If you despair of ever getting all the items on your personal and business to-do lists under control, then Contact Plus Task Plus may be just what you need. You can use it to enter every last thing on your to-do list, as well as upcoming appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, meetings, or other commitments or important events.

The main screen features the usual menus and toolbars. The left half of the screen displays four color-coded monthly calendars. The default view is last month, this month, and the next two months, but you can use navigational arrows underneath the calendars to move forward or backward. The right half of the screen displays today's schedule. The bottom of the screen displays the day's to-do items. A row of icons next to the Today and To Do windows makes it easy to add or delete items, set an alarm, or check off an item or commitment as complete.

The Today window on the main screen displays items based on a date-oriented schedule. All of the entries in this window are tied to a specific date and time. The To Do window displays a list of tasks that need your attention. Items may or may not be tied to a specific day and time.

A task filter feature allows you to color code tasks so that a quick glance at your calendar will let you know whether you're on track or way behind. For example, you can code incomplete tasks as red, completed tasks as blue, and holidays or family events as yellow. You can set the monthly calendar to view all tasks, or just certain categories of tasks.

You can publish your task list in HTML format and put it on a web page, or print a report of upcoming tasks to refer to when you're away from your computer.

Task Plus resides in your System Tray, so it's always readily accessible. You can program the alarm feature to alert you to a meeting, appointment, or task.

A free, ad-supported trial version of Task Plus is available for downloading from the Contact Plus web site.


Pros: Easy to use and easy to customize. Can print lists or export them in HTML format. Includes an automatic backup feature.
Cons: The color-coded monthly calendar may seem a little overwhelming at first.