My Secretary 1.1 |
Database for contacts. Rs 1,740 for single user; Rs 4,740 for network version with unlimited users Features: Searchable database of pre-written letters and contacts; extensive report generation. Pros: Easy to use. Cons: Tedious client and server installation. Source: 152/6, Mittal Industrial Estate, A K Road Andheri (East) Mumbai 400059. Tel: 22-8594464/65 Fax: 8526065 E-mail: sales@sangaminfotech.com Website: www.sangaminfotech.com |
Secretaries are supposed to help you in your work and make life easier for
you, and this one is no different. My Secretary manages all your contacts and
letters in a searchable database. It also has a large database of pre-written
letters on many subjects, which you can use as templates.
The software comes on a CD-ROM and is supposed to autorun, but it didn’t in
the CD we received because the autorun.inf file was not in its root directory.
So, we had to manually run the setup file. It can be installed in two different
versions: single/server or client. The first option is used to install a single
copy of the software on your machine, which can also act as a server. This takes
up 17 MB space and allows machines with the client installed access to it. The
server version contains the complete database of pre-written letters. Clients
use it to store all their contacts, reports, etc. Interestingly, the folder in
which the server version is installed has to be manually shared for clients to
be able to use it.
Setting up the client is a little tedious, but has been clearly explained in
the accompanying manual. It doesn’t find the server automatically. Instead,
you have to manually edit the path of its shortcuts. You even have to assign a
drive letter to the shared directory of the server.
Once installed, getting started is pretty simple. You have the choice of
entering contact information, or writing new letters. A first-time user would
obviously want to create new contacts. You can enter the contacts in six
categories called Customer, Prospective customer, Supplier, Misc. Business
Contact, Personal, and Office bearer. These contacts are then saved in a
database, which can be accessed any time for modifications.
Creating letters is pretty easy with My Secretary. First you have to select
the category where the contact you’re sending the letter to is placed. Next,
specify the type of letter from a pre-defined list, such as congratulation on
graduation, marriage, or promotion, change of address, etc, or you can choose a
blank letter. Letters are also divided on the basis of the contact categories.
For example, letters in the supplier contacts will be different from letters in
personal contacts. You can also add more types of letters into this list.
There are various dispatch modes to select from, like by hand, post, and
e-mail. For e-mail, you must have Outlook Express 5 (or above) configured to
work as your default e-mail client. My Secretary uses MS Word to open letters
for you to edit. After making required changes, you don’t have to save it or
worry about assigning it a file name. My Secretary assigns its own file names.
You can later search for letters based on contacts, subject, city, country, etc.
You can also generate reports based on details like dispatch, e-mail, and
phone numbers. For example, you can select the telephone directory, choose the
type of contact, and you will immediately get a list of the names and phone
numbers of all your contacts. It also contains useful information like STD/ISD
codes, calculator, and an internal telephone extension list of your contacts. It
also reminds you of birthdays and anniversaries, provided you’ve entered this
information.
Overall, it’s a pretty useful software for creating and maintaining letters
and contacts.
Sachin Makhija at PCQ Labs