I am a member on the FB group for PlantStep and as it turns out Ken Belan is looking for volunteers to enter the 2014 DL's into the PlantStep database...

Just 2562 entries! I'm willing to do my share
Anybody else who wants to help?


"Kent Belan: Hello Puck, Paul is only working on the Iris database. I guess it is time to start finding people who would like to help enter the new daylilies into the database. It is a big job !!! Lets see how many people volunteer and we will get the project started. Thanks"

(I'm on FB under the alias Puck, my BorderCollies name )



Mayo

I am surprised that Kent can't create a program to extract that information from the AHS database?

How do we get that info here into the ATP database?

I always thought the information was extracted, and not hand-typed! The margin for error would be high if I was a volunteer!

I always thought it was automatically entered, too. I wonder if he could allow people to update DB information in a way similar to what we do on ATP for new plants.

...personally, I still think it would be cool if there was an ATP/PlantStep affiliation. It's been suggested that PlantStep is considered a competitor, but that wasn't elaborated on. I haven't delved into everything on PlantStep yet, but to me, it seems like the two could dovetail nicely without getting into each other's way. Maybe?... I use both and they have very separate functions to me; but, again, I haven't delved into everything on PlantStep yet.

I would never think of them as competitors. One is a program, and the other is a web site, so how could they even compete? I love both though! I'm just really thankful that PlantSetp doesn't have chat threads! I'd never get anything done!

I only use the daylily part of PlantStep. I've added in a few wildflowers, but no iris. I should look into the iris part, since I finally have a few named ones. I hope it works like the daylily area.

Can't they capture the screen pages of all the 2014 or 2015 registrations from the AHS registration database in text files and then have an automated system to transfer that information into any database.
Or can't they use the same sort of techniques that Google and Yahoo use to search websites to search the AHS registration database website for all the new registrations and store the information found in a file.

I agree that it would seem logical to import the data from the AHS or ATP database into the PlantStep database..
I have no idea what format it is in, but I suppose that Kent Belan would have made a program to do that if is were possible (?)

I myself use the ATP and AHS databases to look up DL's I don't know and look at the photo's different people made of the same cultivar (VERY important!)
I use PlantStep for the DL's I own, keeping track of info like # fans, increase, price, border placement, making reports etc.
Another important part that I use is for keeping track of (crosses that produced) my seeds and seedlings.
I réally couldn't do without it and I don't have that many DL's yet


Mayo

I bought the software and I can see the database it's not automatically imported. Some informations are not complete, and description are a bunch of letters just to shorten daylilies descriptions.

I am not happy of the software, I wrote to the developer including screenshots of what is not working (and it's clearly not working) and never had an answer.

Sabrina, I hope you will contact him again. I think most of us have had a really good experience with customer service. If you sent the message through the contact page, copy and paste his e-mail address into the e-mail that you use. I had problems contacting him through the contact page, but when I sent a direct e-mail, he replied back very quickly.

oh?
Usually Ken answers within a day when someboby has a problem..
Did you try to contact him by email or on de FB group?

What doesn't work with your program?


Mayo

@Cybersix - I would mostly agree with what others have said about him, he is usually pretty responsive, atleast when you first buy the software. I sent him several follow-up emails to describe things that were buggy or suggestions I had for future updates and he is less complete about his responses to those emails, but I would still say the customer service is very good if you email him directly.

Hello, sorry for my late reply.
I wrote to [email protected] as per indications of the email I got when I bought the software.
Here's what I wrote, I'm copying it here because it would be too long to write again.
It's full of little bugs.
I'm a software developer, and these little bugs are sure fastly and easily corrected by the developer.
What I find strange is that the bugs are effectively there, you have to test the software. And you sell it, too.
Anyway, here's the email I sent and the screenshots I took-, you may also tell me if you get the same bugs:
---
Hello, I'm a new user of this software.
It's full of useful and clever things, but I noticed some problems using it.
I will try to explain the best that I can, sorry if my english is not perfect but I am Italian.
I'm only using the Daylilies part for now, so what I'm writing is for that.

1) Since we outside US use dates in gg/mm/yy format it would be nice that the software will relay on system defaults instead of its own defaults. The masking of dates and numbers fields don't help, too, while entering data.
2) I'm not able to use the "purchase from" function. I entered the name of the nursery where I bought my plants, saved it, but I can't choose it as an entry; I click on the button "select" but the informations aren't entered in the daylily form.
3) Using the list from the find button in daylilies form has some problem.
When I click on the various headers to sort the list some strange things happen.
Clicking on "Size", "Height", "Reg. Year", "Foliage", "Hybridizer" column headers doesn't sort, it partializes the list.
I'm attaching some screenshot so you can see what happens.

I'm not able to go to the forum http://www.plantstep.com/forum... because of a 500 internal error.

I like the software, but there's the need to tweek something in my opinion.
Thanks for reading
Kind regards
Sabrina

hi Sabrina,

to answer your questions:
1/ I agree that the date format takes some getting used to as a European, but it's not an error
2/ The "purchase from" function does work.. I use it all the time!
You open the tab Purchased From -> click the button Purchase From -> click Add -> click Yes on the pop-up
and now enter new data or click Find to choose info you entered before
3/ the sorting on the Find page dóes work. Just remember that the screen jumps so that the line that you have selected is at the top..

In my case, Chokecherry Mountain is the first name in my list.


But if I sort on hybrydizer, Roberts is NOT at the top of the list.
However, because the line with Chokecherry Mountain was selected, the display jumps so that Roberts is shown at the top of the SCREEN.

To see the entries (hybridisers) befóre Roberts, you just have to scroll up..


4/ Where did you find a link to a forum?? I can't find that in the PlantStep program?


Mayo

Thank you Mayo for finding the time to explain these things. For sorting I'll check tomorrow from my computer. The purchase from there's no waybto make it work, I added one nursery but when i select it it doesn't work. Will check better this too. As for dates and numbers, masking fields is almost useless (number fields), and when you code a oiece software you can tell it to work based on system settings so it will be ready to work in every country. Not an error but an annoying thing that can be avoided. I am surely wrong about those things I thought were errors (letting a record selected in the list it's not a thing I'd do, it's not useful when you want to order your list) but anyway I didn't have any reply!
The link for the forum was in their email with the activation code.

There are some improvements that could be made and a person can suggest them to the developer. That said the program is very inexpensive and you get unlimited updates at no extra cost. There have been updates over the years since I purchased it in 2003 to me this program works well for my needs, as for the dates they likely were intended for use here in the states. Make Kent aware of the dates for international use and any other problems, he always answers any questions I have ever asked him.

I think Kent will add your ideas to his to-do list if he thinks they should be changed.

He has answered my emails, but sometimes it took a few days. He is a programmer and I think he works from home like Dave does.

@Mayo62, I just checked. The list in the program is actually partial, even if I scroll I can't see any new line above.
@beckygardener and @daylilydreams I sent the email on september 2. Maybe the address was not right? I used the one they gave me in their email.

I am sending you an email, Sabrina!