Strange Problem

[John Blasdell]

Disappearing Notes
The last 3 weeks, Notes disappear from my Treo 700wx, then are also deleted from Outlook 2003 when I sync. Fortunately I had a backup, and I keep restoring the deleted Notes. I had 76 Notes; anywhere from 15 - 65 suddenly come up missing. I did 2 hard resets followed by a fresh reinstall of everything; that didn't help. I upgraded to WM6.0 2 weeks ago; still the same problem. Yesterday, all but one disappeared. I received a replacement Treo from VZW; it now has the same problem. Nothing else disappears but Notes. I've checked both ActiveSync and Outlook, can't find any setting that could be causing this. Any ideas/solutions?

[Reid Kistler]

Would an Auto Archive setting possibly impact that?

Use Outlook on Desktop simply because that is the Default - and, afaik, the Only - option for syncing Calendar & Contacts with my Axim.

However, use PhatNotes for all free-text notes, and eWallet for field-based notes, so haven't had any opportunity to run up against your problem.

Simply as a precaution, would suggest you export the notes to text files Just In Case they should ever Completely disappear.

[John Blasdell]

Auto-Archive not on -- I don't want anything disappearing without my explicit approval. Still can't figure this one out.

I never saw the need for PhatNotes, but that may be the necessary workaround. Questions:
1. The file size of a WM 'Note' is larger than a plain text (.txt) file. How does the .txt file size compare with a PhatNote file?
2. I assume PhatNote files sync with the desktop PC. Can PhatNote files be opened on the desktop PC? With what app?
3. You must have a reason for using PhatNotes instread of the native Notes app. Why is PhatNotes that much better?

[psyjohn]

I use PhatNotes because of the increased organizational and search capabilities. It also has formatting options similar to Word, which I like. Another plus is the ability to turn a note into an appointment or task, or to email the note.

File size is hard to compare as notes are stored in a database.

PhatNotes opens on the desktop with..... PhatNotes. The desktop version is included. Syncing is very easy and reliable in my experience.

I know the purchase price is high; it kept me from purchasing for quite a while, but I now own PhatNotes, PhatPad, and CalliGrapher and they are all among the best quality software I've used on my device. I don't regret the purchase of any of them and use them all daily.

[Reid Kistler]

Adding to psyjohn's reply:
PhatNotes is available in (at least) 2 versions: one comes with BOTH a Windows Desktop AND PDA version of the app (this is the version in use here) - and used to be called "PhatNotes Pro."

A (the?) second version is PhatNotes for Outlook, and this version syncs with your desktop Outlook app instead of the desktop PhatNotes app.

Having never been overly fond of Outlook, "Pro" is an easy choice here. Also really like having similar functionality between PDA & desktop apps: one reason why eWallet & (to a lesser extent) ListPro have also found a permanent home on my Axim & desktop. (Alas, Pocket Informant lives only the PDA...)

There is also a carry-over impact: have always been fond of PIMs, starting with MemoryMate, then Instant Recall and Daytimer 2000, & Ecco Pro (two distinctly different yet wonderful programs: Daytimer for its fully-indexed free-text database, and EccoPro for its Outline approach to Managing Everything).
ACT was too Contact oriented, and while GoldMine had a powerful notes feature (KnowledgeBase) it always seemed overkill outside of a business setting... (And both Daytimer & Ecco Pro supported mulitple users / networking - as, of course, do ACT & GoldMine.)


As for WHY PhatNotes is better - that would take a LONG post (!), but psyjohn summarized the highlights, and you can read more (obviously) at Phatware.com.
But a couple of personal 'perks' include the ability to set up Multiple databases (ie: Personal, Business...) and then organize notes within each by mulitple Categories - while permitting Search across ALL dababases OR limited to only one (helpful on the PDA with its slower search speed).

The formatting is great - take a lot of notes in real time on the PDA & am able to use bullet points, bold, italics, centering, etc while taking the note - and spellcheck corrects most typos. (A lot of credit goes to the FITALY software keyboard here).

There is also fairly good linking between PhatNotes & Pocket Informant which does not hurt either.

PhatNotes Pro is not inexpensive, but it IS an excellent (& robust) app - and is also often available at a Discount, either on its own or as part of a package of applications. And you can always try it out for free :)!

(PS: if you do try it, take the time to download & read the Manual. It runs some 190+ pages, and while you do not have to read ALL of it to use the app, simply scanning down the table of contents might provide some hints as to how make the best use of it...)

[John Blasdell]

Thinking back, although this is a new problem, I've had prior problems with Notes. Frequent sync problemswith earlier devices: "50 unresolved items" (or some number) was a frequent ActiveSync error message. There must be some bug in Notes that makes the data structure buggy.

I tried exporting each Note to Word Mobile, then saving each as a plain text file with (n) at the beginning of each title. Unfortunately, the ( character caused all the notes to appear before my other docs, so every time I opened Word Mobile I had to do a lot of scrolling.

Reading the PhatNotes web site, the word that caught my attention was "compressed." The database is compressed, and hopefully takes much less space. That was one thing I didn't like about Notes -- each Note takes up more space than a plain text file. I read the PhatNotes manual (that took awhile), installed the program, and imported most of my Notes. There are many features I like, and it seems bug-free. Does much more than I need, but I guess this is a keeper.

I usually steer clear of anything with a "cutesy" misspelling in it's name (phat, kat, kar, phish, etc.); that's usually a sign of an inferior product, but this program seems quite good. Thanks for suggesting this!

[Reid Kistler]

I usually steer clear of anything with a "cutesy" misspelling in it's name (phat.....

Well, if it makes you feel better, product used to be called "HPC Notes."
In fact, my initial database was named "HPCNotes," until decided Multiple databases would be a better organization approach so Descriptive Names became important.

In any event, glad you enjoy the program thus far & hope it works well for you!