Bonsai or Shaddowplan

A

av3ng3dwarri0r

New member
I need an outliner/task list. I hae read Pocket Goddess's outstanding review of ShadowPlan and on paln loyal reviews 2 oustanding reviews of Bonsai. Pocket Goddess feels Shaddow plan is more capable and is easy to use. The review on Palm Loyal says that Bonsai is easier to use. Is there anyone out there who has used both and can break the tie for me in terms of which to buy? I'd like to order soon while the CDN dollar is at the highest value against the US dollar since 1993.
Many Thanks for the always quick responses
 
Look 6 threads down for "checklist" thread. You might also do a search for "Bonsai." My feelings are have been expressed - it's a very individual thing. I wouldn't just take ANYONE's word for it but rather try them both.

I can't imagine anything more intuitive than Bonsai and I wouldn't switch no matter what the other thing did. People that have used BOTH are probably few and far between - but it's your "stuff" and you I'm sure have specific needs.
 
I am currently tryng Bonsai. Only reason I have not yet tried out Sahdow Plan is the lengthly download. So far I like Bonsai. I am using it to record articles in my palm that I willuse day to day. Its working great but I am once again noticing the T3's short battery life. However, i do, thankfully have a power to go sled
Paul... do yuo use the desktop component?
BArry
 
YES I DO use the desktop component - in fact it's the ONLY desktop interface I use other than TealDoc converter.

I'm a "do it on the handheld" guy but editing as well as creating checklists and outlines is SO TERRIFIC on the desktop (there are a few little "key commands" to know like "Return" vs "Shift Return" to indent lines) that I use it at least half of the time.

I code alternate lines in "turquoise/aqua" on handheld and desktop - makes readability much easier. Use a light shade so as not to interfere with the text, obviously.

I do not use icons although they can be used - use Icon Manager to convert some of your AGendus ones or new ones to BONSAI's OWN SET. I do not use separate "icon sets" since that has caused Agendus to crash in the past. You can default to "Icons-IAMBIC" for Bonsai, but they will ALL come up and you may not need that many to choose from. They don't have the same "can't live without 'em" functionality with Bonsai.

If you have 8-10 checklist/outlines or more, do me a favor Barry:

change "something minor" in 4-5 of them and then hotsync. That will give you a good indication of HOW FAST THE SYNC is - you'll barely see a blip on the PC screen while it exchanges data.

I love it!!! Besides that, you can export/import to TO-DO, and SPECIFY AGENDUS. Now key elements of whatever you're doing are synced with Agendus - that's where the icon would come in for me . . . and you can then view Agendus in week/month and have a reference to your Bonsai stuff. Just terrific. There is a desktop patch (3.2.1?) component you can download to slightly upgrade the "icon" thing on the desktop - but should you purchase Bonsai I'm sure that complete version would come with the changes. Natara are VERY GOOD about upgrades and making sure things are "perfect" before releasing them (imagine that!!)
 
Thanks Paul
Sounds pretty convincing. So far I am enjoying the handheld portion of the program. Uncertain whether I'd ever use the desktop but will try it before my month si up. Cool program the more I use it the more I like it.
b
 
I use Bonsai and love it - it is very easy to learn to use, very powerful, and looks great as well.

I installed Shadowplan but after a few minutes I deleted it as it didn't seem anywhere near as good as Bonsai.
 
Me neither, Acolythe -- I will also wait with baited breath as I keep looking at it in wonder and haven't got a clue myself!!

It certainly isn't like "filter" in "TomCatalog," which has its obvious meaning and function; it filters for creator id or whatever else you want and excludes the rest (duhhh!!)

I've been playing around with Bonsai extensively the last couple of days and I'll take another crack at it this afternoon but like you I'd like some explanation.

I'll email George Wayland and ask him to post something here if possible - for all of us!
 
Thanks Paul
I thougt I was the only one who did not comprehend the filter function. Knowing someone as knowledgeable as you is also unclear makes me feel less inadequate.
I hope he posts as you ask.
Barry
 
I have to forewarn you all that George is more than "a routinely busy guy;" I hope he has time but he may have a staff person answer here.

Hope he can; their customer service/tech request is up there with Red-Mercury (AcidImage) and Tealpoint for thorough and easy to understand explanations, at least in my experience. What REALLY imporesses me is they just don't throw "betas" in the wind and call them upgrades. Stuff is actually THOUGHT OUT & TESTED FIRST!!
 
Hi folks.

I already responded to Paul via email becuase the authorization on this account didn't come through right away. Anyway, I'll pretty much cut and paste what I wrote to him:

--------

We normally do not monitor or respond in forums such as this because our time is mainly spent on our own forums. We just have too many requests for different forums that we are asked to participate in. Those of you interested in our products who have any questions (be you a registered user or not) please feel free to ask us at our support email address or by joining our forums at http://www.natara.com/forums). With that said, I'll try to help out here in regards to filters.

It sounds like some of you might be confused over the term "Filter". When you "Filter" something, it means to show only those items. If you think of an "Oil Filter", the filter passes through the oil, but keeps the other bad stuff out.

In Bonsai, if you create a filter and set status to "incomplete", Bonsai (when using that filter) will show only incomplete items. It's easy to define any number of different useful filters depending on your usage of the outline. The "incomplete" one might be handy if you had a shopping list created. Only items that have not been purchased (checked off) would be shown to you. That makes the list easier to use in that you are only presented with items still on your list. Some people create date filters to only show overdue items, or items due within a certain time period. If you had a list created that had "to do" or task items set up with due dates, you could set up a filter that showed you incomplete items with due dates earlier than today. That would give you a list of items you didn't complete before the deadline.

The documentation that ships with the product and is also available online covers more in detail what each item in the filter setup section means. Here is a link
There is also a scetion that follows in the manual which gives an example of setting up a filter for "overdue" items.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask. Like I mention, I'm not sure how often we would monitor PDAStreet.com, but I'll try to keep an eye out for the next couple of days. Feel free to email us or ask us on our fourms where you'll be sure to get a response.

Regards,
Bryan Nystrom
CTO, Natara Software
 
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