Software and friends can be alike — no matter how long you know them, they can still surprise you.

I have been using EssentialPIM since 2005 and was recently surprised by a feature in Notes that I discovered by chance. I'll come to the surprise later, but I had learned a new way to hold my place in a note and it got me thinking about the times you leave your work and need to return. You have an idea where you were, but need help getting back.

Here are four ways EPIM helps.

Notes navigation bar

At the top of the Notes module is a navigation pane that has two parts. The first contains your notes history which you can navigate with the arrow keys or select from the drop down. The second is a breadcrumb trail of the path to the note you are in. When you want to get back to a note, notes history is especially handy.

Notes navigation bar

Anchors

EssentialPIM 9.0 introduces a new feature for notes: anchors. Anchors, or bookmarks, flag a specific location inside a note. With the cursor at the place where you want to return, click on the anchor symbol Anchors in EssentialPIM notes, type in a meaningful name and click add.

How to return to the anchor depends on where you are.

  • In Notes, click on the anchor symbol again, select the anchor you created and click the "Go to" button. EPIM will open the note in a new window.
  • In other modules, you get back by inserting a link to the anchor. To do this, right click and select Insert Hyperlink from the context menu. In the dialog box, select Anchor Link as the type, fill in the text to display and then select the anchor from the drop down. This link puts you a click away.

Advanced Search

If you have a prior version of EssentialPIM, you can simulate the anchor function with Advanced Search. First, create a bookmark by typing a unique string where you want to return. To get back, select Tools > Advanced Search from the menu, enter your bookmark string, click Find Now and EPIM shows items that have this bookmark. You have the option to open the item in a new window or to go directly to it.

Scrolling while staying where you are

Now for the feature that surprised me. Many of my notes are long, often extending beyond the window. Page-down, page-up, ctrl-home and ctrl-end move around quickly, but I lose my place. Sometimes I want to stay on the current line, yet scroll up or down. The scroll bar, of course, allows this, but I discovered that the keyboard does, too. The ctrl-up and ctrl-down arrows scroll lines up or down, but the cursor remains on the current line. If this line scrolls out of sight, the right or left arrow brings it back into the window.

Has EssentialPIM ever surprised you? Leave a comment and tell us about it.

Add New Comment