Cardbox Talk

Please can anyone tell me the main differences between Cardbox 3.0 Acess 2007; also (sacrilege I know), what advantages/disadvantahes if any Access has over Cardbox.

I've used Cardbox since the early 1980s but not being able to perform spreadsheet-type calculations without creating macros (which no matter how simple are too complex for me to do) is making it harder to be loyal. At present, I link the record to an Excel file but, unless there is another way, what I'd like to do is to open a new record and have it automatically link to that Excel file and if I save that excel file with another name not have to start the linking all over again.

Access is totally different from Cardbox. It is like comparing a aeroplane to a car: you can use both to travel, they both get you there, but in different ways.

The point is: what do you do with Cardbox? If you use short, highly structured data and you do some arithmetic as well, Access might the better option. If your database contains a lot of text of variable length: don't even think about using it. Without a analysis of your data there no way to tell which programme better suits your needs.

But if Cardbox macros are already too difficult for you, Access is going to be a nightmare.

"If your database contains a lot of text of variable length: don't even think about using it"

It does, I won't, thanks.

Perhaps I could, on further consideration, use Excel as a database for more specific needs.

You'll need to consider what is the easiest way to perform your calculations. If your calculations are related to information in Cardbox, then using Excel, either linked to Cardbox or used separately, may prove to be more complex than having Cardbox doing the calculations for you. Perhaps you could give an outline of the way you use calculations in the Macros section of this forum. You could then be given some direct advice and perhaps some sample macros to try out.