Best "calendar" or daily organizer software?

[brewhunny]

Since I am conditioned to organizing my day with Outlook, I have been very disappointed with the Clie To Do list. Ideally, I would like to have the Clie standard To Do list for my long-term things to do. But for the little daily things, it would be great if in the calendar with the appointments you could have a daily to do list, and if you didn't check things off, the would go automatically to the next day.

I have tried setting due dates with the To Do items, but it just doesn't seem to deliver.

Are there any good software programs any of you are using that would accomplish an "Outlook" style of organizing?

[gadgetguru63]

Try Agendus at iambic.com. There is a split view under the single
day view that shows your meetings and to do list.

[wellsjs]

Originally posted by gadgetguru63
Try Agendus at iambic.com. There is a split view under the single day view that shows your meetings and to do list. I second that motion! :)

[Chatbox]

I third that motion! :D

[JC2K]

My vote goes for DateBk5 (http://www.pimlicosoftware.com/datebk5.htm). The handling of To Do items in this application is excellent. Flexibility is unsurpassed and there are many other enhancements above and beyond the standard calendar and todo applications.

Agendus and DateBk5 are similar apps with functionality geared towards slightly different audiences. Both are nice, but DateBk5 fits my needs perfectly.

Recommend that you demo both to see which one fits you better. Agendus has a 30 day trial and DateBk5 has a 45 day trial, so you should be able to get a feel for the functionality in that time frame.

Hope this helps!

[Galley_SimRacer]

Agendus, all the way! While you're at it, dump Outlook and get the desktop version as well! :)

[Narniahopper]

I use Datebook 5 and love it. It has my endorsement.

[sindu]

agendus....

[rollcage]

DateBk5 definately, Split View for ToDo's and Floating events (this is what you are essentially asking for in your post).

[pusfarm]

My vote goes for DateBk5.  I'm not sure it does all that you ask [I'm sure it does not keep a ToDo database separate and apart from the system DB], but it's a well-supported, well documented program.

I also have a long-standing beef with Agendus and its name-challenged predecessors.  I've given it fair shots when each of the last few versions have come out, mainly because it supports tiny hi-res fonts in all [?] its views.  But every time it takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to go from one day to the next and list my ToDos.  Yes, I have a very long list and maybe its the tiny fonts slowing things down, but DB5 handles the list quickly and neatly.

From a different perspective, you'd be either helping a charity by purchasing DB5 or supporting dubious business practices with Agendus.  In either case, they're both robust PIMs that do more than you'll probably need.  In the end, it's just a matter of preference.

You may want to look into something like Bonsai for your ToDos since you can selectively link entries to the system ToDo list.

[wnm]

Agendus. It's very good. I also need to self justify my purcahsing it.

[Tixx]

Originally posted by wnm
Agendus. It's very good. I also need to self justify my purcahsing it.

:)

Though I vote for Datebk 5 myself.

[zipman]

Agendus is what I use and it fits my needs perfectly.

[brisa]

I read this thread about an hour ago and decided to try datebook5. They have a free 45 day trial. I thought that I wouldn't pay for a calendar when I already have the standard one. Well after about 30 minutes with datebook5, I am registering it. When it loaded up on my screen with all my info on it I was sold! It really looks like an excellent program and one well worth the money! I have never tried Agendus, so can't give any advice about it. I would recommend you give the trials a try and see which one suits you best. I recommend datebook5!

[exiii]

As rollcage said, DateBK5 does EXACTLY what you mentioned. But then Agendus might also - it's been a long time since I tried it. I just don't like the contact-centric way of doing things, but you might like it.

When I was demoing them both, DateBK 5 seemed to be much more customizable, but a lot of people call it bloated. For my datebook, I don't really mind the bloat if it does what I want it to do. DateBK 5 does.

I also need to self-justify my purchase. LOL.

[Unregistered]

For those of you that are using DateBk5 right now, hopefully you can help with a few questions i have of it.

1. The standard to-do app that comes from the factory has the ability to list to-do's by Category. The to-do's in DateBk5 have the option of selecting which category you want them in, but can you list only one category at a time? I really like that feature, and would be able to view them by category independently.
My to-do lists to get pretty large, and it's just too much to have to look at all of them at once.

2. When you are using the split view (to-do list and appointments), is there anyway to permanently have your to-do's show up in the top section? I connstantly have to click on the little "s" or "h" at the top of the appointment listing to get them to show up. Seems this happens whether they are dated or not.

Any thoughts?

[tanker_bob]

I don't need to self-justify anything--Datebk5 all the way! :)

Datebk5 is the best calendar app by far, and a better contact manager than even Agendus. Datebk5 will do exactly what you want, and futher will allow you to set todos to appear your specified number of days in advance. Try it for 45 days and you'll never look back.

A more sophisticated todo-type manager is Shadow Plan. It works with hierarchies of todos and has very powerful features. You might give it a try.

[ttsquared]

DateBk4 and now DateBk5 for me.

[kidfixer]

Datebook 5 - I use it all day.

[Dish]

Originally posted by Unregistered
2. When you are using the split view (to-do list and appointments), is there anyway to permanently have your to-do's show up in the top section? I connstantly have to click on the little "s" or "h" at the top of the appointment listing to get them to show up. Seems this happens whether they are dated or not.

Any thoughts?

I use floating events much more often than I use To Dos and they are at the top of the screen, above the schedule. Don't know if that helps you any, though. The only time I use To Do is when I need to do something every x days or weeks from the time it's checked off, like donate blood or have the oil in my truck changed. Otherwise, floating events seem to work more like I think "to do" should.

[wellsjs]

DateBk5 and Agendus are both excellent choices. Like launchers, the ultimate choice is subjectively personal. I think most of us are putting "our mouths where our money is!" :eek: :D

[rolando]

Originally posted by Unregistered
1. The standard to-do app that comes from the factory has the ability to list to-do's by Category. The to-do's in DateBk5 have the option of selecting which category you want them in, but can you list only one category at a time? I really like that feature, and would be able to view them by category independently.
My to-do lists to get pretty large, and it's just too much to have to look at all of them at once.

2. When you are using the split view (to-do list and appointments), is there anyway to permanently have your to-do's show up in the top section? I connstantly have to click on the little "s" or "h" at the top of the appointment listing to get them to show up. Seems this happens whether they are dated or not.

Any thoughts?

1. You can view one, some, or all categories at the same time. Also, you can create different, saved views to show only the categories that you want.

2. Pressing the ToDo button over and over again, will cycle between calendar, split screen, and full screen todos. This is assuming that you have, in Preferences>Views, the ToDo button set to "3" Of course, only the ToDo categories that you have set to show up will show up.

Rolando

[Caleb_pearson]

I have tried both datebook5 and agendus, both do everything that you origionally wanted, so to clerify agendus does do all that dbk5 does. anyways, I liked agendus much much more than dbk5, much cleaner, nicer lookign, and easy to use. anyways, check out the new today view on agendus, it's great!

[tanker_bob]

Originally posted by Caleb_pearson
I have tried both datebook5 and agendus, both do everything that you origionally wanted, so to clerify agendus does do all that dbk5 does. anyways, I liked agendus much much more than dbk5, much cleaner, nicer lookign, and easy to use. anyways, check out the new today view on agendus, it's great!
While I respect your opinion on your personal preference, in fact Agendus doesn't do a fraction of what Datebk5 does. A few examples are custom saved views, list view functions (printing to memos, etc.), editing directly in day view, linking multiple contacts/memos/todos to one appointment, et al. Regardless of which interface you prefer, Agendus doesn't come close to touching Datebk5 in features or power.

[Unregistered]

rolando and Dish - Thanks so much for your thoughts. I'll try out floating events and see if that's more what I want to do.

rolando - I'll have to play around with it some more and see if I can figure it out. What I want to do is have the split screen view, and be able to view the to-do items based on category.

I've yet to try Agendus, I think I may download that in another few weeks and give that a shot. Then register whichever one is more appealing. Agendus seems more "frilly" than what i want though - function is all i'm after :)

Guess I'll take a minute and register on the boards now :)

[rolando]

When you are in the split screen view (whether or not the ToDos are showing full screen or actual split screen), you can tap&hold on the little "down arrow" icon in the upper left of the screen. This will popup a list of all of the ToDo categories. At that time you can choose just one or all categories.

If you want to do any multiple selects on categories, use the ToDo Categories option in the menu (or the /2 command stroke).

I never really change categories much. I just have them in different categories, but I pretty much have all the categies displayed at the same time.

Take care,

Roland

[NewClie4Me]

I must agree with wellsjs... and isn't it nice to have two great calendar apps to choose between! Though I registered Agendus via some special offer that came with my T615C, I ended up ditching it for DateBk5. Can't give hard and fast reasons... just a gut reaction. :cool:

Originally posted by wellsjs
DateBk5 and Agendus are both excellent choices. Like launchers, the ultimate choice is subjectively personal. I think most of us are putting "our mouths where our money is!" :eek: :D


-Cindy

[exiii]

Originally posted by wellsjs
DateBk5 and Agendus are both excellent choices. Like launchers, the ultimate choice is subjectively personal. I think most of us are putting "our mouths where our money is!" :eek: :D Or maybe we bought what we liked best and have no problem recommending it to others.

[wnm]

Originally posted by wellsjs
DateBk5 and Agendus are both excellent choices. Like launchers, the ultimate choice is subjectively personal. I think most of us are putting "our mouths where our money is!" :eek: :D

Probably to a point. I got Agendus for free via a Handango $40 free software offer that came with my T665. If it had been DB5 I would have gotten that. However, I have no reservations about recommending Agendus to others, as I think it is an excellent program.

[Bill Veik]

DateBook 5 combined with ToDoPlus works excellent, especially if you like working with ToDo's to begin with.

ToDoPlus adds capabilities found in Agendus or DateBook, but puts the capabilites in ToDo (alarms, repeat items by day, week, month, 15th of the month, every other week, etc). You simply set the software to automatically generate a new item when the old item is checked off. Items that you want to set as floating can be left in Agendus or Datebk5, and those software programs can be set to show you views of the ToDo's

[RNclie]

Just a question. Please, no one take offense. Do you all really need and use all the advanced features of these programs to make it worth the $25.00? I just use the built in datebook and todo aps and get by just fine. I like using nice programs like everyone - just got Megaclock and love it - but think we all get caught up in the marketing too much and give away too much of our money too easy just to have the "latest" cool app. Just wondering.......

[Tixx]

Originally posted by RNclie
Just a question. Please, no one take offense. Do you all really need and use all the advanced features of these programs to make it worth the $25.00? I just use the built in datebook and todo aps and get by just fine. I like using nice programs like everyone - just got Megaclock and love it - but think we all get caught up in the marketing too much and give away too much of our money too easy just to have the "latest" cool app. Just wondering.......

I would actually say that 1) It is quite subjective, and 2) I would bet more people here would say that purchasing MegaClock is a greater waste of money vs. purchasing Datebk 5 or Agendus.

[Tixx]

Originally posted by Bill Veik
DateBook 5 combined with ToDoPlus works excellent, especially if you like working with ToDo's to begin with.

ToDoPlus adds capabilities found in Agendus or DateBook, but puts the capabilites in ToDo (alarms, repeat items by day, week, month, 15th of the month, every other week, etc). You simply set the software to automatically generate a new item when the old item is checked off. Items that you want to set as floating can be left in Agendus or Datebk5, and those software programs can be set to show you views of the ToDo's
Seems redundant.

[Anita]

***Do you all really need and use all the advanced features of these programs to make it worth the $25.00?

I think it depends on how you use your Clie. It was sure worth it to me to be able just to have tiny fonts, to see more information about to-dos and appointments for more days on my screen when I'm scheduling phone call appointments. And the tabbed contacts list is wonderful - saves writing in contact names to find them.

Truthfully, I didn't even sync to-dos in the past and only used the built-in datebook and contacts files as mobile versions of what's on my PC. With Agendus (which is what I use), I'm now actively using the datebook and to-do programs. I still have the PC controlling contacts - but they're easier to find now on the Clie.

Anita

[RNclie]

Originally posted by Tixx


I would actually say that 1) It is quite subjective, and 2) I would bet more people here would say that purchasing MegaClock is a greater waste of money vs. purchasing Datebk 5 or Agendus.

Saying it is subjective is quite obvious - thats why I asked the question, hoping to get some intelligent responses.

[Tixx]

Originally posted by RNclie


Saying it is subjective is quite obvious - thats why I asked the question, hoping to get some intelligent responses.

I'm glad it is obvious as it did not seem like it was obvious to you in the original post. Since it is so subjective what the hell kind of answers do you expect?

"Do you all really need and use all the advanced features of these programs to make it worth the $25.00?"

Yes, most of them and it is one of the top 3 software apps that I have purchased over the past 5 years. Worth every penny.:) How is that?

[RNclie]

Well, since Anita gave a much more detailed response to my question about the "features" that she uses and if it is worth the money, I would say that is what I expected Mr. Tixx. How's that? :)

[Dish]

RNClie,

I use DateBk5 and have for nearly two and a half years. Even though I don't use all its features, it was worth the money to me. I particularly like the floating events, which I use a lot more often than ToDos. I also like the flexibility when setting repeats.

I can set icons for different types of events so that when I look at monthly view, I can still have some idea what events are scheduled for each day. Categories (whether it's for events or address book entries) can be color-coded, so my friends are listed in my address book in a different color than my work contacts are.

If you are happy with the built-in programs, that's great. I wanted more flexibility and more features, so I tried DateBk. It didn't take long for me to decide to register it, either.

[cass_m]

Just having the different day views made Datebk worth the money to me. It was included with the Visor and I got used to using the floats and the list view. I won't use the time zone stuff probably but how often does everyone use all aspects of a program?

[RNclie]

Originally posted by Dish
RNClie,

I use DateBk5 and have for nearly two and a half years. Even though I don't use all its features, it was worth the money to me. I particularly like the floating events, which I use a lot more often than ToDos. I also like the flexibility when setting repeats.

I can set icons for different types of events so that when I look at monthly view, I can still have some idea what events are scheduled for each day. Categories (whether it's for events or address book entries) can be color-coded, so my friends are listed in my address book in a different color than my work contacts are.

If you are happy with the built-in programs, that's great. I wanted more flexibility and more features, so I tried DateBk. It didn't take long for me to decide to register it, either.

I like the idea of the icon choices for the monthly view, that would make it much easier to tell what the event is at a glance. What exactly do you mean by floating events? And does it take up a lot of memory? Thanks for the feedback.

[Bill Veik]

Floating events are undated events that appear usually at the top of the datebook display (depending on the program/settings).

They are just appointments/events that have no specific date or time. They automatically roll forward to the next day in the datebook if no action is taken on them. This prevents you from having to go in and move each one forward to the following day manually.