I will admit that I am not the most organized person you will ever meet. In fact, it wasn't until just the past year or so that I started using a
pocket planner to write down my appointments. Call it old age (I'm 35) or just too many things to remember, but I just can't do it all in my head anymore. The same holds true when I am working on a project whether it is
a review or a graphics project. Without some organized system, it's tough to remember which copy of the file is my original and which is version 5 that I liked best and which is the latest.To help those of us
unorganized (or too busy) folks, Diehl Graphsoft, Inc. has come up with a super program called Revision Master. Now, whether it's a project I'm working on myself or with my wife or with several other people, I can keep
track of who did what with it (and when) and which version I'm looking at.
I realize that some programs already have a version tracking program built in, but Revision Master doesn't care what program you made the file
with, it merely keeps track of who has the file on the network or on a single machine and which versions there are. In it's simplest form, Revision Master is like having an electronic librarian. To work on a file, you
check a document or other file out and then when you check it back in so someone else can use it. And you better hope your boss won't levy a fine for turning a file in late, because the Revision Master history on each
file not only includes who had it and what date it was checked in, but what time.
One of the nicest things is being able to do some work on a project and not have to remember some cryptic file name progression in
order to remember which version is the newest. And it's really easy to go back 3 revisions and look at that version and see who worked on it then and proceed from there. You also don't have to go searching through
everyone's directories to find the file you need since all files are checked in and out a single directory. In addition, you can put security on the files and use the administrator mode for assigning users, deleting
older versions you no longer need, etc.
Another nice feature is Auto Compare. You can compare files manually, but when you are in a hurry, it's easy to have Revision Master find the differences between two versions
automatically. And as you are working with the files, Revision Master makes a back up of the files too-again, something we should do ourselves on a regular basis, but it's nice to have it done for us. And with version 2
Revision Master now has Open Document Management API which allows Revision Master to operate within software packages such as Microsoft Word and Corel Wordperfect, among others. That way you don't have to switch
between applications, a Revision Master window will pop up each time you save or open a file.
You might think a program that can do all of this would be difficult to set up and frankly, I was worried about being able
to learn it quickly enough to write a review. Actually it passes my, "Read the book only after you get stuck" standard for ease of use with flying colors. I always read the manual anyway, but only after I've
used the program for awhile. There are always things you might have a question about that the manual will answer-before you reach for it, though, click on the very well organized help section. Not only it is laid out in
an easy, logical format, but actually tells you what you want to know in a way you will actually understand. The help section of the program will also point you to a Frequently Asked Questions section on the Diehl
Graphsoft Web site.
At the top I mentioned my pocket planner so I can keep my life in order. After using Revision Master for several days, I now have a tool that is easy to use to keep my files in order from one
version to the next and for all of my programs. I think this program is just as handy at home as it will be in an office.
Revision Master requires Windows 95, 8MB of RAM (16MB recommended), at least 4MB of hard drive
space (10MB recommended) and a CD-ROM.
Price: $149 single user. $449 5 user pack.
For more information and to download a demonstration version, go to: http://www.diehlgraphsoft.com/products/RevisionMaster/
UPDATE: It appears that this product has been discontinued.
