program one grows into; i just want to be sure that i can use it in at least the most basic way for note-taking and organization, before throwing my hat over the fence, so to speak. it also helps to know that you don't find making changes in your system to be difficult. certainly, another fear was spending more time on getting my notes right than on my project. thanks also for your suggestions about the categories. i did try this out, but all of the categories are showing up for all of my notes. i will keep working on this. i also found the column feature you mentioned for 