Demystifying InfoQube
Submitted by Pierre_Admin on Tue, 2009-06-16 15:55.
InfoQube is often seen as a complex program:
Regarding InfoQube, I agree with Jan Rifkinson that it is a massively capable programme, the development of which I am keeping a close eye on. (...) However, I have found InfoQube to be a massively complex programme that requires more practice than I have had time to give to date
This always comes as a surprise to me as, IMHO, it is an incredibly simple program. The concept can be summarized as follows:
- An item is the basic unit of information
- Items can be arranged in a hierarchy :
- Items can have multiple children (i.e. sub-items)
- Items can have multiple parents
- Recursion is allowed (item1>>item2>>item1>>...)
- The hierarchy depth has no limit
- These links can be added and removed at will without any restrictions. The only restriction, is that an item cannot be a parent of itself.
- All items are independent (i.e. deleting a parent item does not automatically delete sub-items. You are prompted)
- Custom fields can be created (types are: yes/no, text, date/time, number) and field values can be assigned to items. Items can have any number of field values (1 value per field per item), some system defined, some user-defined :
- Item name
- Associated numbers, dates, checkmarks
- bits of text
- A Rich Text (HTML) pane allows :
- Editing of a rich text document (either stored in the database or in the file system)
- Viewing of a web page, email message, PDF, MHT, EML, PPT, DOC, XLS files
- A Properties pane is available to view / modify field values and other item properties.
- Items with their field-values are typically viewed in a customizable Excel-type Grid, supporting hierarchy. But other views are possible (Calendar, MapView, Pivot table/charts, Gantt) and planned (card-view).
- Grids have many display options to effectively manage your information :
- Show / hide the hierarchy
- Show / hide the context parents
- Group by field value
- Grids do not contain items. They simply display the ones you choose to see
- You can Hoist any number of items, to focus on these, away from the full hierarchy
- You can filter and sort to view / arrange items just the way you want
- You can create hyperlinks to files, folders, web pages, items, grids, fields, wiki tags and Outlook items
- You can clip content from web pages and emails (currently there are IE, FF and TB extensions) or from any other application using a universal clipper. Clipped content is shown in the Rich Text (HTML) pane.
- Everything is stored in an industry standard database, which supports multi-user with simultaneous access and updates with granularity down to the field-value level (i.e. different users can modify different field-values of the same item)
- Users can create forms, which allow you to view / edit a group of related fields (i.e. contact info, task info, project info, appointment info, etc.) :
- Edit / modify / add items using the form
- You can define default values for each field in a form, and apply a form to an item to set any number of field values to these default values
- Forms are shown in the Properties pane
- You can execute code (built-in functions or user-defined ones). There are 3 types:
- Push equations (also called auto-assign). These are evaluated when a field-value is added, modified or erased
- Pull equations (Excel-type equations). You can set a field-value to be a function of other field-values of the item
- Hierarchy equations. To compute totals, averages, etc based on the item hierarchy (i.e. total project time, cost, etc)
- You have many ways to search in your database, including live-search
- You can import information for other applications
- You can export information to other applications and to the web
- Other applications can read live information from your IQBase
- InfoQube can read live information for other applications / databases
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Re: Demystifying InfoQube
from http://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/1162/15 :
Re: Demystifying InfoQube
This is a long thread already, but here are some thoughts ...
I don't think IQ has any complexity problems per se. The challenge is not with the software, it's with how we the user implement it.
My analogy is likening IQ to walking into a large store with 1000 different brands of soap! Unless you know exacly what you want before you walk into the store, you are going to be overwelmed with choices and decissions. Too many options can be unhelpful, if you don't already have a clear idea of what you want.
So the challenge is with understanding HOW to implement IQ to your own best advantage. That requires understanding your needs and being able to chunk them down logically into function and processes.
To quote the blurb " InfoQube does not try and constrain you to a fixed information management system" but offers a more flexible apprach that gives you the choice to design the data management how you want.
Ok, there's the 1000 brands of soap again. Sometimes it's easier to have someone say "hey, here's the one, this what you need" It takes away the pain of decissions, but also the flexibility of individualism.
I seriously think anyone using IQ needs to spend time really mapping out what they want to do and implementing that map to IQ. The chances are that done this way IQ will outpace any other software.
If you want an easy ride, choose another application. It will give you a prescribed route that requires little planning, but ultimately stifle your work with limitations.
Re: Demystifying InfoQube
To quote the blurb " InfoQube does not try and constrain you to a fixed information management system" but offers a more flexible apprach that gives you the choice to design the data management how you want.
Ok, there's the 1000 brands of soap again. Sometimes it's easier to have someone say "hey, here's the one, this what you need" It takes away the pain of decissions, but also the flexibility of individualism.
I seriously think anyone using IQ needs to spend time really mapping out what they want to do and implementing that map to IQ. The chances are that done this way IQ will outpace any other software.
If you want an easy ride, choose another application. It will give you a prescribed route that requires little planning, but ultimately stifle your work with limitations.
This is quite true. For IQ to reveal its true power you really need to think about how you want to work and organize your stuff -- of course, some already excellent suggestions are made in the sample DB. More to come.
IQ's flexibility is/was also designed to solve specific but also varying enterprise organizational problems : with the help of a consultant who will be able to create all the grids, fields, filters, etc. that the user needs, it becomes a piece of cake. Much more flexible and easy to use and install than Access.
One thing that could be done in the future (and it's already started) is to have many sample database/configuration for different types of users. One Database which is more writer oriented, one geared towards project management, etc. At least, users will be able to see how it can be done.
This won't solve the most basic IQ "problem" though : users need to think and plan to get the best out of it.
Re: Demystifying InfoQube
Thanks for your insight on this Armando, I also like the idea of more sample database configs and templates demonstrating various applications of IQ. Maybe a basic prima database guiding users how to use IQ to best advantage?
Re: Demystifying InfoQube
Re: Demystifying InfoQube
How do you view PDF/DOC/XLS? In the HTML pane, when I File>Open any of these formats, I see gibberish in the HTML pane. I get the same if I File>View.
Re: Demystifying InfoQube
Re: Demystifying InfoQube
It would be great if you could provide an example (as in Journal and Orders) for bibliographies. I'm thinking of the following fields:
Title (item):
PubYear:
Authors:
Editors:
Publisher:
Location:
Journal:
Book:
Conference:
Volume:
Number:
PageStart:
PageEnd:
ISBN:
ISSN:
DOI:
URL:
PDF:
Keywords:
Tags:
Categories:
etc......
I want to have the PDF file display in the HTML/RichText pane. This type of bibliographic reference, where you can track items as well as take notes on each item would be very useful.
Thanks,
Glen
Vernon, BC Canada
Re: Demystifying InfoQube
Re: Demystifying InfoQube