More Exposure for the kalmstrom.com Documentation

When I updated the manuals and slideshows for kalmstrom.com Community I have also added a new way to present this documentation on the website. The quality is not as good as if you download the documents, but my hope is that more visitors will actually download and read them when they first can see how they look.

After only a few days I can see that this assumption is correct. The statistics for the HelpDesk OSP slideshow, which I uploaded first, seven days ago, show that most of the visitors to the HelpDesk OSP homepage also watched the slideshow presented there.

We spend much time trying to make our documentation as good as possible, and most customers and evaluators use it, but now and then we get questions showing that the caller has not studied any of the documentation. Of course it is impossible to explain better with a few words in an e-mail or a chat than we can do in documents with images where we really have thought about how to be pedagogic.

I am a teacher and author of school books, so I am responsible for the documentation. But the rest of the team also help out, and I could not do much without the technicians. Customers and evaluators are other important "proofreaders". We often change or add text, especially in the manuals and on the web site, because user questions or suggestions make us understand how the descriptions can be improved. Therefore you are always welcome to contact us with any comments!

TimeCard Single updated to match the Workgroup version

Yesterday kalmstrom.com Business Solutions have had another release, of the Single version of TimeCard. This kalmstrom.com add-in that makes it possible for users to report time and expenses entered in their Outlook Calendar Appointments directly from the Calendar to the database has become increasingly popular. Now the Single version has the same features and fixes (if applicable) as Big Brother, the Workgroup version, which was updated last week.

Users of TimeCard Single report to a local Access database that is created by TimeCard. This database is open, and they also have the same statistics tool as the Workgroup version. Therefore they have the same possibilities to analyze their data and draw conclusions from it, and they can also use it to get data for invoicing. Also the Export to Excel feature is present in the Single version and is useful for exploration of data.

TimeCard Single is not included in the kalmstrom.com Community software, since it is not intended for organizations. It is still purchased as before, with the Single Support contract that also allows free upgrades. New in the latest version is that the dropdowns and the Settings dialog fits into a screen of 800x600. We often use smaller screens nowadays, not bigger like with television! The evaluation period has be prolonged to 60 days, and some problems when using three TimeCard values has been corrected.

Teamwork gives new version of Public Folder HelpDesk

Our new QA Engineer does really keep the kalmstrom.com developers busy! Today we have released an update of our issue tracking software PF HelpDesk, an application that can be installed in a shared mailbox as well as in a public folder and that works totally inside Outlook. As much as twelve bugs have been fixed. Of course they were not critical, but they were still annoying for the users who experienced them.

We are happy to have such a good team, with a thorough tester and developers who know how to fix the problems, but we also depend on customers who report issues. Sometimes our technicians cannot replicate an error, and in those cases the cooperation from the user is invaluable.

Have you or your colleagues experienced a problem with PF HelpDesk? Are your organization a Support Customer or a Community Member? (Yes, some have joined the kalmstrom.com Community already.) In that case you are welcome to upgrade your installation. There is a great chance that the
issue will disappear

Office 2010 - a fascinating challenge for kalmstrom.com

Three years ago kalmstrom.com Business Solutions adapted all products to Office 2007, and now we have a new, interesting challenge to meet ‒ Office 2010. Today the Beta version was released, and you can feel sure the kalmstrom.com team will study, learn and adapt our products to support and take advantage of the new features.

Office 2010 uses the interface ribbon introduced with Office 2007, but it has been updated and is now used by all programs in the suite. One major change that the clever developers in the kalmstrom.com team will have to figure out, is how to remove the command bars from the Explorer windows and instead integrate them in the ribbon. But don't worry, they will manage it!

Since Office 2007 was released there has been an explosion in both working away from the office and in social networking, and Office 2010 addresses these changes by making it much easier to share and reach content using PC, phone or web. What also fascinates me as a non-technician is the new "Social Connector" in Outlook. It might of course just as well be used for business connections, and I look forward to exploring it.

Microsoft has not set a date for the final release of Office 2010, but it should be before the second half of 2010. We will do our outmost to have all products compatible by then, just like we had with Windows 7 when it was launched in October. At the same time we have more to play with, because Microsoft also released other Beta versions today: SharePoint Server 2010, Project 2010, Visio 2010, Office Web Apps for businesses and Office Mobile 2010. Being in this business means a continuous learning and development, and that is what I love about it!

TimeCard for Outlook - now with longer trial period

Do you find the trial periods for the kalmtrom.com products too short? Some do, especially those who evaluate TimeCard Workgroup. Therefore this application for time reporting directly from inside the Outlook Calendar now has a trial period of 60 days instead of the earlier 30. Yesterday's update cannot brag about striking new features, but some bugs have been fixed so please upgrade if you have had any problems with the application. For a full list of the fixes, refer to the Revisions page.

The new version of TimeCard Workgroup has no purchase possibility in the register dialog, since that is not necessary with our new payment scheme, kalmstrom.com Community. Now members may just ask us for a free registration key ‒ and if they are Premium Members they don't even need to register! In my opinion organizations which use TimeCard Workgroup are the ones who benefit the most from the Community model. Earlier they had to buy additional licenses for their users, but now the number of TimeCard users is unlimited for all three membership levels. And some of our TimeCard customers really have a lot of users!

Have you not tried TimeCard yet? Welcome to do it, especially if you plan to join kalmstrom.com Community anyway ‒ or are one of those who already have become members. Add TimeCard to the other kalmstrom.com product you use or are trying, and you will get very high value for money.

Peter Kalmstrom at SharePoint and Exchange Forum 2009 in Stockholm

For the sixth consecutive year Scandinavia's biggest conference about SharePoint and Exchange is held in Stockholm today and tomorrow. As Microsoft Sweden is one of the organizers, Exchange 2010 will also be officially released in Sweden at SharePoint and Exchange Forum 2009.
A number of seminars are held, both very advanced ones for "nerds" like developers and other IT Pros and more accessible seminars for business management. The aim of the conference is to give practical tips on how to solve common needs and challenges.


The Forum has an impressive group of internationally well known speakers, and Peter, our CEO and creator of our products, is of course among them. When I write this he has just had his workshop on how to become more efficient with smart tools for Outlook. Many were interested in listening to Peter's seminar and to learn how Outlook add-ins in combination with SharePoint and Exchange can make work run smoother. He demonstrated the kalmstrom.com applications Calendar Browser, HelpDesk OSP, Public Folder HelpDesk and TimeCard, and he also showed the Skype toolbars he has created.


Furthermore Peter discussed advantages and disadvantages of using both newer .NET-techniques and the older COM add-in techniques and showed how kalmstrom.com has build software using both. At this forum it was of course also very suitable to describe our simple but powerful method to connect SharePoint and OWA, which we have used in the latest version of HelpDesk OSP and which all Exchange administrators can use. Peter would not say so much himself, but I am sure his contribution to this conference will be remembered and appreciated by many.

An Indian engagement

kalmstrom.com Business Solutions congratulates developer Jayant Rimza and his fiancé Sushma Likhar, who were engaged this last Sunday. Jayant took two days off for the journey to the town where Sushma lives, and he came back happy but tired! Now he is working as hard as usual again.

The engagement ceremony was organized at Sushma’s place, where family and relatives of Jayant and Sushma gathered to celebrate the first formal party of the forthcoming wedding ceremony. Both families exchanged gifts, sweets and good wishes. The photo was taken at the ring ceremony, which is done to solemnize the engagement ceremony. After that there was a dinner for all family members and guests at the ceremony.

The kalmstrom.com team wishes Jayant and Sushma all the best for the future!

kalmstrom.com Community Launched

The Swedish software developer kalmstrom.com Business Solutions today takes a new step towards the future when launching kalmstrom.com Community, a new model for the relation between the team and our customers.

Instead of buying Calendar Browser, HelpDesk OSP, Public Folder HelpDesk, SP Attach and TimeCard Workgroup the Community members pay a monthly fee and have the right to use all kalmstrom.com products, with an unlimited number of users, full support and free upgrades. The rest of our products can be bought separately, but they are of course included for free use by Community Members.

We hope that the Community level will benefit our customers, who can freely use more software that will make their work more efficient, and for us in the team it feels like a better way of working. With a subscription system we know our approximate revenues and can concentrate on giving service and improving the products. This feels important now when so many Microsoft programs have been or will soon be released, like Windows 7, Exchange 2010, Office 2010, .NET 4.0 and SharePoint 4. We will keep our software compatible, don't worry!

A United Team with HelpDesk OSP and OWA

Our family business kalmstrom.com Business Solutions has released a new version of HelpDesk OSP, the add-in for issue tracking and user support that connects Outlook to SharePoint or Office Live. Now it is also possible to use the e-mail threading feature for e-mails sent to or from Outlook Web Access (OWA). That is how we use HelpDesk OSP for the kalmstrom.com support.

The members of the kalmstrom.com team is spread over the world. We are in Sweden, India, Russia and Spain, so HelpDesk OSP is perfect for our support handling. The application is running on a server, where it converts e-mails to tickets around the clock. The tickets are gathered at our SharePoint intranet, where we all can comment on them. In the list we have added several columns for information that is important for our cooperation, like "Remote session invitation sent", "Status" and "Help needed". I am proud to say that this last column has a default value of No, because my husband Sigge and I are the ones who need the help ‒ when our technical knowledge is not sufficient.

The ticket list is connected to our customer database, so when your e-mail has been converted to a ticket I can select it and get information about you and your purchases in the same window. This is of course very convenient and helps us give better service, something that I hope at least Community members will notice. One of our aims for the newly launched kalmstrom.com Community is getting to know our customers better to give more adequate assistance.

The new HelpDesk OSP has no purchase possibility inside the product, as the older versions had, and we have also removed the purchase page from the website. Now that we have a subscription system these are not necessary. Once you are a Community member you don't have to buy anything more!

Join kalmstrom.com Community

kalmstrom.com Business Solutions today takes a new step towards the future when launching kalmstrom.com Community, a new model for the relation between the team and our customers.

Instead of buying Calendar Browser, HelpDesk OSP, Public Folder HelpDesk and TimeCard Workgroup the Community members pay a monthly fee and have the right to use all kalmstrom.com products, with an unlimited number of users, full support and free upgrades. The rest of our products can be bought separately, but they are of course included for free use by Community Members.

We hope that the Community level will benefit our customers, who can freely use more software that will make their work more efficient, and for us in the team it feels like a better way of working. With a subscription system we know our approximate revenues and can concentrate on giving service and improving the products. This feels important now when so many Microsoft programs have been or will soon be released, like Windows 7, Exchange 2010, Office 2010, .NET 4.0 and SharePoint 4. We will keep our software compatible, don't worry!

Welcome to visit the new Community pages. We have them in English and Swedish so far, but German and Spanish will soon follow. And don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions about kalmstrom.com Community!