Linoma Boosts Tools' Compatibility with Windows, Excel

by Alex Woodie

Linoma Software has issued new releases of its graphical database utility and its data transfer software that work better with Microsoft's popular operating system and spreadsheet software. Surveyor/400, which puts a graphical face on the DB2/400 database, received new capabilities to import and export DB2/400 data into Excel, while the Transfer Anywhere tool is now supported on the Windows NT operating system.

Transfer Anywhere is a Java-based data-replication program that can handle a range of tasks, including database-to-database conversions, distribution of spool files through e-mail or FTP, and loading data into OS/400's Integrated File System or another network file system. The software can move many file types, including text, Excel, PDF, HTML, and XML, in several ways, including FTP and SMTP e-mail. In terms of database replication, it supports the DB2/400, DB2 UDB, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server database management systems.

Now that Transfer Anywhere runs on Windows NT, which supports a range of database management systems, such as SQL Server, Oracle, and DB2, Linoma has made Transfer Anywhere a more pertinent product for OS/400 shops. Previously it supported only desktop versions of Windows.

Other enhancements with Transfer Anywhere Version 1.4 include a new management console screen that shows details and lets administrators cancel transfers, and the capability to view history information when working with Transfer Anywhere transfer definitions. Encryption and decryption of files can also now be performed natively on the iSeries, without having to first create transfer definitions, Linoma says.

Transfer Anywhere licenses cost from $1,000 to $5,000, depending on the tier. IBM recently designated Transfer Anywhere as ServerProven, giving customers more incentive to buy it.

SURVEYOR/400 SUPPORTS EXCEL

The latest release of Linoma's Surveyor/400, "build 2906," features several enhancements in the area of Excel-to-iSeries integration. With this release, Surveyor/400 lets users export DB2/400 data to an Excel format, as well as import Excel files directly to an iSeries database file. Alternatively, the tool can automatically create a new database file when importing Excel files into DB2/400.

Excel is an indispensable data-manipulation tool for many companies around the world, and the new capability in Surveyor/400 to import an Excel file directly to DB2/400 should make it easier for users to work with DB2/400 data in Excel. Linoma has also added new intelligence to the software that streamlines the process of saving data imported from Excel to DB2/400 as a new database file.

Surveyor/400's SQL Wizard has also been enhanced with this release to get SQL newbies up and running quicker. This release gives users the option to create an INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statement. Previously, the wizard only created SELECT statements. Simply by selecting the file, fields, and filter criteria from a GUI, users can create SQL statements without needing any SQL experience, Linoma says.

Surveyor/400 licenses range from $995 to $3,495, depending on the tier. Linoma offers free downloads of the tool from its Web site, at www.linomasoftware.com.