If you have any role in do a undertaking , good software can signify the difference between smooth soaring and bumpy sea . A project management software allows you to make docket , keep tabs on resource usance and costs , track text file and versions , and stay on top of who involve to be doing what .
Yet projection direction software is often hard to see , complex to use , and expensive to go . The criterion for task management software is Microsoft ’s Project , but there is no Mac version available .
ProjectWizards ’ Merlin 1.3.11 is undertaking - management software package that ’s not just work up for the Mac — it ’s establish for Mac substance abuser . It includes all the standard feature you ’d await to determine , such as resourcefulness parceling , budget trailing , multiple docket tracking views ( including a Gantt chart view to visualize your projects over meter ) , and to - do inclination , as well as document linking and version tracking . Rather than simply being a gelded - rate imitation of MS Project , Merlin takes full vantage of some of the best features of OS X , making it feel more like an extension of the operating system , rather than a standalone app .
Once you start a project , Merlin ’s single - window interface pee it easy to adjust up your undertaking ’s specific requisite . Although it would be nice to have more than just the two built - in templates that Merlin provide , you may import task depart in a multifariousness of other applications , include NovaMind Software ’s NovaMind , The Omni Group ’s OmniOutliner ( ) , MS Project , and ICS files from iCal . Merlin dovetail nicely with Apple ’s own Address Book for add together project members , and with iCal for keeping your calendar up - to - date . Unfortunately , you may not promptly jump from a team penis ’s entry in Merlin to his or her information memorialize in Address Book , and once you publish calendars to iCal , the two programme do not mechanically communicate updates to each other . Also , the online manual shows Merlin ’s German heritage ; it contains some offbeat translations .
One exceptionally useful feature article is Merlin ’s ability to print undertaking internet site to .Mac or to WebDAV - enabled servers with a few shiner click . A site created in this manner will include not only schedules and squad contact data , but also relate to all of the associated undertaking document for easy download . However , Merlin does n’t provide any controls to tailor-make this production , and you will have to supply your own software to publish your site manually if you are using a stock FTP server .
Macworld’s buying advice
If you are looking for project - management software package that take full advantage of the Mac ’s capacity , then look no further than Merlin . Despite a few shortcomings in its iCal and Address Book integration — and some quirky German translations in the on-line manual of arms — Merlin delivers everything you need with the style and finesse you ’d wait from an program build up exclusively for the Mac .
[ Jason Cranford Teague is the Creative Director for AOL RED . He regularly blah about technology and culture onhis web log . ]
