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There’s a plethora of list making software for Windows Mobile available, and DoInventory by WakefieldSoft is one such program.  What sets it apart from its competitors is the ability to filter out unwanted information to find what you are looking for.  Most other programs limit you to organizing your information by sorting one field.  Not so with DoInventory.  In addition, it’s highly customizable.  Let’s take a closer look.

Data

The first thing you need is to get data into the software.  You can do this in three ways.  Enter data into the pocket pc, the desktop, or import data.  Here’s what the blank form for data input looks like:

Many of the fields can be customized.  Here’s what the display looks like after I have customized it and added data:

If you import data it must be as tab or comma delimited files.  Unfortunately it cannot import directly from Excel.  But it’s quite easy anyway.  Just save your file as a comma or tab delimited file and go through the import wizard.

When you’re done you’ll have a list that looks like mine on your desktop:

The left hand side shows the items, the right shows the detail of the highlighted item.  You’ll notice the software had a bit of trouble converting my inches sign (”) to readable text.  So I had to manually correct those.

The software only supports one database.  It can be as big as 15999 records, however.  Some may view this as a weakness.  For example, if you want a database for your company products, your groceries and your music you may think you’re out of luck.  But the software eschews flags, yes/no fields and check boxes in favor of categories, locations and custom fields, so you can do a filtered search and find what you’re looking for easily.  The latter make it very easy to filter data on many levels.  But if you have a grocery list, for example, there is no easy way to check off a purchased item. 

Filtering

What good is data if you have no easy means to access it?  I carry my pocket pc with me to visit customers and if they want a price on a certain item, how quickly can I answer them?  We carry hundreds of items with various price levels depending on what type of customer we have.  So picking data can be tricky.  But this is where DoInventory shines.  At the top you’ll see a ’sort by’ box.  You have seen that type of sorting in many of DoInventory’s competitors.  But not many have the excellent filtering of DoInventory.

Just click the Search bottom at the bottom left to bring up a dialog box:

Above I chose a category of ‘Bottom’ that I had previously defined.  Below are the results when I enter 59 into Search For Text:

Now it’s real easy to find the product 59″ Bottom Cloth. 

Categories

Each item you enter can have a category, location, and/or custom fields, and these can be completely customized with ease.  In the above example my drop down box showed several of the custom categories I created.  Categories, locations and custom fields help you organize your data for easy retrieval.

The above photo shows how to access the Master Lists.

Customizing your categories is quite simple. 

Windows Mobile View

The software on your Windows Mobile device is just as robust as on the desktop.  And just as simple to use.

Create a new record

Sort by category:

Filter records:

Filter results:

Basically, anything that can be done on the desktop version can be done on the Windows Mobile version.

Additional Features

The software contains support for barcode scanners and also allows using a password to secure your data.  You can print from the desktop version as well.  Further, you can export your data as a tab or comma delimited file.  Syncing between the pocket pc and the desktop is effortless.  It also contains support for photos of your items.

Pricing

The software is available for Palm or Windows Mobile, as well as most Windows versions.  They offer a free trial version for 14 days.

Conclusion

I have tried many list programs.  None have been perfect.  Ideally the list program I would want would contain a desktop component that would sync both ways.  It would be easy to use, yet customizable, fast, and would allow import/export of data.  Additionally, it must have extensive filtering features to quickly access that one piece of data buried among thousands.  DoInventory has answered the call.  It’s not perfect, however.  I would like to see direct import/export from Excel.  And the importing feature has trouble with the inches sign (”).  Also, the software only supports one database instead of many.  And adding check boxes would be nice, too.  But otherwise, the software has lived up to my high expectations and I gladly recommend it.  It has become my ‘go to’ software.  When I’m in front of customers I need to give answers quickly.  And this is the best software I’ve found for my needs.

They carry several other titles as well.  I have tested LoanExpert, a software to calculate mortgages and other loans, and found it to be excellent as well.  WakefieldSoft is not very well known, but their software and service are first rate.

You can find more information at the WakefieldSoft website.

Steve Laser (136 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook