SignWriting List
July 3, 2000
Thank you, everyone, for your feedback on the new database design in
FileMaker Pro 5.0:
At 7:22 AM -0400 7/2/00, Charles Butler wrote:
>It should be interesting to see how you will file, and in what order, the
>three different variations on the "f/9" hand, as I'm not sure what order to
>put them in myself.
At 9:28 AM -0700 7/3/00, Ingvild Roald wrote:
>this is great!
>It is really beautiful, and much needed. Thanks.
>Ingvild
At 4:15 PM +0200 7/3/00, Stefan Woehrmann wrote:
>at school we need such a kind of SymbolDatabank so badly. It helps so much
>in the beginning to get started!
Glad you all like it. I am designing a series of ways to view the
data...you can click on List to go to a smaller listing of every
symbol in the database, or you can click on Reports to print out the
data in different report formats. You can merge different databases.
You will be able to search by any field: including name, number,
category, palm facing and even search words within your word
description. And you will be able to sort by SW symbol or by the
roman alphabet.
These databases will never replace typing directly in SignWriter,
which continues to be very important because right now, the FileMaker
data is being entered as GIF files or JPEG files for the SW symbols
and photos...but the FileMaker databases will be viable and excellent
database nonetheless, with some fancy features which would be way too
costly for us to re-program ourselves.
And in time, we may be able to figure out how to "connect SignWriter
4.3 to FileMaker", which would make it possible to bring data in from
SignWriter dictionaries without using GIF's, but that I have not
investigated yet. I suspect that will happen someday.
It will take us all years to build large databases, but if you wish
to participate in receiving small databases as they become available,
then I would suggest asking your school or workplace to purchase
FileMaker Pro 5.0 for Windows or the Macintosh. Then you will be able
to read all of our databases immediately, plus create your own, based
on the formats I have developed within FileMaker. So these databases
are a combination of FileMaker software plus my further development
within FileMaker.
I understand that Dr. Penny Boyes Braem at the Forschungszentrum fuer
Gebaerdensprache in Switzerland is creating their Sign Language
databases in FileMaker too...so the Swiss database will be able to
access our SignWriting databases, which should be very useful for
everyone. I hope others will consider using FileMaker too, since it
has an international following of avid users for graphics and video
databases.
You can also download versions of FileMaker. In the attached GIF I
have circled the version you will need. Go to:
FileMaker Web Site
https://www.FileMaker.com
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