.KEYWORD agenda
.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE Agenda Today keeps your week in focus
.FEATURE
.SPOTLIGHT FIGALT pockettv-cover.gif
.SUMMARY Leave it to third party developers to do things the way they should have been done in the first place. James Rogers reviews Developer One’s Agenda Today, an excellent, feature-rich replacement for the built-in Today screen, Calendar, and Task applications.
.AUTHOR James Rogers
As all of us longtime Windows CE users know, the search for top-notch applications has been like roaming through a desert. While you might come across the occasional oasis, for the most part there’s nothing but sand and a lot of hot air. We have had to sit by and look enviously at all those Palm device users, with their devoted developers and tons of software running on a meager 20 Mhz. However, thanks to the fact Microsoft is finally listening to consumers and developers and providing a better platform, the appearance of quality software is now a much more frequent occurrence.
Developer One Software is one of the companies championing the cause of the Pocket PC. They were right there at the launch of the Pocket PC with some great tailor made applications, and they have continued releasing great software in the months since.
Their newest creation is the calendar and task viewer program, Agenda Today, found at http://www.developerone.com/pocketpc/agendatoday/. It provides a more useful seven-day calendar view, as well as a more functional Today screen overview of appointments and tasks. Buried underneath that surface, however, is one of the most powerful and feature-packed programs in the Pocket PC stable. The contest for the "killer app" just got a promising new contestant! Let’s take a look under the hood of this beauty, starting with the installation and initial set-up.
.H1 Installation and set-up
Like most commercially available Pocket PC software, the installation process is fairly simple and painless. Double clicking the setup file will prompt you to either view the users’ guide (which is in Adobe’s PDF Acrobat Reader format) or continue with the installation process. After either browsing the users’ guide or selecting "No" to skip right to the installation, you’re brought to the dialog boxes that will lead you through the setup process.
The only thing out of the ordinary is a screen that’ll ask you whether to install the main Agenda Today program, the Today Plug-In, or both. If you choose to install both components, be aware that the Pocket PC will go through two separate installation routines. Developer One has just recently released a new upgrade that adds one extra step to the setup process. After completely installing the original program, you must run another setup routine to install the upgrade. I expect Developer One will soon release this program with all the components included in one package.
Once the setup is complete, the program is ready to go. If you’re simply looking for a way to view your entire week at a glance, you’ve got it right out of the box, so to speak. If you’re looking for a more powerful way to view your daily schedule and tasks from the Today screen, once again, you’ve got it. This ease is part of the beauty of Agenda Today and is one of the reasons it has totally won me over. It has a ton of features, but if you don’t want all of them, they don’t get in the way. For the power-user, however, it can do just about anything you can think of. It can be exactly what you want it to be. With that said, let’s take a look at the 7-day agenda manager and all of its features.
.H1 Agenda Today’s 7-day agenda manager
The Agenda Today 7-day agenda manager corrects a glaring deficiency in the Pocket Outlook Calendar. In the Pocket Outlook Calendar, the standard week view does nothing but display blocks of time for appointments, forcing you to change views to see any specific information. I really hated this setup on the Palm-sized PC and had hoped that Microsoft would address this problem in the Pocket PC. Unfortunately, they did not, and the job was passed to third party developers.
Well, just as is the case with most "killer apps," Developer One designed the week view the way it should have been done in the first place. Just take a look at the difference for yourself. In Figure A, you see it done the old way.
.FIGPAIR A The Pocket Outlook Calendar does nothing but display blocks of time for appointments.
In Figure B, you see Agenda Today’s far more informative display.
.FIGPAIR B Agenda Today delivers a week view as it should be.
.H2 Display buttons
The screen is broken into seven boxes: six small overview boxes and one large box for a more comprehensive display. Each box has the day and date clearly displayed in the bottom right corner. Simply tapping on this icon allows you to view that particular day in the large box.
Most of the display buttons are very familiar. For the most part, the navigation buttons are the same as their Pocket Outlook counterparts, which makes for a short learning curve. The Outlook icons at the bottom left hand corner of the screen seem very self-explanatory. Tapping the Calendar and Task icons takes you to those respective programs. The hammer and funnel icons also have fairly intuitive meanings. The hammer leads to the Tools menu, and the funnel leads to the Categories menu pictured in Figure C.
.FIGPAIR C The funnel icon opens the Categories menu.
.H2 Drag and drop functionality
This is where we uncover the first of some very creative and useful surprises. By tapping and dragging the Task icon, you can easily create a new Task on any day displayed. Just drop the task icon on the appropriate day and fill in the heading, as shown in Figure D. Pretty cool, huh?
.FIGPAIR D Drag and drop the Task icon to create a new Task
Tapping and dragging the Calendar icon does the same thing, the only difference being that you can also set the general time range of the appointment with the drag and drop method. Just move the icon back and forth in the top half of the chosen day box to set the start time and in the bottom half for the ending time. This is demonstrated in Figure E.
.FIGPAIR E Drag and drop the Calendar icon to set an appointment.
If you need to move an appointment or task, you can just drag and drop it to another day. I found these features to be very inventive on the part of Developer One. The only problem I encountered in this process was a slight slowdown when tapping the OK button after entering new information. This is a very small thing, but I hope to see faster performance in later versions.
.H2 Tap and hold for menus
Just like its Pocket Outlook counterparts, Agenda Today also makes use of tap and hold menus. Tapping and holding on an appointment brings up a menu from which you can delete or beam a contact, as seen in Figure F.
.FIGPAIR F Tap and hold to open menus.
Selecting a task brings up the additional choice to copy or complete the task. I began testing an earlier version of this program that didn’t have these menus, meaning that any deleting or task completion had to be done from the respective applications. That limitation kept Agenda Today from being a legitimate stand-alone program. After using the program without this feature, I really appreciate what it brings to the table. While this one may not seem like a big deal, it really completes the package and makes Agenda Today a true replacement for both the Calendar and Task programs.
.H2 Information integration
Another great feature is the fact that all information is completely integrated with the built-in Calendar and Task applications. All new data you enter is visible in the original programs and synchronizess seamlessly with desktop Outlook. This eliminates both the possibility for confusion and the need for double entries.
.H1 The tools menu
Now let’s get to the real meat of the viewer program: the tools menu. This is where the majority of the program’s features reside.
.H2 The Content tab
The Content tab controls the type of information displayed, the icons used, and the size of the upper and lower boxes. This screen is well thought out and is very easy to grasp. You just check the appropriate boxes for the types of appointments or tasks you want to see. It’s pictured in Figure G.
.FIGPAIR G The Content tab lets you edit the display.
There was only one snag. Enabling the use of category icons is simple enough: just check the box. Unfortunately, the process is not quite that simple. The 100 icons provided reside on the desktop, which is probably a kind of space saving measure. You have to unzip the icon file on the desktop and pick the ones you want to use. Then you have to create a new folder, rename the icons you want to use with the name of the associated category, and insert the folder into the My Documents folder in your Pocket PC. This process was a real pain and took a little while to get up and running.
Personally, I find having icons for categories isn’t worth the trouble. I think a lot of newer Pocket PC users will also be very intimidated by this process. To be fair to Developer One, however, this is a relatively new feature and it is pretty much just a little icing on the proverbial cake. I do like the fact that space on the device is saved. I would just like to see a little more automation here in a later version, if possible.
.H2 The Colors tab
The Colors tab controls all the use of colors and schemes on the 7-day agenda manager screen. It’s pictured in Figure H.
.FIGPAIR H The Colors tab lets you choose or create a color scheme.
Agenda Today comes pre-loaded with three schemes. The default is the original color scheme, the Midnight scheme has dark backgrounds with light text, and there’s a grayscale scheme for users of black and white devices, such as the Compaq Aero 1550. If you don’t like the pre-loaded one, creating your own schemes is very easy to do.
To adjust the background and text colors that you want, just tap the box and select a different color from the pallet. To save these changes, just tap the Schemes button at the top left of the screen. A dialog box asking if you want to save the current configuration will appear. Tap Yes and give it a name.
I found this to be a great way to create an individual look for the program. On the other hand, for those who don’t like tinkering with programs, there’s no need. Just stick to the pre-loaded schemes. This is another instance of Developer One meeting the needs of both the hands-off and hands-on user.
.H2 The Appointments tab
The Appointments tab, pictured in Figure I, controls the range of times available for new appointment creation and the handling of past appointments.
.FIGPAIR I The Appointments tab controls the range of appointment times.
Simply set the start and end times you want for drag and drop appointment creation. By checking the box just below, you can allow for creation on half-hour times as well. Just be aware that, while having a large time range is handy, it can make it more difficult on small screen real estate. I found it best to keep the range confined to the time of day when you make the most appointments.
The checkboxes at the bottom of the screen select the way in which past appointments for the current day appear on the screen. You can use italic, strikethrough, or both.
.H2 The Week View tab
The Week View tab allows you to choose the day of the week that gets displayed in the top box. While most people will simply choose either Sunday or Monday, it’s nice to have the option of any day you like. You can also choose what happens after a user-defined period of inactivity. Once again, you can customize this to your exact liking. The Week View tab is pictured in Figure J.
.FIGPAIR J The Week View tab lets you select the day that goes in the top box.
.H2 The Layout tab
The Layout tab, seen in Figure K, simply gives you the choice between two different ways of laying out the days of the week. You can either list the smaller boxes in vertical or horizontal order.
.FIGPAIR K The Layout tab lets you customize the way the boxes are arranged.
.H2 The Time Status tab
The Time Status tab, pictured in Figure L, allows you to enable one of Agenda Today’s cooler features.
.FIGPAIR L The Time Status tab lets you configure the Time Status bar.
The Time Status bar appears at the bottom of each day box and gives a visual representation of your workday. You can see examples in Figure M.
.FIGPAIR M The Time Status bar gives a visual representation of your workday.
The right-hand bar represents 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. The left-hand bar shows 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Unfortunately, you can’t change the time parameters of the bar to reflect different working times. Truthfully, I don’t find this to be a big deal. Except for those that work the night shift, most people’s work schedule will fall somewhere in or close to this range. I personally see this feature as a cool way to visualize how busy you are during the day, since graphics can be a powerful way of quickly conveying information.
.H2 The More tab
The More tab, shown in Figure N, gives you access to three nice little additions.
.FIGPAIR N Additional options are found on the More tab.
The first box will match the color of icons to the color of the text. This is helpful for viewing when using dark background colors, such as the Midnight color scheme. The second box enables the display of International Standards Organization week numbers. Finally, box number three puts launch icons for the Today screen, Contacts, Inbox, Notes, and Internet Explorer on the bottom toolbar, as seen in Figure O.
.FIGPAIR O Launch icons can be placed in the bottom toolbar.
These nice little additions help to point out the great attention to detail Developer One puts in its software.
.H2 The Menu Add-In tab
The Menu Add-In tab, pictured in Figure P, allows you to decide whether or not to add an Agenda Today link to the Tools menu of the Calendar, Contact, and Task applications.
.FIGPAIR P The Menu Add-In tab lets you add Agenda Today links to menus.
Selecting any of these boxes will put an Agenda Today link in both the Tools and tap and hold menus of the selected program. Just remember to tap the Update button. From there, you might be prompted to soft-reset your device for the choices to take effect.
.H1 Conclusion
With all the great features built into Agenda Today, I think you’ll find it a valuable addition to your Pocket PC.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on Agenda Today, visit http://www.developerone.com/pocketpc/agendatoday/.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO James Rogers is an HP Jornada 545 and Jornada 548 user interested in productivity, organization, and system enhancements for the Pocket PC.
