Memo PLUS 4 is Hands High SoftwareÕs latest and most advanced memo pad replacement program for the Palm OS. It has rolled into it many capabilities of other programs, plus some that are unique to itself. Memo PLUS has been around since the early days of the Palm operating system, winning many awards throughout its life.

Replacement applications take an application that is built-in to the Palm operating system, in this case the memo pad, and then add lots of capabilities to them that are not included in the default. The key thing is that they work on the same database information that the built-in application uses, so that the information is visible by other applications, and the information synchronizes with your desktop software. Memo PLUS works with the memo pad database, so Memo PLUS notes will synchronize with the Palm Desktop, or Outlook, or whatever desktop software you currently synchronize the memo pad with.

Memo PLUS is most known for its big three capabilities of Drawings, Alarms and Templates. With Memo PLUS, you can attach a drawing to a note and quickly switch between the note view and the drawing view of the memo. Its drawing capabilities are not as robust as some of the advanced drawing programs out there like TealPaint or Leonardo, but they are still strong enough to handle most tasks like quickly writing something in cursive, or a quick sketch of an idea. The tools include a pencil, line, oval, rectangle, eraser, and text tool. Four sizes of line widths are supported, and color or gray scale depending on your handheld device.

 

 

Alarms can be attached to a memo as well. You can choose to have either the note or drawing view appear on the screen when the alarm pops up. This is great when you have a one-time reminder that you want to appear on the screen, but you donÕt want to enter it into the datebook. Memo PLUS has a unique alarm setting screen that helps you quickly select the time you want. You can set the time by tapping on arrows above or below each number, you can tap and drag up or down on a number to change it, or you can use graffiti to enter the numbers.

 

 

One of Memo PLUS's most powerful capabilities is its ability to turn a note or drawing into a template that you can start another note or drawing from. For example, let say you are a technician, and you often must write down a list of different kinds of information on each customer you visit to do repairs. You can create a note that lists the kinds of information you want to collect, sort of like creating a form. When you go to a client, you can create a new note from the template, and then add extra information on that particular client. Hands High Software has a huge list of templates that you can download from their Web site that were created by other Memo PLUS users.

This latest version of Memo PLUS adds lots of little extras to the previous version, including high resolution support (including Sony Palm OS 4.1 devices), expandable screen support, custom colors, printing, Bluetooth and SMS beaming, export to Doc and eMail programs, and more. It also adds encryption support and something called the QuickLauncher that I will describe below.

One of the shortcomings of the Palm operating system is its Private record support. Private records let you password protect your memos and other records to keep others from viewing personal information. However, you might not know that records that are private and hidden are still easily accessible by just about any hacker using commonly available software. So, the privacy is not real privacy, and is somewhat deceptive. Memo PLUS solves the problem by allowing you to actually encrypt memos using DES encryption. One caveat: encrypted notes are not viewable on the desktop, but they are backed up in encrypted form in case your device loses battery power or is lost.

 

 

The QuickLauncher is a nice solution to an increasing problem. As time has gone on, more memo like programs have become available, making it hard to decide what to launch from the memo button on your Palm device. Should you launch a memo program, a drawing program, an outliner, an eBook reader, a Word compatible editor, a spreadsheet program, or what? Memo PLUS's QuickLauncher lets you set up a list of programs that you would like to launch from the memo button. Then, if you hold the memo button down for a second, the list will pop up, and you can quickly select which program to start. Even easier, you can scroll through the list using the up or down buttons on the Palm, and then press the memo button again to start the highlighted program, giving you quick, one handed access to your favorite programs.

 

 

Even though Memo PLUS has a ton of advanced capabilities, it still has a very clean, uncluttered appearance making it very easy and intuitive to use.

Memo PLUS costs $19.95 and is available from the Hands High Web site at www.handshigh.com. A free 30-day trial version is also available.