PackRat Pro - Feb/Mar '98

PackRat Pro

At one time, this product owned the PIM market, at least in the legal industry. PackRat 4.1 was great at capturing information and tracking relationships and tasks over time. The interface was simple and easy to use. Novices could get running quickly while advanced users could shoot information out to other applications. However, the company released the ill-fated version 5 upgrade, a buggy product that never worked and drove its users away. But apparently the company has come back from the brink and just released PackRat Pro.

This new version has revamped the interface and solved the problems that plagued PackRat 5. The PackRat Pro interface consists of 13 Desktops (tabs) aligned near the top of the screen. They are the: Phone Book, Phone Log, To Do list, Agenda, Day View, Financial, Month View, Alerts, Index Cards, Global, Docu-ments, Resources, and the Time Manager. Most of these modules were present in the old version. Click on the Phone Book Desktop and you see the Phone Book Manager, Contacts List and a Commitments chart. Any of these objects can be moved, resized or deleted. You can add new items to any desktop by right-clicking. The switch to the Windows 95 operating system has helped smooth the transition from PackRat 4.1 to PackRat Pro. Experienced users will finally feel at home with this product.

Detailed information can be kept about each of your contacts. Business and home addresses are nice to have in any PIM, but PackRat Pro pushes the envelope, allowing up to 10 addresses including business, home, shipping, company, P.O. Box and vacation. You can also have multiple phone numbers for each entry with standard or custom labels. You can enter e-mail and Web addresses, but not as hyperlinks.

The calendar in Packrat is accessed using the Day View or Month View desktop. You can make your calendar any size and customize the screen to your liking. Set alarms for any of your appointments. You can reschedule (snooze) any alarm and it will advise how many times you have procrastinated on the item in question. This can be an effective motivator.

Polaris Software
(760) 735-2300

By Michael Jimmerson

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

Pros: PackRat's customizable interface provides a truly personal PIM.

Cons: The customizable interface also could encourage excessive futzing and tweaking.

Verdict: The conversion problems that killed PackRat 5 have apparently been solved. Files created under PackRat 4.1 were converted quickly and without errors. Control over the interface is nice, but could lead to excessive futzing. Better to focus on the information rather than the process. Still, this upgrade is terrific. If there are any old PackRat users out there, they should give PackRat Pro a whirl. Advanced users that are looking for a PIM that can be customized for their purposes should also look at Packrat Pro.