TeleMagic Enterprise - Feb/Mar '98

TeleMagic Enterprise

Telemagic is a contact management program heavily slanted toward a sales management environment. Most law offices will not find its features useful, although in the right context, it could be used effectively. The Enterprise version claims to provide a complete workgroup solution. Telemagic has an Activity Manager, Contact Manager and Screen Designer.

The Contact Manager is the central feature of TeleMagic and although powerful, it is cluttered and not very intuitive. The program crams too much information into too little space. Entering information is straightforward and not very fancy. The Contact Manager provides a history of activities relating to your contacts using the Activity Button. Notes can be entered throughout the program and the Stamp button can help create a log of phone calls.

The calendar in TeleMagic is capable and provides plenty of room for detail. Double-clicking on the calendar brings up the Activity entry form. You can switch between Daily, Weekly or Monthly views using the toolbar. Unfortunately, the toolbar does not have pop-up hints to reveal the function of the buttons. In fact, TeleMagic does not appear to be a 32-bit application. For example, the "x" box to exit out of the program and the window boxes are grayed out. Instead, you need to click on the "Door" icon on the toolbar (or use the Menu bar). Another problem with TeleMagic is that the display does not adjust if you have a higher resolution set on your monitor. The program seems to be a DOS program with a Windows front-end. You can use the Screen Designer to customize the program for your needs.

To-Do items can also be handled in TeleMagic. The program lets you assign a status to each item and delegate the item to others. If you use the To-Do screen to track projects, the Stamp button provides a way to note the date and time. You can link the information to any of your contacts.

TeleMagic does include group functions that allow multi-user access to the database. You can check for duplicate records to review edits. The program provides faxing capability as well as wireless messaging. TeleMagic can also link documents and contacts. TeleMagic has an API kit for customization and also provides links to DacEasy and Timeslips Deluxe.

Overall, this seems to be a terrific tool in a sales environment, but an ill fit in a law office. Also, TeleMagic fails to leverage the Windows 95 environment.

Sage U.S. Inc.
(800) 835-6244

By Michael Jimmerson

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

Pros: The emphasis with TeleMagic is on contact management in a workgroup environment.

Cons: TeleMagic lacks the sophistication of 32-bit programs. It is more suited for a sales force.

Verdict: This seems to be a terrific tool in a sales environment, but an ill fit in a law office.