organization posts

Filed under: E-mail, Productivity, Web services

Use webpages and Gmail messages as tasks with Todoist Anywhere

by Jay Hathaway Sep 29th 2009

Todoist has been around for a while. In fact, Download Squad first wrote about this web-based to-do app back in 2007. It's come a long way since then, though, and the latest feature addition, Todoist Anywhere, lets you turn webpages and Gmail messages into to-do items. With one click, you can view your Todoist tasks and take advantage of Gmail integration.

Access Todoist at any time using a convenient bookmarklet - you can even sign up for a new account from there - and then you're good to go. Todoist anywhere supports multiple lists and recurring dates, and there's even a convenient mini-calendar included. In terms of Gmail-specific features, Todoist lets you click on a message in your inbox and add it as a task that links back to the original email.

[via Lifehacker]

Tags: anywhere, gmail, organization, productivity, to-do, todoist

Filed under: Utilities, Macintosh, Productivity

Blasted puts recent files in your OS X menubar

by Jay Hathaway Sep 27th 2009

When you're working with a bunch of different files on a Mac, it can be a pain to remember where each one of them saved, where your downloads ended up, and what you've recently opened. Blasted puts all your recent files right in the menubar, making it extremely easy to find what you were just working on.

It's hard to believe there's nothing like Blasted built into OS X. You can add various recent items to your Dock with a quick Terminal command, or access them from the Apple menu, but neither of those options give you the control that Blasted does. You can decide what categories of files show up in Blasted's menu, and even set a list of individual files and folders to leave out.

[via AppScout]

Tags: blasted, menubar, organization, recent

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

Deskcretary automatically tidies up cluttered Windows desktops

by Lee Mathews Aug 3rd 2009

My worst Windows habit? Indiscriminantly downloading new files and dumping screen captures onto my desktop. When things start to get too messy, I'll go on a wholesale deleting spree or chuck everything extraneous into a single folder and bury it in the recesses of my d: drive.

Enter Deskcretary, a free app which claims to be the "most advanced Windows desktop cleanup software ever."

When you first launch the program, Deskcretary will step you through some initial setting screens - files that you want to exempt from cleaning, compression level, copy and replace policies. At the end of the process, you'll be asked to set an archiving schedule. Daily, weekly, and monthly jobs are supported, or you can turn off scheduling completely and run things manually.

The most clever feature is the Deskcretary Explorer, which allows you to browse previous archives. Jobs are cataloged by date and there's a built-in search feature which yields quick, accurate results.

I'd love to be able to change the location of the archive folder, but I'm not going to complain about the fact that Deskcretary plops it on the desktop. After all, that's where all my clutter was ending up anyway. Renaming would be a nice option, too - perhaps we'll see that in a future version.

Tags: cleaning, clutter, deskcretary, desktop, organization, organize, tidy

Filed under: Design, Macintosh, Productivity, Beta

Grape: a new take on the OS X desktop

by Jay Hathaway Apr 15th 2009

Desktop clutter is a common problem, especially when your desktop is your default download folder. A new Mac app called Grape makes it all manageable, though. Grape is a great-looking desktop viewer that allows you to rearrange, resize, and zoom the icons on your desktop. You can also draw boxes to divide up your clutter, making it neat and even attractive.

Grape's big strength is the zoom function. What looks like a hopeless of icons stacked on top of one another might look a lot better when you zoom in tighter or zoom out more. There's also a stack function that will put things in order for you automatically. Grape previews your media, so the icons are mini versions of your movies, photos, text files, etc. If you enlarge them or zoom in enough, you basically get the Quick Look view. You can also drop things from the Finder onto the Grape icon, and they'll show up in Grape's "drop zone."

This was an app I didn't know I needed until I tried it out. Now I hope that Apple's next OS has a desktop design that functions the way Grape does.

Tags: beta, desktop, grape, organization, zoom

Filed under: Productivity

TiddlyDu2: use Tiddlywiki as your organizer

by Jay Hathaway Mar 4th 2009

Some very knowledgeable people swear by wikis as personal organizers. They work with any OS, they're easy to organize, and they make it simple to link related information in an understandable way. With TiddlyDu2, you can painlessly turn a wiki -- a Tiddlywiki, specifically -- into your own organization system.

You can either work with your wiki online or download it for offline use. TiddlyDu includes important features like integrated goals, projects and tasks that can quickly be associated with your contacts and calendar. Basically, it's whatever you make of it. There's a full Tiddlywiki tutorial available, but it should be fairly intuitive to learn TiddlyDu2 if you've used another wiki before. Download the .html file and start messing around until you get your wiki (and your to-do list) organized.

UPDATE: Dave Gifford points out that there's actually a newer version, TiddlyDu3, so check that out first.

Tags: GTD, organization, tiddlydu2, tiddlywiki, to-do

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Productivity, Freeware

Automate your drive re-organizing with Download Mover

by Lee Mathews Nov 28th 2008

I've been writing about plenty of manual ways to keep your hard drive neat and clean recently. That's a nice start, but what about some automated help along the lines of Auto-Delete?

While Download Mover is no longer actively developed, it's still good at what it does. Download and extract the zip file and launch the executable, and DM will ask you where and what you want to monitor. Specify the interval for checks and set your notification options, and you're done.

You can specify multiple folders to watch and specify different targets for each file type you add. I often forget to change my Firefox download preferences to save things in my d:\downloads folder. Setting Download Mover to scrape .exe and .zip files into the proper directory keeps my desktop nice and tidy with no interference.

If you've got another automated tool for handling chores like this, please share it! I'm always on the lookout for another app that can tackle tedious tasks like directory cleanup.

Tags: automate, automation, files, folders, hard-drive, move, organization

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Productivity, Freeware

Use Folder2Iso to declutter your hard drive

by Lee Mathews Nov 26th 2008

When I first came across Folder2Iso I wasn't convinced of its usefulness. The author proposes using it in combination with DVD Decrypter and ImgBurn to copy DVDs and CDs, but I'm guessing most of you have a more streamlined system for doing that.

Recently one of our readers wrote in looking for help in tidying up a disorganized hard drive. I thought back to that post, and figured I might be able to use this app to further my organizational efforts.

Instead of leaving multiple folders of installers that I may only require once in a blue moon on my drive, I can use Folder2Iso to quickly convert the whole lot into individual ISO files. If I need and app in a particular category later, I just mount it with Daemon Tools and share it.

My tools folder is quite a bit more streamlined now. Everything I need on a daily basis is in a common folder, and anything else has been dumped to a single ISO file and labeled appropriately.

It's a nice bonus that I can also quickly burn an entire set of tools to give to a friend if I need to using ImgBurn. Folder2Iso is freeware for Windows only.

Tags: iso, organization, virtual-cd

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Productivity, Freeware, Ask DLS, Search

Help! How do I tidy up a disorganized hard drive?

by Lee Mathews Nov 21st 2008

DS Reader Jamie wrote recently looking for some assistance, saying:

I'm not the most disorganized of individuals: my music is in my music folder, etc. etc., but i have a fatal flaw. I put random stuff on my desktop, then it gets cluttered. My solution has been, in a word, poor. I put all the random stuff into a folder that usually goes by the name of misc or sort this out later. I was wondering what kind of advice you'd give for someone in this situation other than, "Get off your ass and go through it all!!"

For starters, Jamie, you hit the nail on the head - but don't fret, chum, you're not alone. Though I've planned ahead far enough to partition my drives on the laptop I'm using to post this article, the D: drive is a nightmarish mess of downloads, old backups, ISO images, and other files.

Let's get started by downloading your choice of duplicate file finders, like Easy Duplicate Finder or CloneSpy. Both work well, and will save time by getting rid of unnecessary files before we start organizing. For the rest of the work, we're going manual - we created our messes that way, so that's how we're cleaning them up!

Tags: file-management, file-manager, organization

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Productivity, Shareware, Freeware

Bring order to the XP, Vista start menu with Winstep Organize

by Lee Mathews Oct 20th 2008

While manually sorting your start menu using Explorer isn't the most annoying task confronting a Windows user, it's not all that fun, either.

Winstep Start Menu Organizer makes the process much simpler. Install it, fire it up, and you're presented with three panes to help sort things out easily: categories, items in the current category, and uncategorized items. Within about 20 seconds I managed to drag my folders into Winstep's default categories and streamline my previously chaotic menu.

Also included is a handy start menu backup and restore feature, which makes rolling back to your intial Windows default setup a painless procedure.

The free version does have some serious limitations: you can't create your own categories or subcategories, which could be a major inconvenience for some users. Still, the included default catgories are general enough to help just about anyone compact and bring order to their start menu quickly and easily.

[ via Life Rocks 2.0 ]

Do you already have a preferred app to tackle this task? Share it with other DS readers in the comments!

Tags: enhancements, organization, start menu, StartMenu

Filed under: Business, Utilities, News, Productivity

Radiologists using iTunes to organize medical PDFs

by Jay Hathaway Jul 30th 2008

We're willing to bet radiologists in Shanghai like to listen to music -- who doesn't? -- but that's not how they're using iTunes. At Renji Hospital and Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, they're using it to organize PDFs of important medical research and images that they say are more useful than many textbooks.

You can drop a PDF into iTunes and sort it just like you would with music. That means that the medical documents in Shanghai are searchable, ratable, and can be given multiple different tags. Before iTunes, they were keeping redundant copies of PDFs in directories by category. Now, they only need to keep one of each. So, if you've been looking for software that can organize your PDFs, think about an app you likely already have: iTunes!

[via Dr. Dobb's]

Tags: iTunes, medicine, organization, pdf

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Beta, web 2.0

Organize and share your online content with SecondBrain

by Nancy Messieh Jun 24th 2008

SecondBrain is a personal aggregator that doesn't just aim to collect all your online content in one place - it helps you organize it. It's a bit del.icio.us, a bit FriendFeed and a bit Onaswarm, all rolled into one, with a new twist you're not going to find anywhere else.

You can import content from Twitter, del.icio.us, Blogger, Wordpress, Digg and StumbleUpon, and that's less than half the list. You can also get your content into SecondBrain by adding links directly to the site. With most other aggregators or social bookmarking sites, that's all you have to do. This is where SecondBrain gets interesting, because it allows you to organize your content into collections and share it with your people who follow your updates. SecondBrain's latest feature gives all users 1GB free storage.

It's still lacking certain features, the most significant one being the inability to export your links, but we've been told that's in the works.

SecondBrain appeals to that obsessive compulsive need to keep all your online content neatly tagged and filed away. And what better way to do this than with a service that allows you to share it with other like-minded people?

Tags: aggregator, bookmarking, import, lifestream, organization, secondbrain, social, socialbookmarking, storage

Filed under: Utilities, Macintosh, Productivity, Shareware

Together 2.0 - organize your stuff easily

by Christina Warren Nov 16th 2007

Earlier this week we previewed Bento, the new personal database application by FileMaker. Today we take a look at another Leopard-only Mac application aimed at keeping your files organized and easy to find: Together 2.0. Together, previously known as Keep it Together (KIT), is a pretty slick application from Reinvented Software that promises an easy way to keep all kinds of files in one place, making it easy to find them again later. Using a drag-and-drop interface and taking advantage of both Spotlight and Quick Look in Leopard, Together shows a lot of promise as an easy to use data organizer.

Together works, essentially, by dragging and dropping files and folders into either the application itself, or to a designated group or folder in the Shelf, a side menu that can be quickly accessed from the desktop, regardless of what program you are using. You can then label or tag those items and add notations or make small edits. Parts of the program reminded us of the Google Notebook, but without being exclusively web-based. For instance, we were able to drag and drop graphics from a web page directly into Together 2.0, without first saving or opening the file in a separate window. Likewise, selected text is copied (sans markup) to a new text file. Web archives can be created from within Together 2.0, either from existing bookmarks or a manual URL - and the text on those pages can be edited instantly.

Tags: leopard, organization, reinvented together 2.0, ReinventedTogether2.0, together 2.0, Together2.0, utility

Filed under: Utilities, Macintosh, Commercial

FileMaker announces new organizing application for Leopard

by Christina Warren Nov 13th 2007

FileMaker, Inc. a company best known for the cross-platform database app, FileMaker Pro, has just released a public preview of Bento, their new personal database program for Leopard users -- which to quote the press release -- "[is] as easy to use as your Mac." The program, which is expected to ship early next year, is available as a free, full-functioning time-limited Preview (it expires in February) from FileMaker's site. The shipping version will be $49 for individual licenses and $99 for a family license. Bento is a Leopard-only application.

We got a chance to play around with Bento prior to today's public pre-release, and are really impressed with both the interface (which is very similar to iTunes and the rest of the iLife series) and the actual power of the program. Bento automatically links itself with iCal and Address Book (so a change made in Bento will show up in the corresponding applications, and vice versa), while also taking advantage of some of Leopard's new features, like being able to play a media file without having to open QuickTime or iTunes, from within the database. This is really helpful if trying to organize a multi-media project, because everything is accessible from one place, and the files can be quickly viewed or opened on the spot.

Bento is also very customizable, both in Library types and in overall appearance. FileMaker provides 20 different "themes" that can be applied to a Library or Collection, and they look very, very Mac, which is to say aesthetically pleasing. Our pals over at TUAW have also previewed Bento, and provide some great screenshots of the program itself and some thoughts on the application as a whole.

Tags: bento, database, filemaker, filemaker pro, FilemakerPro, leopard, organization

Filed under: Business, Internet, Productivity, Social Software, web 2.0

Highrise introduces tags tab, multi-tag filtering

by David Chartier Aug 22nd 2007

Highrise, the popular web-based contact and correspondence app from 37signals, has a new dedicated Tags tab in the dashboard. This will help users filter and sift through their contacts and notes much more quickly, especially since the company built in the slick ability to select multiple tags with which to filter. Clicking one tag in the cloud begins the process, while clicking another will switch to filtering by just that tag. After clicking a tag, however, the upper right of the tag cloud (pictured) will offer a 'Multiple tags' option. Once clicked, each subsequent tag you select will add to the filter, not replace it. This is a very smart way to offer the best of both worlds for everyone, no matter how they work and use tags to sort their correspondence.

Tags: 37signals, contacts, correspondence, filters, Highrise, organization, tags, web 2.0, Web2.0

Filed under: Productivity, Web services

Notely helps you keep school organized

by Grant Robertson Jul 27th 2007

Remember the Trapper Keeper? That faithful notebook saw many a gen-Xer through his or her awkward teen years. Flash forward to today, and so much classwork is done online that the Trapper Keeper has nearly gone the way of the sulfur tipped match.

Notely is a web service designed to help you keep track of classes, homework, lecture notes and more. As they say, "Notely is a collection of online tools designed to help all you drunken students out there to organise your busy lives. whether you're in University, College or High School"

We don't know why they're accusing high-school students of drinking, but it's a neat service and worth a look if you're headed back to campus this fall.

Tags: organization, school

The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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