A client in the jewelry business with hundreds of similar sounding item descriptions needs to find the item number when the tag has fallen off the piece. A typical item description would include the words "turquoise diamond necklace".

In ACCPAC IC, using the F6 key and typing in "diam turq neck" would successfully and quickly match the item even though the words are in the wrong order.

How can they use Adagio to efficiently find the item. "Contains" and "sounds like" are not successful. I have fooled around with GridView and Crystal Reports without success. Using any of the words individually produces tens of items to wade through.

I want to get the client off of ACCPAC, but I need a decent alternative.

I have noticed the same thing. The search function in ACCPAC is the best I have ever seen on any program, I loved it. Alas I think we are out of luck in Adagio, or any other program for that matter, funny how the oldest program I have used has one of the best features.

The SmartFinder lookup in Accpac is a propritary function - here's a link for more comments about Smart Finder searches and comparing Adagio and Accpac Plus. (Steve, you happen to have posted to this thread).

As for Steve's question on how to search for items based on descriptions where hundreds of item desc's are similar, yet you wish to have a much smaller 'final selection' list. Maybe the new Optional Fields section in Adagio Inventory 8.0A could be useful to search with?

I don't know that I can provide a satisfactory answer here for you, based on how the Adagio SmartFinder currently works.

Dear Softrak

I remember that other thread - that's why I posted this question here instead of in the pluscommunity forum. I also seem to remember it was more general in nature.

I can accept that you don't have a satisfactory answer to the question.

When a bunch of Adagio users complain that a wonderful feature in ACCPAC is lacking in Adagio, that should become a high priority to Softrak for improvement. I'm sure you agree with this statement - you just need to be given the examples. Well, here's one.

Some other important examples are: the feature in Invoice Sales/History that instantaneously displays adhoc sales inquiries by customer/item/date or by item/customer/date, and the feature in Inventory Receipts that displays open sales orders for a particular item. Also, the features in EIS Inventory Tools that instantaneously display transactions for an item/location by date, and that allow for the printing of an Item Valuation report as of a prior date.

I realize these examples are all third party products, but the features are all ones that really belong in a core product and were simply omitted.

One of my goals (and I'm sure one of yours too) is that ACCPAC Plus users who switch to Adagio should never have a good reason to HAVE to go back to ACCPAC. The above examples are preventing me from reaching this goal.

Hello Steve Schwartz,

From my other post:

ACCPAC Plus SmartFinder uses patented search technology from the company that developed the Franklin Spelling Ace in the 1980's. This technology is not available to us. That is the answer to the question. I agree it is the best English text searching algorithm I have seen outside of Google.

Sorry.

As regards the other features, they were all extra-charge options. We have added full e-mail and PDF support to Adagio without raising the price. Other improvements will arrive in the fullness of time. The only way to speed their implementation is to pay for their development directly. For some of your clients, that may be a reasonable alternative.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew

I didn't say my goal was a short-term goal. As long as we agree that the direction of Adagio is to make ACCPAC Plus unnecessary by incorporating it's best features, I can accept that it will take time.

I appreciate that Softrak is constantly adding new features "for no extra charge", but it is in Softrak's self-interest too, since it expands the potential market and gives users a reason to want to pay an annual upgrade fee. Most importantly, history has shown that unless a software developer devotes resources to make the software better, it has no future (e.g. ACCPAC Plus). I was just giving you some concrete examples of what "better" would mean (to me).

PS - You don't have to be SOOO defensive about Softrak's F6 lookup. It's darned good and beats ACCPAC's in many ways; it's just not a perfect replacement for ACCPAC's and as you say it probably never will be.