I didn't realize what my workflow was missing until I started using this.
350113
I didn't realize what my workflow was missing until I started using this.
I love this. I photograph models and being able to see if the lighting on large screen without needing to tether is great.
4415462
I run a small business and my accountant insisted I get out of Excel and into QuickBooks.  I'm pretty happy that I did.  While I'd love it if Simple Start did inventory management (it doesn't -- you have to upgrade to the 'next level' for that), my inventory tracking needs are pretty minimal.  I've got better clarity into my financial records now, and a number of useful reports for seeing how my company's doing overall.  Very nice.
254622
This is the 1st time I've used this tool, & now don't know how I ever worked without it.
1424883
I find that I am not using this as I thought I would.
621265
Keyboard shortcuts are the best part of these templates.  Many of the things noted were things I already knew, but the 3 or 4 nuggets that I stumbled across that I didn't know existed......made it completely worth the money!
3589979
It's been months since i had to stop what I was working on so that I could check the name of the song I was listening to.
597494
Why didn't I think of this ?  There needs to be a way of doing this without the cost !  Great book !
3950010
If you didn't know it, you will be amazed to know you had the tool to control your time long ago. Just didn't know how to use it!
!CYD, a must have for the compulsive emailer, the corporate executive and the all time procrastinator as myself.
Gives a very straight forward guide on how to setup your outlook for maximum control of your tasks derived form mails and self imposed task as well.
The dashboard structure proposed is great. All important to-does on single view. But most of all, it gives you 'Order' to your mail and prioritizes responses and followups. You'll love it.
And yes, you'll sweat in the beginning, but it is worth every minute you assign to this important task: "my time".
Jim's videos are self explanatory and very useful too. Thank you for them Jim.
3736399
I do not even know how I got along without this. One of the most used tools in my shop; a huge time saver!
3461649
My wife bought me this software for Christmas this year, and I have to admit, I turned out to like it much more than I expected. I've written two novels, plus a large number of short stories, all in MS Word, and pretty much was set on continuing with that process. But, given a chance to try something new, and having already decided to try outlining and writing novels with scenes as the basic building blocks instead of chapters, I felt I had to give it a try.

The hardest part so far was importing one of the two novels into the software and breaking it up into scenes. That was a chore, but in most cases people will be starting a fresh work in the software and this won't be a problem. I brought the chapters up into scenes and got everything inputted in a long session.

Having approached this with the intent to use scenes as a building block, the software is perfect for that purpose. I had several beta reader critiques to work with and began re-arranging scenes easily and quickly to match some of the common feedback I had received about pacing. The writing interface itself is fine, nothing fancy, but I don't really need all the bells and whistles of Word for this purpose (your mileage may vary if you're writing nonfiction technical documents with lots of graphics).

I tested exporting the document into Word format, and that functioned exactly as expected. I've explored some of the other tools of the software as well. I love the Story Board, which mimics the cork board/note card view you might be familiar with if you've seen "behind the scenes" features about the making of movies. I only wish I was able to shift around scenes in the Story Board view like I can in the standard view. There are tools to create characters and provide details, as well as events and settings. You can get a current wordcount of a chapter or the whole work, and it keeps track of how many words you've added during each session of work (note: it counts every word you type, even if you backspace and retype a word, so it'll pad your count a bit).

On the negative side, while you can use the + buttons to close a chapter (hide the scenes under the chapter heading), it doesn't save that choice when you close and re-open. You may be forced to scroll down on the left to find the place you want to work that day. Also, mouse scroll buttons don't work in the Story Board view, which is a bit of an oversight that can be easily remedied (as well as the aforementioned inability to move scenes around while viewing the Story Board).

I'm running this in an fairly newish system, a 3-year old desktop I pieced together myself, running Windows 8.1. Works great, no problems installing, and no crashes. Solid software, a good feature set, and at least one killer function (moving scenes around so easily) make this an easy piece of software for me to recommend, if you can afford the steep price.

All in all, I'm happy with the software and use it daily now. I'll try writing a whole novel from scratch with it when I've finished editing the current one, and we'll see if it continues to hold up and I can find ways of utilizing even more of it's features.
3584444
This book not only re-affirms my workflow, but offers distinct perspectives and techniques that help those who may have their own alternative to rigging. Pipeline issues are the most important element of rigging once you hit a certain level, and this book explains possible things to look out for and prepare for no matter what size of the production.  Although skipping the book previous to this, I felt right at home while reading and it fit my 'style' of professionalism when discussing things thoroughly and not avoiding any part of the process no matter how small. The other part I loved that the tutorials and examples given don't hold your hand and treat you like you are just getting acquainted with 3D or a computer for that matter. There are subtleties that get mentioned that the experienced TD can learn to appreciate, but may be ignored by the beginner/novice. If you are a beginner a lot of those subtleties or other discussions throughout may confuse you and while you can pretend you understand you may need the 1st book or other hands on rigging experience to fully grasp it enough to be able to apply the knowledge how you want or see fit. THAT is the most important thing about this book.
625600
My business is primarily service. Web design, audio/visual and marketing mainly. I bought Proposal Pack Wizard back in 2008 with Proposal Kit Pro and the integration with Word was awesome. It's incredible to watch the wizard put together the proposal. I mean, I was able to customize tags in order to boilerplate the things that tended to repeat across customers and made my own templates. Then whenever business called, just fill in the blanks and voila! Boom, most of the work done!

It really is that simple and I'm glad to have purchased it. I have tried to create my own proposals in the past, but this product jumpstarts the process.

Of course, tweaking of the Word document is still necessary, but thanks Cyber Sea for a REAL time saver. It helps me keep my mind focused on the customer, not the paper pushing.
4320875
Absolutely the most amazing word processor and project management tool EVER! I can't believe I went so long without knowing about this software.
1339355
I bought this by mistake because I only have Elements 6! But it has been extremely beneficial. I was struggling with finding the appropriate workflow to do edits. I have been able to do many edits with ease following the guidance in the book. It has much information I have not yet used but it is there if I need it. The book is very well written and meets my needs.
224964
I never knew how unsatisfied I was with my battery organization until I got this.  Love it.
1546416
My project was not quite finished and due to much shuffling around from a death in the family, I couldn't find my other thread.  Finding this was a life saver- my project is now finished.
4195826
For most of my life, I have known that I don't quite organize my things or thoughts etcetera like most people and all of the "Get your life organized" or traditional methods detailed in organizational books never seemed to help me.
Then, perhaps a year ago, I picked up this book and what a transformation.  Even the structure of the book is to capitalize on the attention span of those with ADD as each chapter is broken up into short pieces to make its point and then move on to the next one.
Like anyone with ADD, I find that while doing some of the work on my own has been helpful, I definitely need to follow up with some of the "other support people" that the book describes.  I might carry through one day or even for a string of days, but can quickly slip back into old, inefficient patterns (that often have been habit forming over a lifetime of being disorganized).
I find that this book is very positive and makes you feel like having ADD can be a strength rather than a weakness.
I hope you find it helpful.