I keep backups of my data as a plain text file (comma separated with quotes
around the fields) that is easy to import into things like a spreadsheet (I
use OpenOffice's program) for sorting, searching, viewing.
I actually use the spreadsheet for doing data entry; it is set up a lot
like a "tape edit sheet" in which each row represents a single
recording/cut with columns (fields) for information on date, time,
location, weather, species, behavioral observations, duration, etc. etc.
This (use of plain text) is just an extreme version of what Jim was
pointing out: it isn't a great idea to keep your data in a format that's
hard to
read without a particular program that might disappear.
Cheers!
Steve P
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