A great program that does an excellent job of filling my project planning needs. My one complaint is the lack of response I have gotten to email sent to support. Three emails, no response. No excuse for this in my book. If response was better I'd give this 5 stars.

I was comparing several outlining software to see which would best suit my purpose as a note-taking software when I ended up w/ this. While the interface isn't as pretty as ThoughManager, which I almost bought, its features really make up for it. I only wish it was possible to add multiple notes per item and be able to link to images. Also the desktop program needs an obvious way to remove a file.

This is a shockingly/amazingly deep program. I cannot believe the level of depth of the program, yet is you want to use it as a simple checklist, then do it. Maybe the most functional and best buy for the buck of any PDA software. No nead for checklist programs, project managers, task managers and database programs if you get this. It also integrates wonderfully if you want to your calendar and todo list. Just amazing functionality. Jon

I am an organizer nut and bought Thought Manager as the first software purchase for my Clie about two years ago. TM has served me well, but it interfaced with nothing else except a simplistic import/export function on the desktop. I really wanted to outline my notes from within (or linked from) Agendus. I couldn't get that but I did discover ShadowPlan. You can quickly start to use it in it's basic default mode - but who buys it for that? Getting from basic to something really useful is somewhat intimidating and takes a lot of time, but when you get there it's gangbusters. I keep trying to find something it won't do and usually find that the developer was way ahead of me. ShadowPlan organizes beyond belief. But forget the desktop until it's more fully developed.

Very impressed!! Spent considerable time reviewing similar programs but went with Shadow for its ease of use and functionality. I especially like its quick response in both initial loading and in loading lists. I bought it as an enhanced ToDo list, but have found it can be used for much more. The 'Tags' feature allows quick sorting - Shadow will be replacing databases on slower, more awkward programs. The new desktop component is very visual and functional - an all around great program.

Easily worth $80!! As a school psychologist in the public schools I do tons of project management. I got DateBk5 a couple years ago and loved it, though I wished it had a view option oriented to project management. You know, so I could bounce back and forth between the calendar and project lists, both working fully in sync. Well Jeff has achieved this and given Shadow Plan an incredible level of functionality with features I never would¿ve thought of. I was turned off at first by the mechanical look of Shadow and almost went with a more cutesy program instead. I downloaded both to my Palm, read both manuals and practiced with both. I determined that the competition is much prettier, but for functionality it has to be Shadow Plan. Also worth mention: I spent much effort comparing DateBk5 with it¿s competitor. Same deal. The competition is prettier, but if functionality is your need go with Bk5.

Get it. Its in the same league as DateBk5: Use it for shopping lists or professional project task tracking, it won't let you down. Well integrated with built-in databases. I keep checking the development of other Taskmanagers (which I even bought years ago, when I didn't know Shadow yet) - you can save yourself the trouble. Tips for FirstTimers: 1) Also get ShadowLink Hack (also available for OS5) immediately: You can do a precision jump back to Shadow from your ToDo Database. 2) Import your existing ToDos and work from there - read the manual (!)

Simply the best piece of s/w in its (very broad) category. Highly configurable, but don't be 'put off' by any appearance of complexity. Simply use it at the level appropriate to yourself. Then learn about other features one by one, as you feel the need.

Wow. I downloaded this app and installed it... Then I couln't quite figure out how it worked. THEN I re-read the help file and synced to get it on my clie'. That's when the fun began!! Don't be intimidated by the lack of sample files. Import your todo's, memos, etc. then you'll quickly see how easy it is to create outlines, 'child' data for projects. I even scheduled how I am gong to attack the problem I'm having with my car. The biggest surprise is that it's so inexpensive. I LOVE freeware, but I am willing to pay for apps that really help. this one is getting paid for.. Also, I love being able to start a file on my Clie', sync it to the desktop and tweak it in the shadow windows app, the sync back to my Clie'.

This is the best project manager I have ever used. I tried Bonsai, Brain Forest and others. This one takes the cake. It's simple, intuitive interface is just what I was looking for. I can¿t hardly believe how great the support is. I emailed a question for the developer and I received a reply within an hour! That¿s not all, I sent a reply with another question and he replied back within 20 mins! He was really nice about answering a question that I missed in the manual (I¿m sure he¿s been asked it a million times). I also bought the desktop counterpart and it¿s great for big projects. This is my 2nd review on Palmgear and I've had many programs, I just wanted everyone to know how cool this is.

Shadow by far is the single best palm app I have found. I have tested so many others. This software is the easiest to use and most adaptable to accept the 4 built in palm applications. There are built in ¿Tags¿ this allows you the ability to search, and filter any way you would like with out limitation. No 15 category limit. Advanced Cut and Paste allows for data to be moved from many locations with minimal key strokes. The ability to export lists to either Doc, or Memo is feature rich with many choices including html, tab, and space. It even allows for archiving of records after your done with them. I would suggest you look at this palm application if you like to be organized. My opinion on all of the 3rd party desktop applications is don't to it! The palm app is so feature rich and you will have to work on the desktop and then go to your palm and review what was done on the desktop. The software flawlessly links to your built in datebook and Todo list, even if your use outlook. No I don¿t work for Codejedi and yes I have a few suggestions to make the software even better. First add alarms. Some of us don't like the 3rd party apps that have alarms for Todos. Second Add repeating and Re-Doing events. I know that you can have these features in other apps. But who needs those pieces of software? All in all I give this software an excellent rating and for $15.00 it's a steal !

Simply superb! This software provides more functionality than anything else on the market. The ability to create an outline and then use 'tags' and 'filters' to display different views of the data enables me to manage all types / sizes of projects easily! The level of customer support provided by the developer is amazing. I wish other developers were as responsive! The product is being continually enhanced and improved. Buy it!

This is the second review I've ever posted. Same as with DateBk 5, this program is worth 100 stars! I am a demanding power user of outliners and, thus, have tried every single one available. As a consultant I have many different requirements and Shadow Plan meets them all. Tags, Views, Filters: you name it - Shadow Plan offers it. Best of all, all future updates are free. My only improvement suggestion is to add a little shift indicator (same little arrow pointing up as in almost every Palm application) in the mini edit pop-up. Don't look any further. You've found what you were looking for. From simple shopping lists to complex project management. Nothing is impossible!

Shadow is just unbelievable!I would give it 10 Stars if possible (baah even higher :) I tried out every outliner for palm but this is it! And it is aweful not only in outlining but in note taking, organizing your life and your personal information - in fact the possibilties of this app are endless. The same quality is the support. Really it's unbelievable. Jeff just listens to EVERYBODY's ideas and checkes out the discussion group every day! And he listens to the users. It's a good feeling to own a prog which is supported and developed like this. Ahh I think Jeff sets a new meaning to the word "Actively supported". A very talented Coder. And sooner or later the Desktop will reach the level of the Handheld app that's for sure! Try it and the Shadow will get you very soon...

The author is unbelievably responsive - the product superb !! 10 STARS (if I could)

I've been registered for over a year, but never really gave ShadowPlan a real chance. For the past 3½ weeks, I've been trying out Life Balance. After checking out LBs price, I decided once again to give Shadow a chance. Sat down on the commuter train and read the manual thoroughly. Now, I'm hooked! The flexibility of the tags combined with the extremely friendly interface for building customer filters and views means I can really focus on those To-Dos that relate to time, place, urgency, etc, or any combination of the above. (Example - assign tags to a task such as "Evening", "Calls", "Home" and any number of other you want, and define separate lists for things to do in the evening at home, or calls to make in the evening, or calls from home, and the task will be there! Just excellent! I'm awaiting improvements to the desktop component, but the Palm version is terrific! I'm moving all of my tasks by from LB to Shadow as soon as this is posted. Register and you won't regret it!

Wonderful app. Unlimited(it seems)customization. Great support. I've been using it for years and it only gets better.

While I enjoy the handheld and desktop version of Shadow Plan--and rate them 5 stars--Jeff's extraordinary level of support prompted me to write. I did some odd things to a Shadow file I was working with (pasted some html into it), and the file would no longer open or sync. Jeff wrote a custom script to strip out the offending control characters, and fixed the problem with a promptness and friendliness that should be a model for tech support on any program. Bravo!!

To be fair and true, this is a response for the reviewer below that gave 3 stars. Well, it may not support Hide and Mask from the palm OS, but if your THAT worried (which can be understandable) about people seeing your private data, you can hide it with a Launcher. I use Silver Screen. It has an option to "hide" and "show" entire apps. And assuming you keep your handheld secure with EasyLock, or PDA Defense, or the regular built in security in the palm os, anyone who attempts to steal would have to get through all of that (the security), and they STILL wouldn't even SEE Shadow Plan (It's hidden). I'm not sure if other launcher's support the hide and show feature, but check it out. because until the developer does implement them, Silver Screen does it just right for me. Great work!!!! Shadow comin!!!!!!

New version 2.5. There are no longer enough stars to show just how great this app is. Hands down the best planning app available. Much more than just an outliner or list keeper. Custom filters, custom views, custom sorting, use tags to define each item. Check out codejedi.com. Absolutely Amazing.

A superb program, in my opinion by far the best outliner available for the Palm (I have tried all of them, and some of the others are quite good, but just don't match Shadow). Features like the accumulating clipboard, zoom to level, links to the built-in Palm databases, tags (multiple categories for Shadow items), and custom filters (you can search for items due this week, tagged as work, and containing the word "call," for instance) make Shadow an immensely powerful tool for brainstorming and for managing lists. The developer is amazingly hard-working, responsive, and a very good guy. If you like outliners, try this!

Minus two stars because it doesn't support the standard built in Palm OS "mask" and "hide". Otherwise a very nice app.

This is the best palm application ever it literally becomes your shadow, you'll find yourself quickly getting addicted to all its amazing functions...organize your list, projects, school work, and just about anything you can think off..its so good it should be standard with every Palm OS Pda...take the time to read the manual and you'll reap the benefits within days.....

I have used all of the task/project/outline apps on the market for years (both PPC and Palm apps) and nothing comes close to this software, period! After years of using dysfunctional handheld task managers I am relieved - FINALLY someone got! Big time! One of the ads for this software said "life changer" and at first I thought it was kinda corny - but ShadowPlan allows me to perform my planning and then through links to the Palm's datebook/to-do/memo built in apps I actually am getting allot more done and feel good about it - so this is a kind of a life changer. PS. I never write these reviews but after spending way to much on other very poorly written applications I felt compelled because it really is that good. My 2 cents :-)

******* 7 STARS ******* I have used Shadow since version 1.0, and have always liked the program and the developer A LOT, but version 2.5 has taken ShadowPlan into a class by itself! I have stopped using Life Balance and Bonsai altogether, and only refer to DateBk5 for appointments now. Version 2.5, among other things adds custom filters and custom views which have to be seen to be believed. I highly recommend this app. Give it a try!

As with all the previous versions, this is AWESOME. I've been a registered user almost since the beginning. These guys just don't rest. How much further can they go? My only comment/suggestion - When will we see some HandEra Hi-Res Screen support? Please, Please, Pleasseeee........Thanks for a killer app...Ou Boet

This is it people! By far the best program I've ever used. Thought my datebook program was my one essential, and now I know it is ShadowPlan. This program can organize your life completely, and all your entries sync into your datebook and to do list. It can sort and filter through categories by adding tags that you assign to your entries (now more than the 15 limit in the Palm OS), and the upcoming version can sort by names from your address book. It blows away the competition, and you will find this was the best money you ever spent. Quit wasting time and effort with the others and try this one out now. I have no affiliation with this product or developer, but have followed the product growth from day one! It is now AWESOME! Enjoy!!!

This is by far the best outliner availabe for the Palm OS, it has integration with other palm apps (date book, notes, to do) In fact it can even link item including completion to to dos. And altought it is reature rich, the interface is easy to use and intuitive. However there are a few important problems keeping it from winning more stars: 1) Bug: When you mark a checkbox the task completion goes to 100%, and when you unckek the box it goes bakc to the percent you hadit works great. But here is the problem, when you select a lower percent the checkbox stays marked and when you select 100% the checkbox does not marks. 2) Desktop is lame compared to the palm app.

I switched from Bonsai to ShadowPlan and immediately registered ShadowPlan. I find the interface much more intuitive, and it interacts with Action Names exactly the way I want it to. In fact, it does everything just the way I want/expect it to. Hey, I'm a human factors psychologist and hard to impress, but I am blown away by the thought that has gone into this app. By the way, when I switched to high res mode the appearance of the app changed completely (I have a Sony Clie T615, hi res color display), and is as good as any of the apps I use. The complexity is fine by me, because the basic functions are intuitive, and the added capabilities make it more functional.

This software IS awesome. So is the developer. as a long time user, how this guy gets so much done WHILE providing the highest level of support is truly amazing. But the guy is human, and is ONE human doing all this stuff. This is easily the MOST freguently updated Project/Outliner software there is. He shares on his mailing list what those 2 features that he is implementing are. These will ge HUGE. When he does return to work on the desktop, perhaps these features will be a part of it too.

Reply to previous review: Actually, I've never said the issue was minor.. I said it was very *rare*, and will fixed in the published time -- I'm currently focusing on finishing the last two major requested handheld features so that I can then concentrate on the desktop side of things, including fixing a couple of conduit issues (rarely showing themselves) and major feature enhancements to the desktop. When you're supporting handheld across all major Palm platforms, desktop across Windows, Mac and various Unices, things have to be done in order or else you'll just never get anywhere :) So check back soon.. your issue with the conduit will be fixed soon. - the Developer

Nice program but getting much too complicated. No support for the desktop. I and several others mentioned to the developer that we were having problems with objects in the outline jumping around and he just said it was minor and not many were having the problem. Meanwhile he just goes on adding other bells and whistles making it more complicated. I switched to another organizer and have had no such problems since. I think the developer has good intentions but the palm is supposed to keep it simple, not complicate things. I had to spend most of my time rearranging my lists with shadow plan. Carl

Better, stronger, and smaller than any comparable outliner. Now with more features than I know what to do with, and a very well thought out interface. Great work.

There are three programs which Palm Inc should call up the programmers and make a deal to add perm to the rom in futrue palm pilots. This is one of them. The program is the best of it's kind. There hasn't been a company that has cared so much about their product like this one. Excellent work.

I have searched High and Low for a great outliner to detail my goals, tasks, Todos, and memos. This is it! FANTASTIC! Make a mistake... just drag it to the correct location! Detailed completion and hiararchy support! Color categorize! the list goes on and on.... And best of all the price ! this is worth much more than the asking price!! Get it! buy it! you will be very glad you did!

This is an excellent product for anyone involved in project management. The ability to link to the datebook or todo is wonderful and the desktop makes data entry easy. I highly recommend combining this product with a datebook like Action Names.

I have to reply; Shadow definitely supports beaming, and has for a year or more! Its documented in the manuals, and is found in the file selection screen .. /B for beam :)

This is the first palm shareware I purchased. I use it to keep track of work, personal and volunteer tasks. It has a great drop down menu and drag and drop re-ordering of trees. <BR> it's my most used app on my visor today. <BR> only downside - no beam. hopefully he'll implement beaming on the next version.

Awesome program, awesome service. When every planning expert advocates taking a big project and dividing it into pieces, I don't know why few planning tools make this convenient. Shawdow does. Great for task management, lists, etc. Linking to the built-in app's works great too. Right now, the desktop application is a little weak, but I am confident that will improve.

I have been using Shadowplan for 1/2 year.<BR> The reasons for this being the best outliner:<BR> -affordability<BR> -responsive developer<BR> -developer with the constant improvement attitude<BR> -last but not least, powerfully program.<BR> Kudos to Jeff!!

Back in February I reviewed this product, and got some stick for not loving it, I though it was quite good but not THAT good. Well, what a difference 9 months makes. It is now so much more user friendly, and I really like the desktop app. I still don't like the "drag and drop" (why can't I move an item to the top of list ?) but that is not a problem since the graphical bar is great, and being able to create "heading" items with just a note and child as a tasklist is just what I want. Other outliners, such as Progect (which is my outliner of choice), have stood still in terms of development, Shadow has not. I am going to give it a few weeks before giving up some cash, but on the face of it, Shadow is on it's way to be becoming the must have app on the palm. Keep up the good work !

An essential project management tool, and the _most_ responsive developer I've ever seen.

I is a good replacement of TODO and a useful project planner. However, I will rate it 5 stars only it have the drawing feature just as TODO PLUS.

I'm very impressed with the flexibility of the program and use it extensively to maintain many different lists--to dos, books to read, shopping needs, etc. I can also verify the fabulous technical support mentioned elsewhere here. The developer responded to my questions and comments by email in literally minutes. He really cares about the product and its users. I am happy to support such a conscientious and talented developer.

Just great. Gets better all the time, and the author responds faster than any other I've ever dealt with. Amazing.

I think this is a terrifically designed product. So simple, and yet so flexible! You can easily switch between ways to look at lists (checklist, tasklist, etc., or create your own custom combination of views)... Cool icons for percent complete, checkmark, due date, etc. It is easy to add items, or modify, say, the percent complete. I find it a very cool product.

The BEST outliner for the Palm hands down. I must say that Shadow and HandBase are the two best apps for the Palm, the best money I've ever spent.

Great product. Just what I was looking for at a very fair price. I love the way you can link your objectives to a Datebook and/or ToDo entry. No worries about missing a deadline! Hopefully a desktop conduit will be available very soon.

6 stars. I am one who has tried every outliner, in search of my dream outliner. Here it is! It is feature rich, flexible, and well thought out. I e-mailed my wish list (two very minor items)to the author and I received a very positive response in a matter of minutes! There is a rave review on Pen Computing Magazine (March, 2001 issue) for those who want to read further. That is how I decided to try it and I am glad I did.

6 stars?... I think we need a recount... I'll agree with the last reviewer on what looks to be his only issue. The drag & drop could be a little more forgiving when promoting or demoting an item. But by no means does this alone make a 2 star review. I know the author wants it to be intuitive, having the user quickly learn it?s interface, and I'm sure he'd agree the drag & drop feature could be taken a step further. After discovering how responsive the author was to my email, I wouldn?t doubt if he?d address this in a future release. That point said, the program is pretty clean and feature rich. It does what he says it does. The man's excited about his product and it shows in his presentation... check out his website. I'm sure he's spent 100's of hours defining this programs functionality, and we can all uncover something to complain about after 100 more? yet he won?t mind one bit. That?s what makes this a great program.

Another 2 weeks on and I still stand by my review and I can't seem to find any reference here to only being allowed to post positive comments. I wasn't entirely critical, I think the linking is great. I am sure much hard work has gone into this product, but after all that I just don't like bits of it, sorry. I have been parallel running Shadow with Progect (Brainforrest dropped out of the running a while back), which doubles the work (but it the end I hope to end up with the best product for my needs), and I HAVE taken time to get to know it. I just happen to feel that if I drag something directly downwards it should stay on the same level, I shouldn't have to drag down AND left to achieve this. OK, so it's a quirk, and you get used to it. Just like you get used to having to have Action Boxes at every level. But it hasn't changed my life (and neither has Progect) so doesn't merit "six" stars. Quite frankly I wish it did. Anyway, this isn't a discussion forum, and all I was trying to do was add some balance. It is a good product, well made, no bugs, some very nice touches. But I just don't get on with it. Progect is better for my needs, but it may not be for everyone.

I think the previous review (by Nigel Godfrey), does a disservice to the hard work put into this app. If he would spend a bit more time learning how to use the app instead of criticizing it, he would probably change his mind. The drag and drop feature is quite simple to use once you understand its implementation. My 6 star review stands! I've used all the other outliners and Shadowplan is the best, most useful one there is, bar none.

Are the previous reviewers using the same software as me ? I loaded this up largely based on them, and I am stunned. Yes, it may be lean and mean, but it ain't clean. The drag and drop has had me swearing out loud, something I usualy reserve for Micros*ft ! The dragged item never ends up where I want it, you can't drag an item to the top of the list (why ?) , so I tried to use demote/promote instead. This totally messed up my list order (see that this is a reported bug). Why on earth do I want check boxes at each level, have you never heard of headings ? I want to group actions under descriptions without action items (simple enough in most other outliners). That said the todo linking is probably the best of the bunch, something that I use a lot. The point really is that all these "6 star" reviews are rather misleading. This is a fine product, but not one of the current outliner app's totally fulfils our requirements, believe me I have tried the ALL ! One day, someone will come up with the killer outliner, hopefuly sooner rather than later. But Shadowplan isn't it at the moment.

ShadowPlan is an incredible piece of software engineering. It is fast, it is intuitive, and it is *extremely* useful. It has terric customizable views, task tracking facilities, powerful links, drag and drop, import/export, and much much more. In the few days that i've had the software (and yes, i have already registered it) i've already created over a dozen separate "Lists", each with numerous items. I now track all of my work projects in ShadowPlan (and most of my personal "lists" as well... with more to come). It helps me keep track of progress, dates, status, etc. I also use the link feature quite extensively, linking items to other lists and/or to datebk4.

There are not enough stars on the rating system to express my satisfaction with this product. I have used the high priced nationally known desktop planners in the past and thought they could not be beat. Well, we have a new winner. This is just not a good to-do list for your PDA. Shadow helps you coordinate, plan, and do with very little effort. Downloaded into the PDA and was using the software as soon as I turned the little unit on. My hat is off to Shadow and keep up the good work.

6+STARS!! I can't say enough about this software. I have been searching for a way to organize my projects for a long time and have been through the list of apps trying to find one that really HELPS ME GET THINGS DONE. ShadowPlan is just damned fantastic in the ways it allows you to enter your tasks, your lists, your deadlines, whatever you need. You can sort it, track it, prioritize it, export it. And it's only 13 bucks! Right up there with Datebook3/4, ToDo Plus, etc. TRY IT! I registered it just as fast as I could. (The author is the best I've encountered.)

* * * * * * 6 STARS!!! <BR> I am usually bluntly honest about my ratings of products, and usually give lower ratings. This product deserves more than 5 stars. <BR> The developer is very responsive. I recommend those who like to be involved, or to try out alpha/beta releases, or to give input to improve the product to become involved in the e-mail lists. If you have a good idea, it will likely be considered, and possibly make it into the product. Several of my ideas were implemented, and Jeff frequently takes the ideas and improves on them when he implements them. <BR> The niche this product fills is integrating the outliner with the To-Do and Datebk databases, as well as a good palm-based outliner. Notes can be viewed "in-line" (basically dropped down and shown in the list). <BR> It does not have a desktop counterpart yet, but as this evolves it looks like that may be coming. So, for those who want a desktop counterpart *now*, other products are worth looking into. <BR> On the other hand, the datebk and to-do linking capabilities allow a lot to be done on the desktop. The notes, priorities, dates, and descriptions are perfectly synchronized between Shadow Plan and the other databases, so you can edit them on the desktop and they will be reflected in Shadow Plan. <BR> This product ties with Datebk4 (IMO) for the most useful Palm app, and I've tried all the other outliners.

This is so clearly a five star software. It does all you ever want to do with tasklists, checklists, notes and more. The programm has several clever features, e.g. progress bars for each task, hierarchical tasks, sorting, drag & drop, cut & paste, html export. The author is very helpfull and has an open mind for new features and user requests. Very good support. There are several mailing lists about different aspects of ShadowPlan. Definetly more worth than $12.95. A must-buy.

After considering Bonsai and Progect in the very interesting outliner arena, I have to give my enthusiastic vote (and registration) to ShadowPlan. Development on Bonsai and Progect seem to have come to a crawl, while Jeff Mitchell has continued to improve ShadowPlan based on feedback from users. Although Bonsai has a desktop app (alpha on Progect), I wouldn't be surprised if one is in the works for Shadowplan.

Whoa! I couldn't agree more with some of the comments already posted -- this app is great for organizing task lists, project goals/milstones, etc. The links to ToDo (I use ToDo PLUS) are really cool! Changes in one view show up in the other view! It solves all of the fumbling around with ToDo to make it do what I wanted it to do. $13 well spent.

I had just written a database similar to Shadow in FileMaker Pro when I decided that what I really wanted to have it on was my Palm. I looked at a number of Palm native databases trying to recreate it. I was just cracking the books on programming the Palm in order to make my own version when I discovered Shadow. Now I don't have to write it myself, Jeff has done a better job than I could have hoped for! Thanks.

BACK UP TO 5 STARS FOR ME! Just wanted to report back that the author's lack of response was in deed due to a mail problem on my end, and since that resolution he has been quite communicative and we've been working together to resolve the issues mentioned in my 1-Star review. Since that review - he has also released an even more enhanced version of the software and pointed me towards his beta mailing list to allow me to help in further problem solving. Thanks Jeff!!!

OK, I don't give many 5-star ratings, and I was going to hold out for a while, but this product has changed the way I use the Palm -- it is one of my two favorite apps, right up there with Datebk4. It fits my particular needs perfectly -- great linking from an outline to the Datebook and Todo databases, so my rating is for how it perfectly fills that niche for me. This program leaves Arranger, and any other program that links to the built-in databases, in the dust. The design is well thought out, and the developer is very open to suggestions. I recommend that anyone who wants to keep up with the betas join one of the e-mail groups on the home page. I guess I'll just have to add some stars myself for future reviews :-)

The lad complaining that I did not respond is inaccurate -- his email address was bouncing when I attempted to reply -- twice. As such I have no information about the crash, but I expect its due to a hack or perhaps a cartridge. Not that the application is developed on Vx, 3c, and Prism, and works on those units.

This is an Excellent application...no doubt about it. But somehow, it is now crashing on my Handspring Prism *EACH AND EVERY* time I try to use it. I contacted the author, and recieved no response - and yes, I'm a registered user. I was hoping this new 3.3 version would solve the problem...but it doesn't. Here I am stuck with a LOT of data in an application that isn't stable enough to even let me view the information or retrieve it. VERY unimpressed. Ken Kerruish

I just registered this program after trying it for an hour or so. This is the first time I have done that. Why? 1) because it works 2) Because it was fast 3) Because it is feature rich and full of potential 4) Because it was cheap and if this is a mistake then it won't matter. 5) Because I can tell from the documentation that the developer has a great vision for his product and really wants to make it a great success. 6) because he states that updates are free for life 7) because the developer looks like he is responsive to suggestions and ideas from his customers. I have loads of ideas I would like to see implemented so we shall see. I would like to see more options to control import / export. Import Export will be the key to this program being big as it will allow all sorts of users to generate there own utils to translate into other formats. I would like to generate bug web pages from a project todo list so I would also like to DOC format supported so that bigger files can be shipped over in 1 go. I'll email the rest of my idea's. Great program - can't wait for my key do that I can try bigger lists. I was *very* dissappointed with Listmaker but this has restored my faith in what the Palm Pilot could be about. Thanks again. Hugh

Jeff has been very responsive and proactive as well as open-minded after my review yesterday. He also made informed me of the mailing lists, and that he's very available in e-mail. The bug info, good discussion, and pointers to betas can be found through the mailing lists. So, I'm raising my review to 4 stars again, and am optimistic that this program will earn 5 stars soon (something I reserve for only the best software!).

Response to Mr. Fosler: The todo issue is pretty rare -- I've only had a couple of complaints, and am narrowing down what the actual problem is. In all cases it is an annoyance and not data loss -- a linked todo (from Shadow to ToDo) sometimes shows up at the end of the todo listing, when it should be sorted. Some programs dislike this. Further, the aforementioned feature additions are available in alpha and beta mailing lists.. people are free to join these groups and get the goods, but I release them to the public when I'm pretty sure everyone is satisfied. For any readers.. feel free to join my mailing lists and get into the action!

The developer said >>>> "Someone found a minor bug with ToDos and Datebk4; expect a fix in a couple of days. Expect global find and complex filters to be coming very soon! Expect new releasses every week or so for awhile.. lots to add, to make your life easier!" <<<< There is no explanation of what this bug is -- any bug that can affect my to-do's and/or datebook isn't minor if it results in me missing something. The developer said expect a fix in a couple of days -- where is it? Expect new releases every week or so -- where are they? This is still my favorite to-do integrated outliner app, however it's frustrating when developers don't keep people informed especially when bugs are involved. Lowering my rating to 3 until this communication problem is addressed :-)

In nearly 4 years of PalmPiloting, I've evaluated hundreds of apps, and have been a alpha/beta tester for many of them. I will say that Jeff Mitchell is as close to genius as they come, and he's the first developer I've seen that can not only build an app that's highly intuitive, but can add features that are totally unique without losing functionality. ShadowPlan has become the mose usable program I own, and unlike other apps, it RAPIDLY continues to evolve well beyond where the others have stopped (and died). Whether you're an organizational geek or you just like cool new stuff, you've gotta try this one out!

OK, I said I'd raise my rating if to-do linkage didn't require a date, and I happily do so!!! The new 1.3 version does not require a target date for to-do's, which makes it very usable for to-do linking now. This is now my favorite outliner app, with Progect a close second. Reserving the last star for more improvements which are on the way :-)

I have registered virtually ALL of the Outliner applications available for the Palm OS including ShadowPlan. Im my opinion, Shadow has the greatest potential. ShadowPlan author, Jeff Mitchell is developing Shadow at an amazing rate, adding feature after feature, many of which have been suggested by users of the program. Sure, there have been bugs, but Jeff always finds them and fixes them. Shadow has some unique features (some implemented, some planned) that, in my opinion, give it the greatest potential of all the outliner apps. For example, not only can you link to the DateBook & To Do databases, but you can also link between Shadow files. Global find, complex filtering and tags are some of the features anticipated for the next release version 1.4. Tags are kind of like categories but better as there can be up to 255 tags whereas categories are limited by Palm OS to 15. Up to two tags will be able to be assigned to each item in Shadow files. Imagine being able to sort (on any two of) and create complex filters based on Target date, Start Date, Finish Date, Creation Date, Title, Priority, Progress, Competion Status, AND two different tags. I can't say enough good things about this application and its author. If you like outliner applications, you owe it to yourself to try out the one with best value & potential.

This application has promise, but still has a long ways to go, especially in its to-do linkage implementation. Case in point: to link to the to-do database, you must supply a date for the target application. This makes little sense for linking to the to-do app, because undated to-do's are very useful and natural. Also, the dialogs one must go through to achieve the link require a lot of navigating. The to-do link management should be immediately in the details of the outline entry, not within the options dialog of the details dialog. After some of these design problems have been cleared up, I will happily raise my rating.

This is the best of breed for outliners/task managers ! I have tried Natara's Bonsai, Brainforest, Arranger, Progect and this is by far and away the best product I have seen. The biggest reason is the effortless linking to To Do and Datebk4. There does seem to be a slight bug with creating to linked do's from Shadow in that the todo's category I create has to be changed in To Do List (the standard one) in order to be picked up by Datebk4 - I am not sure if this is a Datebk4 or Shadow problem. But all in all a brilliant piece of software.

As the other reviewers have said, this is by far the best list manager for the Palm. I've tried all the others, Progect, Brainforest, Arranger etc and this is the best thought through and best supported. Good work Jeff!

The best list manager I've seen on the Palm. Also has the finest support I've ever experienced from a shareware product. Try it and you'll be hooked.

Jeff, straight to the point! You've go a Winner here! P.S.: It appears to work just fine on my Handspring Visor Deluxe. DGK

I was evaluating Brainforest and I was introduced to Shadow. It is alot cheaper and it some really great features which brainforest does not have. Support is awesome! A killer app!

An excellent program! Very clear and instinctive to use. All this is backed up with really good support. After trying out the initial release I emailed some suggestions to Jeff. Within a few hours he had posted a beta release on his web-site with all the ideas implemented! Keep up the good work!

This product is really easy to use, and has a cool look to it. My favorite feature is the progress bar for 'percentage done'. It provides quick feedback about the status of the task, it's unobtrusive to the rest of the line and it's easily updatable, making it easy to manage tasks. A real bonus in my opinion!