Last week, I installed the Nomenclature 4.0 update to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum‘s PastPerfect 5 database and converted the lexicon from Nomenclature 3.0 to Nomenclature 4.0. It was so fast and easy, anyone could do it!
To run the update to a network, close PastPerfect 5 on all workstations. If you are not currently running the latest version of PastPerfect 5 (V5.0D8), run that update first; the update disk was conveniently included in my packet from PastPerfect. Once that is complete, insert the Nomenclature 4.0 update disk and follow the prompts selecting the “Lexicon4install” file. Here is a screen shot of the update running on my computer:
The Nomenclature 4.0 update (which took less than 60 seconds) added 76 new terms and updated one of the categories in my lexicon. Next, open PastPerfect 5 and go into Setup under System Parameters. To verify that the update is complete, the nomenclature version should now display “4.0” as shown.
Finally, go into the list of Unclassified Object Names to determine what data cleanup might be needed. Luckily, I spent a bit of time doing data cleanup following the conversion from Revised Nomenclature to Nomenclature 3.0 and there is only a small list of object names (shown below) following this update that are unclassified. If you know that your lexicon has a lot of errors, such as spelling or word order, it might be beneficial to do this type of cleanup before converting to Nomenclature 4.0. That way, you can avoid a long list of unclassified object names following the update. If your lexicon is current and you have consistently used Nomenclature 3.0, the update to 4.0 is a breeze and the program will do almost all of the conversion work for you.
Overall, I am very happy with Nomenclature 4.0 and already use many of the new terms. I am also pleased with how easily PastPerfect has made it to run the update so that we could start using Nomenclature 4.0 right away.
For more information or to purchase the Nomenclature 4.0 update for your PastPerfect 5 database, go to the PastPerfect website. Also, don’t forget to order the book. If you order it directly through Rowman & Littlefield, use coupon code 4M15NOMCL to save 20% at checkout.
