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Ilium Software's ListPro 3.0 Professional

Clinton Fitch | Chief Reviews Editor
October 24, 2003

Rarely in our lives do we not have some sort of list going to keep us on task or to remind us of things that we need to do. These lists vary of course, depending on the priority or who assigned it to us or how many things are on it. Often times, however, we have more than one list going at a time, which if left to pen and paper, can get confusing and can cause items to be forgotten or missed.

To help solve this problem and keep your lists organized, functional and on time, Ilium Software has created ListPro 3.0 Professional. ListPro is a central part of Ilium's Essential Package software suite and is personally one of my favorite applications from them. ListPro allows for easy organization of multiple lists that can be easily customized to fit your needs in a variety of ready-made templates. Users can create their own lists and templates and can even have events send a reminder to them when it is due. ListPro is an essential application for any Handheld PC owner.

The installation of ListPro is completely menu driven and installs both the desktop and H/PC versions of the applications together (In the Professional version. The Standard version is for your H/PC only). The footprint on your Handheld is only 527K and can be installed either in the built-in memory of the H/PC or on a Storage Card.

Once installed and started, ListPro has a simple and clean interface which is easy to understand. To create a new file, simply tap File - New to bring up the new filename dialog box. Once you name the list, tap OK to go back to the default view.

For this review, I've created a list "Clinton's Computer List" which is a list of items I need to purchase and software I need to install on a new computer I am to build.

Name your list an easy-to-remember and identify name, especially if you have multiple lists

Creating lists is easy to do in ListPro and each list can be customized in almost anyway to meet your needs. Ilium has a large collection of company built and customer built lists available to review on their site. I recommend that users go through and find lists to download and view in ListPro to get an idea of how flexible this application can be. For those of you who don't know me, I am a huge Formula One fan (Go McLaren!). I created a list "Formula One Driver Champions" which is available for download on the Ilium site.

With the file created, users next need to create a list within the file. Like other parts of ListPro, this is completely customizable to their needs. Once you name the list, you need to select the type of list that it will be. There are many default lists built-into ListPro as well as a Custom option allowing the ultimate in flexibility. Once the list is named and the type selected, tap OK.

Create a new list based on the built-in templates or create a custom list based on your needs

If users choose either included list or a custom list, every column within that list can be customized to fit their needs. To modify the columns in a list, highlight that list then tap File - Properties…. This will present the properties box with each of the current columns checked and the available columns unchecked. To add or remove a column simply add or remove the checkbox. Column can also be added with the Add… button.

Add/Remove or edit any column in the list

To modify a column, highlight the name of the column then tap modify. The column then can be renamed and the type of information that the column is going to contain. Once all of the modifications are done, tap OK to get back to the list view.

With the list customed to your needs, adding items to the list is done through the List - Add New List Item… menu. In addition to the columns that users have chosen to show or have customized, each item can be prioritized and can be checked off if they are already completed. Users can also add notes to the item and a due date. To add the item tap OK or to add another item tap the Add Item button.

Adding an item to a list, including a due date, notes and a priority

With the item added, the complete list is presented in the list view. Users can then check off items as they are complete, making it easy to keep track of what is left to do on a list.

An example of a customized list and customized columns to help me keep track of all I need to do with a new PC

It is easy to see the flexibility of ListPro for virtually any list, checklist or "cheat sheet" need. With every column being customizable there is virtually none of these kinds of needs that cannot be met by this application.

Beyond this enormous flexibility, ListPro also has the ability to send reminders to users when items are due or are soon to be due. This feature runs as an application in the background and can be deactivated if users choose to do so.

Of all the Ilium Software that I've reviewed, this is the only feature I would like to see improved. It would be good to see the reminders to be incorporated to Microsoft Outlook's Tasks, giving users a common location for all of their reminders. Having said this however, the reminder function in ListPro works exceptionally well and is reliable.

ListPro is sold in a Standard and Professional editions. The Standard edition and Professional editions are, from a functionality perspective, are identical. The Professional edition also gives users the Windows desktop version of the application as well. All lists can be synchronized via Active Sync so work can be done from the desktop and H/PC. The Standard edition is $19.99 (£11.80 GBP, €17 EUD, ¥2190 JPY est) while $10 (£6 GBP, €8.50, ¥1100 JPY est) more will purchase the Professional edition.

As with all Ilium Software products, the benefit of purchasing the software does not end just with the application. Ilium's customer service sets the standard for the mobile industry and makes any purchase from them a safe and wise purchase.

ListPro is available for purchase from the Ilium website and there is also a 30-day demo version available for free download.

System Requirements

Windows CE 2.11 (HPC Pro) and above
SH3, SH4, StrongARM, MIPS, XScale

More information on Ilium Software ListPro 3.0 Professional can be found at
http://www.iliumsoft.com/

Ratings

Cost: 5- Star Rating
Usability: 5- Star Rating
Built-in Help: 4- Star Rating
Customer Service: 5- Star Rating
Overall: 5- Star Rating