Karteset : The Right Tool For The Job

There's a huge array of tools out there in cyberspace. Some are immense and complicated application suites and some are small tools. Karteset, from Metalgrass Software, is one of those small tools. It's a lot like that set of "jeweler's" screwdrivers you have in a desk or workbench drawer: you don't use them to work on cars or a fleet of cars, but when you need to work on a watch, they're the perfect thing.

The product installation is just as no-frills as a screwdriver. Accept the EULA and pick where to tell the software where to set up shop and you're pretty much done. Starting the program unregistered reveals a standard shareware-type window that tells you how many days you have left in the evaluation period, a button so that you can enter a registration number, and one that lets you continue with the evaluation.

Poking that last button takes you straight to the program's main screen -




What you see on the main screen is a plain menu bar and a small toolbar with standard text formatting controls. What? Text formatting? Yes. The software handles plain text AND rich text RTF files. In today's very graphics-oriented world, that's an advantage. It also allows you to create cards reflecting different levels of importance, using colored or otherwise enchanced text. A big red headline can flag a card you won't soon forget! You ca also see that there are two panes on the laft sidebar. The top displays a tree view of the currently open file (if any). The bottom is for the list of cards in the currently selected folder.

Now lets go through the menu bar. Not a lot of options, as noted, but there's still everything you need there.

When you open up the File menu, you get the usual New, Open, Save, and Save As choices, but you also get a bump-out list of recent files and a choice that allows you to export the cards in a file in the form of a plain text file, instead of the program's internal .kar format. One last item lets you minimize the program to the system tray, in order to keep it handy.

A note here about general program design: The software is designed around the concept of a box full of file cards, much as the original Windows Cardfile was. Karteset goes beyond that by encouraging the use of categories. These are analagous to folders in Explorer. You can create sub- and sub-sub- folders, etc., so the similarity to Explorer folders is real.

Moving on to the View menu, you get some choices that are decidedly NOT standard. View really means "How do you want to view your cards?". The commands offered all relate to whatever file is currently open: All cards, Cards with no category, Search for cards, and a Recently opened card list (another bump-out).

Next comes the Edit menu. You get a choice of New Card, New Category, Font..., Insert Time/Date, and Preferences. Each one of them is pretty self-explanatory.

Last is the Help menu, which gives you access to a help file, Purchase, and About.

Summary

Karteset won't win prizes for the most features nor the prettiest interface, but it's useful in today's fast and cluttered world, and it delivers solid, speedy performance that could well land it in your list of Must Have utilities. Registration is a mere $15US and there is a 30 day return policy that ensures your satisfaction. Upgrades are free for life. The author assures me that some work on bells and whistles is in store, so those of you who depend on them will be covered :).