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It has been more than a year since I last looked at Attach Plus, and I'm happy to report that the latest version is a winner. Trumpet Inc., the creators of the program, bills it as "the easiest way to attach, protect, and e-mail your documents." This statement will likely ring true for many advisors.
Attach Plus is not about reinventing the wheel; it is about improving an existing design. Today, most advisors are capable of selecting a document, attaching it to an e-mail, password-protecting it, and then sending it; however, in many cases, the process is not as seamless or as fast as it should be. Attach Plus not only speeds up the process, it puts the options you desire right at your fingertips.
Works Well with Microsoft Office
As one would expect, Attach Plus works well with Microsoft Office products, including Outlook. In fact, one of the nice things about the program is that it does not force Outlook users to change the way they work, if they feel comfortable with their current method of doing things.
For example, I often find myself working from within Outlook. If I want to send an attachment, I will open a new e-mail message, address it, and attach a file. That procedure works fine if the file is already in the proper format, and it is password-protected (if necessary). If not, I must go and modify the file, password-protect it, and then go back to Outlook. With Attach Plus, everything can be done right from within Outlook. Here's how the process works:
First, I open a blank message in Outlook. Next, I select the Attach File button, which presents me with the File Selector box. The only change from the traditional box is that it contains an Attach Plus button. When I select a file and click Attach Plus, a new dialog box appears.
Here, I have a number of options. I can change the file name, choose between three file types. If I chose to send it in the current file type, in this case a Word document, nothing really changes. The file is sent as is, and there are no additional options. However, if I choose to send the file as a PDF, I can change the file name, select which pages I want to send, and I can elect to password-protect the file, all from this one dialog box. To set the password, one more dialog box appears. Here, I can also apply 128-bit encryption to the file.
Once I provide a password and click OK, the file is converted, attached to the e-mail, and it is ready to go. I can assure you that it takes much longer to read about this than it does to use it. Once I used the program a few times, I was able to complete the whole process in a matter of seconds. Attach Plus also works with Outlook Express and Goldmine.
Because Trumpet also does a lot of consulting work involving Worldox document management software, Attach Plus offers almost seamless integration with that product as well. Attach Plus offers three different methods of interacting with Worldox files.
First, from within Worldox, users can select a document ad, then hit the e-mail button, which will launch the Attach Plus dialog boxes, as we outlined above. Second, you can configure your e-mail program to be able to attach documents in the Worldox repository from within the e-mail program. Third, with some tweaks, you can save documents using the Attach Plus PDF drivers directly into a Worldox repository.
Bottom Line
Attach Plus is a handy little tool. For those who do not own a program capable of generating PDF files, Attach Plus is an outstanding choice. It is not the absolute cheapest PDF product on the market, but it offers a great deal of additional utility at a reasonable price.
For those readers who already own a program that can generate PDF files, the decision about whether or not to buy Attach Plus is more of a productivity decision. If you very rarely convert files or send e-mail attachments, this product is not for you; however, if you consistently convert files and send them by e-mail, Attach Plus will save you time and will for itself in short order.
Finally, there is the security consideration: I know that advisors often fail to password-protect files they e-mail because doing so can be cumbersome. If this program's ease of use encourages advisors to take the extra step of securing sensitive information the way they should, that alone is reason enough to buy it.
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