folders), allowing straightforward and almost instant recall of correspondence. This will enable the user to scan documents and correspondence received, and to view these items with the listed building record. Grant module Following the writer's visits to county group meetings of Conservation Officers, and in response to a request from several authorities, a specialist grant module will be available shortly. This will streamline submission of grant claims, and will hold information on cumulative and actual grants offered and received, on an individual building basis as well as overall. This module will save time and improve recordkeeping if you claim grants. Linksto GIS and development control packages Links exist to Mapinfo, and other GIS packages (including ArcView) will be linked within the coming months.Orion has been asked to provide links to development control packages for a number of authorities, and these will be available later this year. Understandably, there is a demand for computer programs to talk with each other, and to allow seamless exchange of data. Orion has always been committed to this integration concept, thus allowing a synergy to exist where authorities make a commitment to new technology. Architect's module Working with a leading firm of architects and design consultants, Orion is developing additional screens to demonstrate the breadth and depth of experience which the firm can offer. Linked to Orion's imaging and comprehensive search facilities, the practice will be able to search through its portfolio of previous work to offer relevant examples to prospective clients. This will considerably assist their marketing effort. Your questions answered The writer is always happy to address groups of Conservation Officers, and to demonstrate without obligation the advantages and capabilities of the system. At these meetings, many questions recur regularly. Many people ask how best to transfer their existing data into the Orion database, which is of course initially empty of data but is in other respects configured to receive all the information to which a Conservation Officer requires access. Orion's preference is to populate the database with existing data if possible. This can take the form of the BARS(Buildings at 26 Risk Survey) database (where it is still available) and/or Greenbacks. The BARS database can be converted by means of our own programs, thus enabling a complete listing to be available when the program is first installed. Greeflbacks can be scanned and subjected to optical character recognition techniques, thus enabling detailed searching of words or phrases. The full list descriptions are immediately available in this way, so that references to the paper record are no longer necessary. It is of course also possible to type in the data, although this is likely to be the more expensive option. Whichever course of action is followed, the search functions are impressive, and it is easy to undertake so-called concatenated searches. For example it is possible to search for all 'Gothick' buildings with 'ogee' features, and to refine this further by specifying a grade and/or an architect. In short, it is simple to search on all database fields, including the list descriptions, and to make these searches extremely sophisticated. The search facility was developed as a result of Orion's experience of developing the listed building database for CADW(Welsh Historic Monuments). In summary, the Orion Heritage Management system is a client server multi-user database, designed for use by anyone familiar with a Windows environment. Document imaging and links to GIS and development control packages considerably increase the functionality of the system. Further information (including a demonstration disk) can be obtained from: David Lermon (Director), Orion Imaging Ltd, 3 Oldbury Business Centre, Cwmbran, Gwent NP44 3JU, tel: (01633) 868811 Jax (01633) 868968. Internet: http//www.orions.co.uk Context54 June1997
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