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PIToday was created originally as a personal project by Deje, a Pocket Informant enthusiast, who wanted more control from his today screen. But since then, it has been developed to professional standards, and has become one of the most popular PIM based Today screen plugins available.
I've been running version 1 since it was first released, and have found it invaluable, so I was delighted when Deje sent me a late beta of version 2 for review just a few days ahead of release. So, without further ado, lets take a look at just how far this program has come since the last update from not so long ago. For those who don't already run PIToday
PIToday is designed to be VERY closely integrated with Pocket Informant. Even in the earliest versions, it had direct links to all of the Pocket Informant views, used Pocket Informant category icons, and took you directly to Pocket Informant’s editors and dialogue boxes for individual tasks and appointments. Later, PIToday was able to automatically use Pocket Informant’s category and status colors, and was able to display its special icons, like those for links and alarms.
With this latest version, it is very obvious that the integration has been taken even further than I would have ever expected, to the extent that it really does feel like a natural extension of Pocket Informant itself. Users of Pocket Informant will feel totally at home!
That said, PIToday will run very happily if you don’t have Pocket Informant installed, alongside Pocket Outlook. Obviously some of the advanced features that come from the Pocket Informant code won’t run, such as linking, but that doesn’t limit the useability of the features that remain. In fact, PIToday will add a lot of functionality for Pocket Outlook users, such as some very advanced filtering, and category icons.
In particular I love the fact that Deje has not tried to make this a PIM in its own right. Instead he and his team of testers have obviously thought very hard about what should be in a Today plugin, and what is best left to an advanced PIM like Pocket Informant. One example of that is that there is no contacts view. Instead, there is a direct link to the contacts view in Pocket Informant or Pocket Outlook – why try to duplicate what already exists? So, let’s take a little tour
The basic layout of PIToday is very clean. It has a header bar that contains shortcuts to the Pocket Informant views (will take you to the equivalent Pocket Outlook views if you don’t have Pocket Informant), as well as an expand/collapse button so that you can hide all but the header bar if you need the space.
Below the header bar is an “agenda style” view of the days ahead. This shows either tasks or appointments, or both. Each item can be shown with category and attached icons from Pocket Informant, with a status indicator, a task completion box, a note icon (if an item has a note) and the Pocket Informant special icons. All of this is highly customizable, but we’ll come back to that later.
The basic view is deceptively simple, as with all the best Today plugins, but there’s a LOT of functionality hidden in there!
Overall the look of PIToday has had a serious overhaul, with new icons in menu’s etc, all of which gives it a very modern and professional feel. Why don’t we take a look in a little more detail
It’s impossible to cover everything a program like this has to offer in the space we have, so let’s concentrate on some of the more important features, paying particular attention to some of the new additions. Speed
OK, so not a feature in itself, but very important none the less. The Today screen is used by most people as a quick reference point, and so it’s very important that you don’t have to hang around waiting for information to show up.
The “old” PIToday was no slouch, but it would be true to say that some operations, like changing filters or loading after a soft reset, could take a few seconds. Sometimes it would also take a while (long enough to invoke the “wait please” spinner) for changes made in Pocket Informant or via Activesync to show up on the Today screen.
Happily in version 2, things have improved tremendously! With a full 31 days items shown, I found it impossible to get back to the Today screen before PIToday had refreshed, and Activesync changes appeared instantly.
The same is true when performing an action from the today screen itself, like marking a task as complete or deleting or editing an appointment.
Even changing complex filters took a maximum of one second! Filters
Filters in PIToday are extremely powerful. Not only can you select multiple categories, but you can also:
• Choose to include either appointments or tasks, or both in the filtering.
• Use the filter to show ONLY tasks (filtered), or ONLY appointments (filtered). Even if you have both appointments and tasks in a particular category, this feature lets you show only one or the other – very handy.
• Use AND/OR filtering.
• Have new categories you create automatically added to existing filters, or not as you prefer.
• Name and save up to 32 filter setups, and access them directly from the Today screen.
They really are exceptionally flexible, and act very much like custom views in Pocket Informant. Time Bar
The new time bar, displayed underneath the date line for each day, will be very familiar to users of Pocket Informant as it looks much like the one in Pocket Informant’s day view. It’s large enough to be very informative, with half hour increments, shows the current time, and is marked with the working day hours taken directly from Pocket Informant.
But best of all, it acts as a time picker to allow you to create a new appointment with times already set! Just by dragging the stylus across the bar, you will see a tool tip with a time range. Release the stylus, and the new appointment dialogue will open set to those times. It takes few goes to get used to, but once you do it is extremely intuitive.
The time bar can be turned on or off entirely, or you can decide to show it only for the current day if you prefer. Free Time Slots
Another way to add a new appointment has been added through the free time slot display. This feature will show free time as “false appointments” in-between your actual appointments. Tapping on any free time slot will create a new appointment in that slot, ready for you to enter the other details.
I found this to be a very motivating feature . It is difficult for me to look at a "free time slot" and not want to fill it.
As with most PIToday features you can turn this feature off if you want to, and can set it to either cover the full 24 hour day, or to limit itself to your working day as set in Pocket Informant. You can even change the text that’s displayed. Pocket Informant Integration
As I said earlier, users of Pocket Informant will feel VERY at home here. Just tap and hold on a task or appointment, and you’ll see a menu very much like the one you would in Pocket Informant, allowing you to:
• Access the various tabs of the Pocket Informant editor directly.
• Apply a Pocket Informant Template! This really is a fantastic addition, as for the first time ever it brings the power of templates to the Today screen! It is fantastically useful to be able to create a new appointment using either the time bar or a free time slot, and then apply a template to it to add categories, status and all the other goodies that a template can contain. Of course Pocket Informant’s template macros are also supported.
• Move the item to a different date.
• Search the subject. This feature will paste the subject text from an item into Pocket Informant’s search view, ready for you to search for similar items.
• Delete, duplicate, cut, copy and paste the item.
• Mark the item as private.
• Change the status or importance.
• Send the item via Infra red.
• Access options.
You choose to show Pocket Informant special icons like the links icon in two ways; either as individual icons in the subject line, or in a special container (which means a small pop-up window!). The latter method takes up a lot less room, and if you tap on an icon in the container, it will act just as it does in Pocket Informant, so tapping on the links icon will take you to the links editor!
Likewise tapping inside the notes window will now take you directly to the note editor. Date Picker
Version 2 adds a simple date picker to PIToday. This is accessed by tapping on any date header, and allows you to browse to any date you want to. Using this, you have quick access to historical as well as future data. You can also use the Picker to return to “Today”. Hide Tasks/Hide Appointments
PIToday has had a task and an appointment count in the header line of each day for a long time, but in version 2 you can tap on those to hide/unhide either tasks or appointments for that day. That, combined with the ability to hide and unhide tasks and appointments globally from a tap and hold and the way that filters can be changed instantly, negates the need for any kind of tabbed view. Automatic Filter Switching
Now this really is clever! You can have PIToday adjust it’s display automatically, based on the time of day and whether you are working or not!
Firstly it’s possible to have PIToday hide weekday tasks on the weekend, so you don’t have to be reminded how much you’d left undone on Friday, until you get back to work on Monday!
Secondly, you can specify which filter PIToday should use during working hours (as set in Pocket Informant), and which should be used in your own time. Using this, you can show all appointments along with work tasks during the working day, but have PIToday hide anything to do with work as you leave the office, and show the tasks your spouse has set for you to do when you get home!
This really is intelligent use of the Today screen – it would make little sense inside a full PIM, but in the quick reference environment of the Today screen it can be invaluable.
We’re running out of space!
There is a lot more I could say about PIToday, but on the assumption that it will come with a good manual as earlier versions did (this beta version had no manual included), I’ll leave it to you to find the rest.
In conclusion, I find it difficult to fault this software. If you are a Pocket Informant user, you will feel so at home that you’ll think Pocket Informant has had an instant and major upgrade. If you you use a different PIM, it will add many useful features. Either way, it is exactly what the Today screen was designed for! Pros
• Incredible Pocket Informant integration.
• Amazingly intelligent use of the Today screen – not an attempt to create a complete PIM, but an extremely clever compliment to one.
• Very fast.
• Small footprint (less than 500 kb).
• Fully skinable.
• Clean modern layout.
• Amazing flexibility and customizability. Cons
• I could only find one con for this baby. To use category icons with Pocket Outlook, you have to manually name them to match your categories, and save them in a folder you specify in options. Ideally PIToday needs its own category icon picker for those who use Pocket Outlook. Not an issue if you Pocket Informant, because it will use the icons you set up using that.
To conclude, I'll say this is an easy recommendation for me to make. If you like the features of a super PIM like Pocket Informant, with easy and quick access from the today screen, then this app is for you. And remember, the version I tested was only a beta copy! 8-)
This just in! DeJe has donated 10 copies of PIToday to Pocket PC addict to be given away in a contest!!! I'll work on putting one together and getting it running in a little while.
Check back soon! 8-)
What's the official release date of the final release, if any?
How do we subscribe to a thread update ? (now that I post I AM subscibed, but how to do it without posting ? is the question indeed).
Brad, may I suggest you use GIF images for screenshots. Even if there are many colors on the screen, if it's for program screen shots GIF result in smaller files AND they look much better.
JPEG files are optimized for photographs and give not so good results for apps screenshots which look "dirty".
Brad, may I suggest you use GIF images for screenshots. Even if there are many colors on the screen, if it's for program screen shots GIF result in smaller files AND they look much better.
JPEG files are optimized for photographs and give not so good results for apps screenshots which look "dirty".
:roll:
LOL! Is that the first review you've ever read? You're a veteran for goodness' sake!
Nice review man! Can't wait for the contest. . .
Nice review....I want to download a trial version...I don't currently have any Today plugins but I use PI all the time....This review has my mouth watering for a Today plugin now!
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OK, I'm going to break from the exuberant aura for a moment. I couldn't help but think about why I have a Today plug in to begin with. It was to track battery usage, memory, frequently used program icons, etc. I didn't see any mention of those capabilities for PIToday in the review. If you use any of the more popular today plug ins, you are only one tap away from the full PI version anyway. Maybe I not getting the picture but aren't we getting away from the original purpose of a today screen? If you are only a tap away from the full version, why would you do away with all the other useful info included in most plug ins? If I'm missing something, please let me know.
I think you are missing the point - the Today screen is a great one stop reference place for many people, and the sort of agenda view that PIT offers is very handy indeed. And why not just use PI? Well, because this way you can have info apropriate to day to day management of your life on the Today screen, and yet manage that data in a full featured PIM.
PIT doesn't have battery monitors etc, because, umm, it's not a battery monitor, any more than it's a weather plugin. If you want that info, you can still have it - PIT doesn't preclude that.
If you're happy with the standard Today plugins, fine, you don't need PIT. But I for one find it pointless to be told I have 27 tasks today, with no detailed info about them. That to me IS a waste of valuable Today screen space.
Sorry I haven't had time to answer all the questions here. But as far as why use it from your today screen? For me it's a matter of my Today screen being up and running 9/10ths of the time. I don't have Pocket Informant up and running, nearly as much as I have my Today screen front and center and with all the tasks and appts listed right there, well they are in my face, asking to be completed.
My point is you've gone to the other end of the spectrum by taking up all the valuable Today screen space with an app that you already have only a tap away. I leave PI loaded all the time anyway because I, like most people I'm sure, use this app religiously. Is it worth losing all that cool stuff on the Today screen (or at least I have a lot of cool stuff, SPB Pocket Plus, TAgenda, Owner Info X, etc), which includes references to tasks and appointments? I like being able to manage every aspect of the machine from one screen. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think you can do that on PIToday.
OOOOHHHH... I now see what you mean!
My screenshots above have PI Today running in full mode just to show how far you can go with it. Today, as well as every other day, I have the size of it limited to 118 pixels. So it only takes up 1/3 of my today screen real estate. For instance right now I have pocket plus running too. Sometimes I have Pocket Money up there too. but I don't like looking at the abysmal state of my accounts all the time :P
Well that makes a little more sense. If you can reduce the viewing area to a manageable size and still have visibility of other processes, it would have much more value.
Gotcha. Yes, you can limit the room it takes right down to one pixel if you want. You can also turn off many items of the display and adjust fonts etc to get as much info as possible into the space you HAVE allocated to it.
Mark
OK. I downloaded it, tried it, and bought it. I'm a convert. This is an extremely useful add-on. I limited the upward screen space limit to 118 pixels and enabled the auto fold feature. I now have visibility of all tasks/appointments from PI and all the other helpful utilities I regularly use. Once I got past the screen hog issue, I found the utility to be most functional. Great product!!
My point is you've gone to the other end of the spectrum by taking up all the valuable Today screen space with an app that you already have only a tap away. I leave PI loaded all the time anyway because I, like most people I'm sure, use this app religiously. Is it worth losing all that cool stuff on the Today screen (or at least I have a lot of cool stuff, SPB Pocket Plus, TAgenda, Owner Info X, etc), which includes references to tasks and appointments? I like being able to manage every aspect of the machine from one screen. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think you can do that on PIToday.
I stirred up a hornet's nest on Tools about this topic so I'm just gonna be quiet now.
__________________ James Kendrick Microsoft MVP - Tablet PCwww.jkontherun.com Lockergnome contributor- Mobile Lifestyle...using mobile devices since they weighed 30 lbs.
OK. I downloaded it, tried it, and bought it. I'm a convert. This is an extremely useful add-on. I limited the upward screen space limit to 118 pixels and enabled the auto fold feature. I now have visibility of all tasks/appointments from PI and all the other helpful utilities I regularly use. Once I got past the screen hog issue, I found the utility to be most functional. Great product!!
Neat, glad you like it! And of course what you have there now is Version 1.2. You'll get a free upgrade to Version 2 (the one Brad reviewed) as soon as it's released in a couple of days.
__________________ James Kendrick Microsoft MVP - Tablet PCwww.jkontherun.com Lockergnome contributor- Mobile Lifestyle...using mobile devices since they weighed 30 lbs.
Interesting thread, James. Now I had the time to read it completely.
At least I know about the issues discussed there and tried to minimize it for PIToday V2.
Bk. you're still plugin free? Do you find yourself putting plugins on the Today screen from time to time just to make sure you're not missing anything only to remove them again later to get the speed back?
__________________ James Kendrick Microsoft MVP - Tablet PCwww.jkontherun.com Lockergnome contributor- Mobile Lifestyle...using mobile devices since they weighed 30 lbs.
Do you find yourself putting plugins on the Today screen from time to time just to make sure you're not missing anything only to remove them again later to get the speed back?
Nope....I haven't used a plugin since I removed them all.....(which is back when that thread started....June, I think?)
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Interesting. I have installed and then removed all sorts of Today plugins over the years, some because they caused issues, but most because I simply found I wasn't using them enough to be worth having - they were cool, but the novelty soon wore off!
But I've never ever noticed any significant slow down (except with Facelift installed, but that's a bit more than a plugin) with any, even on my old J548. I wonder what I'm doing right!!??
PIToday is the only one I've ever found that I'd call indespensable.
Currently I use that and iLauncher (see, I don't hate SBSH!) only.
Mark
I never looked at other launchers cause I am very satisfied with cLauncher.
Facelift I had in trial but it really hits performance. Same is for all the monitoring plugins. TBH I personally do not need an update for battery and memory for each volume every minute or so.
I use the battery and memory monitors in Wisbar Advance, which seem to have minimal impact, and which are always visible.
Do you have a link for cLauncher?
Anyone reading this review and wanting to get their hands on the goodies need wait no longer - version 2 has been released.
Just a couple of comments from the PIT forum already:
Quote:
Are we all really allowed to start using this "enjoy-thing"?!?... or is it just for some of you "special VIP PDA forces" something...it's so good....this is not a choice anymore...this is IT...pIT something....aaamaaazing.
Quote:
Wow, just installed the demo and is it ever fast
No waiting whatever when adding a new tasks or app't, or marking a task as complete, screen refresh is almost instantaneous.
Great job Deje, can't wait to try out some of the new features, but wanted to let you, and everyone else, know that the speed increase is unbelievable.
The Contest winners will be announced later today. I am not judging the contest. I am waiting for some impartial people to get back to me with the results.
Users of Pocket Informant will feel totally at home!
. It is difficult for me to look at a "free time slot" and not want to fill it. 
I'll work on putting one together and getting it running in a little while.
Linear Mode
