Introduction

About SWISSLOG

Credits

Over the years, many OM's have helped to improve and test SWISSLOG. I would like to especially thank two of them who have spent much time bringing the help document to the form it is today – they are:

Richard Schmitz, W7YES and Gert Janssens, K5WW

Richard and Gert, a thousand thanks, without you the help files would still be the 'unreadable' collection of technical information, thanks to you, it is now an excellent reference and tutorial.

INTRODUCTION

The SWISSLOG story started in 1986, at which time I was working for a very large computer company. One day at lunch time, I was browsing one of the company bulletin boards and spotted a message posted by another Ham looking for someone to write a logging program. I was interested so I met with Ernst, EA8BGN (now HB9RXQ) and we discussed the project. Ernst created the first specification for the program and also came up with the name.

The first version of SWISSLOG for DOS was released in 1987 and many Ham's are still using the DOS version today. After the initial release, I worked several years improving the DOS version by adding functions that were requested by users. At the same time, PC performance was increasing dramatically and I was finally convinced that a Log-Program with acceptable performance could be developed for Windows. While continuing to improve the DOS version, I started to develop a Windows version. During the development process I learned a lot and had to restart three times; it took four years before the Windows version was ready for release in 1997. Currently, SWISSLOG for Windows Version 4 is available and with each version I've added more features and believe it or not, the 'wish-list' is still growing.

While SWISSLOG continues to improve, the basic concept has not changed. The original concept required the program to be flexible so that Ham's could adapt it to their individual requirements. In Version 4 you can define and characterize just about any data in your log – you can view your log sorted by callsign, date, band, mode, or whatever criteria you choose, you can view statistics for tracking your DXCC or grid square count, create and print custom reports, prepare award forms and applications, print QSL card labels, and control many other practical functions. This flexibility does add complexity to the program which is true for most complex programs like word processors and spreadsheets. Typically, these programs have many advanced functions a casual user doesn't need and may not understand, yet they can still use the basic program productively. The same is also true for SWISSLOG for Windows – using the program in the default mode is fairly easy and as you become familiar with the basic functions, you can explore the more advanced features that are available. Fortunately, there will always be a group of 'power users' and I hope they will share their secrets with others by providing "Tips and Hints" in the SWISSLOG Internet Website.

Have fun with SWISSLOG for Windows it’s a very powerful program! Please keep in mind, even in this present version there may be errors (as it consists of nearly 1 million lines of code). If you find any, please send me detailed bug reports so that I can recreate these problems and fix them.

I will continue to improve SWISSLOG until the day when I am too old and too tired....

vy 73 de HB9BJS

Walter

Please visit SWISSLOG's Internet Website http://www.Informatix.li for more information -- the FAQ page and Discussion Forum is a great source for additional help from SWISSLOG users around the world.