With today's
announcement of the availability of PlanPlus For Windows XP 4.0, I thought it
appropriate to do another review.
Since the first
release of TabletPlanner, the folks at FranklinCovey have done a fantastic job
of continually improving this product. The newest version, renamed to PlanPlus
For Windows XP 4.0 (PPW), is no exception. Don't confuse this name with PlanPlus
For Outlook. They are separate products.
I've been beta
testing PPW since the initial beta release in early April. I've also been using
and beta testing the PPW product since TabletPlanner 2.0. I'll briefly go over
the overall system, but spend most of my time on the new features.
PlanPlus for Windows
costs $99.95 for new users, and $49.95 for users upgrading from TabletPlanner
or FPS (Franklin Planning System).
Overview
PPW is a complete
planning and notebook organizer system built from the ground up as a pen-enabled
application.
The application
has the following high-level features:
- The FranklinCovey
time management system: Mission / Value, Goals, and Weekly Planning, Weekly
Compass, Daily Notes, and Task Management.
- Sync tasks,
appointments, and contacts with Outlook or Exchange. Also sync with Outlook
for Web Access
- Print anything
to the PPW virtual printer for storage in their eBinder notebook. After printing,
you can then mark the page up.
- Ink and type
notes on notepages, daily notes, tasks, or contacts.
- Search ink
and text in your notes, tasks, and daily notes, and text that exists in documents
printed to the eBinder.
- Import and export
notes, calendar items, contacts to .pli files for sharing with others.
- The ability
to apply custom skins.
New
Features
Look
and Feel
FranklinCovey put a new skin on PPW. You can still adjust the look and feel,
color scheme, and logo.
Palm
Sync
Not only can PPW sync with Outlook, it can now sync with your Palm. For those
users who don't use Outlook, this is a fantastic enhancement.
On the Palm device,
you also get two new applications: Daily Record and Task List.
When installing
PlanPlus for Palm OS, pay attention to the setup instructions. Make sure you
choose the correct synchronization method for the way you have been syncing
your Palm in the past. Choosing the right synchronization method will help avoid
duplication of data. If there is any doubt, choose Desktop overrides Handheld.
Also, make sure you sync your Palm before installing the PlanPlus for Palm OS.
When syncing, I
found the process to be slower than normal. I look for this get improved as
this feature matures some more.
Tabs
The tabs are now located on the right side of the screen. You can now password
protect tabs, hide unneeded ones, or delete them all with a right click of the
pen.
Folder
tree navigation
After people got a glimpse of GoBinder, one of the requested items to add a
similar tree structure view of the folders. FranklinCovey listened and added
it. It makes navigation the folders much easier.
To view your eBinder
folders in this manner, just click on the Arrow next to the top level folder
name.
Hyperlinks
As requested by many of us on the 'Buzz, you now have the ability to create
hyperlinks in your notes. You can hyperlink to webpages and local files on your
computer.
Unfortunately,
there is not a browse to button to navigate to a file on your computer. However,
there is a workaround: open up explorer and navigate to the file. Then copy
the address from your explorer window and paste it in to the Address field.
There will be a service pack coming out to address this issue.
Note
Pages
Longer and Wider
I'm one of those note takers that like to write all my notes on one page. I
was very happy to see them add the ability to increase the width and length
of the page on the fly, even for pages that have been printed using the virtual
printer. This is great for those of use who like to mark up printed pages and
make notes below or to the right of the printed margin.
To increase the
width / height of the page, click on the red right or down arrow at the bottom
of the note.
Page Navigation
The page navigation has also been greatly improved. All the page numbers show
in a tab format across the bottom for quicker navigation to the page you want
to go to. Gone are the days of holding down the right arrow for 15 seconds to
get to page 40 of your notes.
Differences
between GoBinder 1.0 and PlanPlus For Windows XP 4.0
With the release
of GoBinder earlier this year, this is a question that will get raised a lot.
The products are very similar. In fact, they are built on the same foundation
of code.
Where they differ
is who they are designed for: PPW strength is its' built around the FranklinCovey
time management system and that has huge advantages for people who like that
system. GoBinder is targeted toward students and thus its tabs are geared toward
that. Both can be modified to remove the uniqueness of each system.
I've tried GoBinder
and PPW. Frankly, I like PPW's task management system better.
My suggestion:
download both and try them out. BTW: PPW has some extra features that GoBinder
1.0 doesn't….see if you can find them.
Improvements
still needed
Quicker pen selection to most used pens / highlighters
Audio recording
Task categorization
Converting selected ink or text to a task / appointment / contact.
Save As feature to save .pli exports to be backward compatible
Linking notes to contacts
Syncing to Pocket PC
Overall
impression
I've been extremely impressed with FranklinCovey's commitment to this product.
It is seen in the quality of this upgrade. To me, it still offers the best inking
experience and storage capability of the Tablet PC note taking systems. They
read our comments at the 'Buzz and they are continually looking for feedback.
Lets' continue to give it to them.
Buzz Meter: 4.5 out of 5
PlanPlus
for Windows is available for purchase from Franklin Covey's web-site. Cost is
$99.95 for new users, and $49.95 for users upgrading from TabletPlanner or FPS
(Franklin Planning System).
Homepage
for the PlanPlus family of products -
www.franklincovey.com/planplus
Homepage for PlanPlus for Windows XP -
www.franklincovey.com/planplus/xp
