AllMyNotes users?

Posted by PIMfan
Mar 27, 2015 at 06:29 PM

Ken -

If you are still in evaluation mode for potential apps to help with task/note tracking applications, you might also want to check out LeaderTask (http://www.leadertask.com).

Reading through your inquiries on this forum has lead to recognize that we both have requirements to keep detailed notes regarding tasks. LeaderTask has a UI that I find very effective, however it’s biggest limitation is probably the lack of a fully detailed PDF manual - the current help is primarily online. Here’s some features that it has that might make it a consideration for you:

- It is a Windows desktop client, that has the ability to synch and save data in the included cloud storage (bundled with the app). The cloud storage uses Microsoft Azure.
- It includes mobile clients for both Android and IOS.
- The typical usage scenario goes something like this:
A work effort is required, so I create a new Project in LeaderTask. Projects are the key organizational grouping unit in LeaderTask.
I then determine if others will be working on the effort also. If so, I create contact record for them with phone, email, etc. Contacts are used to assign Project Tasks to and to request status,etc.
Once I have the contacts in place, I then begin creating items for the project.
Project items consist of Tasks and Notes, both of which are hierarchical and can quickly be created using keystroke shortcuts as either a sibling note/task or a child note/task. Once you’re comfortable with the keyboard shortcuts, I find that I can actually quickly create an outline for my projects very quickly. You can also use keystroke to quickly rearrange your hierarchy of items.
Each task/note can have an associated due date (LeaderTask uses the word “Term”), and alarms can be set.
I then create any desired categories, which can then used to color code items such as “Urgent”, “Brainstorm”, etc.

Earlier I mentioned that items in a project are either a task or a note. This is where LeaderTask has the one killer feature (for me) that comes into play. Each item (whether a task or a note) can ALSO have any number of associated embedded RTF documents. These RTF notes are created via a simple click of a button and will show the associated Word Document icon in the item detail display. For my tasks, when I have a meeting or a conversation regarding the work I am doing, I create an RTF note in the task item and then create my notes. Because they are RTF, they are then easily opened for later cleanup in MS Word if needed. LeaderTask also does something that I haven’t seen in other similar applications. It allows you to then COMBINE multiple RTF notes of items and generate a single consolidated document with the content. By using this feature, I can create separate RTF notes for a task, but then quickly print a consolidated set of (for example) all of the research notes I wrote for a task, including an RTF note I might have created to hold all of the web links I collected for the effort.

It also include a highly configurable set of filters that you can then use to manage your tasks. By setting a due date for each task (again, this can also be done for notes), when you click on the Today button next to the calendar, all tasks not completed that were scheduled to be in progress will be displayed. I use this feature to quickly and easily see what tasks I should have in progress today. Using this list, I can then “work” my active task set, and set items as “In Progress”, “Waiting for Someone”, etc. If I mark a task complete, it is then removed from the Today view. This keeps me focused on what work I need to do.

Some more features:
The views also allow customization to - for example - create a view of all tasks I have assigned to others. Or another view that shows all tasks/notes that are categorized as Urgent.
Projects can also be marked as Complete, which removes then from the active view, but keeps them accessible for historical records.
Group-based task assignment is also supported if you have multiple users of LeaderTask. In this mode, it supports Discussions on items so that your team can comment and remark regarding the status and progress of a group-shared item.

I can go on and on about this app. I’m pretty stingy with my CRIMP funds, and this application is one of the ones I downloaded an evaluation copy and ended up purchasing when I was done. It has WAAAAYYY more functionality than what I’ve described here and for me it strikes the proper balance between functionality and ease of use. It has just enough customization capability, but does not go overboard in providing features I wont use. It quite simply is one of the most powerful task, note and action tracking applications I’ve ever used….An I am a former Ecco Pro user and currently also have Zoot.

While I wish it had better detailed documentation and that the Russian developers were more responsive, it just may fit your needs and I would recommend you check it out based on what I’ve seen you list as your requirements. If you have questions about it, I’d be happy to share more of my experience if needed.