Product Reviews

Organizer is one of those apps that since its inception has attracted a loyal following. The main app is divided into sections: Calendar, To-do, Address Calls, Planner, Notepad and Anniversary. Clearly, Lotus feels that this is what users want as there are few changes from the previous version. This contrasts with Microsoft, which was lumbered with the inadequate Schedule+, replaced by ever improved versions of Outlook.

Organizer can be installed in two configurations. First, as a standalone PIM, which can be accessed by other users over a network, or as an integrated front end for a Notes/Domino groupware and messaging setup. The latter wasn't tested, but any IT managers using Notes should be aware that Organizer is now fully up to speed in the calendaring and scheduling department.

If used as a network PIM, a file can be set up with three levels of permission: Owner, Assistant and Reader. Owners can do anything to the file; Assistants can change schedules and preferences, but can't see items marked as confidential; and Readers can simply examine the file, again with no access to confidential items. It's not a group working solution, but it's useful for checking other team members' availability or contact lists, as long as all the users in a department keep their Organizer files on a server or in a shared folder.

The Calendar is as well thought out as ever, with an excellent Day Per Page view which, as well as showing appointments, also lists Calls to be made and to-dos for the relevant day at the top of each page. Annoyingly, although you can create appointments easily in this view, neither double-clicking nor right-clicking allows the insertion of Task or Call events: you need to access the Create menu or click an icon to perform this function.

The Notes section can be used as a project centre. Files from any OLE 2-compliant app can be embedded in pages, and Organizer acts as a container, with menus from the relevant

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app activated when the object is clicked on, or as icons that can be clicked to launch the relevant app. The former works, but because of the tall, thin format of Notes pages in-place editing doesn't really work - it's better to embed icons. Unfortunately, icons are automatically labelled with the document type rather than filename, so to create a meaningful page to manage a project you must manually rename the icons.

Alternatively, you can create links between a page and one or more files - or even other entries within the Organizer file. This is easy to set up and robust, but as the link icon (a chain) carries no visual clue as to what it links to you have to click on it each time just to see the various links available to activate.

Where Organizer really falls down is in the oversimplicity of its Address database, which has a fraction of the fields available to Outlook users. Also, by default, they have less meaningful names: Tel1 and Tel2 aren't as useful as Business Phone and Home Phone. You can change labels manually, but it's time-consuming. Also, there aren't enough fields for the average user to store full contact details. My database has up to eight numbers for a contact: switchboard and extension, direct line, mobile, switchboard fax, direct fax, home phone and fax and so on, and Organizer can't cope. It's a shame, as it's faster, simpler and has a better range of screen viewing options than Outlook.

Organizer is adequately Web-enabled, allowing links to be created simply. It also links to various almanac and zip code-type databases of US origin. Sadly, this is of little use to European users.

Enhancements to this version include improved communication with PDAs and a new 'smart' clipboard called EasyClip. If you're working on another document and your Organizer file isn't open but you want to add a Task, right-click the EasyClip icon in the System Tray, select Create Task and it will insert it into your Org file without having to open it. This is very useful, and you can now view multiple calendars simultaneously if you wish to view other team members' diaries to plan a meeting.

Organizer is still an easy-to-use program that will continue to delight its fans. However, the adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' seems to have been over-zealously applied. While Outlook improves in each incarnation, Organizer plods on with little innovation. To maintain its lead into the next millennium it needs a radical overhaul of the address book and deeper integration into the Windows environment.