Get Organized with SBSH MyList!

I'm not big on lists, although I do have to use them on occasion (who doesn't). That's usually right before packing for a long trip or vacation. If you are a list guru/master, I bow to your list prowess. This is one of only a few applications of this type I have tested, to be honest. I would probably just use a spreadsheet, calendar or Outlook's Task feature instead of an actual list. MyList is a Windows Mobile application from SBSH that has caused me to re-consider my previous devil-may-care attitude toward lists and their relative usefulness. Lists not only help you organize and categorize things like crazy (your Hot-Wheels collection, for instance), but they also enable you to prioritize the unruly tangle of activities in your everyday life. MyList is one tool that can help you do this easily, but I think with a few minor tweaks, the developer can take this already good product and make it truly great.

Installation
Does anyone use the desktop installer anymore? I mean really? Who wants the aggravation of installing apps through Active Sync when using a cab file is so much cleaner and easier (like 2 stylus taps)? MyList comes bundled with both the cab, and the desktop installer exe file which is perfect. It's best to provide both, and by the way, if you install apps through A/S on the desktop, you will have a backup version of the program on your PC. After a fairly standard language setup and registration (the key is registered to your e-mail account), you can enter the product key through MyLists Menu >> Options >> Menu >> Registration selections, and start listing away...

MyList Main View
The main screen presents a folder-like tree view of your various lists and categories, and the app comes with several pre-loaded, like personal/business travel and shopping lists. From the main menu, you can create new categories of lists, or even new lists under the existing categories, as well as execute actions like open, rename or delete a list. The application buttons can be used in this regard, or one can simply select an list object using the typical tap-n-hold method. A single tap will open a list or expand/collapse a category of lists. The expansion mechanism would be even better if it allowed you to drill down to a summary of the list items themselves (maybe a view showing the first 3 columns/fields for instance). Lot's of list customizations are available, and you can set up your own icons or templates for your list (several are included), and you can also import lists from existing comma separated files (A spreadsheet can easily be saved to CSV format for this purpose). The key here is you can easily collect all your lists together in a meaningful way, and keep better track of them. The software uses a folder hierarchy to keep lists and categories organized, and if you want more hierachy, you may do so by selecting the folder level at which you would like to create new items.

Built-in Travel list

The List View
After using the built-in lists (Shopping, Packing, Dated Assignments, etc.) for like 2 minutes, you realize that in order to discover this tool's full potential will require your own custom templates and lists. In this regard, MyList does pretty well (which it should), giving you a goodly number of field options to build your own custom lists, and easily control the layout of your templates (see below).

Built-in Lists

My dog's care plan

I created 2 custom lists in my testing, one from a csv file import (category and product nominees for our upcoming Awards for 2007), and one from a custom template I created. I set up a basic pet-care checklist for my dog, Max, which included items for feeding, bathing, walking, and admistering medicine. The activities in the list included a date/time field, status (yes/no), and a priority, along with a description. Many more field choices are available for your custom templates.

Custom List creation

The fields can have a default value assigned during creation which will be pre-filled. Placing a checkbox field at the start of a template will cause a corresponding string field entry to be scratched out when you add a checkmark. I felt that a few more integrated features with the existing WM operating system would make the list manager much more powerful. For instance, integrated scheduling and alarm options for suspensed list items would be a great improvement to this tool (letting you know when you are late doing your list tasks).

A handy feature of the List View is that you can can also quickly highlight a list item using tap-n-hold and then color-code it, although having a priority field also serves a similar purpose. Much like the main view, you can quickly create new items, and edit existing ones using the applicaton buttons and menus.

Color-coding and seleting list items

Editing Lists Items

My Imported Spreadsheet

Importing/Exporting Lists
The Awards list I imported had over 500 entries, and MyList quickly built a basic list from the fields, correctly labeling the column headers. A quick tap of a column header in MyList will sort the entire list by that column. You can also export your lists to a csv file as well. While these features are adequate for maniputing list items, I have some ideas that would enhance this portion of the product. A useful addition would be a simple search/find tool (also included in the main view), and customization options for the imported template even after the list file has been ingested. Some fields that have preset values like yes/no or priority should allow changes via simple tap commands (i.e. cycle through the possible choices), and double-tapping a list item should open it for editing. String input should allow tap and edit directly in the list view field without going to the edit screen.

Options

Options
MyList also has an options menu (mentioned at the beginning for registering the product), with basic settings for changing the appearance of fonts and colors, as well as tweaking your templates, but I would like to have greater control over tweaking the list fields that have already been imported or created manually.

Overall, I like this product. I admit to having a bit of a bias toward SBSH software in general (which I will set aside if the need warrants it). Their products are high quality and always rate very well in my opinion. This product performed in a stable manner, and I found it was a useful addition to my permanent WM application suite. It will also help me to improve my own inadequate listing skills. It is a relatively new product so I am confident with a few tweaks here and there, it will become as indespensible as many of the great products offered by SBSH. Which leads me to my final minor suggestion...Integrate it with some of the other SBSH info manager products, and provide a today screen plug-in.

I included some compatibility features below from the product page:

VGA, Windows Mobile 6 Support and General Features

* Complete multi-language support. Including English, German, French, Dutch and Hebrew translations
* Includes full VGA support and comes with special graphics for VGA devices
* Supports Pocket PC 2003, Windows Mobile 5 and new Windows Mobile 6 devices
* Complete support for all different screen resolutions and orientations, including square and landscape screens

MyList is $14.95 retail, but registered forum members can get it for $10.46...click the link title of this article to go to the full product information page.