Now Up-To-Date 1.51 - Feb/Mar '98

Now Up-To-Date 1.51

This unpretentious little Personal Information Manager offers some great features. The core of Up-To-Date is its calendar feature. The clean, easy-to-use interface includes a toolbar with pop-up hints. The toolbar allows you to do almost anything within the program. This is a critical feature because you can't enter a new task in the calendar by simply clicking and then typing. However, right mouse button support is nicely done in the program. Clicking on the right mouse button brings up a menu with choices for the task (new meeting, appointment, to-do or call). A large pane includes all your to-do items. Priorities can be set for any to-do item, but are limited to high, medium or low.

On a surface level, Up-To-Date's phone book is very basic. Essentially, the phone book is just a spreadsheet for entering names, phone numbers and addresses. However, the detail behind each entry is effectively implemented. You can enter multiple addresses (home or business, etc.) for a person. Additionally, several phone number options (home, business, fax, etc.) are included.

Gathering and distributing information is easily accomplished in Up-To-Date. Both PaperPort and CardScan can be used along with the program to capture scanned documents or to gather information from business cards.

A really nice feature of this program is that you can take the information in Up-To-Date and publish it on the Web using the enhanced version of Up-To-Date Web Publisher ($299). This provides a convenient way to share your information with other users. Up-To-Date also works in a networked environment, another way to easily share your information with other users. Information can be marked as public or private, which provides a way to protect confidential information.

Editor's Note: Eudora Planner will soon be replacing Now Up-To-Date. It will be a similar program with some new features. Now Up-To-Date will continue to be available for Macintosh users.

Qualcomm Inc.
(800) 2-EUDORA

By Michael Jimmerson

From the Shopper's Guide to Personal Information Managers - Feb/Mar '98

Pros: Now Up-To-Date has the ability to post information to the Web.

Cons: Up-To-Date has an almost entirely toolbar driven interface.

Verdict: If you operate in far flung groups (e.g. litigation teams) and want a way to coordinate a calendar across the Web, this is the product to use. But advanced users seeking a PIM with powerful features will likely be disappointed.