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When using this system, do I have to put just one piece of paper per hanging file folder?
Janet Baker
asked this on June 11, 2010 02:00 pm
When using this system, do I have to put just one piece of paper per hanging file folder? That seems very inefficient and would take up a lot of folders/file cabinets. I like to keep like things together (i.e. everything about the "ABC Company" in one place).
No, you do not have to put just one piece of paper per hanging folder. You can group as many files relative to one another as you want. Just be sure to input keywords relative to each item that you put in the same hanging folder.
Comments
Yes I agree Janet :-)
What I would do is name the slot ABC company, then under keywords or notes add all the information that you have stored about ABC company. For example in notes I would put: ABC contracts, invoice, proposal, e.t.c.
That way, I have all the files I need in a single folder, and still have the ability to search by specific document.
Thanks
Big Nick
So when you're filing the next item, do you go search for ABC Company and then add it to the folder that best fits?
Good Question Denise:
Let me first say that these are creative ways that you can come up with to manage your items, the software is not exactly built to work this way.
The item "ABC company" in a sense becomes a group and not item because it contains different things in the same location. Because you need a way to keep track of the items in this group (item) you use keywords or notes to log what you have added.
If I did it this way I would search for ABC company each time I wanted to file under ABC company stuff.. If you have more than one item that refers to ABC company then you decide where it needs to go.
Actually the Paper Tiger adds go: Find anything in five seconds or less! So the searching is as fast as the filing, and I do search for an item to add to the file. I have the desktop PaperTiger, too.
I share the dilemma Janet described at the start of this thread - having a number of documents needing to be individually identified but all part of a single "Item". (just starting to get my head around PT online, having not used the offline version) There would be a growing clutter of keywords describing all the individual documents being put into a single hanging folder / Item. I am wondering - if I want to be able to see my individual documents as each being an Item - what the possibility might be of using "Location" as the folder, which would then hold as many Items (documents) as I choose to add... each having its own description, keyword, etc. For example, drawer A of my lateral file would be a Database, each hanging folder would be an Location, and each document in the folder would be an Item. This seems to be theoretically possible with my Pro account with unlimited databases, locations and items. Anyone see holes in my theory?!
I have a business account, but PT Online does not recognize it for Support, so I am using this.
Roger Vann brings up an IMPORTANT ISSUE, which PT needs to get its head around to answer business clients. Right now, you are not business software, and you are forcing us to work the way your programmers planned this online program, which is inefficient for multi-users.
(1) Allow mw to override PT's decision to name the next numbered item in a location. If I want to put something in Hanging Folder 19 instead of Number 2, that should be my choice, even if I haven't filled all the hanging folders in between. Why? Prying eyes at work. I want some things to stay at the back of the drawer. Period. You need to fix this ASAP.
(2) Allow multiple item entries per hanging folder. I appreciate the search for previous items thingey, but so what, let me override that, especially if there is to be some action on one of those items, say a specific contract inside a project. You need to get this fixed pronto, otherwise this is just amateur hour. You can apply controls via Preferences (Properties) if you need to code control.
[If I recall the offline program allows you to do this, but I dont use Windows anymore and I am not firing up two computers, nor asking those I intend to add to do the same thing.]
Roger Vann's idea is the other way to do this, but what it now means for me is undoing what I have planned, which is based on what I remember from my days of using Paper Tiger to great effect on WIN. But since I am annoyed enough by the poorly thought out restrictions, I am going to redo everything and use Roger Vann's suggestion.
In the meantime, Monticello, distinguish your products, because a multi-user business account does not cut what you've done.
I agree with Roger and Janie. The system needs to be modified.
I just started a free account to test it.
I need to put at least 20 labeled documents per folder within my drawer and then ideally keywords to find them.I need PT to lable those documents for me,to sort them and to help me find them.
Our drawers fit around 30 hanging folders and those would carry around 30 documents each. We can't rely on of filing system that depends on keywords as labels to all these documents withing one folder? I foresee mess and frustration when looking for the documents withing the folder, and that's exactly what i was hoping PT to solve for me.
How do I control the documents within the folders, if the only reference to them are keywords? The system doesn't identify these documents, neither as a quantity of documents, their presence or absence, or anything. The action date is useless to me, because it means that I have to guess which document within the folder needs action taken on!
What's needed is more levels and more flexibility in my opinion.
Any chance we can rely on PT to respond to this problem soon, I need a solution to my filing nightmares as soon as possible.
Hey Guys,
We really appreciate your suggestions. Our aim was to first have something that works, then follow up with all the customizations and scalability that you are suggesting. We appreciate that you care enough to lets us know what you would like to see. Please keep the pressure and the suggestions coming.
Thanks
Nick