ClearContext Corporate Blog

Last month we shared our plans for making ClearContext v5 simpler, faster and smarter.  This month we’re going to post additional detail on what’s coming.  We want your feedback as we finalize v5 features, so please post your thoughts in the comments on this post.

Faster Filing

This release heavily emphasizes single-click filing.   Our design goal here is very simple.  The vast majority of the time, file your email in the right place with one click.  In almost all other cases, file with just two clicks.  In place of the Suggested Topics dropdown, v5’s File Msg: button includes a folder suggestion.:

• If you have previously filed a message from the current conversation to a folder, that folder name is displayed
• If you have not previously filed messages in this conversation, the button suggests a folder based on filing history

If you would like to file to a different folder than the first suggestion, click the down arrow to launch our new folder selector:

Additional single-click suggestion buttons are at the top of the dialog.  To file anywhere else, quickly select the folder you want by typing or navigating the folder tree:

File Thread works exactly the same way, filing the whole conversation instead of just the current message.

Additional Changes

We have eliminated the old Topic dropdown in favor of this new scheme throughout the product.  When sending an email or saving a task or appointment, the folder selector is launched directly, eliminating several clicks previously required to find the correct folder or assign the desired Topic.

We have also simplified Original Message options when replying to a message or creating a task or appointment from a message.  The Original Message drop down has been replaced by the File Original toggle button:

When selected, ClearContext will automatically file the original message to a folder.  If you haven’t previously filed messages in this conversation to a folder, the folder selector asks where you want it to be moved to.

Filing has never been easier than it is in ClearContext v5.  It’s simpler, faster & smarter. 

We Want to Hear From You

We have a few questions for you to help us finalize these changes:

1. How many folder suggestions would you like to see in the selector dialog?
2. Should ClearContext file sent messages to related folders by default?
3. By default, should ClearContext ask for a folder assignment as new messages are sent and new tasks and appointments are created?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!  Subscribe to this blog for future updates regarding ClearContext v5.

All v4 purchases made after August 1, 2009 and all ClearContext Connect subscribers will receive a complimentary upgrade to v5.  If you haven’t already signed up for the v5 beta, send an email to beta at clearcontext dot com.  The beta schedule isn’t finalized yet, but we will let you know when a download is available.

As part of the Information Overload Awareness Day Inaugural Event, ClearContext was presented with a Basex Excellence Award; recognizing “companies with industry-leading products or services that focus on the problem of Information Overload.”  From the press release:

“’These companies and offerings exemplify the types of products breaking new ground in the fight against Information Overload,’ said Jonathan B. Spira, Basex' CEO and Chief Analyst, who will present the awards.”

We received the award for providing innovative tools that control the Inbox, aggregate project information and reduce information overload.  Other recipients include Microsoft, Nordic River, Xerox and Xobni.

It is extremely rewarding to see our hard work recognized!

Our next major release, ClearContext v5, will be about making the email management features our users have come to depend faster, more automated, and more intuitive.  We've made many incremental improvements to ClearContext for Outlook over the past year, as well as some major additions like our statistics and effectiveness components.  But we've also been working hard on the next major version of ClearContext for Outlook, and we're excited to share our plans with you. 

Our development efforts are concentrated on four areas:

• Infrastructure & Performance
• Message Filing & Organization
• Project Management & Dashboards
• Statistics & Effectiveness Measurement

Please note that we are still early in the release cycle, so a number of these details are likely to change.  We're very interested in hearing feedback about which features are most critical for you.

Infrastructure & Performance

We’ve re-architected the ClearContext infrastructure to be more flexible with lower overhead.  This will provide a number of key benefits including:

• Improved performance
• Compatibility with more mail configurations
• Support for the upcoming Outlook 2010 release

Message Filing & Organization

Inbox management is a critical part of everyone’s day.  ClearContext v5 will make filing and organization smarter and more automated.  Key improvements include:

• Smarter topic assignment and filing
• Flexible topic management
• Simplified message prioritization
• Additional automated message filing

Project Management & Dashboards

ClearContext v5 project management functionality will include a much stronger focus on tasks and actions, and make project dashboards much more flexible:

• Improved summary information on projects and actions
• Flexible project creation and organization
• Integration of additional information
• Additional task management and prioritization
• Project archiving and reporting
• Improved search and filtering

Statistics & Effectiveness Measurement

Our initial release of statistics and effectiveness measurement focuses very heavily on email – volumes, response times, and performance.  We’re continuing to gather feedback on the data you find most useful in understanding your email activity, as well as continuing to refine the ways we measure your email management effectiveness.  If you haven’t already, please visit ClearContext Online and let us know what you would like to see there.

In addition to email, ClearContext v5 will expand elements of the statistics and effectiveness modules into areas such as tasks, appointments, and project-focused measurement.

Next steps and beta

In order to deploy these features and enhancements as quickly as possible, we are organizing the v5 release into several stages. The initial ClearContext 5.0 release will focus on the infrastructure and filing/organization features. Additional 5.x releases will focus on the project management and statistics areas.

We haven’t finalized release dates and beta schedule yet.  Stay tuned to the blog for more details.  If you’re interested in being on the beta list, please send an email to beta at clearcontext dot com.  Thanks for your interest!

It's been a long wait, but the Office team is finally giving the public a preview of Outlook 2010, slated for release in the first half of next year.  Check out the end of this post to read more about Outlook 2010.

But why wait for 2010 when ClearContext Personal and Pro have Outlook 2003 and 2007 users covered already?  Here’s a breakdown of some of the new Outlook 2010 features and their ClearContext counterparts.

Ignore Thread \ Unsubscribe

Outlook 2010’s new Ignore Thread feature moves all messages in the current conversation to the Deleted Items folder.  Future messages are also automatically removed from the Inbox.  ClearContext’s Unsubscribe performs the same function, plus lets you review the messages later or resubscribe to a conversation.

Conversation View \ MessageContext

The new default view for Outlook 2010 is a conversation view that groups all related messages together in the Inbox.  ClearContext provides a similar threaded conversation view for the Inbox.  More importantly, the MessageContext window displays the entire conversation for each open message.  In Pro, it also shows any tasks or appointments generated during the course of the current conversation.

Quick Steps

Quick Steps in Outlook 2010 are a way to set up macros for commonly used multi-step functions.  ClearContext filing features provide many common functions without the need to create any macros — including single click filing (message or thread),  automatic message filing when replying (or creating tasks and appointments), and automatic filing based on email history.

Product Roadmap

It's nice to see productivity features like these making their way into Outlook – but at ClearContext we're already working on the next generation of more intuitive, powerful and automated productivity features for email.  Tomorrow we’ll post our full product roadmap, highlighting our continued mission to help email overloaded individuals more effectively prioritize, organize and manage their email and projects within Outlook.

More Info on Outlook 2010

Here’s the official Outlook 2010 preview video:

Here’s Robert Scoble’s longer interview with Chris Bryant, Group Product Manager for the Office 2010 team.

v4.6.6 is available for download and addresses the following:

• Enhanced inbox count reporting
• Streamlined stats upload to ClearContext Online
• Changed the Compare your stats online button in the Scorecard
• Added ENC as a valid conversation prefix (Portuguese)

This update is complimentary for all registered v4 Pro and v4 TWC customers.

Download: Personal & Pro  |  TWC

In addition to groups, you can compare your stats to individual ClearContext users.  To do so:

1. If you haven’t done so already, register with ClearContext Online and link your Outlook account.
2. Open another user’s ClearContext Online home page.  For example, here’s mine.  (Note: enable for public display on the preferences page).
3. In the ClearContext for Outlook Users box on the right, click one of the links.
   
4. From there, you will see a comparison between the two of you for all graphs on that page.
    

Ask others to compare to you

Send your ClearContext Online home page to others so that you can compare online:

1. If you have not done so already, enable your home page for public display by clicking Enable in Preferences
   
2. Open your home page
3. Cut and paste your public home page address underneath Share your email activity
   
4. Optionally click Send this page by email to start a message with the address in it

Once enabled, your colleagues can follow the directions above to compare to you.

From the ClearContext Scorecard in Outlook, you can compare your email performance to all other ClearContext Users (Scorecard > My Stats > Compare Stats). On ClearContext Online you can also compare with smaller groups.  For example, here’s a graph of TWC User’s statistics.

To join a group:

1. If you haven’t done so already, register with ClearContext Online and link your Outlook account.
2. After you have logged in, open Preferences.
3. Available Groups to Join are listed on the right side of the page.  Click to join. 
    
4. Once you have joined, the group will be listed for comparison on your Scorecard and Stats page.
   

Private Groups

Anyone can join Public Groups from the Preferences page (i.e. TWC Users, GTD Users).  Private Groups are available for many companies, including Microsoft, Intel, EMC and HP.  If you registered for ClearContext Online with your company email, the group will automatically be listed under Available Groups to Join.

If you registered under a personal email address, validate your company email address on the Preferences page:

1. Enter your email address and click Add
2. A validation email will be sent to the address (check your Junk Mail folder if you don’t see it)
3. Follow the link there to validate the email

Once validated, any private groups available for that domain will be listed on the Preferences page.  Follow directions above to join.

If you want to create a private group for your company, send us a note at support at clearcontext dot com and we’ll get the process started.

Now that you’ve taken the tour of ClearContext Online, here’s how to get started using the service:

1. Install ClearContext v4.5 or better
   
2. From within Outlook, open the Scorecard
    
3. Click Compare your stats online in the bottom left hand corner of the Scorecard
   
4. Login or register with ClearContext Online
   
• If you previously registered with our Support Forums, log in with that username.  This will link your Outlook install to this account.
• If you are new to ClearContext Online, register and create a new username.  Once you have activated the new account, return to the Scorecard in Outlook and click Compare your stats online to link to Outlook
5. Start exploring!  Now that you have associated your account with Outlook:
• View your email activity index
• Compare your statistics to group averages
• Evaluate your performance against other groups
• Join groups and enable your activity index for public viewing

Last week we rolled out a preview of ClearContext Online.  This week I’ll spend some time introducing you to our new features.  First things first – take the tour!

View a snapshot of your email activity on your ClearContext online home page.  This includes:

– Average messages sent and received

– Response time

– Email Effectiveness

For an example, view averages for all ClearContext Users.

Compare your statistics with other users and groups, including:

– Sent and Received

– Replies and Responsiveness

– Inbox Size, Unread

– Effectiveness and Workload

For an example, see this comparison of our CEOs email performance to the average ClearContext user.  After sign up, this page shows additional groups for comparison.

The ClearContext Scorecard allows you to evaluate your performance against others, including:

– Effectiveness and Workload

– Response Time and Communication

– Inbox Control

Evaluate the average effectiveness and workload for all ClearContext users.  After registration, use this page to compare your scorecard against individuals or groups.

If you’re ready to get started, download and install ClearContext and click Compare your stats online on the Scorecard.

The average ClearContext user receives about 500 emails per week. How does your email activity compare to those users, your friends, and people at your company?

ClearContext users reply to emails on average within about 6 hours. How does your email responsiveness compare?

Most ClearContext users send 100 messages per week and keep their inbox at under 25 messages.  How effective are you at managing your email, and what steps can you take to improve your effectiveness?

Today we’re excited to give you a way to answer those questions as we open up beta availability of ClearContext Online to everyone!

ClearContext Online is a companion service to both our free Personal and paid Professional ClearContext for Outlook products.  This site will provide a wide range of services to help you take better advantage of all the interactions and information that flow through your email within Microsoft Outlook.

The first set of services we’re releasing revolve around email statistics and effectiveness:

• View (and share if you choose!) a snapshot of your email activity
• Analyze and compare detailed email statistics with your friends and groups such as your company
• Evaluate and compare your email effectiveness – and soon get personalized tips on how to improve!

If you’re a ClearContext for Outlook user already, click the Compare your stats online link on the ClearContext Scorecard in Outlook to get started with ClearContext Online.  If it’s your first time, you’ll have to register and then click that link again to access ClearContext Online.   If you have already registered a support forum login, that login will work for ClearContext Online as well.

If you’re not a ClearContext user already, download ClearContext or take a tour of ClearContext Online.

In the coming months, we’ll be writing a lot more about how we’re expanding ClearContext Online to help you make the most out of everything you do within email.

Before we go into detail on that, though, our next big announcement will be something many of you have been waiting on for a long time – information on the next major release of ClearContext for Outlook.  We’re working on a lot of exciting improvements that our users have been requesting, and can’t wait to share our plans with you.  Stay tuned to the blog for a post on that later this month.