My New Name

dealio - I figured out what each MS Access table did based on looking at the data. "Assets" is the main table, with most of the others just lookup tables ("Customers", "Dealers", "Categories"). You do have to understand relational databases if you want to do any significant data changes that might affect association of tables or write your own SQLqueries. I have decades of experience, so that is no problem for me. I also make backup copies of the database in case I screw up. I am writing my application in C# with a stand-alone version of Microsoft SQL Server. I am using Visual Studio 2017 Community edition to do the editing. The software is free so the only cost is my own design and development time. Home inventory was created by modifying it from a coin and stamp application. Its table name "Dealers" means 'purchased from' in my world of home inventory. To create my own app, I need to write my own search and filter and reports, as well as data input forms. However, based on my personal needs, I can narrow down the 22 tables to about 4. That will make data entry much more clean and precise. The only 'magic' I am going to have to write C# code for is associating images with each asset. However, whatever logic I come up with for doing that will also allow me to associate any type of file with the asset the same way (Word document, PDF, text file, etc.) Right now, Home Inventory associates PDF files to Assets differently than images. My way will be simple drag-n-drop regardless of the file type. Home inventory also creates its own thumbnail copy of each image. My app will point to the original file on my computer's hard drive.

I decided to write my own inventory program and import just the information I need from Home Manage. Home Manage is the hack of a program originally written for stamp and coin collectors. It is too bloated with fields I don't care about. Menu organization is rather odd. The number of images I can attach to an item is limited and I have to maintain my own copy of images outside the program for it to be useful. I reported many bugs and navigation issue years ago that were never resolved. The worst part is I can no longer trust it from messing up my inventory data. The program and database are written using Microsoft Access. Luckily I know how to use it so I can write my own SQL to fix data errors and inconsistencies created by HomeManage.

Where can I find the list so I know what was changed? I have a dozen work-arounds in my workflow for bugs in the Home Manage software and I would like to stop using the work-arounds if there is no longer a need for them. I also want to know what was changed because maybe there is something new I can take advantage of. I have yet to ever see a 'change log' with Home Manage updates, which is very bothersome to me.

If I check for an update from within the software, will I be able to see the documentation prior to the actual install so I can decide if I really want to do the install right away or wait a day or two?

How can I tell what was changed between any version of HomeManage, such as between 17.0.0.23 and 17.0.0.27? I want to know before I upgrade to a newer version. That way I can look out for issues in those areas, or start using a new feature, or stop using a work-around because a problem has been fixed. I would hate to upgrade and not know what was changed and suddenly my inventory is corrupt and I've lost days of work.