Generic data organizer- does it exist?!!

[fabutech]

I'm on the way to my 3rd clie now (nx80 is in the mail :cool: ) so I got no hardware worries BUT I am still looking for a VERY simple and VERY useful utility that I haven't seen since my first PDA- a vintage 1990's Sharp Zaurus(?!)

What's missing is the ability to create a 'folder' where you can dump any bunch of contacts, todos, memos, etc. that you want to keep together. I particularly miss the folders when travelling- for travel contacts, flight & car info, directions, shopping lists, ... you get the pic, eh??

Maybe I missed something at PalmGear, Handango, ... or maybe there's something about Palm OS which make this a lot harder than it seems... or maybe this isn't as useful a function as I think... ?? :confused: RSVP, non??

[fyve_witches]

the most basic solution would be to use categories.

fw

[fabutech]

well i guess categories are the same idea... only as far as i know there's no way to define a category you can use for contacts AND appts AND todos AND memos, right??

if i'm missing something please lemme know... thanks.

[fyve_witches]

No I don't think you are missing something. There may be such features in the PIM apps such as Agendus or Datebk5, I don't know, I don't use them. However your question has got me thinking about a feature request for FindHack... to be able to search by category.

fw

[hherbzilla]

Originally posted by fabutech
What's missing is the ability to create a 'folder' where you can dump any bunch of contacts, todos, memos, etc. that you want to keep together ... you get the pic, eh?? Actually, I still don't get the picture. The first thing that came to my mind is Meteor (http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?productType=2&optionId=1_1_2&jid=12A6587X9D3B516C7BC54136B8B48F44&platformId=1&siteId=1&productId=17617&sectionId=0&catalog=1&txtSearch=meteor), but I'm guessing you're talking about something else when you say "folder." Can you explain it differently because I'm curious. Thanks.
http://www.handango.com/pictures/77829/160.GIF

[fabutech]

Originally posted by hherbzilla
Actually, I still don't get the picture. The first thing that came to my mind is METEOR but I'm guessing you're talking about something else when you say "folder." Can you explain it differently because I'm curious. Thanks.


heck, if someone's willing to listen, I'm sure willing to talk :D

okay, first of all thanks for the Meteor tip- I checked it out, and it's not quite there: it lets you create all the folders you want, but only lets you put memos into them.

I call them 'folders' since that what they were called on my cutting edge 1MB monochrome Zaurus organizer ;). There were a fixed number of these 'folders' available, and they were really, really simple: all you could do was give them a name, and then drop in as many appointments, contacts, memos, etc. you wanted.

I guess these folders are kinda like super-categories: imagine creating a category in ONE place that showed up on ALL the currently separate category lists: for memos, todos, etc...

Here's an (idealized) example.: I see a folder/category called "Ben & Jen's Wedding" with the following inside:

Contacts: airline, hotel, pharmacist, friends in LA...
Appointments: flights, lunches, massages, ...
Memos: travel checklist, directions to the Four Seasons, ..
ToDos: shopping, making phone calls, clipping nosehairs...
Pictures and Videos I took with my nx80...
'Plucked' web pages from People.com...
...

I hope this makes things clearer, but I guess that's for you to judge?? in any case, thanks for listenin'!

[fyve_witches]

Originally posted by fabutech
I guess these folders are kinda like super-categories: imagine creating a category in ONE place that showed up on ALL the currently separate category lists: for memos, todos, etc...

So what could do the trick for you is something like Slap.... but the other way round, a kind of BackSlap :D

http://www.handshigh.com/html/slap.html

fw

[mitz009]

I would suggest Arranger, because it links beautifully with the built in programs. You can create a file called "Ben/Jen's Wedding" or whatever, then pull in your contacts, appointments, memos and todo's. I think it will do what you're looking for. You can also link to third party apps like DateBk5 or ToDo +.

Henry

[Griff]

I'd suggest checking out Shadow Plan (http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?xyz=9066) from Code Jedi. It allows you to organize information in an outline/list which would be similar to your folders concept.

It also allows links to all of the built-in applications. So you could have a list as follows:

Contacts (links to all of the addressbook entries)
Appointments
...Flight to LA with link to DB
...Lunch w/ Groom wiith link to DB
...Wedding itself with link to DB
Memos (links to all of the memos associated with the wedding)
Tasks
...Shop with link to todo
...Call with link to todo
...Clip nosehairs with link to todo.

Above I suggest making one entry for the contacts and one for the memos and linking them all to that one entry. You could also break it out so you had:

Contacts
...Airline (w/ link)
...Hotel (w/link)
...Friends (w/link)
Memos
...Travel checklist (w/link) though I'd make this a sublist of tasks
...Directions (w/link)

Arranger is alright, but it's a bit old school for my tastes. Shadow plan also has a Desktop Companion (http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?xyz=13594) which makes it nice for managing long lists. The desktop can't view or set links, but it is nice for organizing what's going on.

[AcuraCL]

My first thought was Handbase. One master database with fields that link to other databases: the contacts, appointments, travel info, datebook, memos, whatever. There are so many such databases there already, in the Gallery at DDH software. All one need do is create the master database that links to all the separate ones.

[madmaxmedia]

It sounds like all he really needs to do is use a 3rd party PIM that allows categories for appointments.

Then suffer the agony of recreating the same categories for each PIM app (calendar, tasks, contacts, and memos).

I guess the one thing you wouldn't be able to do is browse a category and see all the records for it. You'd have to browse each PIM app one by one.

Hmm, this might not be a hard feature to implement in Agendus or Datebook, it would just be another view...you should email all the 3rd party PIM developers and suggest this feature.

[hherbzilla]

Originally posted by Griff
I'd suggest checking out Shadow Plan (http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?xyz=9066) from Code Jedi. Good suggestion. I checked out Arranger and it didn't impress me. Shadow can do this and much, much more.

[mitz009]

Arranger does a really good job of linking to the built in db's as I mentioned. Shadow, which I also like, is a lot more complex. From a pure linking standpoint, Arranger is much cleaner. One reason I say this is that Arranger always finds the Datebook links. Shadow uses two different approaches for links, one way to todo's and contacts and a different way to memo's and datebook items. Also, Shadow has had problems in the past finding all of my appointments and memo's. Shadow also uses tags, which expands the on the concept of categories, and gives you much more control over your views. As mentioned, Shadow also has a desktop component.

Shadow is alot more powerful overall; however, Arranger does what it does (linking to built-in db's and arranging the order of items) every bit as well or better than Shadow. Besides, it's only about 54k vs. over 300k with the latest alpha of Shadow.

If your interested in lots of options, particularly on the handheld, Shadow is your choice. If simplicity in the "Zen of Palm" mode is your goal (I hate that expression-sorry), I think Arranger is a better choice.

Unfortunately, people have a tendency to sell Arranger short sometimes...

Henry

[hherbzilla]

Originally posted by mitz009
Unfortunately, people have a tendency to sell Arranger short sometimes... You make a valid point. I think the takeaway here is one we've all heard before: Try the various apps out and see which one works best for YOU. Arranger will be spot-on for some but miss the mark for others.

[fabutech]

'backslap', huh? I like the idea- and the name! :D

haven't had time to fully research your generous suggestions, but some initial reactions:

Arranger: definitely the right idea- and appropriately small and simple- but 'old school' is right!... hasn't been updated since 2002 and it shows.

Shadowplan & Handbase: I'm sure they can do the job, but it would be pretty much dumbing down apps that were designed to do a whole lot more... reflected in their size and complexity (e.g. Arranger is just a fraction of their size)

3rd party PIMs, hacks, etc: These are promising too, but as a newbie round these parts I wonder how easy it is to get any of these guys to sling new code??

One thing I'm still curious about: do y'all think this is a useful project, or are you just taking pity on me? :p

Seriously- I dunno how 'polling' works formally, but just for a quick sanity check: is this a worthwhile endeavor- something you could see using yourselves??

[hherbzilla]

Originally posted by fabutech
Seriously- I dunno how 'polling' works formally, but just for a quick sanity check: is this a worthwhile endeavor- something you could see using yourselves?? Well, no. Now that I better understand what you're trying to do (a la Arranger), it's just not the way I operate.

[mitz009]

fabutech,

I think your endeavor is worthwhile. Absolutely. I felt the need for the same thing you are looking for, which is why I turned to Arranger. I tried Shadow for the same type of functionality, but I found that it didn't meet my needs in the area of linking and ease of use. Plus, I like a small footprint. I don't think Arranger is perfect, but there is really nothing else out there that will get you where you want to go as simply or cleanly.

Good luck in your search....

Henry