Will,

I wouls be interested in beta-testing your program. I have developed a 
similar, but less ambitious, database in Microsoft Access.

Bob Hofkin

Will Loving wrote:
> Dear dance friends,
> 
> In my business, I do database development, especially for non-profits and
> particularly for community arts organizations ( http://studioschoolpro.com )
> so it's probably natural that I started thinking about creating a database
> for collecting dances, when I first started calling many years ago.
> 
> Starting with my original database and pulling in ideas from Russ Owen's old
> FileMaker template, other people¹s homegrown systems and feedback from some
> experience callers, I've built something completely new in FileMaker 9/10.
> It's one of those projects that is both fun to do and hopefully will be of
> practical use to others. The software ­ Callers Companion - is primarily
> geared towards contra but I¹m open to modifications that would enhance its
> use for squares and ECD.
> 
> It is self-running - both Mac and Win - and will not require users to have
> FileMaker Pro or any other software other than a relatively recent operating
> system (Mac OS 10.4.8+ or 10.5.x, or Windows XP with SP2 or Vista). I¹m
> assuming to release it as some form of Œshareware¹ license, meaning download
> it and if you find it useful, pay something to support it¹s continued
> development.
> 
> What I¹m looking for are a few intrepid folks (3-6) who are interested in
> beta testing. I¹ve been testing and using it myself for a while and it¹s
> pretty solid. If you would like to be a beta tester, please contact me off
> list. I¹m interested in feedback from both experienced and new callers. If
> you¹ve used Russ Owens old FileMaker template I may be able to import your
> old data. Other systems may or may not be doable. If you¹re starting from
> paper, know that the ³Insert Call² buttons make entry very fast and you can
> customize the phrasing to your liking ­ verbose or not as you choose.
> 
> Here ( http://callerscompanion.com ) are some screen shots to give you an
> idea of it¹s current shape. The last one is specifically designed for
> 'on-screen' calling for folks like Linda Leslie who likes to call directly
> from her iBook. (And thanks to Linda for her feedback so far!) Features
> include:
> 
> Dances
> * Rapid dance entry using customizable buttons - enter figures in your
> preferred format/phrasing with a single button click.
> * Print dances in multiple formats (index cards, one/page, two/page, etc)
> * Search Dances by specific figures, e.g. ³Petronella² in B2
> * Track dance Œelements¹ in a particular dance ­ automatically and manually
> * Link to online video clips of dances such as YouTube or Google video
> * Link to authors website or other online posting/source for the dance
> * Printed date and ³Print all unprinted² function
> * Support for dance formats beyond 32-bar A1->B2
> * ³Related Dances² - link dances to each other
> * Copy Dance notes to clipboard so you can paste them into an email
> * Duplicate Dance
> 
> Sets
> * Create ³Sets² of dances for a particular event (date and location)
> * Save those sets for future reference and with Notes and Dancer Level
> * Duplicate a Set 
> * View all Sets in which a dance has been used (from Dance view)
> * Filter dances by multiple criteria when creating a Set including name,
> author, level, formation, etc.
> * Large text screen for calling directly from the a laptop
> 
> Authors
> * Author view showing all dances for that author
> 
> Other ideas not yet implemented:
> * Automated import from Russ Owen¹s database (partially complete)
> * Email a dance or set to someone as a PDF or a format that can be imported
> directly into another copy of the database
> 
> Will Loving
> 


-- 
boB

That's another fine message you've gotten us in.