RESOURCE CENTRE MANUAL
HEALTHLINK WORLDWIDE
link to and open document files and websites. Label printing is possible, and mail
merging can be done by creating a relevant download (save-to-file) format.
Download / save to file formats Records can be saved to file for later printing in plain
text format that requires formatting to be added using a word processor. The Beta
version 1.422 offers the option to save records using hypertext mark-up language
(HTML), but this still requires the addition of HTML coding as part of the formatting
language.
User interface CDS/ISIS has a user-friendly interface with on-line help.
Languages CDS-ISIS is currently available in English, French, Spanish, and an
Arab enabled version with full Arabic support for inverted file and search
functions, and mixed language support (English/French and Arabic).
Importing and exporting to other programs CDS-ISIS uses the international
standard for data exchange as its primary import and export format. However,
the add-on conversion programs – ImpExp2709, IsisAscii v 0.92 and XML2ISIS
(all available from the UNESCO site) – enable import in most standard formats
including XML. Exports in formats other than the International Standard
(ISO2709), eg comma delimited or tagged, require the creation of a relevant
download (save-to-file) format.
Hardware requirements CDS/ISIS does not require a high specification to work
at a satisfactory pace. However, the database size would be an important
consideration for the size of the hard disk and memory, and the processor speed.
As with all databases, the size of the fields and the number of fields indexed will
have as much effect on the speed of the program as the number of records in the
database.
Software documentation The manual that comes with the Windows version of
CDS-ISIS is only an update of the DOS manual, which has always been too
technical for most users. A number of useful guides to CDS-ISIS are listed in the
Further Reading section, including the comprehensive and relatively non-
technical ‘CDS-ISIS for Windows handbook’ that can be downloaded from the
UNESCO ftp site:
ftp://ftp.unesco.org/pub/winisis/windows/doc/english
Guidelines are also available from national CDS-ISIS user groups, and other
groups, such as those submitting records to African Index Medicus (AIM).
Support services Training and support for CDS-ISIS is offered by national
distributors, user groups, regional documentation and information systems, and
library schools. Support and training is also offered by consultants, but this is
usually more expensive.
58 SECTION 6: COMPUTERS, ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION AND DATABASES