Lotus Organizer 6
- — 22 December, 1999 10:53
Organizer boasts a number of new Internet capabilities, including a Web tab that lets you organise favourite pages, and a feature that stores user IDs and passwords for sites that require login. When browsing with Microsoft Internet Explorer, you can click on a favourite site within Organizer, and the PIM will launch the site and automatically fill in your login information. You get the same functionality when you surf to a favourite site manually, so long as Organizer's running in the background. Within Netscape Navigator, however, you'll have to click an icon in the system tray to pop up Organizer's user ID and password information, and then use the clipboard to transfer it to the Web page - a cryptic process, but nominally better than keeping passwords straight without assistance.
Organizer now supports the latest versions of the iCalendar group scheduling and vCard electronic business card standards.
Another slick Organizer 6 feature, EasyClip, lets you capture content from Web pages to the Organizer Notepad as you surf. EasyClip, which resides in the System Tray, can capture information from any other application as well. It does a better job parsing dates than the Windows Clipboard does, so an appointment request clipped from an e-mail message can be added to your calendar with less work.
Organizer 6 can also publish your calendar and contacts for the Web in HTML; it even sets a regular schedule for republishing updated content. Unfortunately, Organizer can't publish the equally useful Planner data.
Lotus focused heavily on Web-savvy goodies in this upgrade, but didn't neglect to enhance the Organizer's more traditional PIM features. For starters, Organizer ships with a new version of Lotus SmartCenter, a utility that places a small strip of buttons along the edge of your screen to provide quick access to your calendar, Web site content, and more - a nice touch.
Organizer's Find feature now displays more information about matches (such as the section name) in resizable columns. And the new version lets you sort contacts by name, company, and other criteria. And for mobile users, Organizer's EasySync offers new integration with Palm devices.
Organizer 6's Web-centric tools and improved PIM features make for a welcome upgrade. At $100, Organizer 6 represents a good investment for new users and upgraders alike.
Lotus Organizer 6
Price: $100
Distributor: Lotus Development AustraliaPhone: (02) 9350 7700URL: www.lotus.com
