Earnest Development

What's New   What's New

What's new? 2021! Starting with divisive politics and economic pain for a lot of folks, is still pretty challenging for businesses and people. But some projects are starting to pick up finally in March. The COVID19 pandemic guidelines continue to anchor staff members in their homes, relying on virtual networks, which everyone knows is getting pretty old! We would love to hear from you, we're always interested to know what you are working on, and the kinds of challenges you are facing.
Desktop

To coincide with the introduction of Microsoft's Windows / Office 365 we have released upgrade versions of our two most popular desktop applications, Earnest SRP and Earnest iFs. In addition to a number of great enhancements, these are now compatible with both 32 and 64 bit versions of Access. 

On the brain
Organizations of every stripe, world-wide are merging, restructuring and looking for ways to reduce real estate costs. 100% of these need to analyze and re-invent their facilities. Programming and planning specialists should be preparing for a huge wave of RFPs. The earnest desktop applications are uniquely suited to this task, the firms using these tools have a significant advantage in winning projects, keeping fees competitive and managing to stay profitable. Time to do some marketing…
Fields of (good) questions:
Q: One of our user's created a project some time ago, and because they now have a new laptop with a new installation of the system files, we can't find the project. How do we find and connect to it again?

A: If you still have access to the files from the old machine (a backup is usually made before a machine is wiped), you can do a search for the file that stores this information. Do this: 

1. Search for the file that stores the project and pathing information - depending on which application was in use, it is named either “SRP11Lib.mdb”; or rDs10Lib.mdb; or iFs11Lib.mdb;
2. From WINDOWS EXPLORER, OPEN it (in Microsoft Access);
3. From the TABLES tab dbl click to open the ‘PROJECTS’ table;
4. You will see one or more records, with each of the projects that the user has created and the full path to where the project data files are stored.
5. Print out (menu bar select FILE; PRINT) or copy the information you need to a temporary place (like OneNote or a .txt document); CLOSE the file, you are finished with it. 6. OPEN the APPLICATION; from the main screen click the PROJECT NAVIGATION button; and RESTORE the project file.
Q: My client has asked for a copy of our completed room data sheet information in electronic form. What's the best way to do this? S.E., Chicago A: If your client only needs to view or mark-up the reports on screen, the easiest and quickest way is to save the set of final reports as .pdf files. If your client wants to be able to edit and recalculate totals you should find out what format they prefer - a simple export routine can be added to the application to create a deliverable file in just about any file format.
Q: We're upgrading to Office 365 soon. Will the Earnest applications we use need to be upgraded too?

A: Yes, an upgrade to v20 will be necessary in order to be compatible with Access 64 Bit. There will be a charge to upgrade to v20.
What's coming.
Calling for Feedback!
We have released upgrades to both Earnest SRP and Earnest iFs. In addition to some really exciting enhancements, the new versions are compatible with Office 64 bit. We are calling for feedback and suggestions from our SRP and iFs users - let us know what you would like to see in the new and future versions!
What's new in the newest versions of SRP and iFs?
Introducing Earnest MKT!
Thursday, April 10, 2014

At last, our newest product is ready for its close up! Earnest MKT is a no-nonsense database application designed for the unique business development and marketing efforts of architecture, design and engineering firms. We are releasing v1.0 this month and beginning the marketing efforts in earnest. Information sheets and Free demos are now available.

Find out more!
A New Earnest App in the Works!
Thursday, October 10, 2013

And now, something FOR the Marketing Department: Introducing "Earnest MKT". 

Over the years, Earnest Development has developed nearly a dozen different "Marketing" database applications for a variety of Architecture, Interior Design and Engineering firms. As custom applications each address a unique set of requirements, but all have in common a solution for managing information on project statistics, clients and prospects, proposals, RFPs, submittals and marketing materials. These firms wanted software that works the way they do, something not so narrowly focused on leads, like 'Salesforce' or CRM packages, and yet much more efficient than an unwieldy collection of spreadsheets and word documents. These applications were designed from scratch, because there is really nothing "off the shelf" that addresses the unique business development needs of this industry. 

We are convinced that a standard Earnest application would be welcome and popular with our client base, so we have begun. Like all of our products it will be task specific, it will be easy to use and it will be customizable. We're calling it "Earnest MKT" and plan to be releasing version 1.0 in April 2014. If you have ideas to share, or if you would like a test drive let us know!
Access 2010 and Sharepoint
Monday, April 26, 2010

Last month we worked with the Microsoft Access Development Team in Redmond WA on final testing of the BETA version of Microsoft Access 2010. We focused on the new Web-enabled Access database development tools, and experimented with uploading a web-enabled Earnest SRP directly to Sharepoint, using the newly introduced Access Services. This promises to be a less expensive solution for developing browser-based applications that can be deployed to a Sharepoint environment, as opposed to a full SaaS or Cloud-ready application. More on this soon!
Revit data.
Monday, April 26, 2010

A number of our customers have asked us to experiment with importing and exporting data between Earnest applications and Autodesk's Revit. We have several examples now of how this can reduce data input and QA hours by mapping data from drawings against programmed data in Earnest rDs and Earnest SRP, and furniture quantifications in in Earnest iFs. There are a lot of exiting opportunities to explore here.
What We're Reading
AIA's "COVID-19 resources for architects"
August 7, 2020  https://www.aia.org/pages/6280...
Links to a number of useful resources and articles.

"How the Coronavirus Will Reshape Architecture"
What kinds of space are we willing to live and work in now?
June 17, 2020, By Kyle Chayka  https://www.newyorker.com/cult...


"Why Remote Work is So Hard - And How it Can Be Fixed
The challenges aren't just technological. They're managerial.
May 26, 2020  By Cal Newport  https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-inquiry/can-remote-work-be-fixed?

"How the COVID-19 Pandemic Will Change the Built Environment"
This wont be the first time in history that cities and buildings will be reimagined in response to an increased understanding of disease.

March 18, 2020, By Alyssa Giacobbe  https://www.architecturaldiges...

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