Which DVC point planning program to use?

[ncligs]

Just wondering what is the main difference between the 2 programs for keeping track and planning your DVC vacations.
I use the DVC Point Mgr by Dave Fredrickson, and find it very easy and usefull to use.
So I was wondering if any DCV'ers that have tried Caskbill's new program(DVC Planner) that he just made available, does the same as the DVC Point Mgr?

 

[RoutemanDan]

Different layout and some music.Caskbills suits me better. Dave's Never opened correctly on my pc.Let me rephrase that,the resolution was not compatible with my pc.Both are spectacular in their own right and I thank both gentlemen for putting the time and effort into this for us.

 

[anniet]

I tried to use Dave's but I don't think it was compatible with my Mac. (at least it couldn't find an application to open it) Is Caskbill's mac compatible?

Where can I find it?

Thanks!

 

[ncligs]

Anniet,
Here it is.....


http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=256815

 

[ncligs]

Anybody else that has tried both?

 

[anniet]

Thanks Ncligs! I couldn't get that to work on my mac either, so I'll have to try to get it on my laptop PC at work.

I love my new iMac, but I'm feeling like I purchased Rainman.....it can't do everything, but what it can do it does exceptionally well!

 

[DemoBri1]

I think they are both good in what they do. But I believe Dave's contains a bit more features currently. The biggest asset is that it will allow you to track multiple vacations between different resorts, which I don't believe Caskbill's does presently. He has stated that this will be forthcoming in newer releases.

I also enjoy the fact that Dave's program gives you a running total from year to year on how many points you have available, plus an area that shows your banking and borrowing of points.

On the other hand, Caskbill's program has a really neat feature in the Vacation Comparison chart. This allows you to see how many points it will cost you to stay between all the Disney DVC resorts.

I really think it all depends on the application and manner in which you want to use these programs. For those of you planning a single trip per year w/o wanting to keep track or having the need to bank/borrow, Caskbill's program fits the bill.

If you are one that plans a couple of trips at a time or more, I think Dave's program is probably your best bet. I hope they each learn from one another, get together, and put an all-encompassing application out there that will suit any and every need for all us DVCers. Thanks to both of them.

 

[Caskbill]

The biggest asset is that it <i>(Dave's program)</i> will allow you to track multiple vacations between different resorts, which I don't believe Caskbill's does presently.

Just to clarify, my program <u>will</u> allow planning multiple resorts and multiple vacations over the year. For example you could have a January vacation starting 3 days at Vero, followed by a week at BCV, followed by 3 days at OKW, etc.

You could then have another multiple resort vacation in June. All this is done on the same 12-month calendar.

The program however does not allow you to schedule two or more resorts for the <u>same date</u>. But Dave's program doesn't allow this either.

I resisted jumping into this thread because I didn't want to look like I was tooting my own horn. But did want to correct the false statement.

The capability to plan more than one resort on the <u>same date</u> will be a future enhancement.

If I can state the differences between the two programs I would say that mine is a vacation PLANNING tool while Dave's is more of a point TRACKING tool. I believe they compliment each other in that way.

I will be adding tracking for the next major release.

For those of you planning a single trip per year w/o wanting to keep track or having the need to bank/borrow, Caskbill's program fits the bill.

Sorry but I have to disagree with this. I think my program is ideal for planning multiple vacations, multiple resorts for the year. The printout it creates will show each resort, how many days, how many points and points by day, check-in and check-out dates, Trash & Towel days, Full Cleaning days (in version 1.01 which is the current version), and 11-month/7-month booking windows that are adjusted for weekends and holidays.

And while it currently doesn't track your point balances, banking, borrowing, it will track your contracts and report banking deadlines, adjusted for weekends and holidays.

Basically I think it's easy enough to download both programs and use them both as they fit your own planning and tracking needs

 

[sandieb]

Can you tell me where to find Dave's program? Thanks, Sandie B.

 

[ncligs]

sandieb,

I put a link to Daves program, it is the 4th post down on this thread.

Caskbill.
Thanks for explaining the difference.

 

[Laurabearz]

I have both programs and Caskbil's is WONDERFUL. I love playing with it! LOL It really helps you get the most out of your points.

I discovered, if I had 1 more point, I could be at OKW in a studio from August 16th - October 25th, every year. (71 days) But I could only stay 65 days a year, if I got a BWV standard studio!

But seriously, Caskbils program really puts a great visual on point useage.

Fredricks is great for tracking points, for the most part. I have found paper and pencil the best way for me to track points. BUT we have 4 contracts, 3 resorts, and 2 use years... I doubt any points program will be created for our situation! LOL

If you have a PC I say get them both..... play with them and decide. The best part is that they are FREE........ so if you love them it is twice the happy....... and if you dont....... nothing lost

HTH

 

[RweTHEREyet]

I am using both. I use Dave's to track my point usage/history. I started using this weekend to help me in efficiently using my points for trips coming up. I feel that I have a need for both of them and am glad to have access to both of them.

I certainly appreciate the time that both of these folks have put into these programs and thank them both for sharing so generously.

 

[DemoBri1]

Caskbill,

Don't get so defensive! I was just merely stating my opinion of the two programs. In my opinion, I would prefer to use your program if I was tracking only one vacation per year because of Dave's program's ability of tracking banked and borrowed points.

I will give you the fact that you can track multiple vacations in a calendar year, and it brought up another point that I like about your program in that you can see an entire calendar year on screen at once.

I will dispute you on one rebuttal, however. I was able to get Dave's program to save with two vacations with two different resorts on the same day.

My overall opinion is that the two of you should really get your heads together and come up with a SUPER DVC PLANNER. You both have some great features to offer.

It would really benefit all of us out here.

Thanks for your rebuttal.

 

[SamSam]

I am using them both. They are both great programs, with different strong points. My thanks to both of you!!!!

 

[Barb]

Thanks for this info. As a fairly new DVC'er, I had no idea these existed. I'm stil a little confused when it comes to all the ins and outs of the points system. So this should be a huge help for me. Thank you! Looks like I have some playing to do.

 

[ILuvDVC]

I've wrote my own point tracker also. I can verify that it is a LOT of work! But, I needed something to track my points, and since I own at 4 different resorts, I needed a way to keep all the points separate.

It's a work in process, but does have a Calendar where you can click on days (after you select the resort, room type and view) and it will tell you how many points. (This is my favorite part, because I'm always trying to figure out what to book).

It has a place to keep contracts, banking, borrowing and reservations, and gives you a two year total of your points. Trouble is, I did not include any help, I wrote it for me....I'm becoming so selfish in my old age!

There is also a section for keeping notes for the reservation. Someone asked for a way to create a report, but since I keep all the information in delimited flat files on the local hard drive, you can import it all into a spread sheet and create reports (again, I'm being lazy).

Anyhow, if anyone wants to try it out, just email me and I will send it your way. It's about 447K large (the zipped file that is). I should upload it to my website...one of these days.

email address is:ILuvDVC@aol.com, make sure you have DVC Planner or something in title so I don't accidently delete that email.

Have a great day!