... Don't know which is better software now. :-( Guess will research which is best for the RS 197. Appreciate your replies.
It depends on what you are looking for in features and I assume you've read through the RR Wiki. Most s/w have a 30 day trial period.
Win500 is a speeding bullet in uploading and downloading files, far surpassing anything else that I tried. For me, downsides are (1) lack of a comprehensive help file/document that explains the optional settings and check-boxes beyond the programming objects (as explained on the Utah Radio site) and (2) the inability to export the p500 files into something readable (e.g., a CSV file). There is a learning curve, but the RR forum participants are really helpful. Now I feel comfortable with the program... but I am still learning.
Some other scanning software stores files in a CSV format, which makes editing a breeze for wholesale adds and edits, search and replace. (I like and use the powerful
jEdit - Programmer's Text Editor - overview for text files.) The CSV format flexibility within a spreadsheet (l use Google Docs and LibreOffice
Home » LibreOffice) makes sharing data files with any other software using a CSV format easy; just rearrange the columns as required and export into a new CSV file. Downside of using software that uses CSV format is the time required for uploading or downloading to the scanner is longer than, say, Win500.
Whatever I use (I have several s/w packages), I always make backups of any configuration and data files. On the data files, I include in the file name the current date and a version number. When I make changes I first save the current file with a new name, e.g, "2011-11-25_v1", "2011-11-25_v2", "2011-11-26_v1", before making adds, edits and deletes. I can then always revert to an earlier version of the file when I mess something up in experimenting with settings or objects.
Experiment, and backup, and perhaps buy more than one programming software package. Hope this helps.
