Appointment Reminder Software (Win)

[Andrew B.]

I finally found appointment reminder software that suits my needs. To give you an idea of how long I have been looking, I was still using a WordPerfect Calendar for DOS (circa 1992) to keep track of recurring events. And electronic Post-it Notes for Windows to sound alarms for specific time events. Not sure how many programs I tested over the years.

Anyway, the program is UK's Kalender. I almost passed on testing it because my first thought was it's only for use in the United Kingdom. Not so.

http://www.8ung.at/ukrebs/

BTW, it's freeware.

[iamback]

I finally found appointment reminder software that suits my needs.
http://www.8ung.at/ukrebs/

BTW, it's freeware.That looks quite good! I like that it can even be run from a USB stick (I'm on the lookout for such prgrams).

I think I'll give it a try. Now I need a reminder to install it... :D

[LoisWakeman]

I use Outlook for the same sort of thing: the calendar is my substuitute brain and remebers birthdays, work deadlines, medical appointments and all sorts of stuff for me!

[iamback]

I have Outlook - but I don't like it at all; I keep it installed only to be able to access historical data.

[Andrew B.]

Here's what I find most attractive:

It displays the calendar every time I start the computer.

It can notify in advance of events. IOW, I can have it start reminding me before an event, and I can tell it how early to start reminding me.

Very flexible snooze feature, although I find it a little overwhelming right now. Maybe I'll get more used to the choices.

In month view, I can see enough text to understand what the event is. I can color code events. I can assign events to categories and filter on them in a year view.

It supports routine recurring events, such as last Friday of every month, every four weeks, etc.

Exiting the program minimizes it to the tool bar. After that, it reminds in a way that is hard to ignore.

[LoisWakeman]

After that, it reminds in a way that is hard to ignore.

Andrew, I am intrigued. Does it make you a cup of tea, whistle a tune, do the can-can across the top of your desk, spray cold water out of the keyboard or ....?

Outlook does most of the same things, but just 'bongs' and puts up a reminder window for my appointments. How dull, you may say!

[iamback]

Exiting the program minimizes it to the tool bar. After that, it reminds in a way that is hard to ignore.Great - can you get it to remind you to remind me next week to install it? :)

Too busy right now rebuilding Christiaan and getting used to my new keyboard (http://benq.nl/products/Keyboard/?product=479&page=features) for Grace (the old keyboard was just the latest thing to die on me - sigh).

(Oh, and while you're at it, can you get it to remind that crowd of gremlins over here to finally get lost?!?)

I hate hardware!

[Franca]

Great - can you get it to remind you to remind me next week to install it? :)Yes - me, too! I've downloaded it but am having a few too many odd issues on my computer at the moment as well. Don't want to install anything new till I sort out the gremlins.

[Franca]

It sounds like just what I need. I've been using the Post-It notes per your recommendation and they have been great, but as you know they do have their limitations. Or, perhaps more correctly, I have my limitations that make them less than ideal for my purposes. Can you say 'clutter'? LOL.

I've downloaded the Kalender program and will give it a try soon. Thanks, Andrew!

[Andrew B.]

It pops up a message in the middle of the screen and plays a sound. This is more than I'm used to. The Outlook at work can't remind me unless I remember to launch it when I get close to the appointment time so it can remind me.

[iamback]

Great - can you get it to remind you to remind me next week to install it? :)
Actually, I remembered :)

I just spent some time with it, doing a little configuration (including ISO date & time all over, of course), adding a bunch of todos and two birthdays. It's really easy to learn.

One thing bugs me a little: No way to define your own list of holidays or combining holidays of different countries. The pre-defined holidays are DLLs, no text interface. Even curiouser, there is a Dutch language DLL but not a Dutch holidays DLL.

At first sight - apart from the weak (IMO) holidays support - it looks really useful though.

[Andrew B.]

Yes, the way this program (and some others) handle holidays is surprising to me. Did you end up entering them as appointments?

[Michael Rowley]

Andrew:

I finally found appointment reminder software that suits my needs

I wonder if you've tried the Outlook 12 beta 2 that's come out fairly recently. Like Internet Explorer 7 beta 2, it may have substantial improvements over its predecessor.

[Andrew B.]

Have they expended the repeating reminders to include things like "last Friday of the month" and "every two weeks."

[iamback]

Yes, the way this program (and some others) handle holidays is surprising to me. Did you end up entering them as appointments?Surprised me too - too limiting for me. But I can't do the Easter and otehr variable-date holidays without looking them up - that's what a program is supposed to do for you.

In Outlook I combined Dutch and US holidays because I actually needed both; in Kalender you can't do that, apart from the fact that there are no Dutch holidays. I tried German first (as possibly closest to Dutch holidays), but then got all the names in German, too; so I next tried UK holidays, unchecking a bunch that I don't need to know about. Clumsy, as well as incomplete.

I haven't found a good solution yet.

Meanwhile the todo list works nicely. :) But I need more practice to really get the most out of it. (Can I color a row by priority?)

[Andrew B.]

The author seems open to expanding the holidays. Maybe you could sent him a nice email and ask that the Netherlands holidays be added next. And also the ability to use more than one set. Maybe even suggest using some sort of INI text file system, so users can create holiday sets on their own.

[Michael Rowley]

Andrew:

Have they expended the repeating reminders to include things like "last Friday of the month" and "every two weeks."

I wouldn't know about that: I've never needed an 'appointment reminder', since I've never had so many appointments that I (or my wife) couldn't remember them. But I received a magazine today with details of Office 12 and a DVD with the beta 2 on it.

[Andrew B.]

Some time has passed, and it looks like this problem is solved. There is a new utility in the download area that can create and edit holiday modules.

[DeltaM]

Win Organizer + Chameleon clock - it seems the best for me. Very good software. (but it is not for free)

[dthomsen8]

It's great, but I am still learning how to use it.

[Andrew B.]

It's great, but I am still learning how to use it.I know the basics now, but I keep discovering new things I can do.

For example, via the right click menu I can copy and paste an appointment to a new spot. This is very useful if I make a follow-up appointment with someone. I simply make a new copy and change its time.

Another one is File|Export|HTML. Select the format you want, then hit Preview (not Export). Then print right from your browser.

[Franca]

Another one is File|Export|HTML. Select the format you want, then hit Preview (not Export). Then print right from your browser.That's nifty - I doubt I ever would have found that! Thanks, Andrew!

[Andrew B.]

The templates he developed for the HTML views are very good. Sometimes I simply view the month this way (not print), because it expands the view to reveal all text for all appointments.