Dam the Paper, Full Speed Ahead
by: James Bell
Imagery can save you from that sea of paper threatening to submerge your office. The program simplifies the conversion from paper to electronic documents by providing scanning, viewing, editing, annotation and optical character recognition (OCR) in one package.
The program can run on its own, or it can act as a front end to a full-scale image-management system when linked with other modules from Imagery Software or with an Open Document Management Architecture (ODMA)-compatible application. And, unlike proprietary imaging solutions, Imagery works well with standard Windows office applications.
Imagery's basic building block is the "image document," which can hold up to 250 images, each on its own page. Individual images can vary in size, resolution, file format and number of colors. The program supports black-and-white, 4-bit and 8-bit gray-scale, and 4-bit, 8-bit, and 24-bit color images. You can import TIFF, .GIF, .PCX, JPEG, .TGA and PhotoCD graphics, or paste in images from Windows' Clipboard.
Imagery also supports direct scanning using TWAIN, Kofax's KIPP and ISIS scanners. For large-volume scanning, Imagery Software offers a separate batch-scanning program called GroupScan.
Once you've added pages to an image document, you can drag and drop to rearrange them or to move pages from one image document to another.
If you are running an ODMA-compatible document management application--like SoftSolutions, PC DOCS, Lotus Notes or Imagery Software's own GroupStore--you can add a document profile record for each new image document. Search profiles in your ODMA application to find the exact image document you need.
Without an ODMA database, profiles are not available, and you can only specify eight-character DOS filenames for image documents. This clearly limits Imagery's usefulness as a standalone program in a high-volume imaging environment.
Image documents are stored as compressed TIFF files--CCITT Group 4 if black-and-white, LZW if color or gray scale--and are decompressed on the fly for viewing, annotating or printing.
You can manually adjust individual pages' magnification levels, set default display sizes, or opt to display one, two or four image pages per screen.
The Enhance feature, which anti-aliases graphics and text, dramatically improves readability, especially for faxes and other low-resolution images.
The Imagery program provides extensive editing and annotating options. You can rotate pages in 90-degree increments, reverse their contrast, and convert between black-and-white, gray-scale and color formats. Annotation tools--available as menu commands or on a floating tool palette--include highlighting, whiteout, blackout, lines and arrows, freehand drawing and text notes. You can also add pop-up "sticky notes," voice annotations or OLE attachments.
Information in Imagery can be shared with other Windows applications in various ways. Pages are exported as TIFF, .GIF, .PCX, .BMP, JPEG, .TGA or .EPS files. TIFF compression options include CCITT Group 3 or 4, LZW and Packbits. Use the Insert Object command in any OLE 2-compliant Windows program to launch Imagery.
Using the bundled Calera OCR software, you can export Imagery images as text files. Convert entire pages and save the output in popular word processing formats.
Lacking hypertext options, Imagery isn't comparable to electronic publishing products like Adobe Acrobat. Without indexing and searching capabilities, it's unlikely to replace personal document-management programs like Caere's PageKeeper.
Still, as an image viewing and annotating solution that integrates large-scale document management applications and standard Windows office products, Imagery is well worth the look.
--InfoFile--
Imagery 1.0
Price: $395
In Brief: With scanning, editing and annotating features, Imagery has the tools to turn printed paper into multipage electronic image documents.
Disk Space: 4MB (minimum), 8MB (full installation)
System Resources: 7%
RAM: 4MB, 8MB (recommended)
Imagery Software
617-275-7700, fax 617-280-9710
Hard Sell the Soft Way
by: James E. Powell
Keeping track of details can be taxing--especially if you're a beleaguered businessperson--but losing your grip on a single bit of data can cost you a customer. WinSales, a contact manager with a decided sales bent, can help make sure nothing slips through the cracks.
PIMs do a great job of storing names and addresses, but you need more when it comes to prospecting for clients or maintaining good customer relationships. Sales management programs like WinSales are based on relationship marketing--the idea that you need to make six or seven connections with prospects before they're ready to buy. WinSales is among the best of the sales management programs available.
Version 3.0, which I tested in beta, has a dramatically improved user interface, using tabbed dialogs to replace the former version's multiple windows. It's easy to add fields to any contact screen using WinSales' standard text and numeric fields, as well as a credit card field that performs check-digit verification. Fields can be defined as required entries and values entered directly or selected from lists. Tabs let you switch to account information or a notes field, and you can associate activities--meetings, mail, phone calls and so forth--with a contact using another tabbed dialog box.
Triggers, or user-defined actions, are key to this new version. For example, a trigger may assign or reassign a sales rep based on the zip code in a client record. I created a trigger to update a field called Successful Calls every time a customer expressed interest in a product during a phone call. The trigger "language" resembles Visual Basic, but you can use a series of lists that WinSales provides to build your triggers. The beta included only a short example trigger, but the company said there will be more in the final version.
WinSales' Action Plans check the status of events in your database and act accordingly. You create a plan outline, defining each task you want to perform. An Action Plan could be set up to send a brochure today, schedule a follow-up call in a week, and then automatically create and print a follow-up letter the week after. You can switch clients among plans, such as changing a contact from prospect to customer when a product is purchased. There's an administrative option that lets you balance the load, so you won't have 100 calls to make one day and only a few the next.
WinSales' reporting and query tools are also easy to use for preparing ad hoc reports. You can choose from a variety and, as you make your choices, the program builds a list--in English--of your query selections. Report results are displayed on a spreadsheet-like grid. Double-click on any cell and you're taken to the underlying detail, such as a contact record or appointment information. This type of drill-down access to information is more frequently found in financial reporting tools, but it's a remarkably fast and efficient addition to WinSales. For the graphically inclined, the program also includes an easy-to-use 3-D charting module.
Events that you create or that are scheduled by Action Plans are added to your appointment schedule. Jumping between a scheduled event and the corresponding contact information is easy. The calendar also lets you schedule events with several people, and has a MAPI e-mail hook to send meeting invitations. The scheduler will handle 90 percent of appointment juggling, but it lacks some high-end features, such as the ability to "decline" a meeting and have the group calendar reflect that status.
WinSales offers field and record-level security, unlimited customization and desktop/laptop synchronization.
If your business is sales, you need specialized help. A PIM is good for address lists and a contact manager is more business-aware. But the sales-centric nature of WinSales will help you zero in on prospects and turn them into customers.
--InfoFile--
WinSales 3.0
Price: Single user, $495; upgrade, $195; five users, $1,495; upgrade, $395
In Brief: WinSales has a vastly improved interface and introduces event triggers to automate your tasks.
WinSales
206-747-2464 x1, fax 206-747-2955
Effects - Not by the Numbers
by: Hailey Lynne McKeefry and Paul Schultz
Math and art are an odd mix. But artists must be mathematicians when they have to apply custom filter effects in Photoshop. You can put away your calculator and pick up KPT Convolver. It installs on the Photoshop Filter menu and lets you play around with multiple effects all at once, without entering matrices manually.
Convolver requires Photoshop 2.5 or later or an application that fully supports Photoshop plug-ins to act as a host. When we installed Convolver under Photoshop 2.51, we had to modify the line in the Photoshop .INI file that points to the filter locations. Installing under Photoshop 3.0 was much simpler. We just selected Plug-Ins under the File Preferences menu where we had the choice of a 16- or 32-bit installation. Convolver will also run under Windows NT.
Convolver's simple interface belies its power. The program provides three modes: Explore, Design and Tweak. When you select one mode, the controls associated with the other modes are put into hibernation, so it's simple to see which commands you should be using.
Explore lets you randomly mutate an image and control how extreme the mutation is. There are only three buttons available in this mode: Mutate Genes, Genetic Diversity and Gene Influences. Mutate Genes tiles the image into 15 diamonds, each containing a randomly generated effect. The Genetic Diversity button lets you dictate the intensity of the effect. The intensity you choose affects how much the resulting generation will differ from the original tile. You can include and exclude certain color and texture effects from the random generation process. Options under this menu include Mutate All, Mutate None, Texture Only or Color Only.
The Design mode also creates a 15-panel grid, but it lets you combine two different effects to create a huge number of variations. These include blur/sharpen, edge detection/angle, relief amount/angle, hue rotation, saturation, brightness and contrast. The gradient of the two effects is displayed among the boxes, with the tiles in the middle showing the gradual combination of the two axes. We changed the degree of the effect by dragging the arrows that run along the edge. The large tile at the top of the interface displays the current effect as it will appear when it is applied to your image, while the Grid shows a series of possible effects. Clicking on a Grid tile moves it into the top position.
Tweak mode provides a similar array of effects. In this mode, however, you can control the effects discretely and preview the results in real time. Changing an effect is as easy as clicking on the button and dragging the cursor. The movement of the cursor defines the degree of the effect, such as dragging to the left to decrease the effect or to the right to increase it. Dragging in a circular motion changes tint saturation; the closer you move to the button, the less the degree of saturation. A numerical reading of the effect is displayed at the bottom of the screen, but you can't type in a numerical value.
Convolver provides enormous latitude in redefining images. Our efforts were recognized, too, by the red star awards that the program gave us after we had spent some time testing its features. Each of the five stars that you can earn provides access to some added feature. For example, after receiving one red star we were able to use the color wheel found under the Tint command in Tweak mode. Another star afforded us a toggle feature that let us do side-@side before-and-after comparisons.
Convolver makes the hard work of adjusting images to achieve just the right effect seem like child's play. The effect generation capabilities, combined with a straightforward interface, add significant utility to Photoshop and make creating sophisticated effects effortless.
-- Info File --
KPT Convolver
Price: $199
In Brief: KPT Convolver simplifies the creation of custom filters to let you create advanced effects.
Disk Space: 4.5MB
RAM: 3MB
HSC Software
805-566-6200, fax 805-566-6385
Socket to You Anywhere, Anytime
by: Sara G. Stephens
It was nice while it lasted--the novelty of removing an alphanumeric pager card from my notebook's PCMCIA slot, sliding it into its leatherette case and waiting for messages to buzz through my pocket. Yet somehow the whole is less than the sum of its parts.
Socket's go-anywhere messaging system lets you receive numeric pages, alphanumeric pages and faxes. It includes a message management application to help you organize your correspondence. The PageCard offers 128KB of memory to store messages, but you're limited to 2,000 characters per message.
I was impressed with the service features this system offers. You get a special 800 number for clients or associates. Through this number, they can either dictate a message to a human operator, punch in a numeric page through the phone or send a fax to a "holding area" at the service. For faxes, you can then call the 800 number and direct that your faxes be sent to a nearby fax machine.
The pager's PC-related capabilities are also impressive. You receive an Internet address so that your pager can receive messages through the Internet. A BBS lets your associates send you messages via modem.
The PageCard receives pages whether it's plugged into the computer or not. When it's disconnected from the PC, you can use PageCard's two buttons to scan the messages you've received, just like a standard alphanumeric pager. The PageCard's dimensions (5.11 by 2.13 inches) and lack of a belt clip make this unit a bit more awkward to carry than a standalone pager. The best location for the unit is in a deep suit pocket.
When you slide the PageCard into a Type II or Type III PCMCIA slot, you can use the bundled Mobile Express software to retrieve the messages or data and use them in other applications. Mobile Express also lets you send pages to other users through a standard modem connection. This combination gives you a wireless receive/wired-transmit electronic mail system.
A separate add-in for Microsoft Mail, currently in beta testing, can forward your mail messages based on certain filter criteria. I installed and examined the MS Mail client add-in, but did not set up the required mail server that's used to call into the paging service and forward your selected messages.
Basic service costs are reasonable enough, but the extras add up quickly. Local service costs $19.95 per month (including 75 free messages); nationwide service is $39.95 monthly (which includes 50 messages). Each message over the limit costs 20 cents (60 cents for nationwide coverage), and operator-assisted pages are 40 cents. Fax forwarding costs 30 cents per minute of transmission time. Messages over 80 characters count as an additional message for every 80 characters.
Before you can get started, you'll need to spend some time establishing your account. First you'll have to call Socket's toll-free number to activate your account and give them your billing information. The next step is to call into your personal 800 number and set up your voice mailbox with passcodes, name, personal greetings and other account options.
The special air-zinc battery, which lasts about a month, was difficult to find at local stores. Fortunately, you can mail-order replacement batteries, so make sure you always have a spare or two.
Even with a good battery, I had occasional problems with missed or garbled pages. A company spokesperson indicated that some areas have difficulties with particular frequencies. Also, he said that other electronic equipment--including some notebook PCs--can interfere with reception, and he recommended that the PageCard be kept in your pocket, away from most electronic equipment, for best reception.
Although Socket's technology is impressive, the implementation is not. Why plunk down $350 plus monthly fees and still run the risk of missing "the big call" because of dead batteries or marginal reception? Get a voice mailbox for $9.99 a month, a commercial online service for $8.95 and spend the other $300 on a new suit.
--InfoFile--
Socket PageCard
Price: $349 (street)w, plus message charges
In Brief: A comprehensive, but capricious, collection of wireless messaging tools for the person who just can't stay put.
Socket Communications
800-552-3300, 510-744-2700
Database Feast for Eyes and Ears
by: Ron Bel Bruno
You can't always capture the moment--like the sights and sounds you experience each day. But with Sentfactor Multimedia Tools, you can at least lasso, categorize and present those sights and sounds that reside on your PC.
Sentfactor is a multimedia database, a searchable slide show of sorts. It ably gathers and sorts information, but is remarkable in the way it quickly assembles image and sound files into a categorical context.
Sentfactor's navigational ease and endless range of both business and home applications will reduce the pulse rates of database-anxious multimedia novices and intermediate users alike. Its step-@step tutorial is a quick confidence booster, despite an overemphasis on basic Windows skills.
Building a Sentfactor database isn't much more difficult than creating a word processing document. The Creation menu presents 28 data fields and three memo fields. Click on Field 1, then give it a name in its corresponding dialog box. It doesn't get much more complicated than that.
Each field also gets one of three data types assigned to it--n to 1, n to n, and text. It may seem like algebra, but it's only Sentfactor's slightly arcane syntax. If, for example, you create a field called "building type" in a database of homes, an n-to-1 designation means you can only choose one entry to describe that structure, such as "colonial." In a field called "amenities" you'd probably want to list more than one item, so you'd make it an n-to-n field. Text fields are self-descriptive and are also used to define free-form memo fields.
The program's three configurable memo fields provide a great deal of flexibility. You configure these fields the same way as the 28 data fields. But once these memo areas are named, they assume ownership of three large Windows buttons on the Sentfactor presentation screen. Big deal? Yes. For example, a real-estate listing screen can be appended to include buttons for Directions to the property, the text of the last Appraisal or maybe one that displays Owner's Comments.
Sentfactor's ability to search the contents of the memo fields is even more impressive. It'll pore over all the memo's text, so you don't necessarily have to remember specific details--just typing a word or phrase found in one of the record's memo fields could lead you to the record in question.
After defining a database's fields and attributes, adding sights and sounds to records is a process similar to searching for a file in File Manager and executing it. Sentfactor lets you attach main and secondary graphic files to each record. The images can be viewed either as thumbnails within the record or full-screen. A very basic, though useful, set of graphic editing tools lets you size, rotate, invert, gray-scale and create a negative of the image. Adding video--or just a single video frame--and sound to records is just as easy a process.
Sentfactor's search capabilities mimic those of its more sophisticated data-warehousing cousins. You can perform either a simple search of a broad category or a more specific Boolean search. This latter function is a pleasing point-and-click sequence easy even for novices. You simply click on the phrases--or even on their connectors--to construct a search statement.
Keeping in line with Sentfactor's presentation emphasis, a runtime version of the program lets you distribute fully functional database masterworks as read-only applications. The program also lets you import .DBF files.
Sentfactor is a sound investment and a sight to behold when it comes to building multimedia databases and presentations.
--InfoFile--
Sentfactor Multimedia Tools
Price: $149.99
In Brief: Sentfactor's kit provides simple tools to build a multimedia database or presentation.
Disk Space: 2.7MB
System Resources: 4%
RAM: 4MB
Sentfactor (US)
813-647-3220, fax 813-648-5612