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Subject:Re: Ideas for a proposal database? From:Robert Bononno <bononno -at- ACF2 -dot- NYU -dot- EDU> Date:Sun, 6 Mar 1994 13:47:33 -0500
I may have answered a similar question before, but here goes. You can
probably use any Windows full-text search and retrieval software. I can
recommend a program called ISYS by Odyssey Development. They have both
DOS and Windows versions (both versions can share the same index files,
however). It can search something near two million files and you can
create multiple indexes in different directories. You can use a menu or
command line to enter search criteria. Supports Boolean operators, etc.
You can even set up a search tree if you like. It's around $400, I
believe and is very fast. I index about 25-30 MB worth of files in
different formats in about 40 minutes with ISYS. Search time is generally
under three seconds. Judging by your needs, this program would work for
you. ISYS currently can read the following formats: ASCII, WP5.1 and 6.0,
W4W, ZIP files, DB2 files (and some other spreadsheet files). It doesn't
currently support Pagemaker or Framemaker files.
Robert Bononno
bononno -at- acf2 -dot- nyu -dot- edu
On Sun, 6 Mar 1994, James Conklin wrote:
> I am looking for ways and means of setting up an on-line database of text
> elements for complex IS proposals. The database would be accessible to
> proposal writers working on a network, and the text would be written and
> formatted in Word for Windows (currently version 2, soon to be version 6).
> At the moment we plan to use Word's File Find feature to search for the
> text elements we require. However, if anybody can suggest a more
> effective Windows-based search and retrieve engine, I would love to hear
> about it.
> Here is a typical scenario that I am planning for.
> We receive a complex RFP from the Canadian government on Monday, asking
> for a proposal on a project valued at more than $1 million (in other
> words, the proposal becomes an immediate company priority--and the
> timelines in Canada are becoming this tight!). We read the RFP, and we
> realize that we have proposed on similar projects in the past. We need to
> locate the most similar proposals from a proposal database containing well
> over 100 documents; we need to find a dozen or so project team resumes out
> of approx 300 resumes; and we need to find at least 3 solid corporate
> references out of a corporate reference database containing more than 100
> project references. I must assemble this information within the first 8
> hours, so we have a solid starting point from which to develop a solution
> and do our costing estimates.
> At the moment, this company has no on-line access to past proposals, so
> any improvement is going to help.
> For now, Word's File Find might give us the functionality we need. But is
> there another product or approach that might add additional value to our
> proposal database?
> I leave it to you whether to respond to me directly or to the List.
