A-PIM (All-in-1 Personal Information Manager) 4.0.35

Overview

All-in-1 Personal Information Manager, or A-PIM, as the name suggests it, offers a set of tools to manage your personal information – contacts, notes, links, executable key scripts, tasks and events. It offers password protection for your sensitive data by keeping your data in a Microsoft Access 2000 database protected by a password.  A-PIM offers 44 collections which can be customized according to your specific needs and the unlimited number of categories.

Installation

A-PIM is compatible with all versions of Windows, including the Win 95, 98, Me, NT, 2K, 2003 and XP, not to mention Vista and Win 7. The software comes at a $15 price but offers a 30 day trial period. It only supports the English language. The good part is the program does not have any prerequisites required for installation, not even Access 2000. The application displays a nag screen every time it is launched in the trial version mode.

Interface

All-In-1 Personal Information Manager opens with the main window displaying a calendar with a day, month and pending tasks. The interface is somewhat simplistic, but the fun part is you can move around the modules and place or hide them if you like. Nonetheless, A-PIM packs the GUI with an overwhelming number of features, buttons and options and at a glance it seems a bit too much. Moreover, each menu has a large list of sub-menus, so memorizing where is everything seems a little challenging. However, it is not the case if you are not planning to use all the program’s features and focus only on the main modules.

GUI is aimed at adult and professional strata of customers, leaving out those who like to enjoy modern looks, or 3D graphics. However, users can customize which modules to display, hiding the ones that are unnecessary. The users can choose how the program displays the information – tree view, table view or calendar view. The built-in search option, Find Record, allows you to find contacts, files, and the like. The program offers export to Wordpad option in the Print tab. You can also import CSV files from other programs. Likewise, A-PIM exports your contacts in CSV files for further use in other database based applications.

A-PIM offers a complete Help file with detailed descriptions of functions and features, hotkeys and tips for advanced users. Overall, the program will appeal to busy average to advanced users, rather than fun loving novices.

Features

Map’s tags can be moved using drag-and-drop feature; table rows can be moved using drag-and-drop mouse + Shift combination. The same is also true about items in your calendar. The program does not offer the drop-down menus we are used to in Windows. It offers convenient context menus in every window. This feature allows users see the list of options and commands he can apply to the window, or selected item.

The global search feature allows finding quick records, and hides beneath the binoculars icon. If you have a modem, you can configure A-PIM to autodial phone numbers. You can adjust the width of tables, columns and windows.

Pros

A-PIM is a feature-packed personal information manager perfectly suited for advanced users. Average users will be able to tweak the view and hide modules they do not need. The program offers a calendar, task manager, contact manager, email, sticky notes and some animations to them.

A-PIM offers some 20 window forms which make it easy to organize for business purposes. It is also customizable to make it more accessible for a simpler home use. Nevertheless, the number of features suggests a learning curve.

Cons

Not for novice users.
Nag screen.

Alternatives