Heritage IV is a MS-Dos programme which can be run on old computers such as 286s. It is therefore possible to set up an efficient computer based retrieval system using low cost or donated equipment. As the programme does not involve the use of fields and the consequent need for decision making, data can be entered by anyone with minimal typing skills. The programme is suitable for the indexing of photographic collections, school and cemetery records, the indexing of oral history transcripts, newspaper indexing and general record keeping such as an enquirers index. It has also been used for cataloguing a small library where the Dewey system was not practical.
Searches are extremely fast and accurate on the computer.
Any word or group of words can be entered and any record containing them will be located, displayed and if required, printed. Searching on part of a word can be useful if prefixes are unknown. An additional feature is the programme's ability to print 3 x 5 cards on simple low cost dot matrix printers. As well as printing in 3 x 5 format on continuous cards, a record can also be printed in a wider caption style on plain paper. This is a very useful feature for display photographs as the information is already in the system and does not need to be re-typed.