Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

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Frank-H
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Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by Frank-H »

I'm having trouble (new install of 9.9.6 Pro) re: having the program be stable with adding 20 or so custom fields (plain vanilla, no special characters, sales contacts use, no email, no synchronization), crashing with just "one" test contact, as the number of fields are being added / columns in main view being tailored (I have a support post on it, two days, no response).

Is anyone else successfully running a fairly large amount of contacts fields? I had no problem with "lots" of contact fields (and thousands of records) back in the day of Sidekick 98 and "Windows 95".

Thanks in advance for any feedback re: if you run a lot of contact fields - and what epim version you have found to be stable for you. I've uninstalled - re-installed twice, "one contact", still unstable, plain vanilla Windows 10 system. I'm about to go back to paper and file folders.
MetalDrop
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Re: Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by MetalDrop »

What kind of stability problems? What kind of fields?


I just added 50 custom text fields to a contact and hand zero issues.
EPIM Portable Pro Running/Tested On: Windows 11 Pro 64-bit US-ENG|i5-6400+Quadro P620|i7-7700K+1050ti|i7-8700K+970GTX|AMD 5600x+1080ti|16GB+RAM&NVMe SSDs
[I'm helpful and often reply to questions, however I am just a fellow user and not staff.]
jsc
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Re: Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by jsc »

I was running about 18 custom fields in 9.9.0 Epim Portable Pro (yes, ex-Sidekick 98 user), but I'm having trouble with constant error messages with 9.9.6. Admin has tried to help, but supplied test version was not portable, so I don't want to use it. Main contact database has over 5000 contacts.

I only use Contacts, Notes, and Tasks. I cleaned the database with the sync tool, but it didn't help. 9.9.6 was very unstable for me on two laptops.

See if you can find the archived 9.9.0 version and see if that helps. There is a link on the boards somewhere...

"https://essentialpim.zendesk.com/hc/en- ... r-versions" (but only goes to 9.30. May still be worth a try)
Frank-H
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Re: Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by Frank-H »

MetalDrop posted "What kind of stability problems? What kind of fields?
I just added 50 custom text fields to a contact and hand zero issues".


Crashes, after saving / closing / relaunching between every few custom fields being added as I built my new 9.9.6 install, after a while nearing twenty custom fields added, normal things like what time zone are they in, what are the names of their family, I deleted things I didn't need like business address / business phone, nothing weird with my custom field names, no special characters of any kind. Instability = crashing at launch of program, repeated crashing / frozen.

Comforting to hear you were able to add 50 custom fields, about twice my number, what program version are you running?

===

jsc said, "I was running about 18 custom fields in 9.9.0 Epim Portable Pro, but I'm having trouble with constant error messages with 9.9.6. 9.9.6 was very unstable for me on two laptops".

Well that is interesting to hear... (and I've heard nothing, after two days, from epim re: my post on this subject, under support. Zero, with other issues having been replied to by Admin in the meantime). I'm appreciative to get some feedback, that the issue might be 9.9.6

I had bought the Pro version a little over a year ago, never got going implementing it, so I bought Pro newly last week, looks like I bought the newest, greatest, not stable version. This has cost me several days of my time. Not happy.

Thank you for the tip that 9.9.0 was stable for you, that is the only help I've gotten re: this new program crashing like a beta version 1.

Any other input from others re: running 20 or so basic but custom fields, and what version has been stable for you, would be appreciated. Though I posted a handful of error detail pics in the Support forum, "silence".
Frank-H
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Re: Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by Frank-H »

PS; Update - Out of desperation, no reply from epim for 3 days, I download version 9.3 from the "old versions" page on zendesk, and I point it to my "custom fields were created, and contact columns view columns were tailored" database made in 9.9.6 which it was crashing on like crazy after my "many" hours work put in tailoring it and then uninstalling / re-installing etc etc etc to try and fix the crashing, no crashes with that SAME database, reverting to 9.3 (database has ONE contact in it, custom fields created, no email, no synchronization), the same database created in 9.9.6, disaster in 9.9.6 with constant crashes even with each fresh re-install; ran fine in 9.3

And again, I didn't even put data into this database, "one test contact to establish fields and groups with". Testing it I even threw in more fields, threw in more view columns in all contacts view, dragged around the view order of columns, "no crashes" using 9.3

Last year I bought Pro for like the 3rd time, I just never moved forward with the business that needed it, "I already had old versions of the program", I bought the CURRENT version due to the constant emails re: "bug fixes" etc. No. Amateur work here. Work should not be put into "dark themes" etc, when they can't put out a stable working program.

Doing a search on the support forum with keywords "stable version", I see 9.4 and other releases were released that were a disaster. I am pissed, the amount of time I had to put in, all because 9.9.6 is a trash release. "Instant fix of everything" throwing in an old 9.3 version from 2020. Three days, not one reply from the company on the support forum.
MetalDrop
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Re: Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by MetalDrop »

Frank-H wrote: Sat Jul 10, 2021 2:43 am MetalDrop posted "What kind of stability problems? What kind of fields?
I just added 50 custom text fields to a contact and hand zero issues".


Crashes, after saving / closing / relaunching between every few custom fields being added as I built my new 9.9.6 install, after a while nearing twenty custom fields added, normal things like what time zone are they in, what are the names of their family, I deleted things I didn't need like business address / business phone, nothing weird with my custom field names, no special characters of any kind. Instability = crashing at launch of program, repeated crashing / frozen.

Comforting to hear you were able to add 50 custom fields, about twice my number, what program version are you running?
9.9.6 Pro

I personally haven't had any major issues with 9.9.6 outside of minor bug with the new sync system.

Here's a link to 9.9.5 if you want to see if that works any better for you:

https://file.io/TfeO2zak3i3F
EPIM Portable Pro Running/Tested On: Windows 11 Pro 64-bit US-ENG|i5-6400+Quadro P620|i7-7700K+1050ti|i7-8700K+970GTX|AMD 5600x+1080ti|16GB+RAM&NVMe SSDs
[I'm helpful and often reply to questions, however I am just a fellow user and not staff.]
Frank-H
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Re: Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by Frank-H »

MetalDrop thank you for your feedback and guidance - for me it was night and day difference uninstalling 9.9.6 and trying the 9.3 from 2020. Maybe because with your use of 9.9.6 your databases had been established on a prior version platform...

Re: the link to 9.9.5 - that page says "this file has been deleted". I would love to try 9.9.5 if that was a stable release.
Would love feedback in general re: what "was" a stable release, prior to 9.9.6
Overall the layout of the program etc is the first usable thing for me after Sidekick 98/99, 9.9.6 gave a great impression (I've looked at epim a long time, my forum start date is 2005), but once I got to around 20 "vanilla, nothing weird" fields set up, and groups named, (working with "one" contact during setup), it went crash city, crash city. Like over and over, even with uninstalls - re-installs, "trying again from scratch" on fields and groups. Huge frustrating waste of time. All fixed, falling back to a 2020 version of the program, grrrr

Thank you for any advice on stable but recent history suggestions.
MetalDrop
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Re: Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by MetalDrop »

EPIM Portable Pro Running/Tested On: Windows 11 Pro 64-bit US-ENG|i5-6400+Quadro P620|i7-7700K+1050ti|i7-8700K+970GTX|AMD 5600x+1080ti|16GB+RAM&NVMe SSDs
[I'm helpful and often reply to questions, however I am just a fellow user and not staff.]
Frank-H
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Re: Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by Frank-H »

MetalDrop thank you very, very much for taking the time to help. Yes that location was active and I was able to get that to try a "roll back" to a stable version newer than the 9.3 on the zendesk epim older versions page. (For others reading this, that file location above expires in 6 days).
Again, Thank You, and I'll report back.
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Re: Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by Frank-H »

MetalDrop again thank you for the insights and for the 9.9.5 file above, here's some updates:

As described earlier, this was a "new purchase 9.9.6 Pro" and new database / custom fields / groups / column view choices, built newly with 9.9.6, about 20 "vanilla" custom fields, about 15 groups, no email no synchronization, crash / crash / crash even with program uninstalls / re-installs; SAME DATABASE opened up in the 9.3 2020 era program from the zendesk old programs page, "no crashing". Flawless, stable, same database.

BUT, uninstall / new install with that 9.9.5, "better than the 9.9.6" but still some crashes. Another wrinkle: with no reply after several days on the support forum regarding this, I emailed epimsupport@essentialpim.com
Anton sent me a dropbox link to try, NO CRASHES with the same database. Oddly, it shows as a 9.9.6 but it is not the same download size as "what is on the website for download". And I tried a new download of that, a) still crashing, b) identical download file size of the program to what was up July 4 when I bought it. So maybe there are some interim tweaks being done to 9.9.6

It should not have been released "as is". epim should test each release WITH the databases & scenarios that caused troubles, heavy heavy testing, before a release. Their failure to do that has cost me a lot of time (that I wish I could bill them for, re: negligence of testing, and no reply on support forum). But at least it's working now. I will be very cautious (and will test well) any new "releases".
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Re: Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by jsc »

9.9.5 was unstable for me as well, that's why I reverted to 9.9.0. Had hoped that 9.9.6 would fix 9.9.5 but it did not. No idea what is going on, but I'm sticking with 9.9.0 for now.
MetalDrop
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Re: Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by MetalDrop »

Here's a mediafire link that has 9.9.0 in it
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/beawx9 ... o_Versions

Should stay good for a while if anyone needs it before this is sorted out.
EPIM Portable Pro Running/Tested On: Windows 11 Pro 64-bit US-ENG|i5-6400+Quadro P620|i7-7700K+1050ti|i7-8700K+970GTX|AMD 5600x+1080ti|16GB+RAM&NVMe SSDs
[I'm helpful and often reply to questions, however I am just a fellow user and not staff.]
Frank-H
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Re: Anyone stable running 25 or so contact fields?

Post by Frank-H »

MetalDrop you are an awesome, great person... thank you so much for your help. I am appreciative to have the fall-back of 9.9.0 (and I bought Pro last year but never put it to use, so, I would have had 9.9.0). I have an update re: the file I got from support just recently, that is not crashing:

Anton said indeed it was an "interim update, of, 9.9.6" that had bug fixes, (the original one should not be left on the website for download after purchase, wasted a LOT of my time), and "the fixes will be reflected in an upcoming release". To not speak to this on the support forum is suicide, makes no sense as a company.

I ran Sidekick from 1997 on, 2005 I joined this forum hoping this would be a transition solution for me (as, otherwise, it was "stuck with the world of Outlook", or, small address book programs). 2010 I arm-wrestled with Max several times re: "why so much trouble from others on your forum, re: versions crashing, if you make something stable I'll buy it". I've bought Pro four times now, "finally now I've got business need and am putting it to use". Same story on the forums though! "9.4 was a disaster for me" etc etc etc.

I like the column-sorting / column view on contacts, the groups tree aspect, and custom fields potentials, and notes within contact record. For me, that's all I ask. Just make it stable, and not a headache of time waste with "unfinished work" on the programing side... epim, don't release buggy versions!!! Hold off until it's actually of service to people, and not a waste of their time.
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