proNotes Blog

October 2008

New App: Cal2Cal

For the last few months I've been running a beta of a new app called Cal2Cal. Very simply, Cal2Cal lets you get a copy of your Lotus Notes calendar into iCal (obviously, it's a Mac-only app).

If you're like a lot of people who use their Lotus Notes calendar for work but would like to also use iCal, Cal2Cal can help. Using iCal, I can mix my work calendar with my home calendar and see it on my iPhone and iPod. Pretty cool.

Note: Cal2Cal is a one-way copy from Lotus Notes to iCal. See the support page for it's limitations and how it works.

Here's the link to the Cal2Cal home page.

 

October 2008

New Version of proNotes coming with greatly expanded to-do functionality

You may be surprised but version 1.5 of proNotes will be coming soon. I spent a lot of time working on the iCal integration but as I got deeper and deeper into it I realized iCal fell way short when it came to managing to-dos. I never was a big to-do-list-guy so I never explored iCal's to-do functionality. What I discovered is iCal doesn't do to-dos very well. You can't print out a to-do report, you can't really see them organized very well and, of course, you can't write notes or attach files to your to-dos. So I took a different approach. The forthcoming version of proNotes will feature two types of to-do lists: one sorted by due date and another sorted by note. These can both be printed out (try doing THAT in iCal). On the screen, you can see your to-do lists by due date, by subject and by title. If it wasn't better than iCal I wouldn't have spent the time writing it!

Lots of other features, bug fixes and interface changes. It's a big upgrade and it's free to all current registered users.

I'm hoping to get it out before the end of the year.

May 26, 2008

Updated To-Dos Preview

Well, as I mentioned in my blog entry last month, I've been busy working on updating the to-do functionality for the next version of proNotes. Check out the movie below. You'll notice:

  • Each to-do has a due date and priority along with the to-do text and the completed checkbox.
  • You can view the to-do details which shows a bigger field for the to-do text and the ability to change other items including the iCal calendar and alarm.
  • To-dos can be linked to iCal. Once linked, the changes go both ways!

April 16, 2008

iCal Sync Preview

Throughout the years developing proNotes I've had numerous requests for some type of reminder functionality. You put such important information into proNotes, it would be nice for it to actively tell you something. I haven't been clear in my mind on how exactly to implement that however. The philosophy of proNotes is to get out of your way, help you be productive, quickly find what you're looking for and keep the features to a high-quality few. I still don't have my mind 100% made up but it's starting to come together. I think proNotes should take advantage of what's already built into iCal. Take a look at what I'm noodling with - I'd be interested in your feedback.

The current alpha of the next version of proNotes has the beginnings of to-do syncing with iCal. To-dos you create in proNotes are synced with iCal giving you the ability to set alarms, priorities and due dates.

And the sync works both ways: changes in iCal get synced back to proNotes.

This next version would be a free upgrade for all currently registered proNotes users.

Let me know what you think. Would you use this? Is it useful? Is there something you'd rather see? Send your comments/suggestions to: support@softraph.com

February 24, 2008

Version 1.1 Released

I'm excited to get version 1.1 out. I've been using it for a while but it's finally ready for release. It incorporates user requested features and bug fixes. Here is what this update includes:

New Features

  • New Feature: (Mac & Windows) - You can now export one or many notes to rich text files.
  • New Feature: (Mac & Windows) - When typing in the note window hitting option-return (ctrl-return in Windows) will move the cursor to the next line and add a bullet and a tab
  • New Feature: (Mac & Windows) - When typing in the note window hitting option-shift-return (ctrl-shift-return in Windows) will move the cursor to the next line and add a time/date stamp and put your cursor right under it
  • New Feature: (Mac & Windows) - You can now hide (and then show) the header fields in the note window by choosing View-Toggle Header (command-H in Mac, Ctrl-H in Windows). Also added a menu item in the View menu to set the window style as default. The preferences window, general tab has settings too.
  • New Feature: (Mac & Windows) - Note window elements have been expanded (category, title, & note field)
  • New Feature: (Mac & Windows) - Modified the app icon to appear better at small sizes.

Bug Fixes

  • Bug Fix: (Mac & Windows) - The url in About box says www.SoftRaph.com but it goes to www.proNotes.com. It now goes to www.SoftRaph.com
  • Bug Fix: (Mac & Windows) - When checking for an update, if you have the most current version, you get "Not Now" instead of "OK" which it does now.
  • Bug Fix: (Mac & Windows) - The "Not Now" button on the "Check for Update" dialog box will be invisible until the dialog box is shown.
  • Bug Fix: (Mac & Windows) - When saving a note, the insertion point now remains and the note window stays active
  • Bug Fix: (Mac) - Trashing attachments on the Mac are now dragged into the trash and the trash should is heard. You can find them in there to get them back if you want them. There were times when the files weren't getting deleted in the old method
  • Bug Fix: (Mac) - In Mac OS only, attaching bundles as a move (as opposed to copying) now moves the file instead of copying it. Bundles had their own logic.
  • Bug Fix (Windows) - Sometimes, especially with notes transferred from he Mac, the font in the note window would revert to the system font. It will now revert to your default font set in the preferences.

January 11, 2008

Version 1.1 in Beta

I've been using version 1.1 (actually it's version 1.0.9 b7). It contains a few minor bug fixes but primarily, a new user-suggested feature. You'll be able to export your notes to rich text documents (both in Mac and Windows). One of the reasons I wrote proNotes was because I couldn't find something to suit my needs which caused me to jump from one app to another. The experience of all the switching led me to the conclusion that I wanted the note data to be accessible, not locked into some unreadable proprietarily format (have you ever opened a Word document in TextEdit?). That's why the note files are stored in XML - plain old text documents. Anyone can open them in a text editor. To make that even simpler, version 1.1 has an export feature. Select the notes from the details table and File->Export. Your fonts, styles and colors stay the same. I expect 1.1 to be released by the end of January.

Don't forget your iPod

I needed a proNote the other day and I only had my iPod. No problem, I had updated my proNotes to my iPod earlier so boom, there it was. It's pretty cool that you can have your notes on your iPod. If you haven't tried that feature give it a shot. It's explained in the help. iPod not included :-)

December 19, 2007

Review: User says "I love this program..."

I'm going to be honest. I don't know much at all about software development and design. I may not know much about GUI's and how URL's are supposed to look. But I do know if I like a program or not and I love this one.

I downloaded proNotes on a whim. I'm a salesman and I needed something to help me keep track of my appointments, follow-thru's etc. I have been using it for a couple of weeks now and it's made things so much easier. If I get a voicemail from a client from three weeks ago and I don't remember what we talked about I can go to proNotes and look up the note I entered when I talked to them. It couldn't be any easier.

My fiancee and I are also planning a wedding. We've talked to a dozen DJs, ten photographers and 7 or 8 florists. We can't keep track of the prices and features that each one has offered so we threw them in proNotes. proNotes has made a normally excruciating process (especially for a guy) a little bit easier, granted I still have to stare at flowers for hours but at least the info is organized.

In conclusion I love this program, I'd recommend it to anyone; salesmen, executives, IT professionals, teachers, small business owners and even housewives. It is the ultimate organizational tool, download it, you won't regret it. MacUpdate.com

December 18, 2007

News: 600 Downloads in it's First Month

proNotes has been downloaded over 600 times in only one month after release! I want to thank all of you who tried it out and especially those of you who registered. I've received some good suggestions on new features and improvements and expect to have version 1.0.1 out soon.

November 18, 2007

Well, here's version 1.0 of proNotes!

proNotes has gone through almost one hundred revisions over three years of nights and weekends so even though it's a 1.0 it's been around a while. That's not to say you won't find some bugs. Even though my beta testers (otherwise known as my coworkers, friends and family) have been using various versions over the years, I'm sure some bugs may have slipped through. If I find them I'll fix them.

Probably, the best thing I can say about proNotes is that most people who use it, rely on it, and can't remember what they did before. That's gratifying. I use it every day. I hope you find it as useful as I do.

Enjoy proNotes.