Pocket PC Software | Software Reviews

DeveloperOne - Agenda Plus Pack
Written by Upton Au  [author's bio]  [read 22509 times]
Edited by Derek

   

The Buzz: A dual application alternative PIM solution
Developer: DeveloperOne
Availability: www.developerone.com for all Pocket PC’s
Price: $39.95
Separately: $29.95 for Agenda One, $19.95 for Task View

Editor’s Rating: 4.5 / 5

The Agenda Plus Pack from Developer One is a suite of two programs, Agenda Today, and Taskview. Both are available separately, but are less expensive as part of the bundle. The .exe unpacks all necessary components after the download and installs two installers in the PC Windows Start menu for the two programs and a third desktop component with links to the User’s Guide,Developer One’s website, and a zip file containing supplementary images to go with different Categories in Agenda One. Both applications have to been installed separately, but other than that, they are very straight forward.

TaskView

TaskView is a simple program that places a complete task list on the Today screen. The red icon to the left allows the user to enter a new task, and then automatically closes Tasks when the user is finished. The red box with the check mark, the blue icon, and the orange icon with the red exclamation point show the number of unfinished tasks, the number of tasks for the current day, and the number of high priority tasks respectively. The funnel allows the user to display tasks of either all or a single category. The arrows allow the user to scroll through their task list if it is too long to fit into the allotted space on the Today screen. What I found odd about the listing order is that you have to check Reverse Order under TaskView Options in Today Settings to have the most recent tasks displayed first.

Under the TaskView Options, one can customize Content, Icons, and Colors.Under Content, one can choose the number of tasks displayed, which tasks to display, and primary and secondary sorting criteria for listing tasks. In the next Options screen, one can check off which status icons to display. In Colors, the color of the text for Past Due, Starting, Future, Undated, and Completed tasks can be selected from the palette of 64 colors, or the default colors can be restored.

Agenda One ver. 3.01

Designed to be an all-inclusive interface to Pocket PC’s PIM functions and applications, Agenda One is most simply explained as a Week In a Glance, with the present day at the top followed by two columns of the following days under it. Under the Pocket PC Start Menu bar are controls to navigate by month, week, and day. The toolbar at the bottom is uncluttered, and displays the Calendar and Tasks icons by default, as well as a hammer, a funnel, and the Developer One logo over at the far right.

Although the interface seems simple enough, its simplicity doesn’t come at the expense of a wealth of features and settings to accommodate the tastes of the user. A unique feature is the ability to drag and drop appointments and tasks from one day to another. Keeping the consistency of moving appointments and tasks is the ability to simply tap and hold on either the Calendar and Task icon on the toolbar, and drag it to the desired day. Upon letting go, one is prompted to enter the information in the respective Pocket PC application. After clicking OK, the Pocket PC application is automatically closed to preserve Program RAM. When dragging the Calendar icon, the time frame of the appointment can also be set by varying where in a day’s rectangle the user places the icon.

The funnel on the toolbar allows Appointments and Tasks of either an individual category or from all categories to be displayed, making it simpler to track records pertaining to different projects or subjects.Clicking the hammer presents the Agenda Today settings, which one navigates by selecting a tab on the Windows CE 2.11 style scrolling toolbar. Settings are available for Content, Colors, Appointments, Week View, Layout, Time Status, More, Menu Add-in, and finally, an About screen for Agenda Today. Under Content, one can check off what they want displayed, how many lines for each box, and which status icons to use for their records. In Colors, one can pick or create their own scheme for the Week View from a palette of 64 colors. Backgrounds, different boxes, and the text color for various items can be tweaked to one’s liking. Under Appointments, one can select Start and End times for creating a new appointment, the creation of half-hour time slots, and whether to use Italic or Strike though styles of text for past appointments (wouldn’t want to set ourselves up for reviewing reports during the after-hours, would we?). Under Weekly View, one can select the first day of their week, and whether to place either the current day or the first day of the week in the top box after a certain amount of time. In Layout, one can choose between two layouts for the seven days of the week. Within Time Status, one can set Agenda Today to use status bars to allow for an instant reference of the times in which appointments are scheduled between 6 AM and 6 PM. Under More, one can select whether to implement several options: 1) match the icon color with that of the item’s text to ensure visibility 2) show week numbers according to the International Standards Organization 3) show PIM application launch buttons. In Menu Add-in, one can choose whether to add a link to Agenda Today in the Calendar, Contacts, or Tasks applications.

For easy access to Agenda Today, Developer One provides a Today screen plug-in, which has a shortcut to Agenda One, the week number, the drag and drop Calendar and Task icons, and then icons for ‘back to Today’, settings, and arrows to navigate back and forth through the days. When the date being displayed isn’t the present one, the date is displayed next to the week number. Underneath, one sees the box containing Appointments and Tasks for the current day. The plug-in essentially shows the appropriate box from the WeekView on the Today screen. When using Agenda One, I opt to install the plug-in as well, as it allows for drag and drop functionality when Agenda One isn’t running and serves to replace Pocket Outlook’s upcoming appointments and tasks boxes, the latter of which I find to be an utter waste of space regardless.

An Integrated Solution?

The Agenda Plus Pack is yet another instance where Developer One shows its attention to detail and willingness to incorporate requested features into an continually evolving product. The only task I can think of that seems impossible in Agenda One is moving a task or appointment from the presently displayed week to another week since the program lacks the ‘cut and paste’ option in the tap and hold menu. Whether that was an oversight or an intentional sacrifice for a simplified and clean interface, Agenda One and its accompanying Today screen plug-in compliment each other very well in that essential data and base implementations of the main application are present where the user needs them and the shortcut to Agenda One conveniently places the more powerful PIM operations within a stylus tap’s reach.

TaskView, on the other hand, while well suited to serve its purpose, lacks integration with Agenda One and only interacts with the Tasks application although packaged with and intended to be used with Agenda One in the bundle. Furthermore, the only benefit it offers over the Agenda One Today screen plug-in is the ability to display tasks of different statuses. When more detail regarding past tasks or future ones is needed, tapping the tasks icon in Agenda One at once opens the Tasks application itself, which would fulfill that need. Unlike Agenda One, TaskView offers little functionality for its price and isn’t necessary for powerful and intuitive PIM functions. While Agenda One is only $10 more expensive, its benefits to the user far outweigh the extra cost. For those who need what Agenda One offers, I would confidently recommend it. I wouldn’t recommend buying the Agenda Plus Pack since I feel that the $10 more over the price of Agenda One alone, is still too expensive to pay simply for the addition of the TaskView application. In terms of usability, robustness, and organizational abilities however, the Agenda Plus Pack, or more specifically, Agenda One, are among the best.

Back to Software Reviews | [Article Index]