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A new option for Project Management in Outlook
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Posted by Ken
Jul 24, 2009 at 04:11 PM
Jack Crawford wrote:
>
>Ken
>
>I’m in exactly the same situation. You can install Clear Context
>without administrator rights.
>
>Jack
:)
Jack,
Would the program interfer with how Outlook messages are archived? If I uninstall the program, what information would I lose?
—Ken
Posted by Ken
Jul 24, 2009 at 07:00 PM
Jack,
I looked at their supprot forum, and it seems there were a number of people having problems uninstalling the program, and that the program was also causing problems with Outlook and PC performance. Oner poster had installed the program at work, without permission, and it was causing all kinds of problems. Have you used this program extensively? And, have you had any problems?
—Ken
Posted by dan7000
Jul 24, 2009 at 08:43 PM
Ken,
I use ClearContext fairly extensively at work. I started using it about 5 months ago. I used the pro version until the trial ran out, and now I use the free version. The free version is mostly useful for quickly keeping my inbox clean. The pro version adds some task organization features and automatic categorization of inbox messages. I like the auto-categorization, so I may pony up for the pro version soon.
To answer your questions: Yes, ClearContext causes Outlook performance problems. Mainly, startup is slower, and clicking on a message in the inbox sometimes takes a while. I recently switched to cached exchange mode, which seemed to speed up the latter problem, but not completely. I have not noticed any Windows-wide slowdown, just Outlook. The problems are obviously not severe enough to stop me from using ClearContext.
Regarding losing data if uninstalled: ClearContext has its own fields that it adds to Outlook, and I assume that you might lose this data if you uninstall, but I don’t see why you’d lose anything else.
Re instability in Outlook: I haven’t seen any examples of crashes or problems. If you uninstall, it could be that some references to ClearContext’s custom forms might not get cleaned up, which could cause intermittent but not fatal issues.
Posted by Ken
Jul 24, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Thank you for the feedback. I am looking forward to the switch to Outlook (and am hoping they will also install OneNote since we have Office 2007, and I believe that it was included in most of the suite versions). I’ll probably need to hold off on plug-ins for a bit though. I just saw another review for the program referenced by the OP. While it was not completely negative, it was not a glowing review either. In the meantime, I am drowning in e-mail messages and attachments!
—Ken
Posted by Jack Crawford
Jul 25, 2009 at 01:17 AM
Ken
Just to add to the Dan’s comments above.
I’ve used the program intensively for two years at work in an email heavy environment (100+ per day). I’ve never had a crash or any instability. Outlook startup is slower but that may also be because I load a large PST file stored on an external drive. Outlook performance generally is perfectly acceptable in a networked environment.
I’ve never had to uninstall the program so can’t comment on the issues reported. I tested ClearContext on my personal laptop to evaluate it and before installing on my work PC. Once I purchased it, I have stuck with it. I also haven’t installed some of the latest upgrades.
The killer features for me are the one-button creation of tasks and meetings from email. To add icing to the cake, I use the program predominantly as recommended by Michael Linenberger. He has written the best book on the market on how to use Outlook (with Clear Context as a bonus). Buying the book is money well spent if you live inside your email program at work.
Jack