Storing important information... MS Word?

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Bebert

Guest
Hello,

I was wondering... Where do you keep your important information on your computer? Lets see what I need to store :

-Contact phone numbers, emails, etc.
-Shareware serial numbers
-PC installation procedure (essentials programs and their associated settings)
-Password for the websites I visit
-Etc.

I am keeping all this information in Word, but I find that I keep playing with headings, titles and finding the best way to print out this information, instead of actually updating relevant information. For example, I have little bits of paper with phone numbers on them, while I could have fired up MS Word, open my reference document and type the number out!

Maybe i'm just lazy, or maybe Word isn't the best tool. Or if it is, maybe i'm not using it the best way possible.

Any thoughts?

Tanks,

Bee
 
S

spectecGTD

Guest
Most of the information you reference in your note I store in an Excel spreadsheet. I find that the best way to keep related information handy, it's easy to sort, and Excel is fairly stingy with memory. Excel is also very handy for storing related lists, as you can keep them in separate workbooks within the same spreadsheet.
 
K

kglade

Registered
FWIW I use a program called Password Agent to store anything that is either 1) even a little confidential or 2) a password.

For other notes, like the model number of my lawn mower, I have an outlook note, e.g. I have one called "Model Numbers" with my lawn mower info, and one called "Sizes" with family clothing sizes. The advantage of using outlook is that it automatically syncs to my PDA, so I have my lawn mower info when I'm at the hardware store and my family's sizes when I am at a clothing store. I don't want passwords or confidential info on my PDA (too much chance of theft), so I use the Password Agent. I did experiment with password protected memos on the PDA but found it to be too much of a bother.

Ken
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I keep this type of stuff in an encrypted file on my USB keychain. Very convenient :)
 
J

jmarkey

Guest
For non-confidential information, I usually keep it in the memo section of my Palm software, so it is accessible both on the computer and on my PDA. For confidential information, I use a password-protected program called YAPS.
 
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tulipcowgirl

Registered
I use Splash ID from www.splashdata.com.
Here's the description:
SplashID safely and securely stores all of your personal identification information including user names, passwords, credit cards, calling cards, bank accounts, PINs, and more. Information is stored in a secure, encrypted format and is quickly accessible on a Palm OS handheld or Desktop computer with the included desktop software.
Click to expand...
It's completely customizable. You can make any type of database you can think of. I use both the desktop and Palm version. There is also one for Pocket PC.

my lists:
website logins
serial numbers for equip
software serial & activation numbers
my electronic devices and what type of batteries they use
memberships
clothing sizes

it's password protected which is most important.
 
H

hth

Registered
Re: Storing important information... MS Word?

Hi Bee,
i use:
Bebert said:
I was wondering... Where do you keep your important information on your computer? Lets see what I need to store :

-Contact phone numbers, emails, etc.
Click to expand...
MS-Outlook Contacts synchronized with PALM
-Shareware serial numbers
-PC installation procedure (essentials programs and their associated settings)
-Password for the websites I visit
-Etc.
Click to expand...
Dogmelon Notestudio synchronized with PALM using an adapted example for GTD from there Website:
Notestudio:
http://www.dogmelon.com.au/ns/Home Page.shtml
Examples:
http://www.dogmelon.com.au/ns/Example Note Books.shtml

Yours
Alexander
 
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mochant

Guest
Another vote for Splash ID

I've used this program for years. It does everything you'd want in a secure manager for sensitive or confidential information. A nice extra... when I switched from the Palm to Pocket PC platform a while back, Splash responded to an inquiry about transferring my license by telling me the same license key works on both platforms. It does.
 
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TPorter2

Registered
I use Goldmine. It is a full featured contact manager, so it handles your first requirement with ease. I have a special screen set up in there visible only to me that shows user ID's and passwords. So, for example, if I go to my health insurance company record in Goldmine, there is the screen with the info I need to log on to the health insurance website and check on a claim.

Also, www.contactreview.com is an excellent site for Goldmine support and for those looking into purchasing the program.
 
J

jrichardn

Registered
For contacts etc. I just use Outlook Contacts.

For about everything else I use Outlook Notes.

Both are synchronized with my Palm. As DA notes in one of his productivity essays, the Palm has a good search function, so I just keep the notes short and sweet (mostly!).

I've thought of Splash etc. but have never felt the urge strong enough to buy it.

For synchronization I recommend KeySuite because it keeps most of the Outlook features on my Palm. But the native Palm tools are pretty good too.

Cheers, Richard Nelson
Toronto
 
B

bongoman

Guest
On Mac OS X I use PasswordWallet: <http://www.selznick.com/products/passwordwallet/>

It syncs to the Palm nicely and has 448-bit BlowFish encryption. Often the sort of info that I put in there I'll need when I'm away from my main computer so having the palm version as well is cool.

bongoman
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
splashdata link ??

I went to the splashdata link you referenced, and I only saw a page with Hey! This website is hosted by.... blah, blah, blah. No redirection or links to take me to any other page. Only link was to sign up for hosting.

Any ideas?????????
 
B

Bebert

Guest
Actually, all of these suggestions are pretty good.

I'm a GTD guy using a fully paper-based approach and loving it. :D So most of these Palm suggestions dont apply. After thinking about it for a while, i'm starting to think that I need to store my information in something different than Microsoft Word.

I don't need a full fledged solution such as ACT! or Maximizer or even GoldMine. I need something simple, that has excellent reports because I will be mostly using the software only to add contacts and maintain information : I need my paper contact list in my binder. Most of the shareware I tried didn't have decent reports, and would only print out phone number lists. I need to have the contact information I entered on that report... Any suggestions?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
VoodooPad Lite (for OS X) is a fantastic piece of free software for storing non-encrypted information. It can export all your notes to iPod Notes, so you can take them with you when you're out and about.
 
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webagogue

Registered
Like using a baseball bat to kill a fly

Word is not a good choice for data management. It is not intended to be a data store.

If you were to use a single electronic document, you'd be better off using notepad.

Any of the previous suggestions will be leaps and bounds ahead of using a Word document to store and track data. Outlook is my personal choice. I may move to Ximian Evolution if I switch to Linux. Or, ask a computer person to show you Thunderbird and Firefox (if they don't know what they are or have a poor attitude about them, keep looking).
 
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Anonymous

Guest
another vote for .xls (MS Excel) file format

I use OpenOffice to store all of my GTD information in spreadsheets, and save them in MS Excel file format (which I've set as the default). First, the workbook/spreadsheet seems to be the most flexible (and IMHO powerful) data structure short of a relational database. Second, I had a requirement that my data be accessible on multiple platforms. Not only I can open my data files using MS Excel (de facto in our offices), but I can open them on any systems (including my own, at work and at home) that have OpenOffice which is available for Windows, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD and Mac OS X.

I transport my data on a USB memory stick, having forsaken handhelds since realizing that I have a computer just about everywhere I go, along with a digital voice recorder for data acquisition.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
re: TesTeq

TesTeq said:
altserver,
You wrote:
I have a computer just about everywhere I go
Click to expand...

Really :eek: ?
Or maybe your whole world is your home and your office only?
TesTeq
Click to expand...

Heh, seems like it sometimes. :) But seriously, what I really mean is that I have a computer anywhere I need one. In my experience (and of course YMMV) the same situations where I do not have access to at least my laptop are situations where I don't need immediate access to my GTD data. If I am camping or hiking, at the theatre, in a fancy restaurant, etc. the most I need is a capture device, which I do keep with me. Most often I have a digital voice recorder and a tiny notepad and pen, which together are lighter (still), simpler, and less expensive than a PDA.
 
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