Productivity Portfolio

Saving web content or clipping information isn't new. There are plenty of utilities and services that do this. However, we frequently run into readers with restrictive needs. Some readers would tell us they couldn't use online services because company policy prevents saving information on a 3^rd party system. Others insist the utility work with a specific browser. Still others would want to share their data. The latest version of Net Snippets meets these needs and more.

Net Snippets has been around for several years and has a strong following with researchers. This past December, the company released a free version of their product. Although it doesn't include all the bibliographic and multimedia features, it still excels at capturing and organizing the data. The company recognizes that capturing information is just one part of the process.

What caught our attention was the product now works with Internet Explorer, Netscape and Firefox. IE adds the Net Snippets toolbar below the address bar and also adds the Net Snippets Bar button.

In contrast, the Firefox users first need to visit http://www.netsnippets.com/mozilla/install.asp to get the extension. This will add the Net Snippets Bar button.

Although the IE Net Snippets toolbar is useful, it isn't needed. All the functionality can be carried out through the Net Snippets Bar or Drop Spot toolbar. This Drop Spot toolbar sits in your system tray and serves as a focal point for copying items. Using any Windows application that supports drag and drop, you can highlight an item and drag it over this toolbar. The toolbar will open a Net Snippets window where you can edit and format the copied text. As example, I can highlight this paragraph in Word and drag it to the toolbar.

Once the item is copied, I can edit and format as I choose. The program offers a nice range of formatting options. I can also assign an importance level and specific folder. One other convenience is the program retains the source. If I'm looking at this item several months from now, I can click to find out the data source whether it is a web page or some other file.

The Net Snippets Bar represents the repository where your snippets are stored. This is where the other "post search" activity occurs. The post search activities are actions you might take on the item such as organizing or sharing it with others. As example, we can highlight a folder or specific item and email them to a colleague. Individual items will appear to the recipient as .mht files which is an archived web page viewable with Internet Explorer. Folders are sent using the Net Snippets file format and require the recipient to have the free program. The recipient can import the file into their version. Although the program uses the .ns format to send folders, the program stores items in HTML.

We've been using the program for a month and have been very impressed. There have been a couple of snags, but small ones. For example, a couple of online purchase receipts that wouldn't save. The same goes for framed pages. However, we've experienced these same problems with commercial applications.

The other surprising factor was customer support. Our experience has been that support for free products is minimal. This was not the case with Net Snippets. On the two occasions I've sent emails, the company answered my question in a professional and timely way.

We would suggest you try the program. There are countless ways you can put it to use. And if you do collaborative research or reporting you should consider the Standard and Profession versions of the software. These products build on top of a good foundation.