Then came the invention of the calendar. This basically screwed up the world as we knew it, forcing the hunters to meet the gatherers at specific times, on specific days. And woe to the tribe's chief, who needed something to track where his hunters and gatherers were on any given day, at any given time.

Society has been struggling with that task ever since.

Fast forward to today. Your company is running the latest version of R5 with all the whiz-bang groupware features you've come to expect. Surely, you must now have the ability to see one calendar that includes all the appointments and meetings of your hunters (salespeople) and gatherers (knowledge workers) in one interface with capable printing, right? Right?

Okay, I know the answer. Group Calendars in Notes just doesn't cut it. It's a nice start for Lotus, but you can't see everyone's calendars at once, so you're stuck viewing them one at a time. This just isn't enough for most managers or executive assistants (the real brains behind the tribe).

Luckily, Cybernet Software Systems, Inc. (at http://www.cybernetsoft.com) has attempted to fix the problem that has been nagging us for millennia. The solution? IntelliPLAN.

IntelliPLAN is a piece of software that plugs into Notes and allows the calendars and schedules of numerous people to be rolled up into one GUI (Graphical User Interface). This allows you to have your entire sales force represented on one screen, and better yet, you can print that screen in a variety of formats that Lotus users have previously only dreamed about.

Installation
Before I get into the nitty-gritty details, let's start at the beginning. Installation of IntelliPLAN is extremely easy. You place the storage .NSF file on your Notes server and simply open it in your Notes client (as shown in Figure A).

FIGURE A


Here's IntelliPLAN's Notes based install screen. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Then, click the Install button and follow the typical installation wizard. This method is great for ease of use. Send a database link through Notes mail and two clicks later your users are installing IntelliPLAN.

Once installed, you can run IntelliPLAN by selecting IntelliPLAN for Lotus Notes from the Actions menu. This will bring you to the Planner screen shown in Figure B.

FIGURE B


This is a screenshot of the IntelliPLAN GUI. Roll over picture for a larger image.