Project-ing For Pocket PCs

[Ed Hansberry]

http://www.birdsoft.biz/project.htm

"Project-ing is a solution for organizing your Pocket Outlook Data along with files, programs, and hyperlinks into projects and sub-projects. Great care has been taken to ensure the most seamless interaction between you and your projects. Quite simply, it is a whole new way of looking at your data."

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2006/20060116-projecting.gif

There is a free trial availble or you can buy it at the Pocket PC Thoughts Handango store (http://www.handango.com/ampp/store/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=180755) for $12.95.

[Phillip Dyson]

Seems like a functionality that alot of people have been asking for. All I would need is compatibility with PhatNotes and it would be great.

I wonder if it uses its own database in conjuntion with the Outlook database, or if it operates on Outlook DB like I think PI does.

[Storkman]

http://www.birdsoft.biz/project.htm
"Project-ing is a solution for organizing your Pocket Outlook Data along with files, programs, and hyperlinks into projects and sub-projects."


I tried it right-away, and it looks pretty cool. But given how small a PPC's screen is they need to provide a better way to filter through your information. I use Categories for Tasks, Notes, and Contacts - but Project-ing is oblivious to that and just dumps out a long list of everything I've got in my Outlook database.

It would be nice if you could have several Project-ing trees, one for work stuff and one for Home stuff (and for Leisure, and one for ...) with appropriate filters on the Outlook categories (so the list of Contacts excludes my mechanic when I'm looking at work projects).

Also, if you follow any of the productivity principles, like Getting Things Done by David Allen I'm not sure how well Project-ing would integrate with that.

[Birdiestyle]

It operates on the Outlook DB, and creates shortcut files to files/links/programs. So if Phatnotes takes over being associated to whatever the phatnotes extension is(or the regular notes extenstion) then it should work great with that...

I will probably throw in the ability for the Outlook folders to be sorted by the non-projecting categories much like you can already have contacts sorted based on company name. And I will explore the filtering idea and separate trees as well. That sounds neat if done right. I will be putting in infinite sub-project layers so it will probably be trivial as well, except how I'll handle that selection and keep it simple.

Im not familiar with "Getting Things Done" so am not sure what would be required for that. Ill have to look into it further, obviously it wasnt created with that in mind. I just made it to work much like I was using my ListWatch application to run all of Birdsoft's current projects. Only I liked the idea of doing this so I could use a PIM right along next to it and have links to real notes that I create outlining fixes and ideas or other files like doing graphics work on the road....

Thanks for taking a look at it..!!!

[Storkman]

Im not familiar with "Getting Things Done" so am not sure what would be required for that. Ill have to look into it further, obviously it wasnt created with that in mind.

The idea of linking together all the related PIM objects for a given project is really cool. I just think the effort with the current interface (maybe my QVGA screen exacerbates the problem) could outweigh the benefit, particularly if I add on the cost.

As for GTD:
http://www.davidco.com/index.php

The main ideas behind this principle are to schedule your do-or-die activities, and then to group everything else by context (which I guess is why it came to mind when I was looking at Project-ing). And then to ignore the contexts you're NOT in so you concentrate on the one you are in. If you think of something to do in another context, then put it on your list/note/calendar for that context and get back to your current context. Contexts are like "At work", "At Home", "Out shopping", "In a meeting", "Out with friends", etc. This way you don't think about work when you're at home, and vice-versa, so you actually get stuff done.

[pelermon]

It looks like a program I use, which can not live without.
"ECCO"

The greatest project program on earth.
Too bad it was purchased by a company who did nothing with it.

This is a great program for a PPC. (without actually seeing it yet)

[Birdiestyle]

Hmmm.. Interesting... It sounds like you could kind of handle the GTD stuff with this, but it will be able to even better when we add unlimited sub-projects and a couple other things...

The QVGA screen does kind of limit is as far as how effective drag -n- drop performs(though in cases it can still work pretty good), but that is why 'add to project' and some of the other features in the tap-n-hold context menu are there to allow you to add items equally as fast from the folders below..

Thanks again...

[vilasman]

I have the projecting trial in my ppc, I also have agenda fusion which has a project function. What I am wondering is what exactly projecting does to extend that functionality?

[tregnier]

It looks like a program I use, which can not live without.
"ECCO"

The greatest project program on earth.
Too bad it was purchased by a company who did nothing with it.

This is a great program for a PPC. (without actually seeing it yet)

I used ECCO for years. It's still being supported by user groups, even though it hasn't been upgraded since 1997. I would LOVE to have a version of ECCO that could be replicated on the PC and PPC. I would abandon Outlook as an organizer in a NY minute.

[Birdiestyle]

Oh sorry, I didnt see the AF question. It extends it the same way as it does the others. Basically it is implemented argueably much better, and allows you to to use such things as their templates and filters to interact with it. But yes, for Agenda Fusion you have somewhat similar functionality.

I tried to go into a trial of AF to review for you, but the newest AF seems to have a bug where it doesn't show the view tabs at all in some cases... Oops...

-----------

I am about to release a new version(1.04) which will add a number of the most asked for features including another sub-project level, sort by category, progress bars, and a bunch of other things. And it will address LOAD TIMES DRAMATICALLY. Please try 1.04 again if you liked the idea but had some problems....

Thanks

[tregnier]

Put a post in Announcements when 1.14 is ready...I'd like to try it.

[tregnier]

I downloaded the 1.03 version (current) and installed it on my Axim x51v. When I opened it, the roundel just sits and spins. The program doesn't open. I uninstalled and reinstalled, but the same thing happens.

[vilasman]

I will try it again when the new version comes out. I was thinking a couple days ago about this program. I use ms money 6, agenda fusion, phat notes, phat pad,.pocket mileage, text maker, and list pro all to manage a given progect. I am an electrician. It would be nice to group the files from each program together under a progect name.
So exemplify, I have a project to rewire 17 apartments. Textmaker for contracts and change orders and faxes, list pro for the multitude of list, agenda fusion for scheduling and all that, msmoney to handle that, phat notes and phat pad for my diagrams of what I did and notes on how I did it.
It would be good to click on one file name in the open the phatpad, etc files with that project

[Birdiestyle]

Ok, Ive released version 1.04. It adds a bunch of those features and optimizes the loading quite a bit...

So again, if you liked the idea, but had some problems, try this version out!


If you still have problems let me know(the spin cursor for a long time on load). And if you wait it out, try going into options and unchecking "sort by company", and see if that doesnt speed it up... Its been reported I still dont
have this quite optimized enough, but for most people it did the trick?!?! Weird.....



http://www.birdsoft.biz/project.htm

[i_spock]

I installed the demo but haven't gotten to really check it out yet. So far, I'm not sure how I could make it useful to me in my way of doing things but I'll spend some time thinking about it.

One suggestion I have: the demo install seems to put an all-day event on your calendar when the eval expires. This morning at 7:45 an alarm fired for it, 8O kinda freaking me out that I was about to miss a meeting or something. Maybe it would be a better idea to do away with that. :)

[Phillip Dyson]

Ok, Ive released version 1.04. It adds a bunch of those features and optimizes the loading quite a bit...


Any thoughts about integrating PhatNotes into the tool?

I suppose since PhatPad is file based and not databased they should work okay.