PastPerfect Museum Software Newsletter, April 2005

1. Welcome New Support Specialist!
2. PastPerfect 2005 Conference Schedule
3. PastPerfect Training Classes in your area
4. Free Updates for PastPerfect Museum Software
5. Technical Tip of the Month
6. Look Who's Using PastPerfect...
7. Contact Information

 

1. Welcome New Support Specialist!
Pastime Software Company extends a hearty welcome to Jennessa Reed, the newest Support Specialist for PastPerfect Museum Software! Jennessa comes to us from Waco, TX, and is a graduate of the Baylor University Museum Studies program. She holds a BA in Museum Studies and Earth Science, and has worked with the Dr. Pepper Museum, one of our PastPerfect users. Jennessa joins our other Support Specialists who are happy to answer your questions!

2. PastPerfect 2005 Conference Schedule
Please visit Pastime Software staff at the following conferences in 2005.

Kentucky Association of Museums & Historical Confederation of Kentucky***
Frankfort, KY
June 8-June 10

Association of Indiana Museums ***
Crawfordsville, IN
September 11-September 12

Mountain Plains Museum Association (MPMA)***
Omaha, NE
September 12-September 16

American Association for State and Local History
Pittsburgh, PA
September 21-September 24

Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC)
Jekyll Island, GA
October 4- October 8

*** indicates that a member of Pastime Software Company will be presenting during the conference. Please come by and visit with us!

3. PastPerfect Training classes are coming to your area!

Training classes for PastPerfect Museum Software are well under way in 2005! To find out more information about the scheduled training classes below, or to inquire about possibly scheduling a session in your area, please contact our Training Coordinator, Amy Dunn, by phone at 610-304-0973 or by email at training@museumsoftware.com.

Portland, ME
Hosted by the Maine Historical Society
April 12-15

Cincinnati, OH
Hosted by Historic Southwest Ohio
April 19-22

West Barnstable, MA
Hosted by the Cape & Islands Historical Association at the Cape Cod Community College
April 26-29

Nashua, NH
Hosted by the Nashua Historical Society
May 2-5

East Lansing, MI
Hosted by the Historical Society of Michigan
May 10-13

Marquette, MI
Hosted by the Historical Society of Michigan at Northern Michigan University May 16-19

Salt Lake City, UT
Hosted by the Office of Museum Services
June 13-16

Jacksonville, OR
Hosted by the Southern Oregon Historical Society
May 10-13 Now June 14-17 (***Please note this class has been rescheduled***)

Merriam, KS (Kansas City, MO Metro Area)
Hosted by the Lee Jeans Corporate Archive
June 20-23

Also, be sure to check out our website at www.museumsoftware.com/training.htm for additional training dates and other information!

4. Free updates for PastPerfect Museum Software!
Did you know updates are available from our website for your PastPerfect Museum Software versions 4.0 and 3.5? These free updates are released every few weeks and are available for download by going to this website: http://www.museumsoftware.com/software_updates.htm. If you would rather receive an update on CD, please contact our Support Office toll free at (800) 562-6080.

PastPerfect Version 4.0 - New Update Available 4.0B4.
The current update now available is 4.0B4. New Features found in the 4.0B4 update include:
* Add Active Memberships to Fixed Lists under Lists & Labels
* Allow access to sub-screens Related, Legal, etc. before pressing Save when adding a new record
* Allow "otherno" on search results printout
* Dear formal/casual separate setting for emails and letters
* Dear option "None" for emails
* Display warning message in security when adding a new user without a password stating that they will be restricted from the security setup screen
* First name, In Memory Of, In Honor Of, may be printed on Batch Deposit List
* Image added to default library catalog card style #2
* New report, "Recently Updated Records"
* New zip code tally report for bulk mailing
* Security option to allow editing of only records in selected datasets
* Sort Donations by fund report by lastname + firstname + company
* User authority file is available for deaccession "authorized by" field

PastPerfect Version 3.5 - Current Update Available 3.5B6.
The current update available for PastPerfect version 3 or 3.5 is 3.5B6. New Features found in the 3.5B6 update include.
* Add "Market Evaluation" to reason for appraisal list
* Add "Evaluation" to condition report type list
* Add authority file to medium field on Archives/Maps Screen
* Change catalog record update when an image is added or changed

If you have suggestions for new features or fields you would like to see in PastPerfect in version 4.0, please e-mail them to suggestions@museumsoftware.com. We are always eager to hear your comments and learn ways that PastPerfect can better serve our users.

5. Technical Tip of the Month- Backup your Virtual Exhibit!
Do you know how to backup your Virtual Exhibit program? Creating a Virtual Exhibit backup is an effective way of protecting your hard work and should be done on a regular basis. By making a VE backup to floppy or external drive, you ensure your site is safe and can be retrieved in the event of a technical disaster.

This procedure will backup your current site and save that file either to the disk or to a removable drive. By default your hard drive backup will be placed in the c:\pp4\backup folder.

To backup your Virtual Exhibit:
1) Navigate to the front page of the Web Site Designer
2) Click the "Utilities" button at the top of that page.
3) Click the "Backup Current Site" button.
4) Choose the option to either backup your site to hard drive, or the option to backup to removable disk. On older computers, we recommend doing both!

Another great way to protect your data, especially while you are editing content and making layout changes, is to save your site through the user interface.

To save your current site, navigate to the front page of the Web Site Designer:
1) Click the "Save" button at the top of the page.
2) The Save/Retrieve Sites window will open.
3) Click the "Save As" button.
4) Assign a name to your site. You will have the option on this screen to make notes about the site.
5) Click the "Save Site" button.
You will then see your site name, with the date and time it was saved, on the screen. You just saved your site!

Saving or Backing up your sites should be done often while you are working in Virtual Exhibit. In the event of a disaster, having a saved site, or one that has been backed up, will prove invaluable for getting your Virtual Exhibit up and running quickly.

6. Look Who's Using PastPerfect. *Wisconsin Maritime Museum*
The Wisconsin Maritime Museum (WMM), founded in 1970, is located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on the banks of the Manitowoc River, less than a mile or so from Lake Michigan. The museum presents the maritime history not only of Wisconsin, but also the entire Great Lakes region. In addition to their permanent gallery, exhibits range from a Model Ship Gallery & Carferry Exhibits, to a Wisconsin Built-Boat Gallery and a fully operational Steam Engine Exhibit. They also have a Children's Waterways Room where kids can sail their boats on a miniature version of Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and follow the Wisconsin River to where it meets the Mississippi River!

Also, docked at the museum is the USS COBIA, a World War II era submarine, which played a critical role in defeating the Japanese and capturing Iwo Jima. In 1986, the USS COBIA was declared a National Historic Landmark and was added to the National Register for Historic Places. It has since been restored to its 1945 state and tours of the submarine are available to visitors during museum hours. The museum even offers an overnight educational program where participants can spend the night aboard the sub and learn more about life on a submarine.

After recently upgrading to version 4, the WMM has many goals they would like to accomplish with PastPerfect. Cristin Waterbury, Registrar and Collections Manager, shares "from a collections perspective, one of our primary goals with PastPerfect is to convert paper records into a computerized, searchable database. The most significant and substantial part of that goal involves entering the data from our old-fashioned card catalog, which includes our research library of approximately 9,000 volumes and our photographic collection, which numbers between 40,000 and 50,000. Another aspect of this goal will include cataloging our manuscript collections and other materials that previously have been under-documented. We have been able to scan a significant portion of our photographic holdings with the generous help of hundreds upon hundreds of volunteer hours. Additionally, PastPerfect has given us the tools to improve the tracking and documentation of our artifact collections (nearly 10,000 objects), exhibits, and incoming and outgoing loans. We're really just beginning to use PastPerfect to its fullest, but within the year or so that we've had the program, we've streamlined our accessioning and cataloging procedures and even begun to address our backlog." The museum has also found the Contacts catalog particularly useful in keeping track of the people associated with the museum (including members), and is excited to start using the fundraising component of the program to track their fundraising campaigns.

To learn more about the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, please visit their website, www.wisconsinmaritime.org.

7. Contact Us!
Address: 300 N. Pottstown Pike
Suite 200
Exton, PA 19341

Website: www.MuseumSoftware.com

Sales & Product Info: 800-562-6080 or sales@museumsoftware.com

Support: 800-562-6080 or support@museumsoftware.com

Training: 610-304-0973 or training@museumsoftware.com

Data Conversions: 800-562-6080 or conversions@museumsoftware.com