PortaBase 2.1

PortaBase 2.1 (September 2012)

PortaBase (portable database) is a program for conveniently managing one-table
database files. It can be used as a shopping list, password manager, media
inventory, financial tracker, TODO list, address book, photo album, and more.
It is available for many platforms, including Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, and
Maemo (Diablo and Fremantle).

New in this version

• Added HTML export
• Improved the column statistics dialog, added a column width control widget
  to it
• Improved the file properties dialog, added a button to launch the column
  statistics dialog
• More logical workflow for importing MobileDB and XML files
• Added a button in the preferences dialog to clear the recent files list
• Boolean columns are now allowed in calculations (treated as 0 or 1)
• Added a preference to allow the height of rows in the data grid to shrink
  with the font size on the N900
• Fullscreen images (and optionally the entire application) now auto-rotate
  to match the device orientation on the N900
• The backlight on Maemo devices no longer dims or turns off during a
  slideshow
• Removed the feature to double click a row to show it in the Row Viewer;
  it was redundant and buggy
• Improved the help pages, added a search feature
• Added a Slovak UI translation, and the French translation is being
  actively maintained again
• New application icon by Holly Guenther (http://kimchikawaii.deviantart.com)
• Digitally signed the Windows and Mac OS X binaries for easier
  installation on recent OS releases
• Assorted bugfixes

For information on changes in previous releases, see the online changelog:
http://portabase.sourceforge.net/history.html

Kickstarter Campaign

Simultaneously with the 2.1 release, a Kickstarter Campaign is being launched
in an attempt to fund more rapid development of new PortaBase features and
porting of the application to new mobile device platforms. For more
information, see http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/285185447/portabase

Maemo Installation

PortaBase 2.1 is available from the Diablo extras and Fremantle extras-testing
repositories, and 2.0 is available from Fremantle extras. In time, version
2.1 should make its way to the Fremantle extras repository as well, for users
who are a little less adventurous.

Windows Installation and Upgrades

Run the downloaded executable; it will launch the installation program,
just follow the directions.

Mac OS X Installation

Double-click on the downloaded disk image to open it, and drag the application
from the disk image to where you want it (usually your Applications folder).

Debian Installation

Install the .deb package as root using dpkg -i . Alternatively, a
version of PortaBase that falls between 2.0 and 2.1 is currently available in
Debian unstable.

Installation on Other Linux/UNIX Systems

Download the source code tarball and follow the instructions in the contained
INSTALL file.

PortaBase 2.0

PortaBase 2.0 (June 2010)

PortaBase (portable database) is a program for conveniently managing one-table
database files. It is available for many platforms, including Linux, Mac OS X
(Tiger and up), Windows (XP and up), and Maemo (Diablo and Fremantle).

This is the first stable release of PortaBase since version 1.9. It's been
through about a month of public beta testing, and all of the reported problems
have been resolved. This is the new recommended version of PortaBase for all
platforms except the Zaurus (see the note below).

New in this version

• Fixed a bug with the recently opened files list when importing a file.
• Fixed a bug on Fremantle where back/close button handling could get confused.

For information on changes in previous releases, see the online changelog:
http://portabase.sourceforge.net/history.html

Note for Zaurus Users

The complete lack of new releases of Qt or Qtopia for the Zaurus has made it
impractical to continue developing for it; every single feature would need to
be implemented separately for two different codebases. However, there are no
file format changes for PortaBase 2.0; files can still be moved freely between
the new release and PortaBase 1.9 on the Zaurus. A future PortaBase 2.1
release is likely to end this compatibility, however. Maemo (as used on the
Nokia N810 and N900) is recommended for people who want to continue using
PortaBase on a pocketable device. Ports to Windows Mobile, Symbian S60,
and/or webOS may be forthcoming as well.

Maemo Installation

PortaBase is available from the extras-devel repository, you should be
able to download and install it from there. In fact, if you know how to
install applications from the command line, the .deb file can be downloaded
and installed on a fresh N900 (or an N810 with the appropriate Qt libraries
from extras) without enabling or installing anything else from extras-devel.
In time, it should make its way to the extras-testing and extras repositories
as well, for users who are a little less adventurous.

Windows Installation and Upgrades

Run the downloaded executable; it will launch the installation program,
just follow the directions.

Mac OS X Installation

Extract the application bundle from the downloaded archive and put it where
you want it (usually your Applications folder).

PortaBase 2.0rc1

PortaBase 2.0 release candidate 1 (May 2010)

PortaBase (portable database) is a program for conveniently managing one-table
database files. It is available for many platforms, including Linux, Mac OS X
(Tiger and up), Windows (XP and up), and Maemo (Diablo and Fremantle).

This is the first release candidate for a PortaBase 2.0. All of the serious
problems reported during beta testing have been resolved, installation on the
Nokia N900 is now possible, and I've received all the translations I was
expecting to get. This should be virtually identical to the upcoming 2.0 final
release; I'm just allowing another week or two of field testing before I
declare the code stable.

New in this version

• Fixed a serious regression that prevented creation of new files in beta 2
• Fixed a possible crash when deleting a column used in the current filter
• Print preview no longer limited to the set of pages last printed
• Don't show read-only encrypted files as saveable
• Correctly accept drag & dropped files with upper case file extensions
• Resolved an accelerator key conflict in the File menu
• Updated the Czech, Japanese, and traditional Chinese translations.

Note for Zaurus Users

The complete lack of new releases of Qt or Qtopia for the Zaurus has made it
impractical to continue developing for it; every single feature would need to
be implemented separately for two different codebases. However, there are no
file format changes for PortaBase 2.0; files can still be moved freely between
the new release and PortaBase 1.9 on the Zaurus. A future PortaBase 2.1
release is likely to end this compatibility, however. Maemo (as used on the
Nokia N810 and N900) is recommended for people who want to continue using
PortaBase on a pocketable device. Ports to Windows Mobile, Symbian S60,
and/or webOS may be forthcoming as well.

Maemo Installation

PortaBase is available from the extras-devel repository, you should be
able to download and install it from there. In fact, if you know how to
install applications from the command line, the .deb file can be downloaded
and installed on a fresh N900 (or an N810 with the appropriate Qt libraries
from extras) without enabling or installing anything else from extras-devel.
In time, it should make its way to the extras-testing and extras repositories
as well, for users who are a little less adventurous.

Windows Installation and Upgrades

Run the downloaded executable; it will launch the installation program,
just follow the directions.

Mac OS X Installation

Extract the application bundle from the downloaded archive and put it where
you want it (usually your Applications folder).

PortaBase 2.0b2

PortaBase 2.0 beta 2 (May 2010)

PortaBase (portable database) is a program for conveniently managing one-table
database files. It is available for many platforms, including Linux, Mac OS X
(Tiger and up), Windows (XP and up), and Maemo (Diablo and Fremantle).

This is the second beta release in preparation for a new stable 2.0 release.
All of the serious problems reported with the first beta have been resolved;
the code should be pretty stable at this point. This is only labeled a beta
rather than a release candidate because I'm still waiting on translations, and
because it hasn't yet been tested on an actual N900 (still waiting for PR1.2).

New in this version

• Fixed import from XML and MobileDB files
• Fixed a bug in handling invalid integer field entries
• Proper locale handling for decimal values
• Fixed opening files from the command line, or by double clicking on them
• Fixed a bug in filter behavior after adding or copying a row
• Fixed a bug that prevented slideshows from working
• Fixed an ascending/descending label inversion bug in the sorting editor
• Support for opening read-only files
• More intuitive behavior in the list of recently-opened files
• Account for "None" values in min/max calculations for date and time columns
• Better consistency in string entry field heights
• Better tab stop widths in the note editor
• Minor improvements to the calculator and calendar dialogs on Maemo

Note for Zaurus Users

The complete lack of new releases of Qt or Qtopia for the Zaurus has made it
impractical to continue developing for it; every single feature would need to
be implemented separately for two different codebases. However, there are no
file format changes for PortaBase 2.0; files can still be moved freely between
the new release and PortaBase 1.9 on the Zaurus. A future PortaBase 2.1
release is likely to end this compatibility, however. Maemo (as used on the
Nokia N810 and N900) is recommended for people who want to continue using
PortaBase on a pocketable device. Ports to Windows Mobile, Symbian S60,
and/or webOS may be forthcoming as well.

Maemo Installation

PortaBase is available from the extras-devel repository, you should be
able to download and install it from there. In time, it should make its way
to the extras-testing and extras repositories as well, for users who are a
little less adventurous.

Windows Installation and Upgrades

Run the downloaded executable; it will launch the installation program,
just follow the directions.

Mac OS X Installation

Extract the application bundle from the downloaded archive and put it where
you want it (usually your Applications folder).

PortaBase 2.0b1

PortaBase 2.0 beta 1

PortaBase (portable database) is a program for conveniently managing one-table
database files. It is available for many platforms, including Linux, Mac OS X
(Tiger and up), Windows (XP and up), and Maemo (Diablo and Fremantle).

This is a beta release intended to flush out any remaining important bugs
before officially declaring a new stable 2.0 release. The code is in pretty good
shape, but the code has been massively rewritten since 1.9 in order to
support new platforms and updated libraries, and it's possible there are some
bugs I simply haven't stumbled across yet in my testing.

New in this version

• Added Mac OS X port (Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard)
• Added Maemo port (Diablo and Fremantle)
• Stopped development on the Zaurus version
• Printing support
• Added new, open, import, and recent file buttons to the start screen
• Updated icons
• View, sorting, and filter selection/management dialogs via toolbar buttons
• Fullscreen mode, toggled via a toolbar button
• Good performance even when scrolling directly through thousands of records
  (previously required pagination, which is still optional but no longer the
  default behavior)
• Remember dialog sizes so they stay at your preferred size until manually
  changed
• Launch the row viewer with a single click on a row (preference to disable)
• Locale-aware number formatting (not used in data export, for portability)
• Removed customization of the menu and toolbar layout (it was really only
  needed on the Zaurus)
• Assorted usability enhancements and visual improvements

Note for Zaurus Users

The complete lack of new releases of Qt or Qtopia for the Zaurus has made it
impractical to continue developing for it; every single feature would need to
be implemented separately for two different codebases. However, there are no
file format changes for PortaBase 2.0; files can still be moved freely between
the new release and PortaBase 1.9 on the Zaurus. A future PortaBase 2.1
release is likely to end this compatibility, however. Maemo (as used on the
Nokia N810 and N900) is recommended for people who want to continue using
PortaBase on a pocketable device. Ports to Windows Mobile, Symbian S60,
and/or webOS may be forthcoming as well.

Maemo Installation

PortaBase is now in the extras-devel repository, you should be able to
download and install it from there. In time, it should make its way to the
extras-testing and extras repositories as well, for users who are a little less
adventurous.

Windows Installation and Upgrades

Run the downloaded executable; it will launch the installation program,
just follow the directions.

Mac OS X Installation

Extract the application bundle from the downloaded archive and put it where
you want it (usually your Applications folder).

Known Issues

I discovered a pair of bugs that prevent XML import a few hours after posting
the binaries (and one of them prevents MobileDB import as well). These
have been fixed and will be included in the next release after people have
had time to flush out other potential problems.

First Mac Version

Trolltech Qt/Mac Application Developer Contest (May 2004)

Lots of little code tweaks to make PortaBase work properly and look reasonably native on Mac OS X. Also added the files needed to generate an application bundle. This is the code that was submitted to Trolltech's Qt/Mac application developer contest.

PortaBase 1.9

This is the last release of PortaBase to support the Sharp Zaurus PDAs for which it was originally developed. Other notable changes:

• Image column type
• Image slideshows
• Menu and toolbar customization
• Ability to change views from the row viewer
• Assorted localization improvements (unicode filename support, locale-sensitive text sorting, proper language detection under Windows, etc.)
• File properties dialog (size, number of rows, etc.)
• Time difference calculations (hours, minutes, or seconds between two time columns)
• Option to hide page navigation bar and show all rows on one page
• Lots of minor usability enhancements (shortcut keys in desktop versions, save and restore desktop window geometry, calendar dialog enhancements, file drag and drop, etc.)

Zaurus Upgrades

To upgrade from a previous version of PortaBase, do the following:

1. uninstall libmetakit1 (if upgrading from 1.5 or earlier) and portabase
   (your data files will be left alone)
2. install the new portabase .ipk file
3. delete the .ipk file (you don't have to, but it frees up space)

PortaBase 1.8

• Calculation column type
• Sequence column type
• Support for the improved file navigation widget on newer Sharp ROMs
• Row viewer only contains columns included in the current view
• PortaBase file association established on Windows
• French and Czech user interface translations
• Fixed crash when opening some encrypted files on the Zaurus

PortaBase 1.7

• Alternating row background colors (with user-specified colors)
• Calculator widget for entering numeric data
• String entry fields can now grow to accept multiple lines of text (press return to add a line)
• Enum option sorting, import, and export
• Correctly import CSV files that only use carriage returns as line endings
• Bugfixes for XML export, enum value sorting and filtering, and desktop version file importing
• Taiwanese translation (i.e., Mandarin using traditional characters)

PortaBase 1.6

NOTE: Metakit is now compiled into the portabase executable for the Zaurus, so libmetakit1 can be uninstalled.

• Support for data file encryption
• Japanese translation of user interface and help file
• Better enum sorting and filtering
• Option to define a default sorting and/or filter for each view
• Command-line CSV import and export
• CSV and XML import enhancements and bugfixes
• File rename and copy menu items
• Row copy menu item