Alisar News - June 16, 2003
===========================
The Alisar Newsletter is designed to keep you informed about releases,
helpful hints and tips for using Alisar Charting.
In this issue:
==========
- What's New - version 2 coming soon!
- Feature of the Month - To-Do Lists
- 'Timely Tips' - creating reusable templates
- Alisar in Action - Alisar Charting in Schools
- Coaches and Consultant's Corner - Working Off-Line
- Alisar Charting on the Macintosh
What's New
==========
Beta testing for version 2.0 is underway. Based on your requests, we are introducing some new features and improving a number of others that will improve usability. We'll keep you posted as we get closer to release in August.
Feature of the Month
====================
To Do List - This is one of my favorite features of Alisar Charting. As a manager, I find that it gives me a great overview of the work my team is doing over a given period of time.
Select the REPORT tab from the Chart List View. Simply select the person or group of people that you want to see in the To Do List. "Control-Click" to select more than one person. Select the date or date range for the To Do List. Select Search.
In version 2.0 you will be able to mark action steps as complete from this view - a real time saver! You will also be able to click into a Chart and then back to the To Do list without losing your found set.
'Timely Tips'
============
Templates - One of the questions we often hear from users is "how can I create a template for a reoccurring project?" For example - using Alisar Charting to schedule a series of workshops. Much of the process is repeated each time our user coordinates a workshop. By creating a Chart of the specific process we can use the Copy Chart function to save time.
Try this: Create a new Master Chart. You can use the wizard if you find this helpful. For the sake of this example, let's call this Chart TEMPLATE 1. Include all the Action Steps that you think you will need.
Make sure your Chart has a title. I would recommend including the word TEMPLATE in the title. Save the Chart.
Create a second Master Chart. Complete only the End Result and Current Reality. Make sure you give this Chart a title too. Again, for the sake of the example, lets call this one the "DESTINATION Chart"
Open the Chart called TEMPLATE 1.
Select the Copy/Move icon from the Alisar Charting Icon Bar.
Select Copy.
From the Copy Dialog box select "Subordinate Charts ONLY to a selected Chart."
Locate and select the DESTINATION Chart.
Select Paste.
Select Home to return to the Chart list.
Open the DESTINATION Chart.
You will see that your Action Steps have been copied from the template.
Now review the End Result and Current Reality. Confirm that the Action Steps are indeed the ones you need for this project, and update as needed for THIS instance of the project.
Alisar in Action - Alisar Charting in Schools
===========
Village Academy, a private school located in Powell, Ohio is our featured client this issue. Over the last two years some of the students at Village have been participating in a program called Student-Directed Learning, in which they manage their projects with Alisar Charting.
These students design their own learning experience, negotiate a grading rubric or standard with teachers and administration and then create their learning project. The deliverable for a project might be a website, a robotics project or even a video commercial. Each student or team creates a Chart that defines their outputs, their current situation and their actions.
Last semester the Journalism students started using Alisar Charting to manage their stories and TV broadcasts. We saw a significant jump in the complexity of projects and the quality of their work. More important, the students began to stretch for what they really wanted, rather than settling for what they thought was realistic - a shift in thinking that Alisar's Chart wizard helps to reinforce.
Want to see some of their finished videos? Please visit http://www.ralstonconsulting.com/Pages/VA/SDL-101spring02show.html
Coaches and Consultant's Corner - Taking Alisar Charting on the Road.
===============================
A number of our executive coaches and consultants like to use the Off-line function of Alisar Charting when they work with a client - at a planning retreat, for instance. This puts them in control of the session, since corporate firewalls and Internet access are not an issue.
1) Simply install the offline version - this is delivered as an upgrade over the internet.
2) While connected to the Internet, synchronize your database
3) Work offline.
4) Resync when you return to your Internet connection.
Before you go, there are a couple thinks to consider. First you need to create both licensed and unlicensed users before you work offline. There are a few functions that rely on the online server to function. Sending e-mails & "print to a word document' both work online only.
In the next version, slated for August release, we've added a few features that we think will be handy for consultants. The fonts in the ER/CR view are now large enough to easily view on a video projector. We have also changed the font size in the view icon (the little magnifying glass). Also, these fields are now editable.
Running Alisar Charting on a Macintosh
===============================
submitted by Gary Ralston, Ralston Consulting Inc.
The issue:
-------------
Even though Alisar Charting is not certified or supported on the Macintosh, intrepid users are finding that each release is more "Mac-friendly" than the last (and the latest Beta is looking really promising!). However, offline functionality - using Charts while NOT connected to the Internet - is still Wintel-only.
A range of solutions:
--------------
So how was I going to work offline with my trusty Powerbook G4 1GHz running Apple's new OS X?
Virtual PC (VPC), from connectix.com, is the first choice for running Windows business applications on a Mac, but with a performance penalty. For instance, I discovered that Alisar Charting was painfully slow on Windows 2000 Pro (Win2kPro) and Virtual PC version 5. Although you CAN hand-install other, less-demanding operating system versions (such as the older Windows 98 (Win98)), the process is really too technical for the average user.
Fortunately, Connectix.com sells "Guest OS Packs" allowing you to easily run other versions of Windows on your copy of Virtual PC 4, 5 or 6. A quick trip to the store and we came away with Windows 98 guest OS pack for $149. A few updates later and I had Windows 98 and Internet Explorer 6 up and running.
The combination of Win98 and IE 6 was surprisingly fast, but I discovered that my sub-Chart triangles had turned into a bunch of w's and u's. A quick note to Alisar tech support confirmed I needed a system font called "Wingdings 3". I dragged a copy from my fonts control panel in Windows 2000, and plopped it into the fonts folder in Windows 98. I re-launched IE 6. My triangles were back, and I was Charting away!
My next test was to see if iNotes offline synchronization would work within my emulated Windows machine. After 1 glitch, (fixed by uninstalling and re-installing iNotes), I was able to work offline, re-sync, then go online again - success! While working offline is quite useable, it is oddly slower in this configuration than being online.
As a sidebar, I discovered some very good ONLINE ways for Mac users to get great performance from Alisar Charting. In a corporate environment, consider such high-performance alternatives as running a Windows Terminal Services session with Microsoft's "Remote Desktop Connection for Mac", a Citrix Metaframe session using Citrix ICA client for Mac, or screen-sharing into a host PC with Timbuktu Pro (www.netopia.com) or VNC. With these online solutions, Mac users can enjoy the same performance in Alisar Charting as Windows users.
Conclusion:
--------------
Mac users with a fast machine (800 MHz or better) and needing offline functionality can take advantage of Alisar Charting with the help of VirtualPC 5 or 6 running Windows 98 and IE 5.5 or 6. Online performance is good and offline functions work, although the offline experience might test your patience at times. However, if you don't already own VPC, or if you need the Win 98 Guest OS pack, this can be an expensive solution, costing US $150-200.
If you *DON'T* need offline functionality, and you have a machine online in your office running Windows XP Professional, or any other machine supporting Terminal Services, definitely try Microsoft's *FREE* "Remote Desktop Connection for Mac" (www.mactopia.com). Most any Mac with a G3 or better processor will experience the same online performance that the host PC does - and it won't cost you an extra cent!
=========================
Interested in buying or selling Alisar Charting? Please call Kristy Walker at 540.665.4150 for more information.
We welcome user submissions for consideration. Please send all comments and feedback to alisarnews-request@alisarCharting.com
Copyright 2003 Alisar Corporation
===========================
The Alisar Newsletter is designed to keep you informed about releases,
helpful hints and tips for using Alisar Charting.
In this issue:
==========
- What's New - version 2 coming soon!
- Feature of the Month - To-Do Lists
- 'Timely Tips' - creating reusable templates
- Alisar in Action - Alisar Charting in Schools
- Coaches and Consultant's Corner - Working Off-Line
- Alisar Charting on the Macintosh
What's New
==========
Beta testing for version 2.0 is underway. Based on your requests, we are introducing some new features and improving a number of others that will improve usability. We'll keep you posted as we get closer to release in August.
Feature of the Month
====================
To Do List - This is one of my favorite features of Alisar Charting. As a manager, I find that it gives me a great overview of the work my team is doing over a given period of time.
Select the REPORT tab from the Chart List View. Simply select the person or group of people that you want to see in the To Do List. "Control-Click" to select more than one person. Select the date or date range for the To Do List. Select Search.
In version 2.0 you will be able to mark action steps as complete from this view - a real time saver! You will also be able to click into a Chart and then back to the To Do list without losing your found set.
'Timely Tips'
============
Templates - One of the questions we often hear from users is "how can I create a template for a reoccurring project?" For example - using Alisar Charting to schedule a series of workshops. Much of the process is repeated each time our user coordinates a workshop. By creating a Chart of the specific process we can use the Copy Chart function to save time.
Try this: Create a new Master Chart. You can use the wizard if you find this helpful. For the sake of this example, let's call this Chart TEMPLATE 1. Include all the Action Steps that you think you will need.
Make sure your Chart has a title. I would recommend including the word TEMPLATE in the title. Save the Chart.
Create a second Master Chart. Complete only the End Result and Current Reality. Make sure you give this Chart a title too. Again, for the sake of the example, lets call this one the "DESTINATION Chart"
Open the Chart called TEMPLATE 1.
Select the Copy/Move icon from the Alisar Charting Icon Bar.
Select Copy.
From the Copy Dialog box select "Subordinate Charts ONLY to a selected Chart."
Locate and select the DESTINATION Chart.
Select Paste.
Select Home to return to the Chart list.
Open the DESTINATION Chart.
You will see that your Action Steps have been copied from the template.
Now review the End Result and Current Reality. Confirm that the Action Steps are indeed the ones you need for this project, and update as needed for THIS instance of the project.
Alisar in Action - Alisar Charting in Schools
===========
Village Academy, a private school located in Powell, Ohio is our featured client this issue. Over the last two years some of the students at Village have been participating in a program called Student-Directed Learning, in which they manage their projects with Alisar Charting.
These students design their own learning experience, negotiate a grading rubric or standard with teachers and administration and then create their learning project. The deliverable for a project might be a website, a robotics project or even a video commercial. Each student or team creates a Chart that defines their outputs, their current situation and their actions.
Last semester the Journalism students started using Alisar Charting to manage their stories and TV broadcasts. We saw a significant jump in the complexity of projects and the quality of their work. More important, the students began to stretch for what they really wanted, rather than settling for what they thought was realistic - a shift in thinking that Alisar's Chart wizard helps to reinforce.
Want to see some of their finished videos? Please visit http://www.ralstonconsulting.com/Pages/VA/SDL-101spring02show.html
Coaches and Consultant's Corner - Taking Alisar Charting on the Road.
===============================
A number of our executive coaches and consultants like to use the Off-line function of Alisar Charting when they work with a client - at a planning retreat, for instance. This puts them in control of the session, since corporate firewalls and Internet access are not an issue.
1) Simply install the offline version - this is delivered as an upgrade over the internet.
2) While connected to the Internet, synchronize your database
3) Work offline.
4) Resync when you return to your Internet connection.
Before you go, there are a couple thinks to consider. First you need to create both licensed and unlicensed users before you work offline. There are a few functions that rely on the online server to function. Sending e-mails & "print to a word document' both work online only.
In the next version, slated for August release, we've added a few features that we think will be handy for consultants. The fonts in the ER/CR view are now large enough to easily view on a video projector. We have also changed the font size in the view icon (the little magnifying glass). Also, these fields are now editable.
Running Alisar Charting on a Macintosh
===============================
submitted by Gary Ralston, Ralston Consulting Inc.
The issue:
-------------
Even though Alisar Charting is not certified or supported on the Macintosh, intrepid users are finding that each release is more "Mac-friendly" than the last (and the latest Beta is looking really promising!). However, offline functionality - using Charts while NOT connected to the Internet - is still Wintel-only.
A range of solutions:
--------------
So how was I going to work offline with my trusty Powerbook G4 1GHz running Apple's new OS X?
Virtual PC (VPC), from connectix.com, is the first choice for running Windows business applications on a Mac, but with a performance penalty. For instance, I discovered that Alisar Charting was painfully slow on Windows 2000 Pro (Win2kPro) and Virtual PC version 5. Although you CAN hand-install other, less-demanding operating system versions (such as the older Windows 98 (Win98)), the process is really too technical for the average user.
Fortunately, Connectix.com sells "Guest OS Packs" allowing you to easily run other versions of Windows on your copy of Virtual PC 4, 5 or 6. A quick trip to the store and we came away with Windows 98 guest OS pack for $149. A few updates later and I had Windows 98 and Internet Explorer 6 up and running.
The combination of Win98 and IE 6 was surprisingly fast, but I discovered that my sub-Chart triangles had turned into a bunch of w's and u's. A quick note to Alisar tech support confirmed I needed a system font called "Wingdings 3". I dragged a copy from my fonts control panel in Windows 2000, and plopped it into the fonts folder in Windows 98. I re-launched IE 6. My triangles were back, and I was Charting away!
My next test was to see if iNotes offline synchronization would work within my emulated Windows machine. After 1 glitch, (fixed by uninstalling and re-installing iNotes), I was able to work offline, re-sync, then go online again - success! While working offline is quite useable, it is oddly slower in this configuration than being online.
As a sidebar, I discovered some very good ONLINE ways for Mac users to get great performance from Alisar Charting. In a corporate environment, consider such high-performance alternatives as running a Windows Terminal Services session with Microsoft's "Remote Desktop Connection for Mac", a Citrix Metaframe session using Citrix ICA client for Mac, or screen-sharing into a host PC with Timbuktu Pro (www.netopia.com) or VNC. With these online solutions, Mac users can enjoy the same performance in Alisar Charting as Windows users.
Conclusion:
--------------
Mac users with a fast machine (800 MHz or better) and needing offline functionality can take advantage of Alisar Charting with the help of VirtualPC 5 or 6 running Windows 98 and IE 5.5 or 6. Online performance is good and offline functions work, although the offline experience might test your patience at times. However, if you don't already own VPC, or if you need the Win 98 Guest OS pack, this can be an expensive solution, costing US $150-200.
If you *DON'T* need offline functionality, and you have a machine online in your office running Windows XP Professional, or any other machine supporting Terminal Services, definitely try Microsoft's *FREE* "Remote Desktop Connection for Mac" (www.mactopia.com). Most any Mac with a G3 or better processor will experience the same online performance that the host PC does - and it won't cost you an extra cent!
=========================
Interested in buying or selling Alisar Charting? Please call Kristy Walker at 540.665.4150 for more information.
We welcome user submissions for consideration. Please send all comments and feedback to alisarnews-request@alisarCharting.com
Copyright 2003 Alisar Corporation
For more information, visit www.alisarcharting.com , or contact Ann Ralston at 614-761-1841 or fax: 614-761-1941, or aralston@alisarcharting.com