Virus Scan for Goalscape Desktop and Goalscape Online Unlimited

E P I was interested until I noticed the price. It used to be 45_, but now it's 89_. Even with the discount it is more expensive than the old price. Although I've donated to ThinkingRock when it was free, and have purchased numerous productivity applications (e.g., JIRA, Ketura, OmniFocus, Neo, etc.), I can't justify the expense for this one.
A 98% price increase and now a 40% discount make little sense to me, plus it doesn't offer anything that I would consider essential for my needs and/or that is not covered by my other applications.

I would have liked it as an additional tool, but not at this price. At the old price which was around $62 USD 40% off would have been somewhat tempting. At this price I'll have to pass on the current offer.

Oct 24 2010 at 6:32pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello EP Yes, Goalscape was previously available at 45_; but only for a limited period during its initial launch. I should also point out that the price has not been hiked recently (or merely to discount it for this promotion): Goalscape has in fact been selling very well indeed at the new price since July 1. Goalscape is a fully-fledged project management tool, with a unique visual interface that delivers real benefits when communicating or presenting project plans. So there is really no comparison with the traditional text-based or linear display GTD/task management/bug tracking tools you mention (some of which are actually more expensive than Goalscape). The software has already been adopted by national federations, government departments and some very large corporations. It also remains very popular as a personal goal-setting and life management tool for executives, sports professionals and ambitious individuals. Even at the full retail price of 89_, Goalscape is still much cheaper than many other PM tools. Remember that this price is for a perpetual license that covers multiple activations and includes free updates and support for life. We accept that at current exchange rates this price may still be too high for some personal users in the US - but even when it was 45_ some people it was too expensive! Please note too that we have special terms for students and other academic users - you can apply personally to info

goalscape.com. May you achieve great goals! Richard

Goalscape Software - Oct 25 2010 at 1:09am Copy Link

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Alain Lesage Really interesting indeed. The design providing visualisation of both importance and progress at the same time is really smart. However, this is quite expensive (I would say too much) for a nice-to-have but not indispensable product.

If you want some actionable feed-back, here are my 2 cents : for me, to change to Goalscape as my planning application, prices would have to be half of what they currently are. But then, I would get both the desktop and the web version.

Oct 25 2010 at 3:16am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Alain

Thanks for your "2 cents"!

You are correct in pointing out that displaying both relative importance and progress in a single image is a major benefit of Goalscape. Being able to see the overview of an entire project in this way, along with the facility to drill down to any level of detail, is a significant advantage.

Supporting an effective goal-oriented approach is also very important for businesses, teams and individuals, as it has been proven to improve both motivation and focus.

In terms of the functionality provided, as well as the uniquely rich visual format, Goalscape still remains excellent value even at full retail price, especially when compared with Mindmanager at (at least) $399 and MS Project at c$240 - $999. And with this Bits du Jour promotion you pay only about $75.

All the best!

Richard

Goalscape Software - Oct 25 2010 at 3:36am Copy Link

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E P Hi Richard, Thank you for your comments. I was unaware that the previous pricing was only for a limited time, and that's the price that many websites I visited mention. As you said, "even when it was 45_ some people it was too expensive." I guess I am one of those people. Still, I decided to take a closer look. I hope you find this feedback useful. 1. It does not work on my Mac. I guess it's one limitation of using Adobe AIR, which does not run on PPC Macs. I relied on videos and reviews to get a better idea of what Goalscape does. 2. Many assumptions and conclusions are questionable and/or don't necessarily relate to using Goalscape. For example, there's a 10 minute video on your website about the advantage of using Goalscape for presentations, and how PowerPoint presentations tend to be linear and boring. Ironically, most of the Goalscape presentation could have been done using PowerPoint! BTW, I have jumped to different slides and have also added content based on audience feedback during presentations. They don't have to be linear (or boring). On the Mac, Keynote is a very nice alternative to PowerPoint. Additionally, there are many applications that have a presentation mode (e.g., Curio, many mind-mapping applications, etc.) 3. Speaking of mind-mapping, your website states: "When it comes to defining and achieving goals, Goalscape is far superior to mindmapping." Based on what? Is there published research in peer-reviewed journals? Or is it just an opinion with its obvious bias? BTW, I also believe that mind-mapping software developers have their own bias ;) 4. "Goalscape is a fully-fledged project management tool." As mentioned, I could not try the software, but it seems to me that Goalscape is very limited when it comes to the complexities of project management. For example, dealing with shared resources among various projects, managing time and costs, dealing with constraints and deadlines, task interdependency, etc. Additionally, the project management software I typically use integrates with other applications when dealing with calendars, contacts, mind-maps, spreadsheets, outliners, etc. I'll keep Goalscape in mind, but agree with Alain when he mentioned it's "nice-to-have but not indispensable." I do like the ease of use and the idea of a perpetual license. I'll take another look in the future.

Oct 25 2010 at 8:18am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi EP Thanks for the additional background and for taking the time to post again. All our communications, our website www.goalscape.com and those of our accredited VARs and affiliates use the new price, as do other industry sites like Adobe Marketplace. Of course there are many other blogs, reviews and articles posted before July 1 (but still available) which may use the old price: if you let me know the relevant URLs I will contact them all to make sure they update their information. 1. Yes, as you guessed the problem with PPC Macs is that the architecture does not support the latest version of Adobe AIR. So while Goalscape is fine on Mac OS X, it may not work on earlier editions. Sorry if this is not clear on our website. 2. We-e-ell... Yes, the presentation on our http://www.goalscape.com/...d-projects has a beginning, a middle and an end; but the goalscape shows the whole subject all the time, so Marcus is free to jump around it to deal with each section in a different order. Bear in mind too that this is a video, which is essentially a one-way communication; and does not reflect the level of interaction you can have with a live audience or in a webconference. Furthermore, Goalscape clearly shows the relative importance of each area (you can even use it to agree with the audience the amount of time to spend on each area and change the sizes accordingly). The only way you can do this in PowerPoint is to use different sized fonts in your Contents page, which is inexact, distracting and confusing. And of course the Contents page is not visible all the time. We like Keynote too - we often use mini-keynotes embedded as attachments in Goalscape. And yes, you can add new slides and notes in PowerPoint, but it's much easier in Goalscape. Our customers agree: "Absolutely love the product and [it] has so many valuable uses in any form of project or strategy planning. It is the end of dull powerpoints or strategy word docs for me." Neil Hamill (on our https://goalscape.tenderapp.com/home ) 3. The statement "when it comes to defining and achieving goals, http://www.goalscape.com/...indmapping " is certainly a bold claim, but it is not mere marketing hype or "bias": it is based on feedback from many (ex!) mindmappers who have switched to Goalscape because of its more rigorous structure, richer visual format and fuller functionality. Here are a few testimonials from industry experts and "regular users": "Mind mapping rules my friend. Thats how I organize my thoughts. Well, actually I goalscape now." mmlgeek (on http://twitter.com/#%21/search/goalscape ) "It's over for mindmapping software - Goalscape kicks a**!" Wallace Tait ( http://visualmapper.blogspot.com ) "Well done, this product is what I have been looking for, for years. I have grappled with mindmaps previously, but as more and more detail is discovered they become unwieldy. I love Goalscape - I have never been happier to part with my money!" Russ Condick (on our https://goalscape.tenderapp.com/home ) "Goalscape is agreat concept! Beats mindmaps for many things." Konstantin Prokopiu, Senior Technical Architect, Adobe Systems GmbH (on our https://goalscape.tenderapp.com/home ) "Goalscape is sooo much better then mind mapping for me, This system makes so much sense and it is very easy to use to keep your goals in sight and monitor your progress. Thanks again for a wonderful program." Timothy Zirkle (on our https://goalscape.tenderapp.com/home ) If you post your email address to me at support[at]goalscape[dot]com I would be very happy to send you more testimonials and links to other independent review sites. 4. As far as PM functionality is concerned, Goalscape is by far the best way to see a clear overview of all your goals, subgoals and progress in every area. So you can prioritize your activities and decide exactly how to share resources (money, time, knowhow) across different areas. You can also drill down into the detail (targets, timescales, milestones and responsibilities). For the additional functionality you can use attachments in other file formats (eg spreadsheets or contact lists) and links in the Notes fields to external products like Google Calendar (if Goalscape's built-in calendar and alarms are not enough for you). We are also introducing a time line view, a 'tag and filter' function and the facility to use absolute values (eg for money or time) in Importance and Progress, rather than percentages. Right now Goalscape enforces a strict hierarchy of dependencies. We recognize however that sometimes a single subgoal contributes to more than one 'parent', so we are developing a way to "clone" subgoals. When any instance is selected, all the others will also be highlighted - and any changes made will apply to all of them in parallel. EP, it is a shame that you cannot try Goalscape Desktop for yourself at the moment. If at any point you have access to another machine (Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X and most versions of Linux) you should download the free trial and check it out.

Goalscape Software - Oct 25 2010 at 12:52pm Copy Link

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E P Thanks for the further clarification. Indeed the old price comes from reviews and blogs, and not from your website.

I can see why some people prefer this over mind maps. I can also see the opposite :) I like this approach as an additional tool. Based on all the videos I saw I would use it for some projects and/or some audiences. Other times I would use mind maps, diagrams, outlines, etc. I consider it another tool, and it definitely seems to be useful :)
I don't think that I would use it for "serious" project management, though. That's not to say that it can't be used to manage some projects.

As you said, it would be ideal to try it for myself.
I do have Mac OS X. Currently running 10.5.8 on a Dual 2.0 GHz G5 PPC. My other Mac is also PPC. Perhaps mentioning that it is Intel only will help potential customers.

I managed to find an older version of Adobe AIR here:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/...85304.html
That one works on PPC computers.

It will NOT install Goalscape, though. Installation results in the following message:

"Sorry, an error has occurred.
This Application requires an update to Adobe AIR that is not available for your system.
Please view the system requirements for Adobe AIR and update your system accordingly."

I hope this helps. I will keep your software in mind when I buy a new computer :-)

Oct 25 2010 at 2:06pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello EP

Thanks for your considered feedback - I am glad that you appreciate the advantages of Goalscape in some areas! I will also bear in mind your comments about mentioning that the Mac installation is Intel only.

Yes, that error message is correct: Goalscape now needs the latest AIR functionality for some essential functionality (as well as slick attachment handling). Since the trial download is always the latest version, it requires AIR 2.04 or later and will not install on older versions.

Sorry about that - I await your reaction when you have had a chance to try it on a new machine!

All the best

Goalscape Software - Oct 25 2010 at 2:30pm Copy Link

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bitsdujour Visitor I really liked the way of visualizing the goals as a pie chart, never saw such method before.

My current feedback is that the application can be improved in terms of adding support for keyboard shortcuts. I haven't check the export functions yet, would like to see an export to excel. What about a gantt chart that would really justify price.

My current idea would be first first use some mind mapping software then Goalscape.

Since we are in this site , Mr. Parslow , if there is still space to ask and push for a larger discount e.g. set the final price at 40$ then i will be wiling to buy it. Otherwise i will have to wait and see how goalscape improves.

Thanks for reading.

Oct 26 2010 at 12:56am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello noneed, I am glad that you like Goalscape's unique multilevel pie chart format for visualizing the goal structure. This provides great richness and depth of information in a single, immediately comprehensible image. As to the "improvements" you mention, Goalscape Desktop already supports most standard hotkey shortcuts (Ctrl+ or cmd+) to Open files (New or existing ones), Save and Close files, Exit or Quit the application, Add Subgoal, Add Neighbor, Cut, Copy and Paste goals (and text in the Notes field). You can also use the cursor keys to navigate around the goal map: up and down (levels), left and right (move anticlockwise and clockwise at the same level); and to move the Importance and Progress sliders (note that you can only adjust Progress on the lowest-level subgoals). And you can tab between fields in the Panel. All these shortcuts are described in the relevant sections of the online Help and in most of the infopoint videos. There is already an Export to CSV function: File > Export > CSV Report (spreadsheet). You can open the exported .csv file in Excel (or any other spreadsheet application). We will be implementing a gantt-type time line view early in the new year. Users will be able to toggle between goal map, time line and the tree view (the nested hierarchy, as shown in the Contents/Summary page of our existing HTML and PDF exports and the Print report). The price you suggest is less than a third of the Goalscape Desktop full retail price, which is already extremely low for the functionality provided (especially when you bear in mind that the fee is for a perpetual license, with unlimited free updates and support for life). So this 40% discount Bits du Jour promotion really is a great bargain! Since nearly all the improvements you say that you are waiting for are already implemented, I am sure you will recognize this fact... Lastly, as far as mindmapping tools are concerned, I refer you to our blog article "Goalscaping is better than mindmapping" http://www.goalscape.com/...indmapping and the unsolicited testimonials in my previous post above (see point 3 of my reply to EP on 10/25/10 at 7:52pm). So you could actually save the cost of a license for mindmapping software and put it towards your Goalscape Desktop license! All the best

Goalscape Software - Oct 26 2010 at 1:50am Copy Link

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Jack Crawford FWIW, my take is that this is an important new approach to project/task management. As EP says it is another tool (perhaps a bit sharper than most) in the toolbox.

Yes, I think it is on the expensive side, but the idea of a perpetual licence for an application under active development is enticing. Most vendors now seem to shy away from offering such long-term licences and are favouring annual updates or, even worse, a subscription model. Also the support seems to be excellent, as evidenced here.

I'll be buying this BdJ promotion.

Oct 26 2010 at 2:19pm Copy Link

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Ms Julie The platforms on which Goalscape will run doesn't seem to include Windows 7. Was this a simple omission? And will Goalscape work on 64-bit machines?

Many thanks. Good luck on your big day!

Oct 27 2010 at 5:07am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Miss Julie Thanks for the message - yes, that was a simple omission (now corrected). I can confirm that Goalscape runs on Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X (Intel) and any flavour of Linux that supports the latest versions of Adobe AIR. And yes, Goalscape runs very well on 64-bit machines. May you achieve great goals!

Goalscape Software - Oct 27 2010 at 6:50am Copy Link

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Alexander Deliyannis I don't find the price unrealistic, given the perpetual nature of the license. What is more important for me are the future perspectives of the software in terms of functionality and support. In this regard, I am a bit concerned by Goalscape's reliance on Adobe Air, a technology promoted for its ease in development, but with no guarantee that it will be around in a few years from now. Regarding Goalscape's "unique" format, I have seen at least one competing offering ( http://www.crystalmapping.com/ ) as well as a similar free printable template ( http://www.metrostate.edu...r/uno.html ). Is it clear who came up with the idea first?

Oct 27 2010 at 8:37pm Copy Link

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Alexander Deliyannis P.S. Some things I found lacking in Goalscape: keyboard shortcuts for adding goals and subgoals; import and export in some hierarchical format, e.g. OPML and tab-indented text. Any chance of adding such functionality soon?

Oct 27 2010 at 10:55pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Alexander Thanks for your comment. It is true that Goalscape is implemented on Adobe AIR, which not only facilitates development but allows the same software to run cross-platform (Goalscape runs on Windows, Mac and Linux). More and more applications are being delivered on AIR so it is unlikely that Adobe will discontinue their own development of it; and if they do, it will not prevent existing applications from working. Even in a 'worst case scenario', if all support is discontinued completely, we could always port Goalscape to different environments at that stage. In this context it is also worth noting that Steve Jobs has already lifted Apple's embargo on Flash apps on iPhone and iPad, due to the (accelerating) spread of such software on the desktop and in the cloud... Goalscape's format certainly is unique in that no other software application supports the two functions that are probably the most significant benefits: Relative Importance and Progress. Goalscape shows Importance as the size of the subgoal slice and Progress as shading from the outside in (always moving towards the Main Goal at the center). The other tools you mention do not have any facility to change the size of the slices; and do not have Goalscape's graphical display of progress in the'goal map' itself. We have had very cordial discussions with Crystal Mapping: everyone agreed that the developments are entirely independent and there is no suggestion of plagiarism or IPR infringement on either side. FWIW FWIW our initial commercial version was out first (just) - and Marcus Baur's original hand-drawn models date back to 1998. Marcus talks about how he came up with the concept in his video about ' Using Goalscape for presentations, meetings and projects' http://www.youtube.com/wa...9fVajtz6gg . Enjoy the journey!

Goalscape Software - Oct 27 2010 at 11:26pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello again Alexander

Hotkey shortcuts for adding goals (subgoals or neighbors) are already implemented: use Ctrl+ G (or cmd+ G for Mac) to add a subgoal and Ctrl+ Shift+ G (cmd+ Shift+ G for Mac) to add a neighbor.

There are standard hotkey shortcuts for most other File and Edit functions: Open files (New or existing ones), Save and Close files, Exit or Quit the application, Add Subgoal, Add Neighbor, Cut, Copy and Paste goals (and text in the Notes field).

You can also use the cursor keys to navigate around the goal map: up and down (levels), left and right (move anticlockwise and clockwise at the same level); and to move the Importance and Progress sliders (note that you can only adjust Progress on the lowest-level subgoals). And you can tab between fields in the Panel.

All these shortcuts are described in the relevant sections of the online Help. They also appear next to the relevant option in the File and right-click context menus; and are mentioned in most of the infopoint videos.

To facilitate populating goalscapes with information from legacy tools and environments we are working on a general import mechanism (based on parsing CSV files). We are also bridging to Goalscape from specific applications (initially certain PM and mindmapping tools).

As far as exporting tab-indented text is concerned, the existing exports to HTML and PDF already contain a (fully hyperlinked) 'tree view' in the Summary section. We will also shortly roll out an Export to DOCX function; OPML should be even easier, being based on xml.

All the best!

Goalscape Software - Oct 27 2010 at 11:30pm Copy Link

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I've tried Hello,
I understand there are a lot of functions missing at this point of time, and I understand that it's a lifetime license including updates. I've tried your program, and I think it's beautiful when not yet functional in every minor respect.

But I don't understand why there isn't any F2 editing possibility to give names to new items, and even double clicking on them does not give you the possibility to name them according to your wishes, when the default names are quite useless and have to be changed to real names in every case. The only thing I discovered, is to click with the mouse in the box in the right of the screen, hold down the backspace key a rather long time, and then only you can properly name your new items.

This being totally weird, what aspect / trick did I overlook?

Oct 28 2010 at 3:10am Copy Link

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Roger Thomasson @ I've tried

I'm a little confused by the tone of your comment. Please shoot me an email at roger (at) iconico (dot) com to discuss further.

-r

BitsDuJour Admin - Oct 28 2010 at 5:54am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello I've tried

Firstly, apologies for not responding sooner: we operate worldwide, 24 hours a day and always respond to support calls, emails and posts on our customer forum extremely promptly. Responding to comments on marketing websites may however take a little longer!

As for entering and editing goal names:
1. Every time you Add a Subgoal (or a Neighbor) the Name field is highlighted, so you can just start typing or C&P text as the goal name.
2. You can also access the goal name field in the goal name itself, by selecting it then clicking its slice a second time (not as fast as a double-click). The name on the goal map will be highlighted and you can simply type your text straight in.

These methods are covered in the online Help and the relevant infopoint video ('Panel toolbar').

I am not sure what you are driving at in your second post: are you concerned that we will fold our company to avoid providing lifetime support? I know that our offer is unusual; and there may indeed come a time when we stop providing free updates for life to new customers, but at that time we will continue to provide free updates to all existing customers, as promised.

This additional commitment is another way we are rewarding our early adopters, which includes everyone who buys Goalscape on this promotion.

As far as the patent is concerned, our About Us page (http://www.goalscape.com/aboutus) clearly states that Goalscape is protected under a United States Patent Application, not that the patent has been awarded. As you may know, these applications routinely take several years to process.

Best regards

Goalscape Software - Oct 28 2010 at 6:10am Copy Link

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Mitchell Kastner Richard,

My heart is broken.

I had no intention of using your visually-arresting software to keep track of my goals. I was going to use it as a concentric-circle outlinter to organize my academic research notes. "Goals" or "Topics" what's the difference? For a veteran outliner like I am, there is no difference. I am currently doing academic research on malingering: I can set "malingering" to be the parent goal (parent topic) and can add child "goals" ("definitions," "dual diagnosis," "detection,") and then create further offspring goals from the children. And you can take notes for each goal and you can create attachments, like pdf journal articles for me.

What's truly wonderful is that Goalscape allows me to visually differentiate the sizes of the subtopic. For example, under the malingering main topic, "detection" and "differential diagnosis" are both important first level subtopics but the latter is much much more extensive in coverage than the former. And Goalscape allows me to visualize that much better than with a linear outline.

Alas, Goalscape, while reasonable, is just too dear for my budget to purchase before I give it a fair test drive. I esecially need to see if it's output is useable for the purposes to which I want to put it.

I am sad.

Mitchell Kastner
mknjlaw

comcast.net

Oct 28 2010 at 1:00pm Copy Link

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a b Will it be possible to import outlines (e.g. from OPML)?

Oct 28 2010 at 8:28pm Copy Link

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Thomas Lattner Hello,

I am a MindManager fan, but I like your tool idea very much.
So I installed the trial version today.
It's more to the point and forcing me to avoid things that are not supporting the main goal.

I probable will use Mindmaps for brainstorming because I can drop my thoughts anywhere and cluster afterwars, but goalscape comes in handy for planning and presenting.

Right now I am missing:
a) Colours for the background of the pieces of the pie
b) an Icon at the pie pieces that show where there are comments and/or attachments
c) pictures / symbols that I can put inside the pie pieces

Best regards
Thomas

Oct 28 2010 at 9:39pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Mitchell Thanks for your great feedback. Yes, the facility to change the size of subgoal slices to represent their Importance, together with the shading to represent Progress, means that Goalscape's visual format conveys a depth of meaning that is missing in purely text-based tools or linear chart displays. I am very sorry to hear about your broken heart! We have kept the price as low as possible, and even at full retail it compares very favourably with any other tool that has comparable functionality (Mindmanager is at least $399 and Basecamp is nearly $600 per year!). You can still download the free trial of Goalscape Desktop - after the trial expires you will still be able to view your goalscapes in Read-only mode. We have also recently introduced Goalscape Connect ( http://www.connect.goalscape.com ), our "cloud" version for online collaboration. All accounts are free during the Preview period; when we launch commercially the price will be _9 per user per month or _90 annually in advance. So you can spread your cost through the year. You can upload goalscapes from Goalscape Desktop, create new ones and share them with others quickluy and easily. All the best!

Goalscape Software - Oct 28 2010 at 11:46pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello ab

Yes, we are working on an import mechanism and bridges from specific mindmapping and PM tools, using CSV files. OPML should be very easy, since it uses a basic XML format.

Goalscape Software - Oct 28 2010 at 11:53pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Thomas

I am glad that you like Goalscape.

Thanks for your suggestions: the enhancements to Goalscape's 'look and feel' that you describe are already in our development goalscape and will be delivered over the coming months.

Right now you can add images to individual goals using the Attachment function; we are working on a smart way to include them in the goal map itself without causing excess clutter in the display.

Enjoy the journey!

Goalscape Software - Oct 29 2010 at 12:00am Copy Link

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Thomas Lattner Thanks Richard,

good to know.

I was able to rearrange everythink I wanted.

Number one wishes are now:
a) F2 for "edit" - I am old you know?
b) background colour perhaps including transparent for ease of integrating png in classis slides - but still shadow for progress tracking.
c) Textorientation along the segment not across like now
d) color of progress shadow individual settings per segment (optional for child goals/tasts)
e) more colours to choose from

BTW I purchased right before your answer :-)

You know EUR/USD is still friendly and I like the plain style the more I tried.
And my whishes above are surly not difficult to implement :-)
Cheers
Thomas

Oct 29 2010 at 12:18am Copy Link

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Ms Julie Hey, Richard, I've tried to purchase twice now and both times my trusty credit card has been refused! It's an American Express from the USA.

Now what?

Oct 29 2010 at 12:46am Copy Link

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Ms Julie Update on AmEx card refusal: it turns out it was AMEX that put a security hold on the card. Some AI program didn't like that I eaten sushi on the US East Coast and then bought software in Kiel Germany hours later. AMEX clamped down on the charge.

Third try (and a call to AMEX later) was a charm. All is well (I think). Incidentally, I've been to Kiel -- last century, but a lovely place indeed. I'm looking forward towards achieving all my goals -- or at least seeing how well I am doing.

Cheers to you all.

Oct 29 2010 at 1:15am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Thomas

Welcome aboard!

Yes, we are looking at all the options you suggest. Horizontal text orientation may be tricky in view of the available 'real estate' on each goal. Note however that when goal slices become too small to display the whole goal name, it will appear (horizontally!) in a pop-up tooltip on mouseover.

We will shortly be introducing more color options and user-customization for other screen elements. Watch out for our email notifications about free updates.

May you achieve great goals!

Goalscape Software - Oct 29 2010 at 1:30am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Ms Julie

Great - I am glad that your purchase went through OK. Welcome aboard!

This conversation also vindicates my somewhat tardy response: by the time I saw your original post you had already resolved the issue with your credit card!
:-)

Enjoy the journey

Richard

Goalscape Software - Oct 29 2010 at 1:37am Copy Link

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A C - Whenever you select another piece of the cake, the text pane quickly disappears then reappears, can this be made stable instead of that flurry out and in?

- What amount of text the text pane can contain? 32KB? Much more than that? Several MB?

- What are your import feature intentions for outlines with texts, etc.? My question is, is it planned to do importing from some standard outliner formats, not only the outlines, but with their content?

- Is it possible to look into your pie piece's text content - let's say the first, the standard text field, and / or the last opened text field of the piece - just by going with the mouse cursor over that piece? My question is, can this text content only be seen when "activating" a piece, or should it not be possible to show the text just by the mouse coordinates' notification to the program? That is possible in PersonalBrain, and one of its finest features, it avoids endless mouse clicking just to see the notes, it would be sufficient then to "activate" a piece for changing / adding notes to it.

Oct 29 2010 at 2:33am Copy Link

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A C - I forgot to ask, importing issues and big files issues, what size are the biggest files you had to do with, and which worked well? Is a size of 100 MB or more realistic? If not, what would be a realistic size? (I suppose it would be possible to divide a really big outline into a few thinner ones.) I suppose the software stores the pie and the notes, and then just links to any pdf or other files, or are those imported, too? With a big bunch of such additional files, if they are imported, the program file itself could easily become a little bit convoluted, and then there could be responsiveness and / or stability issues? I am asking all this because me, too, am wanting to do some "data warehousing" with the program, when in fact it does not seem to be especially designed for such a use?

Oct 29 2010 at 2:41am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello AC

Thanks for your questions.

1. Panel animation
The panel has to change when you select a different goal, so it cannot really be made 'stable'. We will however be introducing more user-customization options, which will include selection of different types of animation.

2. Amount of text
I am not exactly sure what the upper limit might be on text in the Notes field; I have just done a test and it coped fine with several MB of text.

3. Import from other tools and formats.
Our initial Import mechanism will parse CSV files (as exported from many other tools) to produce a goal matrix in a similar format to that of our existing CSV export. We can use that to populate a .gsp file.

As far as outlines and contents are concerned, the Import will interpret the outline hierarchy in terms of goals and subgoals at different levels. As for Content, Notes will be imported, along with such other attribute information as may be available in the source (start and end dates, responsibility, progress, etc). Attachments may be a bit trickier, depending on how they are attached in the source tool.

4. Thanks for the suggestion about showing Notes text on mouseover: we may well be able to do this using pop-up tooltips, similar to those used to show 'hidden' goal names in the goal map.

5. Again, I do not know of any limitations on size of import: since Goalscape supports an unlimited number of levels and subgoals per level, it should be possible to import quite large files. I am not sure what a goalscape based on 100MB of imported data would look like!

Goalscape .gsp files are very small, usually less than 500KB. Having lots of attachments (especially hi-res images and video files) may push up the size quite a lot, but 10MB would be among the largest.

As far as importing attachments is concerned, it really depends how these are implemented in the source tool. Right now, attachments in Goalscape are implemented as links to the attached file on the user's hard drive, so it might be easier to export them from the source into a specially created directory, where Goalscape will go to 'find' them for implementing the attachment to specific goals.

Goalscape does work particularly well as a 'knowledge store' or even a 'data warehouse'; usually though, people and corporations build them from scratch, with attachments (in any file format: spreadsheets, pdfs, word documents, images and video files) containing more detailed background the relevant goal. This enforces a rational goal structure and avoids the issues with 'convoluted' models that may be present in other tools.

Please note too that you can use links in the Notes field to point to documents on third party sites like Google Docs - that would certainly reduce the local memory/storage load.

Enjoy the journey!

Goalscape Software - Oct 29 2010 at 4:34am Copy Link

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H. H. Hallo,
I just tried goalspace and think, that it could be a useful addition to other programs.
But I've to agree with other comments - that the software seems quite expensive for the
ability it has at the moment - the implementation of more (e.g. above) requested features would make the price more acceptable.

I really think that the possibility to change backgoround colour of each segment from a windows color wheel or colour-slider (like the usual ms /windows- color selections) iis indispensable
.The colour should be selectable for background, fonts and outline (and not only 7 colours!!!)

Another feature which I'm really missing is the ability to search for a keyword -especially when having goals with a greater depth of subgoals it really would be helpful.

Which of the requested feature can be expected surely to be implemented within the mext time?

I'm asking this, because I already spent money on software which also had lifetime upgrade policy, but the develpment was stopped soon after buying it.
When spending a greater amount of money,it must be sure, that the planned improvements will be put into practise.

with kind regards
H.H.

Oct 29 2010 at 5:18am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello HH

I am glad that you like Goalscape.

I am sure that if you compare the functionality provided by other PM or mindmapping tools you will find that Goalscape is not particularly expensive (Mindmanager is $399 and cheaper task-management tools have neither the functionality nor the rich visual format provided by Goalscape). Especially when you bear in mind that the license is a perpetual one that includes unlimited free updates and support for life.

So this Bits du Jour offer is a real bargain! Many visitors have already taken advantage of it today...

And yes, you certainly can search for keywords! Use the little magnifying-glass icon at top right of the screen, then enter any search string of 3 or more characters. Search will find instances of that string in goal names and Notes text in the current view (eg if you are using Focus View), other goals not in the current view and even in different goalscapes you have open in different charts. Sorry if this was not clear in the screen itself or the Help text.

As far as color options are concerned, we have so far been concentrating on building the best engine and control systems for our race car so we have not been able to offer a wide selection of color choices for the paintwork! We will however shortly be delivering enhanced user customization options, including a wider range of background colors, etc. Font choices for the Notes field and goal names are currently determined by those available in Adobe rtf.

I cannot indicate precise dates for delivering the functional enhancements. If you are concerned about our ability to deliver improvements under our free updates commitment you can check back over all our updates here: http://www.goalscape.com/release-notes

Enjoy the journey!

Goalscape Software - Oct 29 2010 at 5:44am Copy Link

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J W Purchase provides for two computer license. Can these computers be one PC and one MAC?

It would be nice if purchase of desktop program included a license for cloud use.

Oct 29 2010 at 6:57am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello JW Yes, Goalscape Desktop is fully cross-platform: it runs on all recent Windows OS, Mac OS X (Intel versions) and any version of Linux supported by the latest AIR. Goalscape Connect ( http://www.connect.goalscape.com is still in Preview, so all accounts are free for the time being. I agree it would be nice if all software was free for ever! Goalscape Desktop customers can sign in using their existing credentials; everyone else can register for a free Goalscape Connect Preview account by clicking the link on our home page http://www.goalscape.com . When we launch commercially, subscriptions will be _9 per user per month or _90 annually in advance. Unfortunately we cannot give away subscriptions free of charge to existing Goalscape Desktop customers, but we will give them a further price break (probably by extending the validity period for their initial subscription). All the best!

Goalscape Software - Oct 29 2010 at 9:40am Copy Link

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H. H. Hallo,
thank you for responding and explaining.. Since the search- function is already implemented, I'm going to order goalscape

Regarding the colors, I'll specify the feature request:
especially a great number of background colours seems importnt to me.(and I think for future customers too, since people which are interested in goalscape, probably respond to the optical appearance of the software, otherwise there would be competing programs). - and different background colours of the segment would allow more overbiew at a glance
For outline and fonts a more limited number of colours may fit, because anyway one would not recognize slightly varations in font-colors. But for greater (background) areas (segments) a great variability would be helpful

another feature suggestion ("would be nice to have", (not a "must have" like the background colour-variability) would be the ability to track time by electronic stop watch spent on the tasks (a feature like the software "todo-list" has or "timeleft")

I'm looking forward to future improvements

with kind regards
H.H.

Oct 29 2010 at 12:53pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello HH

Thank you for your post - I am glad that Goalscape meets your high standards!

Your suggestions for new feature requests are both very interesting and we will certainly look into them. As I said, we are already planning to extend the color range; and time tracking would also be a useful enhancement.

We always take account of customer feedback when we are deciding on our development priorities and scheduling work. If you use our feedback minisite you can post your ideas and vote on other people's - just click the 'feedback' tab on the left-hand side of any page of our website www.goalscape.com.

All the best

Richard

Goalscape Software - Oct 29 2010 at 2:18pm Copy Link

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H. H. Hallo,
I bought goalscape at the last bitsdujour offer in 10/2010, and I really find that it is a very useful piece of software, which I can recommend. to other potential customers, espeecially with the reduced price.
Because of the lifetime upgrade policy, it makes sense to buy goalscape now - and with this supporting the good work of the company - even if some features are still on the wish-list.
The support of the company was always reliable and fast for me, and even within the last 3 months more features of user suggestions have been implemented

Nevertheless I really hope, that some more features - which have been asked from more users- may be available next time.
e.g.
1. various colours for colouring background (not only fonts) of the
pie-piedes
2. highligthing of text items one searched for in the resulting
page (s)
3. perhaps time-tracking - feature
4.b,c The suggestions of Thomas L. (but with the possibility to decide if one want to show the icons or not)(different "view-modes"
b) an Icon at the pie pieces that show where there are comments and/or attachments
c) pictures / symbols that I can put inside the pie pieces

An additional question: which versions of mindmanager are supported (using mindmanager 6 didn't work for me, leads to error messages)?

Thank you for responding and further development in advance
with kind regards
H.H.

Jan 3 2011 at 11:13pm Copy Link

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Mitchell Kastner Richard,

Is there any limitation to the number of subgoals I can create? To do what I want goalscape to do, I need to be able to drill down five or six levels.

I thought I recall that the software could be installed on two machines, Since the software is activated on line, is your database set up to allow installations on two machines?

Jan 4 2011 at 1:02am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hallo again HH

Thanks for your warm recommendation! I am glad that you enjoy using Goalscape. We pride ourselves on our quick response to support calls and it is good to know that you appreciate it.

The recent Updates included lots of functionality requested by our customers - especially the integration with other tools and the provision of templates (available for download on http://www.goalscape.com/...te-gallery). Since Goalscape is now integrated with MindManager (v9+), customers can also download MMAP files from other sources on the web and Import them straight into Goalscape.

Most of the other features you mention are already planned or under development - watch out for more news.

May you achieve great goals in 2011!

Goalscape Software - Jan 4 2011 at 2:21am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Mitchell

There is no limit to the number of goals you can create - or to the number of levels you can use. Bear in mind though that if you build a really big goalscape with a million goals (10 level 1 subgoals, each of which have 10 Level 2 subgoals, each of which has 10 level 3 subgoals... and so on to 6 levels) it may be a bit slow to navigate!

And yes, you certainly can install and activate the software on two machines concurrently: each activation is done online and registers in your account on our database.

All the best!

Goalscape Software - Jan 4 2011 at 2:22am Copy Link

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Mitchell Kastner I purchased the license, downloaded the software, and activated the program. I am like a five year old opening up his Christmas present. I am giddy.

I am writing an article medical privacy under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and goalscape I am using Goalscape to organize my research notes on the many cases I have read. For this use, I find it clearly preferable to outliners and mindmap software. The ability to drill down quickly and then pull back quickly is incomparable. Yes I know about focusing on one branch in mindmappers, but that feature still does not give you the exploded bird's eye view of a central topic from which you can retreat to the next level by double clicking on it.

I recognize that Goalscape sets up a finite amount of time, which can be modified up or down, in which to complete all of your goals. That in no way limits the amount of topics I can cover in my research. Some topics are just larger than others just as some goals are more important than others. For each, you can create an unlimited amount of slices in the pie.

All the outliners and mindmappers I have used---and I have used many going back to KAMAS under CP/M limit the creation of one note per branch/topic. By contrast, Goalscape allows you to create an infinite number of separate notes per goal or subgoal. For my lega research, I can create a separate note for each case that I relate to a topic,

Finally, Goalscape's output to Word is simply gorgeous. I would have no concern at all in sending that output to a client as is.

Jan 4 2011 at 5:53am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi Mitchell

Thanks very much for your great feedback! It appears that you are using Goalscape to pursue some very complex and worthwhile goals and we wish you every success.

Goalscape Software - Jan 4 2011 at 6:11am Copy Link

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_*_ Richard,

Would you please explain what Mate Framework, and Google Analytics Library purpose are within Goalscape software?

Thank you

Jan 4 2011 at 11:00am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello MB

Sorry for the delay in responding!

I have referred your question to the smart people i our development team and will post again when I hear back from them.

If my slow response has made you miss the discount, write to me direct using the support

goalscape.com address and I will give you a personal discount, which we will treat as part of this Promotion.

All the best for 2011!

Richard

Goalscape Software - Jan 4 2011 at 11:31am Copy Link

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Mary Wilson I wanted to thank you as I enjoyed trying the program out. The program is very user friendly and I had no problems making a basic goal scape of my life. Found out when printing it out that in addition to the little chart, it prints out each of the sub categories. I will enjoy using the print out. Unfortunately, due to the price, I can not get it. Maybe in the future when I have more money as I do like the program. The video's that I saw where also very enjoyable and think it is a great program. If I could afford the program, I would, but it is over my personal budget.

Jan 4 2011 at 11:58am Copy Link

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_*_ Thank you Richard, I look forward to the answer.

Jan 4 2011 at 12:41pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Mary

Thank you for your positive comments on the software and our videos!

We are a small company and we still in the early stages of marketing Goalscape, so I regret that we cannot offer any larger discounts.

Stay in touch!

Goalscape Software - Jan 4 2011 at 12:55pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello MB

Mate is the core MVC framework used in Goalscape; Google Analytics is used for some installation measurements, mainly for tracking conversion rates.

Enjoy the journey!

Richard

Goalscape Software - Jan 4 2011 at 6:37pm Copy Link

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Thang tran When will iphone/iPod Touch app be available?
And what would be the price?

Feb 12 2011 at 7:27am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello

The Goalscape iPhone app is still scheduled for Q1 and may be delivered in the next few weeks. The initial implementation will be a companion app for operational task management. It will sync with Goalscape Connect projects on the server to display current goals, with deadlines and daily tasks. It will be completely free to all Goalscape Connect users.

The iPad version will follow, possibly before the end of Q2.

Enjoy the journey!

Richard

Goalscape Software - Feb 12 2011 at 9:13am Copy Link

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Lester Sheppherd I've been using Goalscape for some time now and it has become indispensable for me. It is excellent for strategic planning but I also use it for keeping track of information (ie. a knowledgebase) as well as doing comparative analysis.

I've posted a brief review of Goalscape here: http://www.manifestyourgo...are-review

Lester Sheppherd

Nov 10 2011 at 7:00pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi Lester

Thanks very much for the great review! We are indeed honored to be mentioned in the same sentence as the first spreadsheet application in terms of providing a revolutionary new format for representing information.

We have tweeted it and posted links on LinkedIn and on our Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/Goalscape.

Please 'like' our Facebook page, then you can post on the Wall, see how other people are using Goalscape and send messages. You will also receive notifications of other posts there, such as news of new feature releases, Surveys and Competitions.

Keep achieving great goals!

Richard

Goalscape Software - Nov 11 2011 at 5:19am Copy Link

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Alexander Deliyannis Hello and all the best for 2013!
When Goalscape was offered here and I purchased it in 2010, I had expressed my reservations on its use of the Adobe AIR platform. I'm sorry to say that my fears were justified as "beginning June 14 2011, Adobe AIR is no longer supported for desktop Linux distributions. Users can install and run AIR 2.6 and earlier applications but can't install or update to AIR 2.7." Questions:
- Is Goalscape compatible with AIR 2.6 and do you intend to keep it as such?
- Are there plans to make Goalscape a native application for any desktop operating system?

Jan 4 2013 at 4:17am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Alexander

Yes, Adobe discontinued AIR support for Ubuntu in 2011 (see also http://blogs.adobe.com/fl...vices.html). Ever since they did this we have included a caveat in the Download on our website (and it is included in the BdJ download text on this page).

Goalscape Desktop uses the latest AIR (version 3.5) and the download includes this.

We are indeed looking at a 'captive runtime' installation that should make the AIR version irrelevant.

Note that you can use the online version, Goalscape Connect https://connect.goalscape.com in any browser that supports Flash applications (see also http://www.bitsdujour.com...pe-connect).

Goalscape Software - Jan 4 2013 at 5:19am Copy Link

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Alexander Deliyannis Hi Richard, thanks for the quick reply, good news for the 'captive runtime' :-)

Jan 5 2013 at 1:37am Copy Link

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A K Goalscape certainly looks like an interesting software. There seems to be a potential to use it for academic and creative writing. I'm wondering about the possibilities for integration with reference management appplications like Zotero, perhaps the use of BibTeX, too? The 'zoom in' functionality, to particular goals or subgoals, is a powerful asset for navigating large amounts of information, perhaps even a book-length project? Could the 'Notes' sections cope with this amount of data? Thank you.

Jan 7 2013 at 2:39am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello AK

Thanks for your inquiry.

Yes, Goalscape is eminently suitable for creative writing. Not only does it allow you to plan your project and the work required, it also provides an excellent way to model the book itself (plot development, locations, character appearances, etc).

See Andrew Wetmore's excellent article http://cottage14.blogspot...cript.html, where he describes how he uses Goalscape in preparing and analyzing his scripts. While his example is a movie script, many of the same principles apply to any writing.

Andrew defines each Act as a level 1 subgoal, with individual scenes as subgoals: this gives him a clear picture of the 'plot density' (total number of subgoals) in each Act. He also lists his characters in the 'Responsible' field and Locations (and other contextual information) as Tags: that way he can use the Highlight sidebar for a quick visual search for each person (say) – and for different combinations of people, places, etc. The color-coding is also helpful – in a script this can refer to studio/location, day/night shoots, etc.

Any formal integration with a third-party tool depends on the file format used by the other tool's export/import mechanism (right now the supported file types are MS Project XML and MindManager MMAP).

While we are not familiar with the specific tools you mention, you may be able to use them in conjunction with Goalscape by attaching the relevant files to specific goals (Goalscape's attachment function accommodates files of any type). Then you can open those files in the other application with a double-click. And in the online version, Goalscape Connect (see separate BdJ page here: http://bit.ly/Wlm1nc), each goal has its own individual URL, which you can store as a reference in other tools – then all you need to do is click the link to open Goalscape Connect in your browser and go straight to that goal.

Enjoy the journey!

Goalscape Software - Jan 7 2013 at 3:45am Copy Link

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A K Thank you for your response, Richard.

I've spent time trying to configure an effective research management system, using different applications. Bibliographic data is an important element. There are various formats in which this can be communicated, BibTeX is one.

Is this scenario possible?

Manually enter bibliographic data into a 'goal' or sub-goal, perhaps in the 'Responsibilities' field, if that is possible..

Generate sub-goals with lots of 'notes'.

Export a report, in PDF or docx, that contains all the notes of that goal and its sub-goals, together with the bibliographic references.

---------------------------------------------------

I've just read Mitchell Kastner's comment, and it seems that he is using Goalscape in a way that might require bibliographic data, he hasn't specified this aspect, though.

Jan 7 2013 at 4:35am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi AK

Rather than using the Responsibility and Tag fields (which are really for short strings of maybe 1 or 2 words) you can create your own Custom Notes fields on the relevant goals, where you can enter longer strings, hyperlinks, etc. You can also use Tags to identify the goals that have a particular Custom Notes tab, then you can use the Highlight sidebar to find these goals in a 'visual search'.

You can always try out possible scenarios for yourself – download the Goalscape Desktop trial or register for the Goalscape Connect trial on our Home page www.goalscape.com.

All the best!

Richard

Goalscape Software - Jan 7 2013 at 5:09am Copy Link

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H. H. H. H. Hallo,
I bought goalscape at bitsdujour offer in 10/2010, thinking that it is a very useful piece of software, which I can recommend. to other potential customers, espeecially with the reduced price.
Because of the lifetime upgrade policy, it makes sense to buy goalscape now - and with this supporting the good work of the company - even if some features are still on the wish-list.
The support of the company was always reliable, some users feature-suggestions have been implemented inbetween
Nevertheless I´m a little bit disappointed since the development seems to take a lot of time. The feature I miss every day since the first day of using goalscape
(other customers also have asekd for more than 21/4 years ago) is the
1. ability to choose various colours for colouring background (not only fonts) of the pie-piedes ("must have feature")
Any hope, that this feature will be implemented in the near future?

Additional useful could be
2. perhaps time-tracking - feature
3.b,c The suggestions of Thomas L.(2010) (but with the possibility to decide if one want to show the icons or not)(different "view-modes"
b) an Icon at the pie pieces that show where there are comments and/or attachments
c) pictures / symbols that I can put inside the pie pieces

4) Is it guaranteed, that goalscpae will keep the software compatible with the last version of mindmanager (2012),
that does not require yearly subscription?
(mindjet seems to have loosed many (at least private) customers because of now forcing people to use an expensive subscription model -
- so it would be important, to be sure, that goalscape will be compatible with mindmanager 2012 in the future too and not requiring the user-unfriendly and expensive subscription of mindjet. I´m also not willing to support such a kind of business practises
b) Perhaps you may consider to make goalscape compatible with a good freeware alternative?

Thank you for considering and further development in advance
with kind regards
H.H.

Jan 7 2013 at 10:10pm Copy Link

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First Second hello goalscape,

can we take back an activation of the 2 we are allotted (or both)?
Such as; we are scrapping the laptop for a new one, or the desktop has been given over to a family member and now I work from another and need goalscape over here then.

Jan 7 2013 at 10:11pm Copy Link

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Great News! Goalscape Software has agreed to extend this deal for another day - Enjoy!

BitsDuJour Admin - Jan 8 2013 at 12:11am Copy Link

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Bruno Verschraegen To H.H.

The pie-piece colouring and an icon identifying the pie-pieces with comments and/or attachments would indeed be great.

It would also be great to see support for mindmapping programmes other than Mindjet Mindmanager. I virtually stopped using Goalscape (despite it's fantastic concept) once I had to give up on MM because mindmapping is a must-do for me and our team. I had been using MM for many years but had to give up keeping pace with new versions because of the cost for a 3-pax team. I still think that MM is by far the best mindmapping programme but had to switch to a less expensive solution (we are now using XMind despite a few shortfalls). The ability to interact with XMind would certainly revive our use of Goalscape.

To the team at Goalscape: any chance of this happening?

Jan 8 2013 at 1:29am Copy Link

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mathieu mesbah Rebonjour,

Je cherche uniquement des logiciles MAC;

Merci,

Mathieu M.

Jan 8 2013 at 1:57am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello again HH

The additional features you mention (full colour-fill, Task Management functionality, icons/pictures in goal slices, etc) have all been covered in previous posts here.

I can comment as follows:
1. We are focused on continuing to deliver functional improvements rather than cosmetic ones; although we are indeed intending to do provide 'full colour fill' for goal slices at some point in the future.

2. Goalscape is really visual goal management software, rather than a Task Management tool. We will however provide some TM functionality – probably initially by integrating with third-party tools.

3. As far as pictures are concerned, you can already attach image files to individual goals; while we may provide a way to put them on the goal map itself, we are concerned that may lead to clutter – and of course we want to preserve Goalscape's essential clarity.

4. We provide integration with MindManager (and other mindmapping tools) by Import/Export of MMAP files and we will continue to support this if the MMAP format changes. You will appreciate however that we cannot absolutely guarantee to accommodate fundamental changes to third party technology. Of course as long as MindManager uses its MMAP format, the integration will stil work.

We may also implement Import/Export using the OPML format that is used by other mind mapping tools.

Note that you can use our online survey here https://www.goalscape.com...ven-better to comment on proposed new features (including full color-fill and Task Management functions!) and suggest your own. We always listen to our customers and suggestions on the survey (and on our support forum https://goalscape.tenderapp.com/home) directly affect our development priorities and work scheduling.

Keep achieving great goals!

Goalscape Software - Jan 8 2013 at 3:17am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Bruno

XMind is one of the tools that we are considering for integration with Goalscape to provide certain task management functionality.

Cheers!

Goalscape Software - Jan 8 2013 at 3:20am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi First Second

Yes, when you upgrade your equipment in future you can uninstall Goalscape Desktop from one of your existing computers in order to free up an activation to use on your new machine.

The Goalscape Desktop license is perpetual: it covers full support and free upgrades *for life*.

Goalscape Software - Jan 8 2013 at 3:22am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow HI Mathieu

Goalscape Desktop uses Adobe AIR, so it runs equally well on Windows PC and Mac OS X (Intel).

Goalscape Software - Jan 8 2013 at 3:25am Copy Link

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carl thorpe Purchased, but I cannot activate. When I attempt to do so, I get the following message:

Network Error
Goalscape Desktop could not be activated because of a temporary Internet timeout. Please check your Internet connection and try again.

I have been trying off and on for the last 8 hours or so. My connection to the internet is fine otherwise.

Carl

Jan 8 2013 at 8:16am Copy Link

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A K Thank you for your response, Richard.

I bought Goalscape, just prior to the BDJ changeover. Thought it best, even though it does not cater specifically for academic work.
I think the concept is great, and what you have implemented is very apt and flexible.

It may be worthwhile to consider the academic sector.

- Zotero has a huge user base, and is probably the preeminent reference software now.

- Amongst mind mapping softwares, SciPlore, now Docear, is specifically designed for academic research. It is based on Freemind.

It is increasingly the case that academia is the site of future business innovations. Being there at the root of such innovation, perhaps even enabling it, assures a continuing relationship of future use.

Goalscape looks very promising, and I look forward to integrating it in my workflow. Thank you for offering it here.

Jan 8 2013 at 8:48am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi Carl

Sorry you have been having trouble – and for the delay in responding here.

Your account is fully in order and the credentials provided are definitely valid. Lots of other people have successfully activated new Goalscape Desktop today so we need to investigate your situation.

I have created a *private* discussion on our support forum here http://goalscape.tenderap...pe-desktop, where we can continue this.

In the meantime you should still be able to use Goalscape Desktop in Trial mode (click Try at the Welcome screen); you can also use the online version Goalscape Connect (your Desktop license includes a free 6-month subscription to Connect)

Best

Richard

Goalscape Software - Jan 8 2013 at 1:02pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi AK

Thanks for the additional background.

Goalscape Software - Jan 8 2013 at 1:24pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow For any account or technical questions please email support

goalscape.com, which is monitored 24/7.

Goalscape Software - Jan 8 2013 at 1:25pm Copy Link

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H. H. @Richard Parslow
Hallo,
thank you for your detailed resonding. I generally agree, that improving functionality is jmuch more important than "surface poliishing" (I´m not a"skin-freak" at all, and usally don´t make use of such features in other programs andjdon´t download or buy additional skin-packs)

Nevertheless it seems to depend on the point of view, if the background-colouring is regarded as "cosmetic" or an important improvement - meaning to be able to have a much better overview and being able to see important differences at a glance.
Especially when working with older and smaller monitor/notebook, it´s not easy to distinguish the pie-frame-colours. And it seems that I´m not the only user asking for this (and really miss it every day working with goalsacpe).
E..g. a intensive red pie would help to see at a glance, that there is something very important - much easier than just a coloured red frame.
So hopefully the background colouring will be available some day.
H.H.

Jan 8 2013 at 2:30pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hallo HH

Thanks for the follow-up: we are indeed intending to provide 'full colour fill' for goal slices – it's in our Development project in Goalscape Connect!

All the best for 2013

Goalscape Software - Jan 8 2013 at 3:06pm Copy Link

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carl thorpe After some troubleshooting with GoalScape's support staff, I found the cause of my inability to activate GoalScape.

Apparently Adobe AIR gets its internet settings directly from IE.

For some reason, my IE was set to Offline Mode and had the box checked to use a proxy with nothing listed as a proxy. I have no idea why IE was set like that, as I never use IE.

After fixing IE's connection, I was able to activate GoalScape.

The staff was extremely helpful, polite, and prompt in their replies. I hope I don't need to call on them again, but if I do I have confidence that it will be a productive exchange.

C

Jan 8 2013 at 3:09pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi Carl

Thanks for the endorsement – we do our best!

Goalscape Software - Jan 8 2013 at 3:15pm Copy Link

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H. H: H. H. @Richard Parslow
thank you for taking the comments seriously. Just to avoid misunderstanding - You wrote, that full goal colouring is in development of goalscape "connect". Since I´m a Goalscape Desktop user (Goalscape Connect would not have advantages for my needsI) I hope, that the desktop version will also be improved with those features.
with kind regards
H.H.

Jan 8 2013 at 5:12pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi HH

Yes – when I wrote that "it is in our Development project in Goalscape Connect" I meant that it is in our development plans. Since we are a distributed company with people working on shared projects in different parts of the world we use Goalscape Connect to run our business and communicate about project work.

To clarify: any such UI features will be in both versions.

Cheers!

Goalscape Software - Jan 8 2013 at 5:45pm Copy Link

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Karl M. It seems to be an interesting tool. The most important question for me is this: Does it help in any way to overcome heavy procrastination?

May 5 2014 at 1:25am Copy Link

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Patroklos Kazazis Very nice program!
However I have three wishes that would enhance it even more and would make each Goalscape project more personal to the user:
1) Ability to the user to fill with color each slice of the circle (and not only color text)
2) Ability to the user to insert vector images from web or local machine (with filesize limits) in slices so as to enhance visual clarity to the scale the user fills more comfortable to him.
3) Have a Gantt Chart embeded.

May 5 2014 at 1:51am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Karl

Goalscape helps by making you focus on your *goals*. Goals are our most powerful motivators. Our goals are our most powerful motivators: they provide the *Why* – the reason behind our actions.

Another cause of procrastination is the perception of the size of the job you are undertaking: Goalscape allows you to break down all your projects into subgoals and tasks: separate, more manageable chunks of work. Set your priorities *visually*, then define targets and the milestones along the way and set start and end dates for each subgoal. And you can use website links and attaching files (in any format) to keep all the background information you need in one place.

Goalscape displays your *progress* as shading, advancing across the goal map as you complete tasks and check them off. This enhances your motivation because you can *see* how you are getting on in every area. Knowing how far you have already come and being able to see what is left to do keeps you going when the going gets tough.

Best of all, Goalscape provides *control* over the project: it shows you that you have a handle on the work, which in itself gives you a more positive attitude to it.

For more details about Goalscape (and the neuroscience behind a goal-oriented approach) see our website goalscape.com – and try it yourself for free. There is an Introduction video on the homepage and a full Tutorial video on the Tour page (http://www.goalscape.com/...s-planning).

Enjoy the journey!

Goalscape Software - May 5 2014 at 2:34am Copy Link

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Bruno Verschraegen Hello. What is the status of import/export with regards to XMind? When I asked about this in January of last year, it was one of the tools being considered for integration with Goalscape. We bought 3 copies of Goalscape in the early stages for our team and I was very enthusiastic, but have given up after a couple of months. We intensively use mindmapping for brainstorming and structuring projects. After that phase I would like to import the data into Goalscape to then further manage the project. I used to be a MindManager user, but abandoned it in favour of XMind because of cost for 3 copies. I'd love to go back to using Goalscape because it has some inhetrent strengths, but doing double work in XMind and Goalscape is too time-consuming. Hence the question: what is the current status of plans for XMind compatibility?

Anyway, I'd suggest anyone being appealed by the approach of Goalscape to give it a try. Depending on your way of working, chances are it turns out to be a great tool for you.

May 5 2014 at 2:53am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Patroklos 1. We recognise the importance of 'look and feel': while we know that Goalscape's unique visual format and intuitive UI is already exceptionally clear and meaningful, 'full color-fill for goals' is one of the options we are considering for a any potential redesign. 2. Inserting graphics in goal slices is very tricky! We may however consider adding these at some point in the future. Not only are there significant technical implications, on large projects the goal slices can become very thin, which reduces the available 'real estate' for displaying even goal names (full goal names appear as a popup when you mouseover thin goal slices). Note too that you can already attach images to any goal and display these with a click of the mouse. 3. We have already implemented a Gantt View option as one of the additional business features in our corporate edition, *Goalscape Enterprise*. See the screenshot in our announcement here: http://www.goalscape.com/...r-update-0 . We are also planning to roll out Gantt View as part of another new Goalscape product later this year. 'Goalscape Plus' will have Gantt View and other business features for 'pro' users and small teams, so it will be available as an upgrade. Of course we will continue to support Goalscape Desktop and Goalscape Connect – and we will look after our existing customers, probably by allowing everyone to access the enhanced functionality completely free for a limited period (exactly as we did for all Goalscape Desktop customers when we first launched Goalscape Connect).

Goalscape Software - May 5 2014 at 3:51am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Bruno

Thanks for the great feedback!

The latest updates for Goalscape Desktop and Goalscape Connect include a new 'Goal List' feature, accessed via the Highlight sidebar. This allows you to create a list of goals according to your selections (by Date, Responsibility and Tag – and any combinations of these attributes) and export it via the clipboard. You can use this to populate third party tools (depending on the import facility, you may need to do this via a .csv file or other intermediate format).

We are continuing to investigate delivering additional Task Management functionality by integration with third party tools and calendars.

Goalscape Software - May 5 2014 at 3:57am Copy Link

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Bruno Verschraegen @Richard, thanks for the reply. I am however looking at it in the opposite direction = import from XMind - direct (preferably) or indirect. Although Goalscape has great strengths, a mindmap is more flexible in the phase of brainstorming or giving the initial shape to a project. Once the project has been visually outlined (with all the inherent ease of moving items around in a mindmap), I would then like to import it into Goalscape to manage the project properly (with all the inherent advantages of visualising relative importane and stages of achievement. I look around on your website, but did not find something that describes ways of doing that. hence the question related to XMind import (I believe import from MindManager is possible).

May 5 2014 at 4:29am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Bruno

Thanks for the clarification.

Yes: if you can export your data from XMind in MMAP format you should be able to Import it to Goalscape Desktop (File Import MindManager MMAP) or Upload it to Goalscape Connect (Upload other Upload MindManager MMAP).

We are also investigating a general Import mechanism. This will probably based on CSV files in a similar format to those already Exported, which may require an initial 'parsing' process.

Enjoy the journey!

Goalscape Software - May 5 2014 at 5:10am Copy Link

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mix624 I have started to use the trial version and notice I am mostly task oriented and dont really think to much of goals.

If I attach lets say a backup for a site or several backups for a site (a zip file) do they get stored in a new location for Goalscape or are they just linked to were the file is located on my computer ? I am just thinking that if I change the link structure sometime I will not have access to it.

May 5 2014 at 7:14am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi Mix624

Goalscape's goal-oriented approach makes it the cure for task orientation! See Marcus Baur's blog on "Why the Visual Overview is Vital" (http://www.goalscape.com/...arcus-baur) and William Reed's article about the "Tyranny of the To-Do List" (http://www.daijob.com/en/...ticle/2536).

To answer your question about Attachments: in Goalscape Desktop they are implemented as links to the file's location on your hard drive, so if you change your directory structure you will also need to change the links. In Goalscape Connect, attached files are uploaded onto our server, so they will remain accessible even if you change the location on your local machine.

Many Goalscape customers also use a third party filesharing service like Dropbox or Google Drive. In both Goalscape Desktop and Goalscape Connect you can use hyperlinks in the Notes field to access files stored like this.

Enjoy the journey!

Goalscape Software - May 5 2014 at 7:27am Copy Link

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Karl M. Isn't that "Goal" managing the same as "Task" managing – just another term? Or don't I get it right?

May 5 2014 at 7:35am Copy Link

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Curious Steve Karl, I thought the same thing before reading the "Tyranny of the To-Do List" link Richard provided. The difference is, a Goal keeps an eye on the "Why" and the whole (Gestalt) while a Task (or a task list) is driven by the "How" which can lose sight of the reason behind even doing the work in the first place.

May 5 2014 at 8:27am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi Karl

Yes, Steve is correct. In Goalscape you start by defining your overall goals (these can be your life goals or your vision for a business or other organization) and the subgoals you need to complete in order to achieve those goals. Keep breaking down the subgoals into smaller, more manageable parts, set your priorities and define some detailed plans (with targets, milestones and dates).

Many people call the bottom-level goals "tasks": these may be binary – either not done (0% complete) or done (100% complete) and therefore not capable of being further divided.

See also our Introduction to Goal Setting article (http://www.goalscape.com/...al-setting) and the detailed tips in the Goalscape Help (http://www.goalscape.com/...lpApp.html#) under 'Goal details' 'Tracking Progress'.

Enjoy the journey!

Goalscape Software - May 5 2014 at 9:40am Copy Link

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James F. Regarding your licensing scheme:

I recently had Mac Pro tower motherboard fry, and Apple gave me new Mac Pro under AppleCare versus fixing the existing one. This wreaked havoc as I had two applications that were hardware ID specific and required deactivation on which I had zero opportunity of performing since the board fried, and I never saw that computer again. One developer was very accommodating, whilst the other, even with proof (a very expensive application) was not at all. Can you clearly elaborate on your licensing scheme? Thank you.

P.S. Love your background as I too have a similar education and chose a non-traditional career path versus a traditional architecture path.

May 5 2014 at 11:29am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello James

Thanks for your question – and for the great feedback!

The Goalscape Desktop perpetual single-user license allows you to install and activate the software on two machines concurrently. When you upgrade your equipment you can uninstall the software from one of your existing computers in order to free up an activation to use on the new (or reconfigured) machine.

In the event of a disastrous crash as you describe (or, say, theft of a laptop), if you have any trouble (re)activating your Goalscape Desktop installation just drop us a line on support

goalscape.com describing the circumstances – we will give you extra permissions to allow you continuing access.

May you achieve great goals!

Goalscape Software - May 5 2014 at 11:42am Copy Link

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Chaz Stipkovic I downloaded the trial. Its a nice simple to use product. It would be nice if the primary goals gave a % complete number as goals are completed in addition to the color scheme. Outside if that I really like it.

Unfortunately, for personal use, its a bit to $$ for me to justify. I think its reasonable for corporate use though.

Cool product.

May 5 2014 at 2:46pm Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hello Chaz

Thanks for your post

Progress is entered in the bottom-level goals as that is where the action takes place. Progress aggregates up into the parent (and all the way up to the central main goal) as the sum of (Progress x Importance) for all the subgoals. This progress is shown in the parent (and all the way up to the central goal) both as shading and as % Progress in the relevant goal's panel.

If you are entering Progress in a subgoal and it is *not* being reflected by a change in any parent's Progress displayed in its panel (including the central Main Goal), please send a screenshot to support

goalscape.com. Please also confirm your Operating System and version and, for Goalscape Connect, your browser and version.

Goalscape is in fact extremely aggressively priced when you compare it to other premium products like Mindjet MindManager or MS Project – especially since it provides benefits that are simply not available anywhere else. And of course this Bits du Jour 40% discount deal makes it less expensive than many basic task management tools too!

All the best

Goalscape Software - May 5 2014 at 2:59pm Copy Link

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James F. @Chaz,

This deal comes around once in a blue moon. I know because I vacillated the last it was sale and waited a very long time until it was on sale again--which is today. I purchased a license and couldn't be happier with my decision.

May 5 2014 at 11:33pm Copy Link

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Carina Parry Hi James,

Good on you! I felt a bit pressured into buying it because of the limited time on the discount, but i am so glad i bought it too! Being a graphic designer and very visual person, this works for me and suuuuuuuuuper easy to use. I bought Toodledo last year and used it about 4 times, completely different though and certainly not visually nice.
Thanks to BitsDuJour i wouldn't have known about it otherwise.

I just hope the connection with phones will be integrated with the Desktop version.

May 6 2014 at 12:12am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Thanks for your kind words!

We know that recommendations from our customers are very powerful, persuasive and effective than our own marketing messages, so we always appreciate it when we receive such positive feedback.

Goalscape Software - May 6 2014 at 1:44am Copy Link

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Chaz Stipkovic As you can see from above, I questioned the $$ of this product. After I had a chance to play with the trial for a while though, I realized I MISSED OUT on a great deal. Thats the 1 problem with BDJ "deal of the days", you have to try to make snap decisions and sometimes you miss out.

Great product. Cant wait till a deal comes around again.

Even recommeded to my boss\company for review.

Jun 23 2014 at 7:10am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi Chaz

Sorry you missed out!

If you know others who would like Goalscape you can join the Goalscape Affiliate Program (GAP): http://affiliate.goalscap...ffiliates/. It is easy to register and simple to use – and it pays more than 30% commission on all sales at full price through our website.

So you can defray your purchase price – and of course if you tell all your contacts how great Goalscape is and give them your affiliate link, you could make a good profit...

Depending on deal size we may also be able to pay you a commission for corporate sales (minimum 10 user accounts). If you have such an opportunity please email purchase

goalscape.com.

Enjoy the journey!

Richard

Goalscape Software - Jun 23 2014 at 7:39am Copy Link

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Chaz Stipkovic Would there be any possibility to add the ability to have the markers go over 100%? IE, I work in tech support. This program has application for tracking daily goals, but we can achieve our goals and then some. So maybe we do 150% of our goal one day then 90% the next. It would be nice if this would be able to go over 100% so it could chart our overall progress.

Dec 18 2015 at 9:26am Copy Link

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Richard Parslow Hi Chaz

Thanks for your inquiry.

We are not currently planning to implement the ability to set Progress > 100%. You can however color-code your goals, use goal markings (R/A/G 'traffic lights') or Tags to indicate where people exceed daily goals, with actual figures in the Notes field. If you use Tags you can also highlight goals by Tag (and Responsibility) to show the specific areas where people are exceeding (or not reaching) goals (see the video here: https://www.youtube.com/w...B7xcz00ofI).

There is a new Goalscape Free account (you can sign up here: https://www.goalscape.com/pricing/). Free users can create one free project of limited size and share it with as many people as they like (even other Free users) completely free. Those with expired Goalscape Connect accounts have been switched to the new Free account.

We have also released a new version of Goalscape Desktop that you can download here: https://www.goalscape.com...p-install/. Even if you have previously had a trial, this new version will give you another 14 days free use.

Enjoy the journey!

Goalscape Software - Dec 18 2015 at 10:31am Copy Link

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