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MiniReview of Linkman URL Organizer and Search Tool
KenR:
Linkman - a Bookmark Management Program from Outer Technologies
Basic Info
App NameLinkmanApp URLhttp://www.outertech.com/App Version Reviewed7.20Test System SpecsGateway Laptop, 2GB RAM, Pentium M (Dothan) 2.13 GHz processorSupported OSesWindows 2000, 2003, XP and VistaSupport MethodsAnnouncement List, FAQ, Support E-MailUpgrade PolicyAll version 7 updates free. Users of Version 5 and 6 can upgrade for $19.Trial Version Available?Yes, 30 dayPricing Scheme$39Reviewer Donation Link Donate to KenR, the person who wrote this reviewRelationship btwn. Reviewer and Product REVIEWER: Standard User. No ownership of product nor profit from it.
Intro:
Linkman is a standalone or browser independent bookmark organizer and search tool. You enter bookmarks into it and organize them in any way you want. You create folders to organize them in, much like you would create folders in which to organize your files. You can import bookmarks from all the popular browsers and some bookmark organizers.
Linkman really begins to shine though once the bookmarks are entered. First off, Linkman will validate the bookmarks, similar to Martin Aignesberger's AM-Deadlink utility. In addition to making sure the links still work, Linkman will download the description and keywords from the website. This makes it easier to find the link when you are searching if you can't remember the bookmark name.
All bookmarks have a name, path (url), keywords and description (both from website), comment (notes you enter about this bookmark), and six user defined fields, giving you more than enough ways to catalog, organize, and describe your bookmarks. Once your links are set up, you type what you are looking for: either the bookmark name or information in any of the other bookmark fields that you specify. All bookmarks are initially listed, but unrelated ones disappear as you type, leaving only the one(s) that meet your criteria. You then tell Linkman to launch the bookmark(s) and it will open whatever browser you specify and load the bookmark(s).
The user interface is extremely configurable. The program has a main interface and a toolbar. You can keep the toolbar on the desktop or hide it altogether. Both the main interface and the toolbar can be changed considerably in their appearance. Additionally, adjustable system-wide hotkeys make program behavior easier to control. There is also a toolbar for internet explorer. Additionally, there is a 90-page manual in pdf format that you can download from the website which thoroughly explains how to use the program.
For example, I use Ctrl-Shift-Bksp to bring up the main program UI rather than using the toolbar, primarily because of screen space limits, then type in the bookmark information I want. When I see the bookmark(s) I want, I double click on it/them and Linkman loads the url(s) in Firefox.
Image Notes: The first image shows the main user interface. The second, third, fourth images show the toolbar: as a floating window, docked on the bottom of the screen, and minimized to a single line above the taskbar, respectively. Images 2, 3, and 4 are shown in relation to the remainder of the display to reveal perspective.
http://www.outertech.com/
Who is this app designed for:
Linkman is intended for anyone with a large bookmark collection. It allows you to easily organize your bookmarks, quickly find the one your looking for, and launch it/them with your browser of choice. Hence, it can be used by beginners and power-users as well. You can simply enter (import) your bookmarks, adjust the preferences so the program works the way you want it to, search for your bookmarks, and browse them. Alternatively, you can create a complex folder structure and use the 6 user defined fields to organize the bookmarks in a highly sophisticated manner. You can also enter remarks in the comments field that will show up in searches. You can specify which field(s) you want to include in the search.
The Good
Linkman performs an incredible number of tasks, only a small fraction of which are discussed in this review and the reader is referred to the program's website and/or the aforementioned manual. Arguably, Linkman's most impressive feature is the sheer speed at which it searches for information. I had about 1000 bookmarks with the website's keywords and description with which I was working. When searching for information, results were presented immediately after I pressed each character. Linkman will even perform "fuzzy" searches. According to Linkman's homepage, Linkman is compatible with "...Internet Explorer 3.x-7.x, Firefox 1.x-3.x, Netscape 3.x-7.x, Mozilla 1.x, SeaMonkey 1.x, Opera 4.x-9x, Avant Browser, Neoplanet, Netcaptor, MyIE2, [and] SlimBrowser...".
The configurability is remarkable. The main interface and toolbar can be used separately or in combination. The main screen has two treeviews of bookmarks, each of which can be used for examining url properties or queries. You can select which fields you see and make consecutive bookmarks a different color. You can export the links to other programs and even create new export templates that allow you to export the links in a pattern that you define. For example, I created a new template to transfer my bookmarks to Surfulater. This allowed me to perform the transfer without losing the information from the keywords and description fields.
Linkman is still in active development. The last release of the program was on Feb 11, 2008. I exchanged emails with Linkman's developer several times. Each time he responded to me quickly with helpful and personable responses. After several of these exchanges, I told the developer about Donation Coder. I am very excited to announce that in response to these discussions, in April, the developer will donate 10 licences for and list with a 30% discount, Linkman and CachemanXP, a program for optimizing the functioning of Windows XP.
The needs improvement section
To some people, Linkman's biggest problem is the fact that it does not have an internal browser and that you must use it with another program. The fact that Linkman works with every popular browser mitigates this issue to some degree, however.
Before going on, I should say that I found no real problems with the program given it's current function. What I would like to see though is an expansion of its function. Linkman is one of several bookmark organizers. Other similar programs are Link Commander, and Kaylon's PowerMarks (PowerMarks has been marked for "End of Life as of Feb 1). These programs are all desiged for organizing, searching, and launching bookmarks.
A related set of programs is designed to check websites and see if they have changed. Website-Watcher and Check & Get are examples of this type of program. While Linkman also has this ability to see if a website has changed, its feature set in this domain is far more restricted. Check & Get's website indicates that you can use it to organize your bookmarks. While it is true that both Check & Get and Website-Watcher can be used to organize bookmarks, their searching features are far less developed.
What I would love to see is an integration of these two classes of software. While Check & Get currently comes the closest to this as it stands, I prefer to use Website-Watcher and Linkman for these tasks. That means I need to keep the links synchronized between these two programs, but it gives me tremendous flexibility in website monitoring and organization/searching of bookmarks.
Why I think you should use this product
I believe you should use this program if you have a lot of bookmarks you want to organize, if you have trouble finding the bookmark you want, if you have numerous programs that you want to synchronize the bookmarks between, or if you need to search your bookmarks to locate the one(s) that you want. In all of these circumstances, Linkman allows you to perform the task quickly and easily. On the other hand, if you just have a few sites you visit and have no problem keeping track of your bookmarks, then you probably don't need Linkman or any other bookmark manager.
How does it compare to similar apps
I have looked at numerous bookmark programs and found Linkman superior to the others. It is lightning fast, more customizable, and has features others don't, such as the toolbar, the ability to create export templates, user defined fields to identify, categorize, and track bookmarks, and many other features. It is one of the few remaining programs that is still in development and has a recent release version. The developer of this program has always responded to me within a few hours whereas neither of the developers of other programs ever has.
Conclusions
In my opinion, there is no competition between Linkman and the competitors. The program does more and does it better. The support is rapid and actually pleasant. The program remains in development with a responsive developer. It is compatible with virtually every browser and can import from some bookmark management programs and export to other programs as well. The interface has a main interface window and a toolbar allowing you to use the program and access your links about any way you want. We will also be having a discount and some license giveaways.
I could go on and on extolling the features and wonders of Linkman. Instead though, download a fully functional copy of Linkman directly from the its homepage. You can work with it for 30 days and see what you think of it. You might need to cut that time down a bit though to capitalize on the 30% discount, which happens to be perfectly timed with DonationCoder's fundraiser. If you've gotten this far in my review, I'm sure you realize that I believe this program is outstanding and exactly the type of software that people come to DonationCoder to find out about. I recommend it without hesitation or reservation.
The author wishes to thank TucknDar for his editorial suggestions.
mouser:
Fantastic review :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:
and thanks for lining up the discount and giveaway copies for DC members!
KenR:
You're welcome, of course, Jesse. Thanks for the positive feedback on the review. I hope everyone finds the review helpful and informative. Good luck to everyone on the licenses for giveaway.
Ken
Darwin:
Awesome job, Ken :Thmbsup: I'm going to have to give this a try and am downloading a trial copy to that end as I write this!
luc:
Thanks for the review and the pointer to Linkman !
You are a very skilled writer. :up:
I would have two questions for which I could not find an quick answer at the outertech site:
Does Linkman provide an option to synchronize bookmarks between two PCs - perhaps with an online option?
Does it run from an USB stick?
One license seems to be only good for a single PC - presumably the answers to the previous questions are NO.
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