[chandler-users] Newbie Questions

[Jos Yule]

Hello.

It sounds like Chandler could work very well for your situation. Both 
with the Hub, or with the other members of your household also using the 
desktop (assuming they have their own login's on the home computer).

Before going into too much detail, i'd also be interested in knowing how 
you are currently managing your calendars/home/business/projects? Are 
you using a digital tool currently? Or pen-and-paper?

Chandler has "collections" which allow for easy grouping of items (which 
can be notes, tasks, "emails", or all three). You can "publish" 
collections to the Hub, and then give out a URL to that collection (view 
only, or read-write) to who-ever you want. People can also use that URL 
in Chandler to subscribe to that collection, and have it available in 
their own Chandler desktop.

We use Chandler for many of the same tasks you are talking about, and 
its been working well. There is some adjustment as you figure out how to 
best make use of Chandler, and how its capabilities can be used to solve 
your problems.

One thing that i really like about Chandler is that it doesn't have a 
lot of specific features. Ie. its a pretty general tool, which allows 
you to use it however you'd like. This can make it harder to figure out, 
because it doesn't have 'feature X', but it gives it a flexibility that 
other tools don't have.

Lastly, i'd just say that i think Chandler desktop with the web Hub is 
the best calendering/task sharing solution i've found. Being able to 
publish collections to the Hub and then give out a URL to people, who 
don't have to have the desktop client, and don't have to have a login on 
the hub, is amazing. Also, the just released Hub update really makes the 
web interface usable by most web-savvy individuals.

My suggestion is to download the desktop client and try it out for a 
while. Create a "home" collection and put all your home related calender 
stuff into it. Publish the collection to the Hub and give out the URL to 
your family. See how it works. Play with it a bit. Give it more then a 
week or two - it can take a while to jell.

Good luck!
jos



Liz Cademy wrote:
> Good Morning!
> 
> I ran across Chandler quite some time ago, and decided it was too 
> unformed to use. But last Sunday I saw another reference to it, and now 
> it looks like something I could use.
> 
> However, it's complicated! [Probably not, but I'm jumping in before the 
> safety net of manuals, tutorials and help files are fully written.] So, 
> I have some questions:
> 
> First, is there a place I can find a good tutorial? The Getting Started 
> in the Wiki is fine for setting things up, but I need a bit more: how to 
> create different kinds of entries, some suggestions on how to set up 
> collections, details on using the hub (which is *not* well explained 
> anywhere I could find), etc. If this info is available in archived 
> e-mail posts, a pointer to those posts would be great. [I'm experienced 
> at searching archives and testing demo software.]
> 
> My main question though, is if Chandler can work for my situation. I'm 
> not in a traditional "knowledge worker" job -- I'm a housewife mostly, 
> with 2 busy kids, several volunteer "jobs", a small home-based business, 
> and a fairly busy social life. I also have a couple of long-term 
> projects I'm co-ordinating.
> 
> I have very few meetings with people I e-mail (most of my e-mail is 
> "read and file" or "read and delete"), but I have a lot of repeating 
> tasks. I'm the keeper of 5 calendars -- one for each family member, plus 
> one for all of us together. [It would be nice for my DH and oldest child 
> to have access to their calendars too -- would this be a Hub thing?]
> 
> Gotta run ... (taking kids to summer camp) ... if the answers I get 
> indicate that Chandler will work for me, expect to hear a lot more from me.
> 
> --Liz
> _______________________________________________
> chandler-users mailing list
> chandler-users at osafoundation.org
> http://lists.osafoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/chandler-users

-- 
Jos Yule
Digital Hyakugei