Remote Computing

The electronic markup is quite handy, but enotate’s existing freehand drawing tools left it looking a bit primitive, much like the “digital napkin” analogy Informal uses in its promotional literature. Informal’s vice president of marketing, Steve Magidson, mentioned that better drawing tools, such as circles, boxes and the like, may very well be added in upcoming releases. Their goal is not to compete with established Palm drawing programs, such as TealPaint (from TealPoint Software), since those are Palm-based. Instead, enotate is geared for adding these pen-based drawing features to your Windows programs, as a simple and useful extension of your PC.

Okay, how does it do this? First, you place your Palm Organizer in its HotSync cradle, and make sure the HotSync Manager is running. Next, launch enotate on both the desktop and the Palm. The desktop enotate program displays a red dashed box, which represents the display area of the Palm. Whatever you write on the Palm immediately gets transmitted and reproduced on the desktop in real-time within the red box. Then, all you do is use enotate’s simple tools to mark up the file. It also integrates with and utilizes MS Word’s and PowerPoint’s built-in “autoshape” drawing tools, so the added graphic elements are native to the document format for complete compatibility. Within these supported applications, enotate adds a separate pull-down menu with its commands. For recipients of enotated files,Word and PowerPoint macros are included, so they can clear the annotations if desired.

• Enotate sports a number of useful features:
• Five pen thicknesses
• Seven colors for the markup pen
• Zoomed views
• Multiple levels of undo and redo
• Integration with your existing MAPI-enabled e-mail program, so it can send an enotated file as an attachment to a new message
• Separate foreground and background layers, so you can edit or delete the foreground annotations, while still preserving the original background file
• Import filters for JPEG, DIB, BMP, TIFF and PCX graphic files.

Currently, enotate only integrates with MS Word and PowerPoint (Office 97/2000 suites), with no Corel Office Suite support yet. However, Informal is actively exploring integration suggestions from the user community. Therefore, if you want to see Corel integration, your best bet is to register your vote at: http://www.informal.com/contacts/forms/newapp.htm. Excel is most likely the next program to be integrated, to round out the MS suite support.

Enotate Version 1.12 also does not support the Handspring Visor because of its native USB port, even if one is using a serial cradle. However, Informal is planning to add Visor support in the near future.

While I found enotate quite intriguing, there are a number of things that just left me wanting more. It takes a bit of extra effort to size and position the red box to cover just the right amount of workspace. You can expand the box to cover more of the document or slide, but at the expense of zooming out. The Palm screen doesn’t always get refreshed with changes made in the desktop application, prompting you to have to do a short “drag” to move the red box, which forces it to refresh the Palm display.

Version 1.12 only exports marked up files as either a .jpg or its native proprietary format, an .ldf file. One drawback in this release is that the JPEG compression percentage is preset. While it produces smartly compact JPEG image files perfect for e-mail attachments, Informal would do well to include the standard JPEG compression slide bar in the “export” dialog box. This would enable the user to choose the desired balance between small-but-grainy vs. higher quality JPEG images.

It also seems a little clunky having to write on the handheld while it’s attached in the cradle. But unless one has an optional HotSync cable from Palm Computing, this is a limitation of the Palm platform itself, not enotate. For this reason, Informal is looking ahead to leverage Bluetooth and other wireless strategies.

With any luck, enotate could evolve into much more as the “fourth peripheral” to your PC (alongside the monitor, keyboard and mouse). When wireless options like Bluetooth are fully integrated into Palms and laptops, it’s not hard to imagine using your Palm as a wireless remote control during slideshows, freeing you to walk around the room as you proceed through a presentation, advancing slides using the Palm scroll buttons and circling items on the fly via the stylus.

But back to the present: Overall, for a “Version 1.0” attempt, Informal has a very innovative idea, and it works well with Word and PowerPoint. However, as mentioned, Corel Office Suite users are currently out of luck. Given the price tag and the existing limitations, one would do better to wait until the next version.

Palm connected organizer, IBM WorkPad, or TRG Pro, plus docking cradle or cable. Palm HotSync Manager 3.0 or higher. Windows 95/98/2000

$49.99

Reviewed by Jeff Beard, legal technologist, Quarles & Brady, LLP, Milwaukee, Wisc.

Aug/Sep '00 Issue

PROS
Adds fluid stylus input capabilities to MS Word, PowerPoint and its own standalone digital editor, as well as offering a new method for "paperless" collaboration. Annotation tools are basic but adequate.

CONS
Very limited application integration, although other applications are under consideration and development for future releases. Crude markup appearance makes it difficult to consider enotate for persuasive professional-looking documents and images, making it most appropriate as a collaboration tool during the drafting phase.

VERDICT
If you need simple Word and PowerPoint markup features, and like the natural feel of the stylus interface, enotate’s debut will deliver. But if you want presentation-quality markups, or use non-Microsoft applications, wait for the sequel.

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Updated 09/18/01
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