askSam, from askSam Systems, was a "free form" database desktop application[1] that competed with a number of other personal information manager (PIM) applications.
It was noted for organizing disparate information such as email messages, documents, text files, spreadsheets, addresses, web pages into dynamic folders, and allowing these to be easily searched, and the results exported to spreadsheets or as a report.
"[7] By 2004, the competitive landscape included "names like ADM, ... BrainStorm, Chandler, Enfish, InfoSelect, iRider, Lookout, Onfolio, TheBrain and Zoot.".
[8] Asksam was ahead of its time in many ways, and today applications like Roam Research, Craft.do, Logseq, and Obsidian are beginning to fill the ability Asksam had for hyperlinked rapid note retrieval, though still unmatched for reporting.
[9] In 2014 personal information manager MyInfo added support for importing text-delimited AskSam files.