OVER 2 YOU, 052 (18/10/01)

RAG DOLL CATS

My sister breeds Rag Doll cats and wants to be able to create her own pedigree certificates, preferably using an Access or Excel database. Does anyone know of any existing files?

K Rayner, Kent

I recommend ibreed, we use this to monitor the breeding of a large pack of hounds, with breeding records going back over 100 years. It is based on Access and provides three and five generation pedigree certificates with your own logo. It allows notes on each animal and is simple to use. It also allows genetic prediction, if the data is known. A free demo programme is available from the ibreed site: http://www.ibreed.ukgateway.net/ 

Mike Barkwith, Sth Gloucs.

A number of software companies advertise pedigree printing programs in publications such as Our Cats, Cat World etc. Also software is demonstrated  at a number of large cat shows throughout the country; have a look at Anima-All 2000; it can be down loaded from www.griersoft.co.

Personally I found it easier to produce a blank pedigree form in Microsoft Word, using Tables - four or five generations fit on A4 landscape. I sometimes use a Mail Merge for inputting the details but find I can move information around quite easily, without this. I also insert photographs of both parents at the head of a pedigree and a photograph of the kitten on the cover. My advice would be try creating your own, before spending out on a package as these usually include things that are never used. I have also produced mating/kittening records quite simply again using Microsoft word and Tables. Excel is another programme that be used, again experiment using your own requirements.
Rita Quick,

For pedigree certificate software K. Rayner could try Breeder's Assistant Software (www.tenset.co.uk) or Tenset Technologies Ltd, 207 Hills Road,
Cambridge, CB2 2RN. Tel 01223 514074

Jan Bardey,

Can I suggest that K Rayner's sister contacts Well Bred Software Ltd., www.slayer.com/wellbred. It produces an excellent program for producing pedigree certificates. I use mine for dogs and have found it invaluable. It gives you a choice of a number of different layouts for the certificates, as well as various numbers of generations, which can be included. Different entries can be marked in colours (in dogs we mark Champions in red), photos can be included, on the certificates, as can any other information which you may wish to include. Other facilities includes a pedigree database, show entries, health records etc.

Anne Taylor, Cumbria

LEARNING MUSIC

I have recently joined a Barbers Shop harmony group.  It would make life easier if I learnt how to read music. Does anyone know of any PC software I could use?

Jack Lloyd, via email

To help Jack Lloyd learn to read music he could go to http://www.learn2.com and select Everyday Tutorials > SEARCH 'music' > Learn2 Read Music  -- there he will find 7 Steps (lessons) which cover 10 sheets of A4 when downloaded.    

Joseph Holden,

GAMES ORGANISER

I oversee the games and activities programme at my school (we have a huge range of about 80 activities on offer six days a week) and I have to keep track of who does what so that I can keep Housemasters, games staff and pupils up to date with accurate lists. Entering the data is quick and efficient, as I have linked my "overview" table to another table, which contains information on activities and the days they are available. Typing the first letter or two is enough to make the rest of the word appear. It is when I run a query to find out which pupils do, say, basketball (an activity on offer twice a week) that the problem arises. Access gives me the names of those doing basketball but it also tells me what they do every other day of the week. The member of staff taking basketball does not want this information and certainly does not want to waste time hunting for "her" names in amongst the overload of information. How can I construct a database that will give me just the names of people doing one specific activity two or three times a week?

Mr Gösta Luthman, via email

It sounds like there is nothing wrong with Gösta Luthman's database. All that is needed is a simple query that selects the required names (presumably avoiding duplicates) using appropriate selection criteria in a Where clause.

However, it would be necessary to check the design of the tables before a query could be constructed. For example, is it those people who do the activity twice or three times a week, but not once or more than three times? Is it for just last week and what is scheduled for this week, etc?

For example, the query: SELECT DISTINCT NAME FROM TABLE WHERE ACTIVITY = "Basketball"; would select a list of unique names for all those people who had taken basketball, assuming that the table TABLE contains a column NAME (for the names) and a column ACTIVITY for the activity.
Tony Etheridge

MOUSELESS TEXT READER

Can anyone suggest the cheapest scanner and software that will get text from magazines and newspapers, put it into a Word document and then read it out without any proof reading? It is vital that all this be done without any use of the mouse, as our clients are blind. Obviously, it is also impossible to use the mouse even to select text. RNIB computer volunteers have been trying to crack this for months. We have ReadBack, Readplease and we have used Omnipage and Textbridge as well as various macros, but always, we get to the dreaded point where the mouse has to be used.
Brian Rhodes, via email

The software solution Brian Rhodes is looking for is "Cicero" produced by the Dolphin Computer Access Company of Worcester. It is a program that will scan and read out loud any text, and than export the text into any word processor automatically. It has been designed specifically for the blind and does not use a mouse. I use it daily in conjunction with a Cannon scanner that cost only £90.00 the software will work with almost any scanner and is very simple to use. Further details can be got from the Dolphin website: www.dolphinuk.co.uk
John Barker, Systems Support Officer (Specific Needs) University of Glamorgan
 
 

There are a couple of packages which link well together to do exactly what Brian Rhodes requires.  However they are not particularly cheap.  These are HAL for windows used in conjunction with SAM (Synthesizer Access Manager) and Cicero.  Hal will enable a blind person to run a PC and any application via the keyboard.  Cicero provides an easy, fast and reliable method of reading printed material independently using a regular desktop scanner.  Cicero uses Dolphin's SAM module to share your speech synthesizer with other compatible access products, such as Hal. One of number of websites, which explain the above, can be found at http://www.4access.com/products/ctr.htm.
James Mahoney

LOCAL WEATHER

I have scoured the web without success for a source of historical weather data for individual towns and cities. Just some basic averages like temperature, sunshine hours and rainfall as you get in any holiday brochure. I thought this would be standard information in house buying for instance to compare Macclesfield with Maidstone for instance. Can anyone
point me the right direction.
John Yates, via email

Try: http://www.uk.research.att.com/cgi-bin/

dailyWeatherHistory-cgi
This web gives historical weather data for Cambridge.
Tom Reynolds

CPL Press has just published "World Wide Weather: A Guide to Weather Information on the Internet", details of which can be found at: http://www.cplpress.com. This publication not only lists Internet websites and links that relate to general weather topics and weather states i.e. existing weather conditions and forecasts. It also gives guidance on the interpretation of received data and maps so that they may easily be understood. Many weather maps, diagrams and meteorological data sites do need this interpretation if they are to be at all meaningful.
Katy Hall, CPL Scientific Publishing Services Ltd, Newbury

AIRCRAFT KITS

I have about 500 un-made plastic model airplane kits, all makes and sizes, which my late husband collected. I also have aircraft magazines and decals. Does any one know of a web site I might find out their worth as well as try to sell them?

Helen Prentice, via email

As the archivist for the Bristol Aero Collection based at Kemble airfield, Glocs., may I suggest that Mrs Prentice might perhaps consider approaching any nearby aviation museum, to see if they could make use of any of the models, magazines or books. We at BAC are always on the lookout for such items relevant to the Bristol Aeroplane Co., and its successors.  I would be glad to talk to her if she wished. 

John Battersby

A keen modeller myself, I should like to recommend to you the IPMS - International Plastic Modellers Society - of which I am a long-time member.  It not only operates extensively in this country, but worldwide too.  Our website is: www.ipms-uk.co.uk. There are branches throughout the UK and if I knew where your location was I could give you the name and address of the nearest branch secretary who I am sure would be pleased to make arrangements to view your collection of kits and give you an assessment of its value, and further assistance if required in what you would like to do with it.  

David Holland,

SUPERCALC

I have some old spreadsheets constructed in SuperCalc version 2.1.Is there any quick way of converting these into Excel?

Keith Haycock, via email

The best way is to convert the SuperCalc files to 123 format using the  'export' menu at the bottom of the page. Then open Excel and save the converted file in Excel form.
Barrie Birkin,

CAN YOU HELP?

I'm seeking to input old black & white 8mm cine film directly into a PC (rather than the indirect method of projection and filming with a camcorder) for the purpose of editing etc. Some scanners can take 35mm film, but has anyone had any experience with 8mm movie film?

Bryan Bedwell, via email

Can you please tell me where I can find information about the distribution of earnings in the UK? I would ideally like to be able to see how many people are in each group by  increments of, say, £10,000 up to £100,000 and £100,000 from there on.

Mr Pierson, via email

I am working with a large spreadsheet on which is entered data on netted birds. The data is collected very quickly because birds have to be released in a short time. Consequently there are entry errors particularly the alphanumeric sequence ring number. I want to find all instances of any ring number being entered more than once. I can of course find a particular number duplicate by using FIND but I think there ought to be a way of finding any string that appears more than once in a column.  At the moment I sort by the ring number column and then search by eye.
John Bonell, via email

Is there a program I can load that will record anniversaries and events?  It needs to be like a 365-day diary but with no year or day of the week. I want to list events against a date and month then with event list the year of occurrence. I should then be able to look up a date and see what events occurred that date and which year.  Also, hopefully, I could search by event.  For instance look up a name and find birth, marriage, death dates etc. This could then extend to house moves, job changes or even car changes etc., but I do not want a program that alerts me of pending events or anniversaries.

Roger F. Savidge, Cowbridge, S. Glam

I am looking at developing some training material so it will be interactive and available on-line. Does anybody have any recommendations for tools to use in design, and sites where interactive games such as crosswords, word searches and quizzes can be downloaded to add to the training package?
Dave Spinks, via email