Records For Living Community

I am trying out your program and it seems very nice. I have run into a few things that seem strange. I started entering test results and the first two items I entered didn't have the units I needed and I coulnd't figure out how to enter them. I also didn't see anywhere you could enter the normal ranges of the test. Without normal ranges(which vary based on lab) the test results don't mean much. The two units I have found missing so far are ng/dL and ug/dL.

I also read some posts about file sizes getting too big if you attach a lot of files. That is fine with me because I have another area on my computer I keep all my test results and can just link them. Is there a easier way to link to a file then typing it in manually? Maybe a way to browse to it like most programs?

I also see that the file being created as you enter information is being update under Documents and Settings and is probably encrypted. I use a online backup system that backs up everything I tell it to every night. Do I have to remember to create a backup file everytime I add something and then back that file up or is there a directory I can point it to to back up and then restore if I have a crash?

Thanks,

Brian

Another suggestion, if it isn't already there, is to have the program generate a backup automatically when you exit. There could also be an option to keep all the backups for so many days or so many backups. This would keep your harddrive from filling up or having to manually delete old backups. With this option I could just point my online backup to the automatic backup directory.

Looks like I answered one of my questions. If I select the blank units from the pulldown menu it lets you enter your owe units. Is there a way to save these user-defined units so you don't have to type them in everytime?

Thank you for your interest in HealthFrame and for your kind comment.

I see that later in this thread you figured out how to enter units that weren't built-in by default.  In general, when HealthFrame provides a list of possible values, it also provides the option to enter your own data by selecting the ellipsis (...) at the bottom of the list.  Once you do that, a new data entry field shows up and you can enter the missing value.

Normal ranges may vary based on the specific test, as well as often on other factors such as age and gender.  It is also possible for different labs to use different ranges based on how they perform the tests.  For that reason, we do not have fixed, built-in range values for tests.  You can enter that information in a number of different ways, depending on how you are planning on using that information:

1. If you would like to graph your test results over time and you would like to visualize how your results compare with the 'normal range', simply enter in your test entries the values for the low and high values.  Then,  you can create custom user-defined graphs that include your results as well as the normal range information.
2. If you want the information to be available for reference, but not necessarily for reporting or graphing, you can simply add that information to the "Notes" section of the specific test.
3. If this is a test you periodically undergo, you may wish to enter the ranges once and refer to them for reference.  Consider creating a journal with entries for the specific labs.  You can then ceate an internal link (Related Information)
   

Thank you for the suggestion to simplify the specification of links to externally stored files.  Your suggestion has been forwarded to our development team and we hope to support an easier interface in a future major release.

Here's information on the location of the HealthFrame database files.  Simply configure your backup software to access that directory and your records should be preserved in case of crashes.  We are considering improvements to our backup support for future major releases, since this has been the topic of many posts to the forum.

Thank you for your suggestions!  We hope to improve HealthFrame in future releases and it is important to understand what our users would like to see changed.

Thank you for your input and let us know if we can be of further help,
Support Team

Thank very much for your replies. I still have a question concerning a couple of items.

If I backup the directory you reference and had a complete hardrive failure, would there be any problem restoring this directory and having the re-installed program use it?

Could you please expand on point number 1. above? Are you saying to enter dumby tests with the high and low range? Would these test entries be entered the same date as the real test data?

support@RecordsForLiving.com:

Thank you for your interest in HealthFrame and for your kind comment.

I see that later in this thread you figured out how to enter units that weren't built-in by default.  In general, when HealthFrame provides a list of possible values, it also provides the option to enter your own data by selecting the ellipsis (...) at the bottom of the list.  Once you do that, a new data entry field shows up and you can enter the missing value.

Normal ranges may vary based on the specific test, as well as often on other factors such as age and gender.  It is also possible for different labs to use different ranges based on how they perform the tests.  For that reason, we do not have fixed, built-in range values for tests.  You can enter that information in a number of different ways, depending on how you are planning on using that information:

1. If you would like to graph your test results over time and you would like to visualize how your results compare with the 'normal range', simply enter in your test entries the values for the low and high values.  Then,  you can create custom user-defined graphs that include your results as well as the normal range information.
2. If you want the information to be available for reference, but not necessarily for reporting or graphing, you can simply add that information to the "Notes" section of the specific test.
3. If this is a test you periodically undergo, you may wish to enter the ranges once and refer to them for reference.  Consider creating a journal with entries for the specific labs.  You can then ceate an internal link (Related Information)
   

Thank you for the suggestion to simplify the specification of links to externally stored files.  Your suggestion has been forwarded to our development team and we hope to support an easier interface in a future major release.

Here's information on the location of the HealthFrame database files.  Simply configure your backup software to access that directory and your records should be preserved in case of crashes.  We are considering improvements to our backup support for future major releases, since this has been the topic of many posts to the forum.

Thank you for your suggestions!  We hope to improve HealthFrame in future releases and it is important to understand what our users would like to see changed.

Thank you for your input and let us know if we can be of further help,
Support Team

Sorry for all the questions.

Referring to point 3. above I made a journal and then put in a journal entry for the lab ranges. When I went back to the test to add related information, I picked link to a journal entry. All that came up is a list of dates and times for journal entries. Did I do something wrong?

Brian,

please do not apologize for all your questions.  We appreciate them!  Hearing from our users helps us prioritize areas of improvements in future releases.  Thanks! 

As for your questions...

Yes, if you backup the entire directory, then in case of a disk crash you should be able to recover all of your data.  Please note that the recommended way of backing up is to create a single back up file using the File / Save PHR backup... menu item.  The reason is that this creates a single file instead of the multiple database files and it's easier to make sure that the complete set of correlated data has been saved.

Suggestion #1, yes, the intention was to create 'fake' measurements for the test, containing the range values.  If these values are listed with the test, then you can plot them on a graph.  You can also create a completely 'fake' test and add the high/low values as measurements of this 'fake' test.  You'd use this to plot custom graphs, but you'd want to remove them from reports...

Finally, you are right that suggestion #3 has the disadvantage you identified, which is that HealthFrame only lists date/times for the journal entries and makes it harder to identify where the ranges are tracked.  Alternatively, you can create multiple journals and link to the jounals themselves (journals have names are more easily identifiable for linking) - please see image below.

Thanks!
Support Team

Thank you very much! I like the idea of just making a separate journal for ranges to link to. That keeps it separated from my other journals.

BTW, I really like this program and I am off to buy it. Are updates provided for a set time or until certain new versions are released?

We're glad to hear that you are comfortable with the approach for storing test ranges and also happy to hear that you'll be buying HealthFrame.  We're hoping you'll stay in touch in the users' forum and let us know of additional ideas you may have for how to improve HealthFrame. 

Here's some information on our upgrades.

Thanks!
Support Team