Searching all topics fails on multi word strings

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 12:48 pm

I can not get MyInfo to find any exact phrase strings when searching all topics.

I have 'All topics ' and 'Show Details' checked. Then if I enter a known search string with more than one word it ALWAYS returns all the words, but not the exact phrase. Using " " returns no results also using the + operator fails to work.

As an information organizer it must be able to detect and find exact phrases to be useful.

Am I doing this wrong? If so please correct me. If not, I must assume it's a serious bug and I will have to seek an alternative program.

Thanks.

wsp · Post by **wsp** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 2:39 pm

Richard, I was willing to make a commitment to MyInfo despite this gap, but I agree that the lack of exact-phrase searching is extremely exasperating. Nearly all other note-taking programs do offer it.

Petko, can you think about adding this in future releases?

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 3:23 pm

wsp wrote:Richard, I was willing to make a commitment to MyInfo despite this gap, but I agree that the lack of exact-phrase searching is extremely exasperating. Nearly all other note-taking programs do offer it.

Petko, can you think about adding this in future releases?

I am in the same position wsp; I have a handful of contenders that I'm trialing on my desktop and I'm soon ready to make choice and purchase, but this feature is essential in information management. I need this software right away and there is no schedule for updates and bug fixes that I can see. In open source development you can get away with this, but with a chargeable product things are more demanding.

In most respects MyInfo is a clear leader in information capture and management, but the search really needs attention.

A polite request Petko, can we please see this fixed in the very near future?

Thank-you.

wsp · Post by **wsp** » Thu Nov 13, 2008 5:21 pm

Richard, I agree.

This comment is directed at Petko:

I notice that it is possible to search for exact phrases (as well as rather complex Boolean combinations) in the saved views. Couldn't you just move some of that capability into the search box?

Post by **Petko** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 10:18 pm

Richard, wsp, there will be phrase search in next version of MyInfo. It was planed for the initial version of MyInfo 4, but because of different technical difficulties we have postponed it for the updates.

I will publish a roadmap for the next service updates/versions in the beginning of the next week.

wsp · Post by **wsp** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:52 am

Great. Very glad to hear this news and am especially looking forward to the roadmap.

I think that right now all of us who use programs like MyInfo worry about the viability of the small companies that produce them. I was rather shaken this past week by the news that Ultra Recall is stopping development, and I hope that the state of the economy is better in Bulgaria than it is here in the U.S.!

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 9:19 am

>Petko; Thank-you for your fair response

I am also trialing Ultra Recall, but there are some issues with that also. I was not aware that there plans to cease development. However this puts MyInfo in a very strong position to grasp the lead in I.M.

I think perhaps many users will be looking towards a new release to clear up some issues and will happily dig in with testing and debugging.

If we see a green light from you to move forward and support this software, things could go very well.

Thanks for your reply and looking forward to seeing the roadmap

wsp · Post by **wsp** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:10 pm

There are more details about what is happening to Ultra Recall at the Outliner Software Forum:

http://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/872

It's a good forum, by the way, and if you do a search for MyInfo there, you'll find that it is often discussed and is regarded by many of the participants as one of the very best programs in this category.

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:26 pm

Funny you should mention it ... I'm on that thread under the 'Richard' nic. I've put a good plug (awaiting moderation) for MyInfo, especially in the light of Petko's recent comment to publish a roadmap.

Post by **Petko** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:53 pm

We have no plans to cease MyInfo development. MyInfo is on the market since 1999 and it will be here in the years to come.

Right now, we are busy with the development of MyInfo 4.11. It was planned for an earlier release, but quite a few things were added to the todo list for this service release and this is what is delaying it.

The economy in Bulgaria is not severely affected by the world crises (yet), but our main customers are from the US and Western Europe, so it affects us as a company. We've had however much tougher times in our almost 10 years of history, so this crisis is not something that we are afraid of.

The fact that Kinook may cease the development of UR (I am not sure if this will happen actually) is bad news, because it means that the whole information manager market faces difficult times. But I believe that things are not so bad and most small ISV will survive the current economic situation..

Richard · Post by **Richard** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 7:24 pm

Thanks for your candid reply Petko. I find some reassurance in what you say and that MyInfo has a future. I have written a number of reviews on various sites and I hope to offer MyInfo a glowing report in the future.