Palm and Treo Hacks

Extend the Address Book

Just names and phone numbers, right? What could there possibly be to hack in the Address Book? Several small hacks allow you to do more with the Address Book.

As with the To Do List [Hack #2] , there are a few simple tricks and techniques you can use to get the most out of the Address Book. These techniques will help you do things that you didn’t realize you could do.

Find Jobs and Chase Prospects

You can use the Address Book to ease your job search or make it easier to stay on top of other kinds of prospects. Create a new category called Companies, Prospective Companies, or some such category. Then, add info on companies as you see ads posted by them or as you send them resumes or otherwise contact them. In the Notes section, keep track of job postings (title and date) and any communications you have with the company (sending resumes, interviews, etc.). Note the dates that things happen as well. If you meet with or contact relevant people in the company, add them as separate entries in the Address Book. Keep note of meetings and contacts with them as well. A good use for the Preferences option is to list contacts by company name, last name. Grouping everyone by company can make it easier to keep track of who you have been talking to, which makes it easier to follow up with those contacts.

Find Your Doctors Fast

Write your doctors’ names entirely in the last name field to get them to show up correctly. After all, you want to see Dr. Smith show up in the list ...