Original review published on Steve Litchfield's 3-Lib.

RMR Software have not taken so big a gamble as you might think on the development of RMRMonth for the Series 5. Yes, it's perfectly possible that any new EPOC machines might have significant improvements to the built-in Agenda, but on the other hand there are hundreds of thousands of existing 5s out there, a ready and waiting market for this utility. RMRMonth builds on some of the perceived deficiencies in the Series 5 Agenda - i.e. no 'Busy' view and no 'Month' view. In addition to providing both, this utility also offers an 'outlining' To-Do list.

It's still painfully obvious that this is a companion to Agenda, with RMRMonth having to be started from the Extras bar, but at least the file being worked on is the same. A toolbar button switches to Agenda, albeit very slowly (over ten seconds for even a tiny diary) and switching back to RMRMonth is done through a definable system hotkey. The easiest view to work in is the Month View, with up to 3 events or entries showing in each day slot in the default font. More than this and a small arrow is shown, though no scrolling is possible. Editing an entry or adding a new one is as easy as tapping on the day-box concerned and using one of the Agenda-like dialogs.

The toolbar is home to shortcuts to six of the main menu commands, excluding switching to the three main views - this is possible using the (rather narrow) labelled strip on the left of the screen instead. As with all RMR software, the interface is polished and professional at every turn, with few unpleasant surprises. Context-sensitive preferences dialogs are on hand to allow almost as much customisation as Agenda itself. Office workers will appreciate the week and day numbering on each box.

The acid test, of course, is how the utility is used. Could it replace Agenda completely? No, but then it's not supposed to. RMR Month is first and foremost an Agenda companion. Is it worth having then, given the delays in switching between the two programs and possible complications (e.g. entries with object attachments have them deleted after modification in RMRMonth)? It all depends on how useful you find the two main views on offer. I suspect many Series 5 owners have already learned to live without them, but those still frustrated by Psion's ROM 1.01 software should watch the continuing development of this utility with interest.

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