This is an excerpt from a reply to a prospective customer. Their question:
Hi there, I would very much like to purchase your application, Smart Pad. In reviewing other options I think it better suits my needs than Pocket Informant. I have read all reviews and am confident it will help me, however, I do have three questions that I would like to ask.
1.- When syncing with my iCal and Mobile Me, will Smart Pad migrate my distinct calendars within iCal and Mobile Me or only sync one specific calendar? I.e. My “personal” and “work” calendar and corresponding colors?
2.- Regarding the todos, I love the smart logic you advertise, however, I want to make sure I can still assign my own due dates, alarms and put them in the order and in the calendar as I see fit. Basically, can I override the smart scheduling feature?
3.- Can the todos sync with the free Toodledo account? Or does one have to have a paid Toodledo?
Our response:
Hi, Glad you are considering SmartPad! I’ll try to answer your questions.
1) SmartPad syncs with all calendars that are in your iPad calendar. If the calendar is present in your iPad calendar but not yet in SmartPad, then when you sync it creates a new calendar in SmartPad to match. So if your iCal and Mobile Me calendars are visible in your iPad calendar, you should be good.
– Note that SmartPad places both events and tasks in its calendars, but can only sync Events with the iPad calendar because it does not accept tasks.
– Note also that if you delete a calendar in SmartPad (or a Project in SmartPad with the same name), it will also delete the original calendar in the iPad calendar. This may also delete the original calendar in your third party calendaring app, so be careful!
2) Regarding todo’s, if you want to assign specific dates, then it’s better to convert them to Events. That will give you better control. There are two ways to do this:
– Convert them into a normal Event (specific date and time)
– Convert them into an All Day Event (specific date but no specific time)
To to either, just open the task (double-tap on it) and select “Event” instead of Task (see illustration on right). Note that SmartPad only syncs Events to the iPad calendar (because the iPad calendar does not support tasks); tasks are sync’d with Toodledo. So if you convert a Task into an Event, then sync with both your iPad Calendar and Toodledo, the item will be removed from Toodledo and will be placed into your iPad calendar.
Alerts and Reminders
Regarding alerts and reminders, all Alerts can be set at, or “x number of minutes/hours/days before, the base time. Base times are different depending upon the item type. You can create multiple alerts for one item.
– Alerts for Events are based upon the exact time of the event.
– Alerts for All Day Events (or tasks that are assigned to a day, but not a time) are set at the default start time of that day (you can change this in Settings). So for example if your day is set to start at 9:00, then the alarm will go off at 9:00, not at midnight!
– Alerts for Tasks are based upon the Due date (and time) of the task. So, you must first create a Due date/time when you create a new Task.
3) Yes, you can sign up for a free account with Toodledo. That is one of the reasons why we chose them! They also offer a pro account.
