Reviews & User Comments
See what people are saying about the Personal Knowbase free-form text database and note organizer software...
User Comments
All user comments were unsolicited.
“I have long been searching for an app such as yours. There are some that use keywords to find data, but they do not have your flexibility, and in general are usually buggy or force the user to jump through hoops to get what they want.
Your keyword based search and pretty much free form articles, along with the ability to add attachments, and links, give me the freedom and ease of use "on the fly" to use your app for journaling, project management, data storage and retrieval, and who knows what other uses I will put it to. The ability to create as many Knowbase files as I wish allows me to separate my activities, but still have them close!
Your samples and help files are well written and easy to use. They provide a real wealth of ideas. I was up and running in just a few minutes, and when I was ready to learn to do more, the help was right there, guiding me along.
You have hit it out of the park. I just wish that I had found this app a lot sooner, I could have saved a lot of time, money, and wasted effort.”
“It is still very much helping me organize and keep contact information. I'm glad I acquired it over a decade ago.”
“Your program was invaluable in researching my first historical murder mystery, "The Constable's Tale," and I'm using the same database for the sequel, now in progress. Thanks for a great program!”
“Works really well. Use it all the time. Have about 1500 records and about 2477 keywords. Very convenient having it work on a USB memory stick. Also use it as a date/time appointment reminder.”
“Worked like a charm! I'm so grateful. I have decades of information in SquareNote files and was distraught to think there was no way to port it out of DOS hardware. PK is a gift from heaven.”
“I love Knowbase and try to convince my friends to use it as well. Free form databases are the key to my keeping up to all the stuff I need to learn and know.”
“Have searched for a year and tried out lots - PK is AMAZING and should be better known.”
“I use it extensively every day - it's my card index for my own info and that of our clients. Wouldn't be without it.”
“Personal Knowbase has been quite useful to me in keeping random bits of information easy to access.”
“Personal Knowbase is a great product! Could not have written my last eBook without it!”
“Thanks for this software. I use it for every project I do to file bits of information until I can use them. I develop training as a consultant, and frequently new clients throw tons of content at me before I have a picture of what to do with it. Personal Knowbase helps deal with the torrent of information.”
“Very good research organizer and the only one I have found to be fully accessible to blind computer users using screen readers.”
“I conservatively estimate that this tool will save me 3-4 hours a week of wasted "looking for it" time... Since having Personal Knowbase I have created a file for my Q&As and put individual answers in articles, with the keywords, of course! So now when I sit down to answer emails I have Personal Knowbase open and search keywords, then cut/paste answers!...
What is more exciting, I have PK on an 8G flash drive. Brilliant! It goes from machine to machine with me, if I'm traveling or in my office...
When I'm reading and find an article of interest or importance to my research - it is entered as an article with keywords and links. I've also started indexing the newsletters I've sent to my readers since 2006. This is taking time, but it is so exciting because those three-ring binders on the shelf can just stay where they belong while I efficiently access my information...”
“Looks like exactly the program I was looking for to organize many stories & articles for my preaching. Thank you!”
“I have been looking for an alternative to askSam. After trying several other free-form databases, yours seems to be the best.”
“I just realized something -- I have been using Knowbase for 13 years and I have never had a single problem. Not even a "gee, what happened there"... I have over 4000 records with hundreds of attachments. What's your secret?”
“Because our office... uses Microsoft products and restricts what we can put on our computers, I had looked to see if I could get by with just using Outlook or some other kludge - but nothing does what your product does so well. The ability to recall notes, ideas, even documents from years ago is very handy!”
“I have to say that your software has changed my life! I don't want that to seem too dramatic/"cheesy", but it's true. I had a bunch of stuff just on scraps of paper and napkins, and scratch paper. I took the time to organize it into Personal Knowbase and I am sailing now.”
“I just wanted to drop you a short note, telling you how much I believe your product "Personal Knowbase" rules. I've been trying it out for the past few days and without even getting close to the limit of the software's trial period, I decided to buy a license today... I've always had the feeling that I needed a tool to bring a little more order into my life. To give just a few examples: ... store all my passwords in a single place ... my movie collection ... serial numbers for software ... I'm sure that I'll find thousands of more things where Personal Knowbase will come in handy. Really, really great work you've done there!”
“I'm a filmmaker and new media developer and I'm at the very beginning of understanding and using Personal Knowbase to support my work. However even at this early stage I can see it is going to be extremely valuable. I'm in the process of transferring years of research from word processing files containing data into organized Personal Knowbase files containing information. Going from endless scrolling text files to keyword searching is a quantum leap in access. I'm finding relationships in my files I was never aware of before using Personal Knowbase. I'm sure every Knowledge worker and media developer can make good use of this easy to use but deep app.”
“It did not take long to realize this was the software I have been searching for to more effectively run my small business. Thank you.”
“I've used your product for several years. I find new uses for it every day. I can't imagine my job without it. It's simply one program I can't do without.”
“I really like its ease of use and the speedy search. Nicely designed for real use in a busy environment.”
“Just like to say what an excellent piece of software this is... I use it for academic info organising etc and haven't been able to find anything better. I think you've hit just the right note in terms of usability and complexity - it really conforms to Occam's razor: as simple as it can be but no simpler. Well done! Whoever designed it really understands the user interface - it's so easy and logical that you hardly need to follow the tutorial / help file which in itself is a model of clarity.”
“Your program is giving me an easy and exciting way to organize my information. Most of all, I like the way it challenges my mind to think about how I want to organize something.”
“This product is great in collecting articles managing the research for my Master's Thesis in Education.”
“Recently, my motherboard crashed and I lost all my programs. I wrote to you to have my Personal Knowbase reinstalled... You have answered positively within two hours and my program is now reinstalled.
I am very satisfied with your service which is MORE THAN EXCELLENT! I am also very satisfied with your program. It is a real treasure! ... Be sure I will promote your product as much as I can. I am presently writing a book on self-publishing in French and I mentioned your program and your internet site in it. Thanks so much!”
“I do very much love the application and have recommended it to quite a few other professional writers I know...”
“I love it! And the more I use it the more I appreciate it! A great, intuitive, useful software product. I've been waiting years for this... Knowbase is the first thing I start in the morning and the last program I shut down at night. I use it constantly; it grows more powerful each day.”
“Many thanks for the programme. Having been searching for this for many years - having once used an ancient copy of "Sidekick". Excellent value! I will recommend you.”
“I have thousands of poems to catalog and this software is superb and incredibly fast. I can query my poetry with any keyword I can think of and view the document with ease. Initial skepticism gave way to enthusiasm when I realized there was no serious learning curve involved in using this excellent database. Thank you very much! I ought to have registered earlier!”
“Your software is wonderful! One of my MBA students flagged it for us. I have been promoting it in all my classes. I have used it now for at least 4 months and already have approximately 2,000 research articles, notations, etc., in it. It's quick, easy-to-use, and a real joy. Thanks for your efforts.”
“So I've been using Knowbase for about six months now, and I realized today that it's passed my ultimate software test: I use it every day, and I don't even notice it anymore. It's like having a second brain to keep stuff in. I'm a grad student, and I don't know how I functioned before I had this thing. It should be handed out to all college students in their orientation packets. :) Plus, I haven't found a single bug, and it's never crashed or erased my data. I never have to think about it. Good show, guys.”
“I recently updated my copy of Personal Knowbase... I just wanted to let you know this program is one of my favorites. I am still learning many of its capabilities and the more I learn, the more I use it. I have recommended it to several other people.”
“FANTASTIC program! I have Paper Tiger, and this program is FASTER and EASIER to work with!”
“I wanted to share with you all that I've been using the knowledgebase since the beginning of 2003 and it has been incredible. I have separate databases for work and for personal stuff; it does a great job of keeping things in order while at the same time quite easy to find. Keep up the great work.”
“I would just like to tell you that your software was exactly what I was looking for and I really enjoy it. I also would like to say it is an absolute joy to deal with people that sell quality software for a fair price and then deliver quality customer service.”
“Just a brief note to congratulate you folks on a product that was already super and with the current upgrade is nothing short of great! I have been using Personal Knowbase for a couple of years now and I really don't know how I got along without it... I do know that my "computer & internet life" would be much more difficult without your super program.”
“The more I use the app, the more I like it. I find that organizing ideas in this way generates more ideas. Plus I love the knowledge that I can essentially throw thoughts into the same bucket, and as long as I keyword them, I can pull them out by category or a variety of searches.”
“Thank you! I played with the program for approx. 1 hour and purchased it. I am totally blind and use a screen reading program (jaws) and find your program to be very user friendly. I work for a Center for Assistive Technology and I was telling one of the trainer/evaluators about the program. Subsequently she recommended it for a client. I was looking for a program to help me get more organized especially at work. Personal Knowbase has helped me to achieve my goal! Thanks!”
“I think I tried out about every tree-based free-form info retrieval program out there. Every single one impressed me as clunky and hampered by the fact that each article had to be placed in a single cubbyhole--this simply doesn't fit the way we use and retrieve knowledge. I used to use a DOS program called SquareNote, which is the only other keyword-based knowledge-retrieval program that I had ever run across. ... Got my data moved over to Knowbase and have never looked back since.”
“I've used Personal Knowbase very effectively in saving stories & factoids for use in preaching.”
“I'm new to Personal Knowbase, and so far I love the tool. It's easy to use and very powerful.”
“Thanks for a *-*SUPER*-* product!”
“As I have written to you, I have been extremely satisfied with Knowbase. I have several databases running in KB, including cooking recipes, bibliographic notes, and - the most important - a collection of examination problems.”
“By the way, your software suits my needs exactly, and I have recommended it to many people over the last two years.”
“[The] Software is very useful to me and I look forward to continued development. The use of keywords is what sets this software apart from all the other software I evaluated. The simplicity and clean look are also important considerations.”
Software Reviews
April 24, 2022
Apkmonk Blog Review
“In a world where a massive volume of information is being churned out every second, sometimes you need a simple app that just performs its main task efficiently.”
July 7, 2021
Freeappsforme.com Software Review
“It is an ideal tool for organizing research notes, various archives, and ideas.”
June 29, 2016
Angelcho L's Personal Knowbase user review on Blogspot
“Virtually I use Personal Knowbase for everything.”
February 12, 2014
Download3k
4-star rating and review
“Personal Knowbase is a comprehensive indexing tool designed to organize your files according to tags and keywords.”
February, 2012
FindMySoft
Excellent rating and review
“...allows the user to organize information in the easiest and quickest way possible using keywords.”
March 30, 2009
Download.com Editor's Review
4-star rating
“Any rag-tag collection of personal notes and information is easily condensed and cataloged with Personal Knowbase.”
October, 2008 issue
Computer Buyer magazine
“So stop creating pointless paper notes that you'll never find again when you need them, and start using this logical system instead.”
November 6, 2005
John P. Mello Jr. review for TechNewsWorld
“If you're a packrat for information, Personal Knowbase will square away your untidy nest so you'll always find what
you want when you want it.”
July, 2005
Kate Harrigan review for Writer's Digest
“If you have documents strewn willy-nilly all over your computer, Personal Knowbase provides an efficient means
of pulling them all together.”
July, 2004
Jack Clemens review for Writer's Digest
“Personal Knowbase is another excellent research tool. Using keywords, it organizes free-form notes by association,
so finding specific information within a vast tangle of research material becomes a snap. You can also link keywords to files,
Web sites and e-mail addresses to keep your original sources a mouse-click away.”
January, 2001
Shareware Junkies
5-star rating and review
“Organizing information is half the problem; the other half is retrieving it. This program solves that problem through a great indexing system...”
September 11, 2000
ZDNet's Software Library
5-star rating
“Whether it's saving and organizing recipes, addresses, notes, or messages, Personal Knowbase is up to the task. This clean-looking and intuitive PIM enables you to store and index freeform bits of textual information, using the keywords you choose.”
October 27, 2000
Yippee.net
rating and review:
“Very smart piece of organising software, guaranteed to help keep track of those varied and disparate bits of info that you need to access in a hurry. With the use of a neat reference system, the keywords you assign can provide a useful multi-access system for finding those hidden gems. The interface is reminiscent of Microsoft Word, giving a nice familiar area to work in and the multi windows system is one of the best of its kind, using resizing limits to good effect. Highly recommended for those that suffer from inspirational flashes.”
October 15, 2000
Aime Ryan review for Access Magazine (rated 3.75 out of 4)
“Fire the secretary, throw out the file cabinet and get Personal Knowbase to clean up your PC workspace...”
