I was delighted to learn that Dataviz has released a Smartphone version of the Documents To Go software. Prior to switching primarily to the Pocket PC platform, I used Documents To Go on my Palm handhelds for years. This software’s capability for editing Microsoft Word, Excel, and even PowerPoint documents, was something I used a lot.
In fact, the DTG software was so good, in comparison to the Pocket PC’s built-in Pocket Word and Pocket Excel, that I actually switched back to Palms for a while (more than once). When Microsoft came out with Windows Mobile 5, they made worthwhile improvements to Mobile Word and Mobile Excel. But, DTG still offered more editing capability, and has always been good at syncing the changes back to the desktop without any formatting getting lost along the way.
When I made a decision last week to get a Smartphone (the T-mobile Dash), I knew upfront that it would not have any built-in capability to edit documents. But, since I do not have as much need for such editing as I did at one time, I figured the benefits of a Smartphone outweighed this one downside. Turns out, though, that with Dataviz’s release of DTG for Smartphones, I can have my cake and eat it, too.
In the following review, we look at DTG’s abilities for editing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents and its ability to view PDF documents and documents within zip files.
This screenshot shows what appears when you open the DTG folder from the Start Menu on your Smartphone:
Since I’ve already given away the punchline that DTG lets you use these apps to edit documents, let’s start with something that surprised me: the ability to view documents within zip files. To test what the ZipToGo program would do, I created a simple zip file containing two documents and then used ActiveSync to save it to my Dash’s My Documents folder. Then I opened ZipToGo and selected the Open Archive option from the Menu and selected the sample file. The screenshot below shows what appeared:
And when I select the “ewallet1.jpg” picture from within the zipped file, the following appears:
The Menu gives the option of zooming in (or out) on the picture. The picture shown is for the default setting of “Fit To Page.”
Selecting the “_Outcomes.doc” file results in opening of the document within Word To Go, as shown below.
From within WTG, I can then edit the Word document using a variety of formatting tools that are accessible from the Menu. When done, I just save the changes and then use ActiveSync to copy the files back to my desktop/laptop. The editing options include being able to work within Tables (and to actually Add a new table), font-sizing, bullets and numbering of elements, increasing/decreasing indents, adding bookmarks or hyperlinks, and various paragraph formatting options.
Another huge benefit of the DTG package is the ability to View And Edit PowerPoint presentations on the Smartphone. The following screenshot shows a slide from a sample presentation:
Using the left Soft Key, I switched to the Outline View in this presentation, added a bullet, saved it and then used ActiveSync to copy the changed file back to my desktop. Lo and behold, I could view the change within PowerPoint: the change was made without a hitch.
The Spreadsheet To Go module with the DTG package is very satisfactory for view and editing Excel files. The following snapshot shows an example:
The editing options within this module are powerful, and include the ability to add/change formulas and all of the formatting options you are likely to want. The only oddity I encountered in using this module was with the “NOW()” function, a part of the Date/Time functions within Excel and STG. I use this function within one spreadsheet to compute the difference in time between Now and a previous date. When I opened the file in STG, it did not show the computation. In fact, the cell with the NOW() function was blank. So, I selected the cell for editing, inserted the STG formula for NOW(), and then it worked fine. Apparently there is some sort of difference between this function in Excel and in STG. Turns out that when I copied the modified file back to my desktop, Excel viewed the file just fine and apparently accepts the STG NOW() function as if it were its own. An oddity, but one that should impact only a very few people, and, it is something that is easy to overcome.
The PDF file viewer that comes in the DTG package is very good. Below is a screenshot of its use in viewing a PDF file:
While I’ve shown it in the page view, it also supports wrapping to the page, making it easy to read PDF documents on your Smartphone. For many people, this feature alone would be worth the price of the entire package.
The Bottom Line: I am very pleased with the Documents To Go package for Smartphones. While I do not personally expect to do a lot of document editing on my Smartphone, it is great to have the capability to do so. For example, picture yourself on an airplane headed to see a client and you are using the DTG presentation viewer to view a presentation you will make, and you notice it has the wrong client’s name in it. With DTG, you can edit it on the spot and save yourself some embarrassment. Similarly, you could easily make a quick change to any related Word or Excel documents.I appreciate DTG making this capability available for Smartphone users.