PastPerfect Museum Software Newsletter, December 2004
1. Happy Holidays!
2. PDF Producer on sale! Supplies Are Limited!
3. Training Classes for 2005!
4. PastPerfect Version 4
5. Version 4.0 Learning Edition
6. Free Updates for PastPerfect Museum Software!
7. User List
8. Tip of the Month
9. Contact us!
Happy Holidays to you from the staff at Pastime Software Company, maker of PastPerfect Museum Software! Thanks to all of you for making PastPerfect the world leader in collections management software.
2. PDF Producer on sale!
Just for our Newsletter recipients, for a limited time, we are offering PDF
Producer for only $29! PDF Producer allows any program on your computer to
print or send reports and other documents in the form of PDF files. PDF Producer
is easy to use and installs itself on your computer as a printer. When you
click on the print button of any document (not just from PastPerfect), you
are able to select PDF Producer instead of a standard printer, thus getting
your documents in a format that is workable for e-mail, posting on a website
or printing from a computer that doesn’t have PastPerfect. PDF Producer
also allows you to watermark and set security settings for your documents.
Your PastPerfect reports will be viewable even on computers that do not have PastPerfect installed! PDF Producer works with all documents on your computer whether they are from Word, WordPerfect or PastPerfect, and it is compatible with Windows 2000 and XP computers. PDF Producer is now available from Pastime Software Company for $29 plus a $5 shipping fee. Supplies are limited, so call our sales office or visit our online store at http://www.museumsoftware.com to order your copy of PDF Producer today!
3. PastPerfect Training is coming to your area!
Training classes for PastPerfect Museum Software are set to resume 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.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Hosted by the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society at their New River Inn
January 4-7
Baton Rouge, LA
Hosted by Louisiana Secretary of State W. Fox McKeithen
at the Louisiana State Archives
January 11-14
Renton, WA
Hosted by the Renton History Museum at the Renton Community
Center
January 11-14
Sacramento, CA
Hosted by the Sacramento Archives & Museum Collection
Center
January 25- 28
Irvine, CA
Hosted by the Orange County Harbors, Beaches & Parks
at the Irvine Ranch Historic Park
Jan 31, Feb 1-3
Borger, TX
Hosted by the Hutchinson County Museum at the Frank
Phillips College
February 15-18
Little Rock, AR
Hosted by the Museum of Discovery
March 8-11
Statesboro, GA
Hosted by the Georgia Southern University Museum
March 14-17
Also, be sure to check out our website at www.museumsoftware.com/training.htm for additional training dates and information!
4. PastPerfect Version 4.0 is here!
Pastime Software Company, Inc. is proud to announce the release of the newest version of PastPerfect, version 4.0! Here are just a few of the new features you will notice in PP4.
- New fields and screens for archaeology, art, geology, music,
natural history, and oral history collections
- More custom fields
- Integrated Campaigns and Fundraising modules
- Bulk email sending for newsletters and correspondence
- WordRite, a full function word processor for writing
letters
- New Multi-media upgrade lets you attach and display
audio, video, digital images, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDF’s,
and URL web links to each catalog record. It also lets you watermark your
images!
- Backup directly to CD without the need for formatting
or other software
- To Do list to help with time management
- View Dublin Core elements in XML from catalog screens
and directly access AAT and ULAN online!
- And so much more!
The 4.0 upgrade is $310 regular price or $248 for AASLH members plus a $5 shipping fee. To receive a free evaluation copy of Version 4.0 on CD, or to order your copy of PastPerfect version 4.0, please contact our sales office toll free at 800-562-6080 or visit our online store at www.museumsoftware.com!
5. Version 4.0 Learning Edition…
Not sure if Version 4.0 is right for you or your organization? For $24 you can purchase the 4.0 Learning Edition, that comes complete with a 400 page user guide, and see what version 4 can do for you! It also comes with a PastPerfect version 4.0 Evaluation CD as well as a Virtual Exhibit Evaluation CD, so you can see how easy it is to get items from your collection on the web. To receive your own PastPerfect version 4.0 Learning Edition, please contact our sales office toll free at 800-562-6080 or visit our online store at www.museumsoftware.com!
6. Free updates for PastPerfect Museum Software!
Did you know updates are available for your PastPerfect Museum Software versions 4.0 and 3.5 from our website? These free updates are released every few weeks and are available for download by going to 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 - Current Update Available 4.0A6…
The current update now available is 4.0A6. New Features found in the 4.0A6 update include…
* Allow fields: printsize, studio & photographer to be
used on Collections List with Descriptions Report
* Archives | Container List report when sorted by Folder
has a secondary sort by Title
* On Donations by Fund Reports, option to include fields:
address1, address2, city, state, zip, country, greeting, title, and udf1-6
* Sort items list on Exhibit by Objectid
PastPerfect Version 3.5 - Current Update Available 3.5B5…
The current update now available from is 3.5B5. New Features found in the 3.5B5 update include…
* Allow editing of Description on Image Management Screen
* Added Estate to Appraisal Reason List
* Allow fields: printsize, studio & photographer
to be used on Collections List with Descriptions Report
* Allow numbers & characters - & _ in mailing
list names file exported to Excel
* Archives | Container List report when sorted by Folder
has a secondary sort by Title
* Change Greeting to Name & Title on field description
reports
* Condition reports on catalog screens are listed from
newest to oldest
* Membership Renewal Letter selection from Renewal Lists
& Letters
* Network Performance Test on Setup | Network screen
* Option to clear Maintenance Cycle field
* Option to print image on Exhibit Labels
7. User List…http://www.museumsoftware.com/client_list.htm
We are updating our list of PastPerfect users at our website. Please visit the site and let us know if we should add or remove your museum or make changes to our records. If you see any changes you would like us to make, please email your contact info and the necessary changes to brian@museumsoftware.com.
8. Tip of the Month- Main Menu Customizations!
One of the most noticeable changes in version 4.0 is the Main Menu. The buttons are laid out differently from the previous versions, and there are different images on each of the catalog buttons as well as a viewing screen where you can have a stationary image or a slide show type presentation. Did you know that all of these images can be modified to be any image you choose?
It’s true! To change the images on the buttons for Objects, Photos, Archives & Library, first locate a .jpg image you would like to use for each button. You can use different images or the same image for all four buttons as long as they are .jpg images. When you have an image you would like to use, right click on the image and select Rename. Name the images objects.jpg, photos.jpg, archives.jpg, or library.jpg, and copy them into the C:\pp4 folder. Please note you may need to resize these images to properly fit on the buttons, we’ve found that 100 pixels wide by 100 pixels high works well for this. Next time you open your PastPerfect, you should see your new button images!
To change the slide show on the main menu to a static picture:
1) Locate the image you would like to have displayed on the main menu and name it something other than "mainmenu" (any other name will work).
2) Then Double click on My Computer, double click on Local Disk C: and double click on the pp4 folder. Inside the pp4 folder is a folder entitled MenuImages, double click on this.
3) Delete each of the images in this folder (they are all the default images for the slide show the program comes with) and when you are finished, copy and paste the image you want to display on the main menu into this folder.
4) Then close out of all windows and open PastPerfect. Click
on the Setup button off the Main Menu and then click on the Main Menu button.
Under Main Menu Images, select Default Slide Show and then click the reload
button. When you exit out of this window, the main menu image should change
to become the image you chose.
Give us a call in the support office if you have any questions or problems, we're here to help!
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