Compare tools

First released in 2001, NoteMan is the original document repair and utility toolbar. Other tools have since attempted NoteMan's functionality, some of which are developed outside of Notes using the Notes API. This offers a few benefits, but several limitations which fall short of NoteMan's 100% integration with the Lotus Notes Client. API based development is also much more expensive to build and maintain.

NoteMan is seamlessly integrated with the Notes Client because it is 100% Notes. Unlike API-based tools, NoteMan 2.0 requires no DLLs or executables, no having to choose between password prompts and reduced security, and there are no features that ever require you to add an agent to your database. NoteMan is the easiest, fastest, and most cost effective solution in its class. The feedback we constantly receive from customers is that NoteMan is easier to use and performs the commonly used features better than any other solution. And now, with the new 2.0 release, NoteMan leapfrogs the performance and functionality of competing products. Below, compare the new NoteMan 2.0 to a typical API based tool.

Compare

MartinScott NoteMan 2.0
$395 with 1 year maintenance

API-based tool
over $600 with 1 year maintenance

Functionality

Edit any field value, field name, and field type on a selected document or set of documents with just a few clicks	Yes	Yes
Compare any documents and merge conflicts	Yes	Yes
Export documents and ACLs to files	Yes	Yes
Change UNIDs and ReplicaIDs	Yes	Yes
Unhide hidden database designs	Yes	Yes
Find any document(s) by NoteID, UNID, formula, search, profile name	Yes	Yes
Find all profile docs, deletion stubs, design elements, and conflict docs	Yes	Yes
See all fields on a doc sorted by when each field was last touched (to see "what was last changed on this doc?")	Yes	Yes
See and edit details at the db, collection, note, and item level, all at the same time	Yes	No - requires clicking between screens and tabs, forcing you to commit or lose any changes to the section you were working on
Find a doc by pasting its web URL (useful for web application development, debugging, and analysis)	Yes	No
Work on two docs in the same db at the same time	Yes	No - Only one instance is allowed per db, and it makes you save & close one doc to work on another in the same db
Process a selection of documents from anywhere in Notes without having to add an agent to your target db	Yes	No - requires either an agent in the db (for full functionality) or an add-in menu DLL (which only works in some contexts)
Change the file name of an attachment in-place without you having to detach it	Yes	No
Compare documents from different databases	Yes	No - can only compare docs from the same database.
Compare database ACLs to see all differences	Yes - save yourself 30 minutes every time you need to compare two complex ACLs	No
Show results in a view-like interface	Yes - multiple configurable sortable columns. Defaults to noteid, form, last modified, author. Can be configured to compute any values you want.	No - Every time it does a search, it defaults to display the form name only; seeing more info requires manually setting a single title property and then re-executing the search. No sortable columns.
View and edit Rich Text and file attachments	Yes - 100% Notes architecture gives you 100% Notes functionality	No - cannot view or edit Rich Text.
Maintain an automatic audit trail (optionally) on the document of “who changed what when” with NoteMan.	Yes	No
Print and Forward	Yes - you can email someone a NoteMan screen, including scrolling lists	UI cannot print or be forwarded via email unless you take a screenshot
Copy to clipboard all of a doc’s fields/types/values as a table, e.g., for pasting into design and analysis documentation	Yes - you can paste the NoteMan field/value table into emails or spreadsheets, retaining formatting. Invaluable for reporting problematic documents.	No - can only copy data to the clipboard from one field value at a time, or you have to export to a file, then import the result where you want it.
Compare more than two documents side by side	No - NoteMan lets you pivot between multiple conflicts, but only puts two side by side at a time. However, NoteMan will have multi-compare soon.	Yes
Display more than 1000 documents at once	No - NoteMan always loads and processes unlimited numbers of documents in a collection. For very large result sets, NoteMan only displays on the screen a subset of the active collection, resulting in much faster performance for many bulk actions. If you really need to individually inspect each of 1000+ documents in a set, a future NoteMan release will allow you to page through unlimited collection sizes.	Yes
Search documents by NoteID range	No	Yes
Use the tool while stepping through code in the LotusScript debugger.	NoteMan does this if you run a separate instance of Notes.	Yes

Performance

(Measured on same workstation, network, database. Average of three trials.)

Open a document with 3500 fields (local db)	8 seconds	17 seconds
Load all 15,000 docs (local db)	2 seconds	7 seconds
Load all 250,000 docs (local db)	2 seconds	30 seconds
Load all 15,000 docs (server db)	4 seconds	200+ seconds
Load all 70,000 docs (server db)	4 seconds	500+ seconds
Find 2000 docs out of 15,000 (server db)	35 seconds	65 seconds
Change 100 docs in a server db	1 sec. load 2 sec. process	3 sec. load 8 sec. process
Change 500 docs in a server db	4 sec. load 10 sec. process	20 sec. load 44 sec. process

Compatibility

Runs on R6, R7	Yes	Yes
Runs on R8	Yes, NoteMan is 100% native Notes, so it is guaranteed by Lotus to run on all future Notes/Domino platforms	Eventually, dependant on API releases from Lotus.
Runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, Eclipse	Yes - preserves your investment if you switch to or need to support other platforms.	No - Windows only
Safe to run on a server box?	Yes - Native Notes implementation requires no additional executables, DLLs, or software footprint.	Maybe, depends on your organization. For good reason, many organizations require extensive testing in place before adding new EXEs and DLLs to a production server.
Retains 100% Notes password security without prompting for password on each use	Yes - automatically and seamlessly uses whatever Notes ID you are using, without prompting for or storing a copy of your password. Users in organizations with password change requirements will not have to change their password in two places.	No - you must either enable "Don't prompt for a password for other Notes-based programs (reduces security)", or store a copy of your password (requires launching tool with a different shortcut for each ID)

Cost

Price for all features (document, design, ACL) with one year maintenance	$395 At present, NoteMan costs over $200 LESS per user.	over $600
Price for all document features with one year maintenance.	$277 NoteMan costs even less for power users and analysts who don't need developer and admin features.	over $600
One license can be used on multiple workstations (e.g., desktop, server, laptop, home) and Notes IDs (if same user) simultaneously.	Yes	No
Free 30-day trial of all features	Yes	No - you have to rent if you want to try the full features
Purchase only the modules you need	Yes - Data editing, conflict resolution, design element management, and ACL tools are separately priced.	No - makes you pay for all features, even if you only use some.
Available on GSA Schedule to government, educational, and charity organizations	Yes - Get a discount and purchase quickly and easily for US government agencies.	No