers.

[quote=crgrove]Secondly, can one not just press a combination of >Enter< and some other key to get a sibling or child subtopic??? Why when writing an outline should one have to take their hands off the keyboard?[/quote]

You don't have to take your hands off the keyboard

<ENTER> creates a sibling

<CTRL><ENTER> creates a child

<ALT><ENTER> creates a sibling above current item

[quote=crgrove]

It SEEMS that this program is created by someone who is simply a control freak and wants people not to learn by trial and error.

Am I wrong?[/quote]

Yes & no. The purpose of this or any program like it -- be it whizfolers, Zoot, ADM, Ariadne & a host of others is to get some control over data; i.e. to put it into a context that makes the data more useful & digestable. To the extent that any of these programs does that, it is a mark of its success IMO.

Discussing the character of the person who has been developing this program for a # of years as your have put it in your post, i.e. "a control freak" has some validity, then, but without the negative connotations. IMO, InfoQube has the potential of being the best in it's class. It does need polish & it will get that polish but in the meantime it works extremely well, offers the user many ways to manipulate data, has a very creative approach to data & is extremely stable. And it is still in beta.

Jan Rifkinson

Ridgefield CT USA

HP Blackbird Vista Ultimate SP-2

Firstly,

I apologize if I was brusque. It WAS my intention to be brusque because I was VERY frustrated by not finding, after much searching online, how to start with a blank file. I see that I should have walked away for awhile before I wrote my post.

I had put a LOT of time into trying to figure out some simple things without getting bogged down by the lengthy introduction. May I suggest that it is made clearer how to start with a clean slate/blank file if someone would like to just poke away at it? And why does it start with the sample file? Will version 1.0 be that way?

Also, maybe someone could write a tutorial on creating a very simple outline without all the other database/PIM stuff that is in the introduction?

Next... When I was using the program your power users keyboard short-cuts were NOT working. Maybe a problem? In fact I had gone into the preferences to try to create keyboard shortcuts to do what I needed. Hopefully that not working was a one time fluke.

Lastly, I disagree with your assessment of my "threatening to buy WhizFolders". If the developers are reading this then telling them that I'm about to buy a competing product is exactly how the free market economy works. No?

Thank you for your very patient help, Jan.

Namaste,

Christopher Grove

> I apologize if I was brusque. It WAS my intention to be brusque because I was VERY frustrated by not finding, after much searching online, how to start with a blank file. I see that I should have walked away for awhile before I wrote my post.

Thanks. But no need to be brusque. People are friendly here and will answer if they've got some time.

> had put a LOT of time into trying to figure out some simple things without getting bogged down by the lengthy introduction. May I suggest that it is made clearer how to start with a clean slate/blank file if someone would like to just poke away at it? And why does it start with the sample file? Will version 1.0 be that way?

The intro in the manual might be a bit long. Personally I find it quite short... a matter of preference I guess. Looking at it again, I find that it misses a few important indications. Your comments should help to make it better.

I still recommend that you read the sections on items, fields, grids, etc. + getting started. Important info there and it's not that long.

>Also, maybe someone could write a tutorial on creating a very simple outline without all the other database/PIM stuff that is in the introduction?

Just go to the Tools menu --> Database management --> and select what you want... Be warned that a completely empty database is probably not the right way of learning. But you can do as you wish.

>Next... When I was using the program your power users keyboard short-cuts were NOT working. Maybe a problem? In fact I had gone into the preferences to try to create keyboard shortcuts to do what I needed. Hopefully that not working was a one time fluke.

I've had this problem in the last few months. sometimes all keyboard shortcuts are not working. Switching grids (tabs) solves the problem.

>Lastly, I disagree with your assessment of my "threatening to buy WhizFolders". If the developers are reading this then telling them that I'm about to buy a competing product is exactly how the free market economy works. No?

WhizFolders is at version 6-something, whereas IQ is a preview, not even a beta. IQ users are seeing greatness in the making, but the program is strictly for gearheads right now. WhizFolders is a fine two-pane outliner, and I think it's about your speed; IQ is multi-faceted. Pierre must fulfill his vision, meeting tasks in their order of importance. If you can't wrap your mind around it or make inquiries with civility, then the program isn't for you quite yet.

IQ will be an enormous success when it comes out; your ill-informed and ill-tempered advice will not make a dent.

[quote=JJSlote]

the program is strictly for gearheads right now

[/quote]

Firstly, when I was first pointed to the program site I did not realize that it was beta. So yes I was a little hasty.

However, if I had known that it was "strickly" for gearheads right now, I probably would have not stopped to take a look. The promotion does not make that clear, so I don't think that I can be faulted.

Namaste,

Christopher

[quote=jan_rifkinson]

You can. Main Menu > Database Management > Delete all items or Delete all items, fields, forms & grids.

Personal suggestion: delete all items but leave yourselfl some structure until you get a good handle on IQ

After that, you can start w a totally blank file or remove what you don't need quite easily, i.e. <DEL> key

[/quote]

I tried this twice with both "Delete all items" and "Delete all items, fields...". Both times the data/editing window just simply disappeared. Tried restarting and "New" simply brought up the sample file again.

Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks.

Namaste,

Christopher

[quote] 1) Firstly, I can't BELIEVE how much trying to find simple information about this program is SOOOO hard that I have built up enough tension to explode. [/quote]

Please give specifics! (about the program, not about the explosion)

[quote= 2) WHERE is the FAQ? A forum search is simply not good enough. [/quote]

Look under "Books" on the forum. It's a very basic FAQ. I believe it would be better to show directly under IQ User Manual, rather than under books.

[quote] 3) Why can't I start a new, BLANK file? [/quote= It has always seemed a little strange to me that file>new produced a sample file. [/quote]

Pierre (he's the programmer), would it be that hard to (soon) have a File>New (sample database) and a File>New (blank database)?

In the meantime, I'll write up something in the manual about a blank file. I'm thinking just having a blank file in the standard distribution, that you could at least file>open would help.

[quote] 5) Before I go buy WhizFolders ...[/quote]

You'll be surprised how helpful the people on this site can be. Tell us specifics of your needs.

[quote] 7) Secondly, can one not just press a combination of >Enter< and some other key to get a sibling or child subtopic??? Why when writing an outline should one have to take their hands off the keyboard? [/quote]

Please see the online manual under keyboard shortcuts. Section 3.11

[quote] 8) It SEEMS that this program is created by someone who is simply a control freak and wants people not to learn by trial and error. [/quote]

It needs some polish, and documentation improvement, but you will be amazed what this program can do, it is so versatile and powerful.

[quote] 9) Am I wrong? [/quote]

You have some valid points. I'm not averse to constructive criticism. Point out specifics in the manual, in the program.

[quote=KeithB]

[quote] 1) Firstly, I can't BELIEVE how much trying to find simple information about this program is SOOOO hard that I have built up enough tension to explode. [/quote]

Please give specifics! (about the program, not about the explosion)

[/quote]

Well... my eyes were bulging... I was sweating bullets... I was turning red and making...

Oh... the program!

;-P

Thanks for everyone's patience.

Namaste,

Christopher

[quote=crgrove]

[quote=KeithB]

[quote] 1) Firstly, I can't BELIEVE how much trying to find simple information about this program is SOOOO hard that I have built up enough tension to explode. [/quote]

Please give specifics! (about the program, not about the explosion)

[/quote]

Well... my eyes were bulging... I was sweating bullets... I was turning red and making...

Oh... the program!

;-P

Thanks for everyone's patience.

Namaste,

Christopher

[/quote]

Ha!

Is this a mandatory prerequisite for being a newbie with InfoQube! Chris, I know exactly how you felt! I felt the same way twice before when I tried SQLNotes and then InfoQube. I must admit that I am presently in the throes of pulling my hair out again, but as I see such powerful and long term potential, I have fired my will to conquest! (Wow, maybe I should have been a playwright.

At any rate, something has drawn me back to this "incomprehensible chaos" that I presently perceive IQ to be, not that the problem is with IQ. I do not know yet if this is the case, but I expect that constant "conditioning" by the "M*crosoft" paradigm since 1996 may be the reason for my lack of being able to grasp the new vision/paradigm Pierre has conceived. Why have I been drawn back a third time? Frankly, I have not found anything that has the potential I find in what little I do understand of IQ's workings.

Lastly, I am well gratified that your heated frustration fell on the pages of this forum. I can tell you without any equivocation that you would not have received such a forgiving countenance in others given the diction chosen for your post. My participation in this thread and others here has encouraged my resolve even more given the aplomb demonstrated by our mentors here.

Good luck,

Calvin.

I put a blank file in A Blank Database.

Thanks to all of you for your contribution.

[quote]

Pierre (he's the programmer), would it be that hard to (soon) have a File>New (sample database) and a File>New (blank database)?

[/quote]

Done!