RapidFile is the name of a flat-file database program released in the late
1980s to run on personal computers with the DOS operating system. Although
marketed as a very simple product it is actually very versatile if you take
the trouble to get to know what it is capable of. As well as being very
adaptable it is also fast to use, fast to perform and, unlike many subsequent
products, it is almost entirely reliable (though pressing Ctrl-Break in the
middle of certain operations is definitely not a good idea). In the
year 2011, the 1986 edition of RapidFile (the most recent release) is still
alive and well and in use around the world and can be used on both MS Windows
and GNU/Linux based systems. Consequently there is no
reason why this fantastic little tool needs to be retired yet.
RapidFile is an excellent platform for preprocessing data obtained from some
other source and any general purpose record keeping operations. In years
gone by we have used it to create an accounting system and a sophisticated
stock control system. In our business the RapidFile product is
still used daily for general data storage such as simple lists and also for
more complicated things. In particular we use it to hold data that will be
incorporated into assembly language programs or C-language programs.
Sometimes we use it to generate HTML pages that contain large numbers of links.
It is also still used occasionally to pre-process large sets of data obtained
from other sources such as information gathered by data-loggers, the results
from experiments or internet log files.
Articles about RapidFile
- Rapidfile configuration
- If you no longer have your Rapidfile manual, here are the most important
things you need to know about configuring the software. Its all pretty
simple stuff and easy to do.
- Rapidfile limitations
- Although Rapidfile is more than capable of handling many commercial and
technical database tasks it is important to be aware of the limits.
This page highlights some of the most important ones.
- Printing
- It is possible to print successfully from Rapidfile but not especially easy to get good results. This article has a few tips.
- GNU/Linux
- Rapidfile can be used reliably and quite easily within a GNU/Linux environment by making use of DOSemu or VirtualBox.
- Windows XP
- Rapidfile can be used within the DOS emulation box of most versions of Windows. Here are some notes for users of XP.
- Windows 7
- A report has been received of RapidFile running successfully in a Windows-7 environment using the DOSbox emulator available from http://www.dosbox.com/. No futher information is presently available
- keyboard shortcuts
- Many operations can be performed rapidly using keyboard short-cuts.
RapidFile data extraction service
If you have RapidFile database files
we can extract the data from them and give it to you in comma-delimited format
ready for importing into your favourite application software. Inexpensive service,
easy payment by bank transfer or paypal, fast turn-around. Contact
us.
Important
This web site is not in any way, directly or indirectly, affiliated with the
authors, distributors, or owners of the RapidFile database software.
This page is located at:
http://www.rapidfile.co.uk/index.html
Ancient history
The original creators of RapidFile were Miller
Microcomputer Services, working apparently on behalf of a company called
Ashton Tate. In the year 2004, Miller Microcomputer Services
appeared to still exist and function while Ashton Tate apparently expired
long, long ago; possibly because they weren't smart enough to recognise
that RapidFile was a product they should have continued to market and develop.