Re: Newbie: Where are Notes files so big?

From: Jud Hardcastle (l5i5changethistodash5rbo_at_xemaps.removethis.com)
Date: 12/24/04 

Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 16:39:30 GMT

In article <up6ESSa6EHA.3708@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl>,
greg.woods@entropy.hyphen.international.com says...
>
> One thing that did really surprise me is the size of Notes files.
> I have migrated just a few files from Palm to Outlook Notes, and synced then
> with the PPC, and was amazed to find that each note is approximately 1K in
> size. Most have no more than 50 characters of text. If I copy all 200 onto
> the device, I'll need a memory card just for the notes! On the Palm m500,
> all 200 fit into a couple of Kb!
>
> Am I doing something wrong?
> Should I look for an alternative to the Notes feature. Any alternative
> should ideally have an equivalent desktop application. Preferably tying in
> with Outlook, but I'm no Outlook expert either.

Welcome to Notes. Notes files are basically RTF files. Try creating
one on the pc with Word - one line "this is a test" - resultant file is
4k! Each file has a lot of overhead--the ppc version is actually small!

First, although they CAN be moved to a card they no longer sync to
Outlook even if you use MightySync to force the card to sync. Instead
they appear in a folder as real files--a special rtf format. The old
Word that I use can open them and even see the drawings and audio
objects but others have reported problems with newer Word versions.
Same problem if you just convert them to Pocket Word docs. No problem
if you don't use drawings and audio in the files.

There are several alternative programs. The one you see recommended the
most is PhatNotes by http://www.phatware.com/phatnotes/index.html.
There are three versions--the standard syncs to Outlook and the Pro has
it's own desktop app. BUT since I don't have it I can't advice on what
it does to the ppc files--maybe someone else will advise.

I use a combination of other things.

(1) 99% of my "notes" go in Contacts--maybe a couple of hundred. I have
a section of "contacts" with full name containing "ZzX something" where
the X in Zzx is one of various letters like "m" for "Misc". Then the
note text goes in the Notes field of the contact. The zzx causes all
the "notes" contacts to sort to the bottom of the real contacts--which
you can jump to--plus you can do finds on content. I also use
categories that match the code, i.e. "ZzM" for filtering if needed (it
seldom is needed). Contact notes support all the same text formatting
and drawing options that normal notes and word docs support--but without
the overhead hit since they're not individual files. I use Agenda
Fusion instead of the built-in apps which puts the text formatting icons
at the bottom of the notes. (If you haven't looked at Agenda Fusion or
Pocket Informant yet run do not walk to do so!!! They are *MUCH* better
than the included ones.)

(2) A few things I moved to ListPro, a lite database application. It's
good for things that need an outline style or a checklist. Although not
as powerful as a full database you can add fields and checkboxes etc. It
has it's own desktop version. I don't use it for everything because 1)
no find function and 2) it syncs at the file level instead of at the
record level like the contacts.

(3) Pocket Word gets the few remaining things like audio clips but like
I said some people cannot "see" imbedded objects with word. If I lose
this function when I upgrade laptops I'll probably go with a standalone
recording application.

Hope this gives you some ideas. 

-- 
Jud 
Dallas TX USA

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