Kitlog

Have any of you ever had a problem with Kitlog refusing to let you into the construction log? This just popped up today when I went in to update it with my morning activity. When I hit the "construction log" tab it just froze. I was able to kill the program and when I reopened it, every other tab worked, but not the construction tab. This is version 1.6.

I've sent a note to Kitlog support but haven't heard anything back.

Hate to think I've lost my construction log.

Repeat after me.....Computers are our friend, Computers are our friend.....
Repeat as necessary!
Nothing beats a "Big Chief" tablet. It never crashes, never needs batteries.
Still in version 01.

I have Kitlog 1.6. Been using it for 2.5 years. So far so good. Good luck getting it resolved. It seems like a nice program. It sure kept good track of all the aspects of building, costs, and W&B.

Roberta

Yeah, I really like the program. The only part I really hate is that if you reinstall it, the "code" to unlock it you used the last time you installed it, will not work this time. You have to send an email to the company and then wait til they get back to you.

computer backups

I'm not using kitlog, but as with all things related to computers, please be aware that something can go wrong and corrupt or destroy your valuable data. Software bugs, hardware failures, user error, worms/viruses, etc are all out to get you and your data.

Having helped recover data from many computers for friends and family, I can assure you that if you have something valuable on your disk, and nowhere else, you will have a lot of trouble if that computer or disk fails. I've seen some very sad stories related to data loss - theses lost, photos lost, financial data lost.

DVD and CD burners are almost free today, if they are not included with your computer already, as is the software to make backups. A couple of hours invested once to get started doing backups, then a couple of minutes per week, and you'll be saving yourself a lot of time and aggrevation if something goes wrong.

Sorry to preach - I'll hand the pulpit over to someone else.

Electronic log...

I use my web site and a simple Excel spread sheet to total all the costs and building hours, along with daily building notes. The original log book is a college-ruled wire bound notebook. From the looks of it, I have used about two-thirds of the 120 pages it contains.

And yes, as said above, I burn the web site and spread sheet onto a CD-ROM periodically.

Jerry K. Thorne
RV9A N2PZ
www.n2prise.org

Paul Besing sent me the 1.7 update last night. It worked fine and the construction log opened up fine.

BTW, all of my images are stored on CD, not on the computer. And KitLog has a backup feature that's automatic. So in retrospect, there was never any danger my construction log was lost. I just couldn't get to it when I wanted to.

If it had been destroyed, I'd have just printed out all of Dan Checkoway's and Dave Parson's Web pages, put 'em in a spiral notebook and said it was mine.

Easier with paper

There has to be something said about using a scribbler from the local stationery store. When the final inspection time comes, its a lot easier to bring a note book to the airport for him/her to see than trying to find a computer to use. I found it a lot easier to jot down in the notebook aka construction log right at the project. Good Luck!

Kitlog Pro prints out really gorgeous pages that can be put into a book and taken to the airport.

Glad it worked for you, Bob. Our older versions (such as the one you have) were indeed clumsy. It has since been rewriten in more "standard" windows languages. The reports you spoke of are even better this time around.

Currently, the new version 2.0 is only available to new customers, but we are in the final testing of a conversion program that will convert the old data format to the new one. The main obstacle has been since it was rewritten in a new language, so it's not just a simple "upgrade".

Expect the upgrade for 2.0 soon. There will be a $9.95 charge for the upgrade. The cost is mainly due to the fact that we incurred significant development costs this time. Also, we will be hosting builder's web pages (posted from KitLog) for no additional charge.

Stay tuned!

Paul Besing

Agreed on the backup. There is no substitute for a hard copy backup. The best way to do this with KitLog or any other log is to print it out at the end of each day. Punch holes in it, and stick it in a binder. Then, have a back up on CD.

I lost my builders log when I changed computers, which is partially where Kitlog came from. It was an excel document. Luckily I had a website that the DAR said was sufficient for a builder's log.