PlanPlus 3.0 - This just might be the one... !

[mlines]

Just downloaded the trial of PlanPlus 3.0. So far I've got to say that Franklin may actually have gotten a version right! I tried versions 1 and 2 and gave up on them after an hour - they were buggy pieces of junk. So far so good with 3.0.

The new project feature which allows you to create outlines linked to tasks actually works fairly well - this just might be the version which breaks me away from Ecco Pro as my main GTD tool.

There is the usual covey methodology embedded in the product however this can be ignored if you are using GTD. Just use the categories to classify your tasks by context and you have all you need for GTD.

There is a 30 day trial version available for download - check it out and add your impressions

 

[Anonymous]

Planplus 3.0: this might be *another* one

I tried to install PlanPlus 3.0 from the trial download. Install failed with Error 1904- FranklinCoveyCB.dll failed to register. I uninstalled, and got Error 1905- FranklinCoveyCB.dll failed to unregister. Not confidence inspiring, but reminiscent of the tremendous problems people have reported with Franklin Covey software. I will report this to their support line, just for kicks, though.

Mike

 

[bdavidson]

Re: Planplus 3.0: this might be *another* one

I tried to install PlanPlus 3.0 from the trial download. Install failed with Error 1904- FranklinCoveyCB.dll failed to register. I uninstalled, and got Error 1905- FranklinCoveyCB.dll failed to unregister. Not confidence inspiring, but reminiscent of the tremendous problems people have reported with Franklin Covey software. I will report this to their support line, just for kicks, though.

Mike

The fix from tech support was to uninstall, run the PlanPlus cleaner from their website, run a Repair install of Outlook (or Office), then reinstall PlanPlus. It worked, but was a lot of effort.

I ended up uninstalling PlanPlus 3.0 the next day because it was still too slow to navigate back and forth to the PlanPlus Home and I don't really like the Daily Record or ABC prioritizing. I do like the Weekly Compass, but wasn't willing to keep PP installed just for that. I can probably achieve the same thing in the Calendar TaskPad with some interesting category names.

 

[jerendeb]

Da*n it

:twisted: There ought to be a law besides 'buyer beware'! Why & how does Franklin Covey get away with putting out such enticing crap! It infuriates me to no end. There's is the only software in 10 years of computing that causes such problems that I have ever encountered.

:wink: On the positive slant however, it reminds me that I shouldn't have to rely on hi-tech tools to plan out my simple day & it's intended accomplishments. David Allen himself stated that all of this can be performed on the backs of envelopes with stubby pencils.

So be it :!:

 

[jazzsyx]

bdavidson,

Do you have the link for the planplus cleaner? I can't seem to find it & waiting on tech support to reply. Don't blame 'em but they don't work weekends, it seems!

I agree, this is not a great way to start out, having issues with installs. I thought it might have been because I demo'd 2.0 but found it agonizingly slow.

My main reason for wanting to look at it again is I want one screen in Outlook that I can view my emails & tasks. I can't seem to figure out a different way. Any advice would be welcome. What happens to me, is I stay at my Inbox, and rarely look at my task list to decide what to work on next. Out of site, out of mind. It's more greasing the squeaky wheel. So, I'm thinking if I can at least see the task list frequently then I might start to use it. Frankly, that's my whole problem with my GTD system. I tend not to look at it because I get overwhelmed...but then I'm worrying about what I'm not looking at. Depression+perfectionist+procrastinator=YIKES!

TIA,
Jessica

 

[jazzsyx]

Murphy's law - As soon as you submit a post requesting information, you will find it. Just found the cleaner, but you know, one of my biggest pet peeves is regarding websites. If I can't find something within 5 clicks (I'm being generous), the UI needs to be reviewed.

The file is called planplus for microsoft outlook cleaner v1.0.36, yet a search for planplus cleaner results in 0 entries. Argh!

Jessica

 

[bdavidson]

For anyone else, the link is http://www.franklincovey.com/customercare/techsupport/downloads/files/PlanPlusOutlookCleaner136.exe.

Brian

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks to bdavidson for help

I have the trial installed now, thanks to the advice bdavidson gave. It says I have zero days left in the trial for reasons unknown (I haver never installed PlanPlus before), but I can see enough to get a flavor. It's not bad, so far

Mike Ogilvie

 

[bdavidson]

I had the same issue. I had had PlanPlus 2.0 trial installed at some time in the past. I chatted with FC tech support and this was the suggestion I got:

Since you are unable to open the trial version and you get the Zero days left error in that case, I suggest you to contact our Technology Sales department on 1 (800) 877 - 1814 between 6:00 am - 6:00 pm hours Mountain Standard Time (MST) and let them know about your issue and they will provide you the product key to open the software.

I found a registry hack to get me around it for the day or two I left it installed. Since I am a PP2.0 owner, I didn't feel I was violating any laws, just making up for their inept software/registration coding.

Brian

 

[Anonymous]

PlanPlus

I'm not sure if you're using Plan Plus for Outlook or for Windows XP. My experience with the version for Windows XP hasn't been very good. I'm on the verge of uninstalling it and using the basic Palm software instead.

I've used Franklin Covey software since Ascend and the paper planner before that. But I'm disappointed that Plan Plus doesn't have some good features from FPS 8 (putting birthdays on the calendar when you enter them in contacts, repeating tasks, attaching documents to tasks or calendars). What's really bugging me & has me ready to ask for my money back is a repeated problem with duplicates. Maybe another version or two down the road, it'll be ready but I don't think it's there yet.

 

[jerendeb]

Don't bother it doesn't work!

:twisted: DON'T BOTHER WITH THE FRANKLIN COVEY SOFTWARE! IT DOESN'T WORK! :twisted:

:idea: The principles behind the 7 Habits do! :idea:

 

[dansch]

I have been using PlanPlus for Outlook version 3.0--I think it works just fine. The combination of Covey (big picture) and GTD (runway) works quite well, I think

 

[Pericone]

PlanPlus v3 works

Most of all I like the new projects functionality in PlanPlus v3. If you like to detail out all the next actions on a specific project from the start, then PlanPlus can be very helpful. Project activities are immediately created as tasks in your task list and you can easily integrate existing tasks in your projects.

 

[Anonymous]

Planplus 3.0 is buggy

After about 2 weeks with the PlanPlus trial (Outlook 2003 with Windows XP), I uninstalled it. There were repeatable problems. The projects module tended to introduce blank tasks which could only be deleted from elsewhere in outlook. Some of my tasks were marked as delegated (big Franklin circle O) and I could not find a way to change them back permanently, i.e., I changed them, and they reverted to Delegated. Finally, Outlook started freezing up. I deleted PlanPlus and have had no problems with Outlook since. Caveat Emptor!

Mike

 

[MsftMan]

I have been using FC PlanPlus for quite a while. While I like the layout and design as a whole, the software leaves a lot to be desired. First off let me say that regardless of who makes the software, when you have a PC that is always changing e.g., trying this freeware, trying that shareware, installing this trial software etc. and uninstalling said software... your machine gets bogged down with a LOT of excess garbage left over in various places. Most importantly the Registry.

People who have NEW PC's or have recently reformatted and have done "clean" installs of their respective operating systems find little problem with software. So when evaluating software you need to keep this in mind, it's not always the software companies fault the software is not working on your machine.

Now, FC just came out with PlanPlus 3.X. For me what are the advantages? First off, NONE! To me there are not any NEW improvements that warrant a $50 upgrade. While there was a "graphical" change, basically what an enduser is paying for in my opinion are fixes for bugs and issues that should have been taken care of in incremental releases. I think it is a shame that the software is updated in "major" releases like this and in essence all they are, are patches and fixes bundled together with a major upgrade number attached "3.X"

Next time around, there will be minor fixes in 3.X, but within a year... look forward to PP 4.X! New fixes for all the stuff that should have been fixed in 3.X but you get to pay $50 again! Yeah!

So as a long time user of FCPP, I'm switching to the GTD methodology and have started to use the GTD Manual for Outlook Workflow Processing. And guess what? It will ALWAYS work! I never have to pay for a patch or fix.

 

[Anonymous]

Don't blame the users

First off let me say that regardless of who makes the software, when you have a PC that is always changing e.g., trying this freeware, trying that shareware, installing this trial software etc. and uninstalling said software... your machine gets bogged down with a LOT of excess garbage left over in various places. Most importantly the Registry.

People who have NEW PC's or have recently reformatted and have done "clean" installs of their respective operating systems find little problem with software. So when evaluating software you need to keep this in mind, it's not always the software companies fault the software is not working on your machine.

Dear MsftMan (Microsoft Man? What an odd name!),
if software doesn't work, is it the user's fault? Should Windows come with a warning (maybe it already does) saying "Warning: installation of software may render system unstable." People who use buggy software have problems because the software is poorly designed, or because it lives in a poor environment. Bad design is responsible for the fragility of the registry, not bad users. Bad design put Outlook master categories into the registry, so that categories cannot be renamed. It is utterly unreasonable to tell users to wipe their systems so they can do a clean install of application software. To be fair to Microsoft, XP itself appears to be fairly stable, compared to previous versions of Windows. But my palm is the principal reason I use Windows, and Outlook.

I agree with you completely about the value of switching from Franklin-Covey to GTD. It's very much like switching to platform-independent, open-source software.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[MsftMan]

Re: Don't blame the users

First off let me say that regardless of who makes the software, when you have a PC that is always changing e.g., trying this freeware, trying that shareware, installing this trial software etc. and uninstalling said software... your machine gets bogged down with a LOT of excess garbage left over in various places. Most importantly the Registry.

People who have NEW PC's or have recently reformatted and have done "clean" installs of their respective operating systems find little problem with software. So when evaluating software you need to keep this in mind, it's not always the software companies fault the software is not working on your machine.

Dear MsftMan (Microsoft Man? What an odd name!),
if software doesn't work, is it the user's fault? Should Windows come with a warning (maybe it already does) saying "Warning: installation of software may render system unstable." People who use buggy software have problems because the software is poorly designed, or because it lives in a poor environment. Bad design is responsible for the fragility of the registry, not bad users. Bad design put Outlook master categories into the registry, so that categories cannot be renamed. It is utterly unreasonable to tell users to wipe their systems so they can do a clean install of application software. To be fair to Microsoft, XP itself appears to be fairly stable, compared to previous versions of Windows. But my palm is the principal reason I use Windows, and Outlook.

I agree with you completely about the value of switching from Franklin-Covey to GTD. It's very much like switching to platform-independent, open-source software.

Cheers,
Mike

MsftMan is as you stated, I worked at Microsoft years ago. Another lifetime.

As far as software disclaimers, every software product carries such a warning (the majority). I never said bad software was the users fault. I never suggested that a person wipe their system. I'm just stating facts that have worked for me. I hate having to reformat and do clean installs. Sometimes it is the only way to get rid of a problem that has embedded itself. How many "beta" applications for your Palm have you tried in the last six months? How many beta apps for your PC?

When a software company does beta research they try to get the gamut of endusers to ferret out the problems. But everyones system is different. Am I blaming the users? No! I'm just saying that the enduser should take into account how having downloaded every freeware, shareware, beta stage application they can get their hands on does have a negative impact on the stability of their operating system over the long run.

Is it badly written software... YES! How often is it because a vendor is trying to write good software but because Microsoft didn't reveal every line of code, the vendors software has a problem? I bet it happens quite often. I guess what I'm trying to say is there is enough blame to go around and everyone is to blame. Just don't start pointing the finger at a software company the minute something goes wrong. Because the problem may stem from something else on your system that you forgot about, or just plain age of the system.

To me it's like suing fastfood companies because you're getting fat.

But we agree on a few things... open-source is good! GTD Workflow Processing using Outlook is good!

 

[Anonymous]

too many problems with PlanPlus 3

Like others above, I too have a long experience with Franklin Covey software, going back to a very early version of Ascend. I've been using PlanPlus 2.0, mostly because I like the home screen with its task list, e-mail, calendar and daily record (journal) in one screen. The daily record is a convenient place to record quick notes which don't seem to belong elsewhere, and with Lookout I can quickly retrieve them. I also like the way it synchronizes with the Palm.

PlanPlus has always been buggy and slow and awkward moving from screen to screen. So despite the warnings above--and hoping that FCs promises of PP3 being faster and more stable are true--I downloaded a trial of PP3 Friday night. It took all night long, and wouldn't install. An announcement on the FC web site seemed to indicate that their server was having "difficulties." I tried again, and was eventually able to get a copy that would install. But PP3 will not synchronize to my Palm. Another notice on the FC site says that this is a known problem and they are trying to devise a work-around. Meanwhile, the only functional "improvement" in PP3 seems to be their Project feature. It would be nice to be able to view all tasks associated with a project in the taskpad window but I find the PP3 approach to be quite awkward. The Netcentrics GTD Oulook add-in is better. And the GTD Outlook add-in in combination with MndManager for keeping track of projects is better still.

I still like some of the views in PP2, so I uninstalled PP3 and reinstalled PP2. That's not easy to do, and I still get error messages. But eventually I was able to get back to my setup of PP2, the GTD add-in, Lookout and (independently) MindManager. PlanPlus has always shown some real potential and it's a shame they can never seem to get it quite right. But the junky code (at least, that's what I assume it is) has always been exasperating.

 

[MsftMan]

I still have PP2 installed also. I agree that the PP "Home" view is great. I even like the "Today" screen better than the default Outlook Today. But again, they can not get the software correct. As you have confirmed yet again. And more importantly (in my opinion) you are paying for "bug fixes" and not legitimate software enhancements. Really, is the "Project" view of tasks that great? In my my no, just a ruse to charge for what should have been an update of fixes with the project view tossed in as a freebie. We are talking nothing but cosmetic changes. And they do this every 12 months. Too costly for fixes that don't fix.

I'm glad I found out about the GTD methodology and the Outlook Workflow Process.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow, these posts are really validating of my own experience. I'm using PP2.0 and GTD addin simultaneously. I tried PP3.0, but there were no improvements over my current setup that I could see. I am using a Pocket PC and the FC Tasks sync is just as slow in 3.0. So I uninstalled and went back to 2.0. FC won't be getting my $50 this time
-James