Psst! Read this review about Pocket Informant 4.01! [Archive]

View Full Version : Psst! Read this review about Pocket Informant 4.01!

Philip Colmer

05-05-2003, 04:00 PM

Web Information Solutions describes Pocket Informant as "The Original Premier PIM for the Pocket PC" ... but what is Pocket Informant and will it make a difference to your life if you used it? Let's take a look at the latest release and find out. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-6.gif" /> <!> Pocket Informant, now in release 4, is a drop-in replacement for the Calendar, Contacts and Tasks applications on your Pocket PC. It's got some really neat features, some of which will be touched upon below, but the learning curve can be steep in places compared with the built-in applications. However, given the vast difference in functionality between them, that is only to be expected. Installing ... and other things Pocket Informant (referred to as PI from now on) is installed by running the supplied installation application. After getting past the introductory screens, the installer offers you a list of components to install, which include language resources for French, Spanish, German & Dutch. You can also install an icon manager, which is used for assigning icons to categories within PI, and documentation for PI. These are installed onto your PC and not the Pocket PC. The installer warns you that PI should be installed onto main memory and not onto a storage card. This is because some storage cards take a while to get going and, if you've caused the Pocket PC to turn on by pressing a button associated with PI, it may cause the PDA to hang. During the installation, you are given some options as to how tightly you want PI to integrate into the Pocket PC, from responding to the buttons on the device, to replacing the built-in applications when you click on the appropriate Start menu entries. Unfortunately, it looks as if this is an installation-time option and cannot be changed unless you reinstall the software. After installing the software to the PDA, the installer continues by pointing out some tips and tricks. I didn't particularly like this aspect of installation since the only way to remind yourself of the tips and tricks is to reinstall the software. The documentation that gets installed primarily consists of two PDFs ... and they let down the otherwise good product. The "Feature Reference" document often refers to version three and sentences occasionally stop without having finished making the point. If there is a weak part of PI, this is it and that can only hurt new users, bearing in mind the steep learning curve. After installation, you will probably want to spend a little bit of time going through the preferences part of the application. As you will see from Figure 1, there are a LOT to choose from! This is indicative of how configurable and customisable PI is. You will probably leave most of the items at their defaults, but the facility is there to tweak the odd setting or two if it takes your fancy. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-1.gif" /> Figure 1: Some of the preferences in Pocket Informant. Keeping Track with the Calendar As with the built-in calendar, PI offers a number of different ways of looking at your calendar information. The following few pictures show how the PI version (on the right) compares with the Microsoft version (on the left). Figure 2 shows a specific date being looked at. Although the overall structure of the day layout isn't that different, there are some differences around the edges, notably:<li>The top of the screen shows how the day is used, providing an overview of where you've got free time. White blocks represent non-work hours, while yellow blocks represent work hours. The first thick black bar is the start of the day, the next black bar is midday and the third is the end of the day. The two small triangles indicate where the main view of the screen starts and ends in the day. Clicking in the blocks moves the main view to that part of the day. <li>The right-hand side provides easy access to different calendar views and navigation through time and days. Clicking on the red arrows, for example, allows you to move up and down through the day - an alternative to using the feature described above. <li>The bottom portion of the screen provides easy access to the different modules (calendar, notes, tasks, contacts and search) whilst the icons below those partly stay the same and partly offer module-specific features such as filtering.<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-2a.gif" /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-2b.gif" /> Figure 2: Comparing a day in the two calendars. Interestingly, in the example shown above, the built-in application manages to convey slightly more information than PI - the size of the blue rectangles show that the first meeting is only 30 minutes long, and the last meeting finishes at 4:30. PI can show this information if you choose to display the day view in 30 minute segments, but then you can't see the whole working day on the screen at once. As with most things, the choice is yours. Figure 3 shows a week being looked at. This is significantly different and provides much more information than the built-in application's own version of this view. Clicking on the small triangle in the corner of the date heading expands that page to fill the screen. You've also got a wide range of options for customising the view, such as arranging the days vertically instead of horizontally (i.e., the days go downwards in the first column then the second column) or changing which day occupies the top slot in this view. You've got the option of fixing it to a specified day, or allowing it to always be "today". <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-3a.gif" /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-3b.gif" /> Figure 3: Comparing a week in the two calendars. Figure 4 shows a full month view. This takes the differences between what the built-in calendar offers and what PI offers even further than the week view. When PI first offered this method of looking at the calendar, some people thought that it was an implementation of DateLens, a.k.a. FishCal, primarily because of the way the calendar allows you to zoom into an entry, pushing other entries to one side, as shown in Figure 5. Whilst there are some similarities, they end at the initial zooming. The DateLens design offers more features than PI, but at the cost of being too slow for current Pocket PCs. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-4a.gif" /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-4b.gif" /> Figure 4: Comparing a month in the two calendars. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-5.gif" /> Figure 5: Drilling into the detail in the PI month view. So, back to PI. As you can see from Figures 4 & 5, this application really does make the calendar more useful than the built-in version. Even when you've zoomed into a day's detail, the rest of the calendar still shows how your time in adjacent days is broken down, represented by the small rectangles of various shades of blue. The final PI calendar view is the agenda view, shown in Figure 6. Unlike the built-in calendar, where you only see one day at a time, with PI you've got the choice of 1, 3, 5, 7 or, indeed, any number you want to see at a time. This is a really convenient way of seeing when you are busy if you prefer this approach to a more pictorial representation. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-6.gif" /> Figure 6: Upcoming activities I've got tasks to do? The tasks component offers a sometimes bewildering number of ways of managing and looking at your tasks. Figure 7 shows just one of the views, which is very similar to the view offered by the built-in tasks application. Starting at the top and going down, there is the ability to search through your tasks, a summary of the task statistics (10 tasks, 1 overdue, none due today, none urgent and none low importance), followed by the tasks and a similar set of icons at the bottom to those offered by the calendar component. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-7a.gif" /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-7b.gif" /> Figure 7: Comparing the task views. The documentation doesn't directly explain the layout, though, which means that you've either got to play with the software to try to figure it out for yourself, or read through the documentation trying to find a feature that refers to the part of the layout you are concerned with. An example is the black dots present at the end of each entry ... except for the entry that is red in Figure 7, which shows [1/16]. So, is that 1 out of 16? No, it turns out it is a date - 16th Jan. This is the due date of the task. So what are the black dots? Careful reading of the documentation explains that you can click on them to set the date of the task, but if you didn't normally set dates on your tasks, how would you know what the dots were for? What the documentation really could do with is a screenshot of the overall view and some indicators showing what everything means or is used for. The software comes with some powerful preset filters that allow you to very quickly come to grips with managing your tasks. The filters include "start/due on date", "in progress", "start/end today", "overdue" and "undated", amongst others. PI offers a new tasks feature that the core applications don't support - hierarchical tasks. An example is shown in Figure 8. You can drag a task onto another task to make it a child of that task or you can opt to create a new task as a child of the selected task. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-8.gif" /> Figure 8: Hierarchical tasks This is undoubtedly a powerful feature and one that starts taking PI deeper into the realm of project management. However, there are two problems with it:<li>You can't use it if you've got the display set to group the tasks by category. You can drag and drop tasks as much as you like, but it won't create a hierarchical task. I wasted a LOT of time trying to figure out why my dragging wasn't having the desired dropping result. <li>The relationship between the tasks is stored in a file on the Pocket PC. Everything else that PI shows you is accessed through the Outlook synchronisation data, and so is automatically synchronised back to your PC and Outlook. By using a file, that model is broken and you've got to take extra steps to ensure that the file is backed up, otherwise you run the risk of losing the hierarchy you've set up.Who Shall I Contact Next? Figure 9 compares the contacts view in the built-in applications and PI. As you can see, the PI view is very similar to the built-in view. You've again got choices as to how the contacts are organised (First name, Last name, Company, etc). One area where I think the built-in application scores over PI, though, is in the view shown. You can quite clearly see which phone number you are looking at for that person (work, home or mobile), and you can click on the letter to see the other numbers very easily. In PI, however, you don't get that overview and you've got to click on the entry to see the whole offering. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-9a.gif" /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-9b.gif" /> Figure 9: Comparing the Contacts views. What PI does do over the built-in application, though, is integrate tightly with other devices to make it easy for you to ring a contact, e.g. via Bluetooth on your mobile phone. Picking Dates and Times When you've got a screen as small as that of the Pocket PC, time spent on getting the user interface right is time well spent. A good example of this is the way that PI allows you to pick dates and times for calendar entries and tasks, compared to the built-in applications. Figure 10 shows the date entry choices. In PI, the default is to show 6 months at a time. If you have trouble reading this, it is possible to reduce it to 2 months by clicking on the "2" in the top right-hand corner. What I really like, though, is the thought that has gone into the time selection, as shown in Figure 11. Most events start on the hour or a 15 minute portion thereof, and the layout of the time picker reflects that bias. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-10a.gif" /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-10b.gif" /> Figure 10: Date entry <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-11a.gif" /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-11b.gif" /> Figure 11: Time entry Linking It All Together The final difference between PI & the core applications that I want to look at in this review is links. PI allows you to take an entry in your calendar, contacts or tasks, and link it to any other entry in your calendar, contacts or tasks, or even to a file on your Pocket PC. Figure 12 shows a contact with an existing link to a calendar entry and a link to a task entry being added. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/colmer-apr03-pi-12.gif" /> Figure 12: Setting up links. Once an entry has got links, you can display the entry, click on the links tab, click on the relevant link and you are taken straight to that linked item. If the links are between objects that PI manages (i.e. calendar, tasks & contacts) then the links are automatically made two-way. In other words, if you add a link to a contact for a calendar entry, bringing up the calendar entry will show a link to the contact. Gotchas There is one major gotcha with this product - the poor documentation. Web Information Solutions clearly needs to junk the documentation it's got so far and spend a serious amount of time writing it from scratch, remembering to cater to both the beginner and the advanced user. Where To Buy The software can be <a href="http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&platformId=2&productType=2&catalog=0§ionId=0&productId=10226">downloaded from Handango</a> or purchased for $24.95 (affiliate link). Specifications This software works with both Pocket PC 2000 and 2002 devices. It takes up 1897 KB of RAM on the device. Although it can be installed to a storage card, it is not recommended for the reasons given near the beginning of this review. Conclusions I haven't looked at absolutely every feature of Pocket Information in this review. Instead, what I've tried to do is show how and where the user interface of PI is better than that of the built-in applications. From that, I hope you can decide whether or not it would meet your needs. This is clearly a very powerful and well designed piece of software, and one that will take time to master and to get the most out of it. If WIS can get the documentation right, they've got an absolute winner on their hands.

robclif4d

05-05-2003, 04:13 PM

ombu

05-05-2003, 04:54 PM

This review is a nice one and the first I see to show some of the cool features only Pocket Informant has, but as stated there are lot of features not shown here, lot of them, IMHO PI is by far the best PIM, when someone gets used it's almost impossible to leave it behind, it's performance and flexibility is second to none, and much more is coming soon!!! :D

Regards.

Andy Whiteford

05-05-2003, 05:10 PM

Great article Philip. I have played around with Agenda Fusion but never PI. My use of PIM functionality negates the need for advanced features but this article has made me realise what I may be missing out on and good to know if my usage demands more, there is a tool that should help me out.

troyrogers

05-05-2003, 05:12 PM

If only AF would do away with that horrendous time picker. I LIKE drop-downs, guys. Let me choose which option I want!!!

Jacob

05-05-2003, 05:15 PM

Good review :D

After comparing PI4 and AF4 - there are just features in PI4 that I would never go to AF unless they implemented those features - and more.

quidproquo

05-05-2003, 05:24 PM

I've tried PI and Agenda Fusion. I feel that Agenda Fusion is a lot more flexible. However, the one thing (IMO) that Agenda Fusion is missing that PI has is the automatic saving of the personalized settings. If you hard reset your iPaq, you have to go back in and reset your personal settings one by one

I have to agree with this..... I like AF better, but anytime there is a hard reset, you have to reconfigure you color/preference settings. AF runs smoother... I have tried both and I have over 1,000 contacts and AF pulls them up more quickly. Also, AF has to cool Today screen that integrates you 2002 Today graphics.
As I understand it....AF 5.0 should be out soon and it is supposed to integrate Today Plugins into AF so you can use AF for everything - without ever going to your Today Screen plugins. :rock on dude!:

Doug Rausch

05-05-2003, 05:25 PM

Philip - great review, your gotcha is spot on, documentation is this program's weak spot. I've been using PI for about 7 months and I'm still finding features I didn't know existed, and I've been through the manuals twice (once with PI3 and now PI4).

Other than that fault PI is a great program. I recommend to folks that they try both PI and AF before buying one or the other, typically one program just "feels" better to an indivdual, for me that was PI. One feature I do wish that PI had that AF supports is support for linking web addresses to PI items, not a killer feature by any means but useful.

simzz1

05-05-2003, 05:41 PM

PI is nice, but I really like Agenda Fusion. Much faster than PI in my experience.

jmarkevich

05-05-2003, 06:32 PM

griph

05-05-2003, 07:22 PM

Nice article Philip - I have tried both Agenda Fusion and PI - I don't agree with many here that AF is better - but we are all entitled to our opinions. One aspect I would pickup on though is the comment regarding replacement of default PIM actions. This is entirely controllable and can be switched on or off from Control Panel/Advanced/Overirde System PIM shortcuts. You do need to soft reset to activate or deactivate this after selecting this option - but it is NOT a once only option at install.
I have no problem with the Manual - I have never needed to read it - I never do - I just love fiddling about and working out all the options myself - same when I buy a PDA - it is usually selfevident or is found soon enough.
The only thing I would like added to PIv4.01 is the ability to switch off the Task/Notes tabs - I don't use them - the search, Contacts and Calendar is all I need - I used to have a Palm V and the add on PIM allowed this to happen - so also you could scroll through the views you wanted by pressing an assigned button without having to worry about views you didn't want.

ikesler

05-05-2003, 07:52 PM

I have used PI extensively since I first got it around over a year ago. I had used AF before that and since then also........... in order to decide which really was better for ME....... since it is very much an individual thing.
Personally........ PI has blown away AF in almost every area........ the speed is as fast as AF without a doubt for me. AF seems faster becuase the screen might develop faster, BUT you cannot do anything until 2-3 seconds afterward......... so in reality, it is not use'ably' faster. At least not for me.
Both programs have advanced feature indeed, but PI has more, which I never think I will need but once I try them I get hooked. I never used journaling before, and now use it daily.
Alarm notes are a huge plus for me too.......
It might be true the docs aren't the most informative but the forums are a huge help, since they are very, very active over there.
Either way, nice review, great product.........
AF and PI are two examples of what Microsoft should have done in the first place!!!!

[Cruzer]

05-05-2003, 08:13 PM

Either way, nice review, great product.........
AF and PI are two examples of what Microsoft should have done in the first place!!!!

I disagree on that one. If MS done it in the first place, then Alex wouldn't
be making any money. Or any other 3rd party developer. I feel that MS
maybe should have done a little better job with the built in ones but like
what some people have said here. They don't need a feature rich PIM.
But i'm not one of those people, I need all the features and why I love
using PI. Great review and great job Alex..

RC

alex_kac

05-05-2003, 08:23 PM

Also remember...PI 4.1 is coming out fairly soon. We've got some MAJOR improvements to the program there in all areas. We've also found some places to speed up the UI considerably as well as making some major additions to the documentation since I know that's a bit of a sore point.

So just FYI - to keep some things in perspective. Oh, and when? I'm still working pretty hard on many things so I can't say.

onepieceman

05-05-2003, 08:28 PM

Great to hear a new release is on its way. Any clues as to what the new features are, or am I just going to have to be patient?

ombu

05-05-2003, 08:42 PM

Great to hear a new release is on its way. Any clues as to what the new features are, or am I just going to have to be patient?

Well, I've got no clues at all but when Alex says it's a major update ... :wink:

Deslock

05-05-2003, 08:51 PM

Also remember...PI 4.1 is coming out fairly soon. We've got some MAJOR improvements to the program there in all areas. We've also found some places to speed up the UI considerably...
Cool! Honestly, I stopped using PI and went back to the built-in PIM apps because PI (4.01) was slow on the 1910 (at 300 MHz).

I look forward to trying PI again.

Mr. Anonymous

05-05-2003, 09:09 PM

I've not been the biggest fan of PI in the past, but I have to admit that PI 4.0 is fantastic! It's the first version of PI that's stayed for more than a couple days on my Pocket PC. The UI feels radically faster and cleaned up from PI 3. Great work Alex!

Jonathon Watkins

05-05-2003, 09:25 PM

Well I bought PI recently and I have to say that I relaly enjoy using it. the speed could be a bit faster, but then again it always can, can't it?!. :wink:

Nice review and I learned several new ways of viewing my data & using PI. IO look forward to reading the new manual when it comes out. :D

onepieceman

05-05-2003, 10:07 PM

John C

05-05-2003, 10:23 PM

I also enjoy PI, but its usefuleness to me is limited by the fact that the contact and item links don't synchronize with Outlook. It doesn't do me a lot of good to be able to link things in PI if they don't show up in Outlook. So I use it occasionally, but more often than not just use Pocket Outlook.

Alex, any chance of synchronizing links???

John

onepieceman

05-05-2003, 10:39 PM

Alex, any chance of synchronizing links???

John

I second that. And on the offchance that Alex is short of ideas on how to improve PI, how about...

a) Synchronising Notes categories with Outlook notes categories (they're separate at the moment)
b) More view options for Notes, particularly sorting, but also colour coding etc.
c) A view for journal entries, rather than the existing dialog which can't be managed easily.

I'll stop there. Don't get me wrong. PI4 is my favourite app on the PocketPC. That's why I want it even better.

ctmagnus

05-05-2003, 10:47 PM

Unless I need to do extensive data entry, I use PI exclusively to enter info into Outlook. Except for journal entries, but that's only because I don't use the journal enough to justify buying Journal Sync.

fwiw, I started using the in-built ( :D I love using that phrase :D) pim apps, then tried AF for a while and finally settled on PI.

jmarkevich

05-06-2003, 12:39 AM

That's odd. I haven't found performance to be a problem. What am I doing right? (There again, I started with version 4.0, so maybe that's it).
It isn't that I have a fast machine (206MHz XDA), and it isn't that I haven't got any contacts.
Now, if you want lousy performance, you should try using Microsoft Reader, but that's taking us off topic...

Yeek, yeah, or Acrobat Reader...

Anyway, back on topic. I also don't know what the complaint is about speed. The only time it's what I would call slow is when I'm listing the icons, and that was only when I upgraded to PPC2002.

It's an iPaq 3650 too, so it's not hot hardware either...

pro_worm

05-06-2003, 12:51 AM

Uber-Off-topic

By many accounts, the 3600 series is still faster than anything released since. And it has a bigger screen :D

I love my iPAQ :twisted:

iPaqDude

05-06-2003, 02:21 AM

Well, I have been using PI on my iPaq 3630 since version 2.0... and haven't looked back. The couple of times I have had to reload my software (due more to MS problems than anything else...) PI is the first app loaded. I have gotten to depend on it.

Performance? Like I said, I have this on an older 3630, and it performs great.

Alex and crew - keep up the most excellent work.

bbarker

05-06-2003, 03:01 AM

]
Either way, nice review, great product.........
AF and PI are two examples of what Microsoft should have done in the first place!!!!

I disagree on that one. If MS done it in the first place, then Alex wouldn't
be making any money. Or any other 3rd party developer. I feel that MS
maybe should have done a little better job with the built in ones but like
what some people have said here. They don't need a feature rich PIM.
But i'm not one of those people, I need all the features and why I love
using PI. Great review and great job Alex..

RC
When I saw the review I knew this would be an active thread. :D

I have tried both PI and AF, several versions back. At the time both were way too slow for me, although I'm sure they are much faster now. I haven't really found the need for a full PIM replacement. I tried them to just get a few features: A Week view similar to the one in Outlook (not the Work Week)
The ability to specify Task reminders by time of day, as in Outlook
More of Outlook's Snooze choices on alarms (such as .5 days, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days, etc., or customizable)Those are the main ones. If I could get just those features in a compact program -- or if MS would include them in Pocket PC 2003 -- I would be pretty happy.

whydidnt

05-06-2003, 05:27 AM

Excellent Review....

I have always been an AF user, that dabbled with PI. However, unitl release 4.0 PI was too slow. Now PI is as fast as AF, IMO. I like the PI interface better and was all set to use it as my primary PIM, but I have suffered through regular, daily crashes with PI on my PPCPE. Back to AF for me. Hopefully 4.1 will fix the crashes for me.

John C

05-06-2003, 05:46 AM

I second that. And on the offchance that Alex is short of ideas on how to improve PI, how about...

a) Synchronising Notes categories with Outlook notes categories (they're separate at the moment)
b) More view options for Notes, particularly sorting, but also colour coding etc.
c) A view for journal entries, rather than the existing dialog which can't be managed easily.

I'll stop there. Don't get me wrong. PI4 is my favourite app on the PocketPC. That's why I want it even better.

I agree completely, onepieceman! Go Alex, go alex, go alex...

Philip Colmer

05-06-2003, 09:36 AM

One aspect I would pickup on though is the comment regarding replacement of default PIM actions. This is entirely controllable and can be switched on or off from Control Panel/Advanced/Overirde System PIM shortcuts. You do need to soft reset to activate or deactivate this after selecting this option - but it is NOT a once only option at install.
Thank you for that, although even with your tip, I still had to hunt for it! This is a setting that alters the behaviour of the PIM, so why isn't it in Options? Instead, it is hanging off a menu and, I must admit, I didn't check that menu too closely once I saw it mentioning "clean up data" and "XML" :-)

The menu option doesn't get ticked either, which suggests that once you choose the option, you have overridden the system PIM shortcuts for good. As you point out, though, this isn't the case. Developers really do need to think about how the behaviour of their user interface affects the thinking of users!

Alex might want to move the option to a more prominent and logical place in the UI, and sort out the way the setting of the option is displayed to the user.

--Philip

Philip Colmer

05-06-2003, 10:10 AM

One of the first attractions for me to PI was month view with icons. It wasn't mentioned at all here.
I'm not quite sure which feature you mean here. Do you mean the ability to assign icons to different categories, or a different feature?

If the former, then there is a brief mention of the icon manager under the installation section. It says that it allows you to assign icons to the categories.

If you mean a different feature, please expand on what I've missed out.

That, plus the fisheye zoom-in view would be an impressive screenshot.
Figure 5 in the review.

Plus, the filters are EXTREMELY useful... I noticed you were using them to show sample data on your PDA, but you didn't indicate how they work.

Alarm notes are a unique feature over Pocket Outlook...

There's a lot that wasn't shown here, and even *I* discovered them without the documentation.
Reviews don't always cover every aspect of every feature. I accept that I've omitted to mention some of the features that others might find useful or that are unique over the built-in applications. However, I do state in the conclusions that I haven't covered everything and some of the reasons why.

--Philip

onepieceman

05-06-2003, 12:34 PM

but I have suffered through regular, daily crashes with PI on my PPCPE.

I've found that the crashes only occur in low memory situations. I think it is just that PI doesn't check it has enough memory before it tries to do various things. I have invariably found that if I free up enough memory, PI works with no problems at all. 5MB free or so generally does the trick.

thomas1973

05-06-2003, 01:08 PM

One of the first attractions for me to PI was month view with icons. It wasn't mentioned at all here.
I'm not quite sure which feature you mean here. Do you mean the ability to assign icons to different categories, or a different feature?

If the former, then there is a brief mention of the icon manager under the installation section. It says that it allows you to assign icons to the categories.

If you mean a different feature, please expand on what I've missed out.

--Philip
You can also assign icons to each appointment (or task), but it's hidden under the tap&hold menu for an item -> 'Tools>' and then 'Attach icon...'. This displays icons in the My Doucuments\WebIS\Icons folder.

Appearantly it's hidden away here, as Alex can't get it to work perfectly. I've had no problems, though, and love this feature!

I'd also like to point out the color customization in PI. You refer to different colors for busy/free time in the calendar and so on. I think every color you see in PI is customizable, and you can use ANY of the 65.000 colors available (not just the normal 20 or so colors) to give your PI a unique style.

I found PI as I was looking for a PIM replacement after moving from the Palm platform (loved Datebk3 and 4!), and was trying to choose between PI and AF. At this time, PI4 came out, and made the choice easy! After PI4.01 came out, and now the 4.1 beta, I knew I made the right choice!

I'll have to mention the PI user forum, too. It's really helpful, from solving problems, to getting user tips, to keeping up with (and maybe influence) the further development of PI!

Thomas.

Unreal32

05-06-2003, 01:36 PM

If only AF would do away with that horrendous time picker. I LIKE drop-downs, guys. Let me choose which option I want!!!

That was also my main reason for dropping AF. Now that I'm in PI, though, I love being able to multi-select. Also, I didn't think I'd use hierarchical tasks, but I do now! :)

BD1

05-06-2003, 04:31 PM

griph

05-06-2003, 06:36 PM

Thank you for that, although even with your tip, I still had to hunt for it! This is a setting that alters the behaviour of the PIM, so why isn't it in Options? Instead, it is hanging off a menu and, I must admit, I didn't check that menu too closely once I saw it mentioning "clean up data" and "XML" :-)
--Philip

No problem - as PI has a hammer icon I am never quite sure what to call it - settings, control panel, options etc. Sorry if I was unclear in calling it the 'Control Panel'. I would agree that it could be better placed - but - as I have never read the Manual - I think I did OK in finding it! :-)

griph

05-06-2003, 06:45 PM

One of the first attractions for me to PI was month view with icons. It wasn't mentioned at all here. That, plus the fisheye zoom-in view would be an impressive screenshot.
Plus, the filters are EXTREMELY useful... I noticed you were using them to show sample data on your PDA, but you didn't indicate how they work.
Alarm notes are a unique feature over Pocket Outlook...
There's a lot that wasn't shown here, and even *I* discovered them without the documentation.

I guess if everything was to be included it would be easier to just download the PI Manual - as a review I think it was a good one - and having done a review myself in the dim and distant - albeit on a Psion Programme - it is not an easy thing to do, and can appreciate what it took to do it. Thanks must go to Philip for making time and effort to do the review.

griph

05-06-2003, 07:08 PM

I also like PI but have not upgraded to 4.01. I sent a request to PI to fix the problem you outlined in Figure 2 of your review (great review BTW).

The full day view in PI does not show as much information as the standard day view. If you want to look at the full day and you have meetings that are less than an hour then the PI view is misleading.

It is a small item in many ways but it is annoying that PI cannot do the same things as pocket outlook.

But way more annoying is I never heard back from PI if this was going to be added (or not). I have heard PI provides pretty good customer support but maybe they are getting too many users to provide good support.

Did you send in your query using the support functions on their web site at http://www.pocketinformant.com/support.php or did you email it directly? There are also support forums on http://www.pocketinformant.com/Forums/ that you can register and communicate upon.

I have had no problems with support - and have always found Alex and Co very user friendly - I guess it is possible for some to slip through - but would STRONGLY recommend you use the support systems in place.

I would also suggest that you try PI4.01 - the day view is highly configurable to show slots of varying sizes. There is an appointment bar on the top that allows you to see the whole day with the main view being scrollable to show details. I have just tried it and an event of less than one hour does show in both Poutlook and PI4.01 day views - can you clarify what else you mean if I have missed the point.

BD1

05-06-2003, 09:09 PM

Here is the specific issue pointed out in the review:

"Interestingly, in the example shown above, the built-in application manages to convey slightly more information than PI - the size of the blue rectangles show that the first meeting is only 30 minutes long, and the last meeting finishes at 4:30. PI can show this information if you choose to display the day view in 30 minute segments, but then you can't see the whole working day on the screen at once. As with most things, the choice is yours. "

I did submit this issue to PI using their support form. Nothing. Dead silence. Again it is not the biggest issue but everyone talks about the great response from PI but that has not been my experience.

griph

05-07-2003, 08:11 AM

Here is the specific issue pointed out in the review:

I did submit this issue to PI using their support form. Nothing. Dead silence. Again it is not the biggest issue but everyone talks about the great response from PI but that has not been my experience.

OK thanks for the clarification. I have to admit to rarely using the Day View - preferring the Agenda (List) and Month Views - PI does show 11 hours without scrolling - and more than covers a working day (for me) - but there are so many improvements - over the original I know I could not go back!

It would probably be worth taking such issues up with PI again - a single failed response (assuming they got the original message and it wasnt lost in the ether) doesn't indicate poor support. There are a great many satisfied customers and I am one of them.

jsanfordii

05-07-2003, 12:02 PM

thomas1973

05-07-2003, 01:03 PM

I bought the software based on a similiar review a couple of months ago, and have been very happy with it.

I do wish the docs were more complete. I've read them a few times, and still haven't managed to figure out all of the goodies.

The Hier. tasks are neat, but man did I have to hunt and peck to figure out they could only be used in a certain view.

I still can't figure out what to use templates for
- Take a look here: http://www.pocketinformant.com/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=710

I still haven't figured out all there is on the calendar.
- Me neither :D

I understand there is a good way to back up these settings, etc. I haven't figured that out either.
- Find and copy your WebISsettings.reg file from your PPC to your desktop.

The good news is that I'm always learning something new with the software, and the Contacts replacement is amazing. Once I figure out all of the goodies in the Calender, I bet it's just as amazing.

James
You should find a lot of answers and tips at the PI forum's 'Pocket Informant Discussion' (http://www.pocketinformant.com/Forums/viewforum.php?f=2) and in the 'User Posted Hints' (http://www.pocketinformant.com/Forums/viewforum.php?f=14). Enjoy!

Thomas.

jsanfordii

05-07-2003, 03:11 PM

You're the man! Thanks...

I do go to their forums, but between this, my other hobbies (flying), and my real job and family, I can only process so much. :roll:

Perhaps it's time to add more RAM or an additional processor! 8O
James

05-08-2003, 02:41 PM

If only AF would do away with that horrendous time picker. I LIKE drop-downs, guys. Let me choose which option I want!!!

Me too.

Emike

05-11-2003, 06:37 AM

I am an E740 owner that had used PI since the 3.X days. I had recently upgraded to the latest 4.X version when I decided to give AF a try. My reason for the change up has to do with speed or more appropriately responsiveness. I am very appreciative of the number of really amazing features that PI has managed to push into its program, but for me it has pushed to the performance to features ratio too far. What I really wanted was a PIM that was quicker and for that I would scarifice some of the more fancy features. The MS included PIM is fast but it is inadequate for me in that it lacks a month view with icons.
I once read a palm article that related the usefulness of a pda to its responsiveness. It stated that 2 seconds was the magical number for accessing PIM information. Anything more than that reduced the likelyhood of a user continuing to use their pda for anything other than a paperweight. I do a lot of different things with my pda, but its primarily use is as a PIM. Everything else is nice, but PIM is certainly the defining task. I have of late considered going back to Palm due to my lack of enthusiam over my PDA's responsiveness. Since I spent most of my time using PI, I decided to change this program for AF to see if that made a difference in my perception of the E740's responsiveness.
I am pleased to report that I am feeling better about the 740 now and am less likely to go to the dark side (palm). The reason is simple. I perceive Agenda Fusion to be more responsive than PI. I did a quick test to see which of the two programs came up fastest. With a fresh reset, I timed opening the month calendar view with icons for both programs. I realize that this is not scientific, but it should be representative. PI took 6 seconds and AF took 3. I personally feel that at least for the moment, AF has made the right choices in the performance to features ratio.

pcause

05-12-2003, 10:04 PM

I have been using various PIMs since the 8086 PC days. I find that PI is the best I've ever tried. It has all the features one would want, but the key feature is that it is so customizable. The thing about a PIM is that it is *personal* and with PI I can do things like turn off icons, and set so many options I can basically get a PIM that is almost what I'd have designed.

I've used PI since the 2.x days, and now with Heirarchical tasks and the various Month views and contatc options, it is close to everything I can want. Alex adds stuff at an incredible rate and he is almost always the standard that others copy.

It seems the one knock that people have on PI vs AF is speed. Maybe that was once the case, but not any more. They are close enough to equal in speed that the other capabilities make PI the clear leader.