Tips, tricks, tools, and techniques for Microsoft Office

Few applications on my desktop are used as much as RoboForm Pro ($29.95, http://www.RoboForm.com). It’s truly one of those "how did I ever live without it?" utilities whose job is to fill in your name, password, and key information (a collection called a Passcard) for sites you regularly visit.

You can save a set of what I call "standard" information (your home and mailing addresses, for example), and when a site you’re visiting for the first time asks you to register, or you’re on the checkout page of an e-commerce site, you can fill in all this information you’ve saved within RoboForm. Not only is it faster, but you avoid typos (you don’t want that new computer going to the wrong address, do you?). We tested RoboForm’s latest update, version 6.7.6.

When we last reviewed RoboForm (in September, 2004 -- see http://www.officeletter.com/blink/roboform6.html), Firefox wasn’t the hit it is today. Wisely, RoboForm’s Mozilla support extends to Firefox as well. We tested RofoForm with IE6, IE7, and Firefox 1.5.

RoboForm is constantly updated -- I see a pop-up window at least every two or three weeks. Some of the updates are of little interest, though readers from Down Under might quibble about that when, for example, the company added "Fixed phone and social security number format" for Australian users (in version 6.7.1). Also since our original review, the ability to copy data (such as identities -- that is, a collection of names/passwords for a person) has been improved. Also improved: importing contacts from Outlook.

When I bought a new laptop that I wanted to take on the road, I was pleased with how easy it was to copy my RoboForm "identity" to the laptop. Because RoboForm supports what it calls profiles, I could set one profile (the collection of Passcards for me) and a different profile for a colleague with whom I occasionally share the laptop when it’s used in the office. Both of us could work with IE6, but by switching profiles, we could use our own, individual Passcard collection.

The user interface for searching has improved, from highlighting search terms on the current page to looking through your Passcard collection. If you don’t like having to be creative when it comes to inventing a password (all those numbers and letters, with some sites requiring at least one number in a password), RoboForm can generate one for you (see illustration). Since RoboForm is in charge of remembering everything, creating long and complex passwords is no longer a concern. Furthermore, if you’re like me and like the comfort and security of a hard copy of your stored information, the program can print a list of sites and the data it stores for each. (Typically this consists of a username and password for the sites I visit, but sites with more demanding requirements are also in the list.)

If you don’t like managing a list of favorites, you can use a button in the RoboForm toolbar and click on the name of the site you’ve stored information for. For example, I have a "PayPal" entry that launches the site and fills in my information, all with one click. Because each Passcard is stored as a separate file, you can also drag the Passcards for your favorite sites to your desktop; click the shortcut and RoboForm launches, opens the site in your browser, and fills in the fields you’ve specified. What could be easier?

While RoboForm can save just about any information you can imagine, you may be hesitant to use it to store financially sensitive information (credit card numbers and expiration dates, for example). The program does use AES encryption for its database, and you can protect all your Identities and Passcards with a Master Password for an added level of protection. (Furthermore, once you type in the Master Password, it is stored memory, and when you logoff, it’s purged from memory.)

Using the Web is as much a part of my day as using an Office application -- sometimes even more. Given the sites that require registration so I can read the latest news stories in full, check my credit card balance, or fill in order forms, RoboForm is truly an automated solution that’s a "must have."

If you want to get your feet wet, a "standard" version of RoboForm is available for free, with a limit of 10 Passcards. We promise: you’ll be hooked.

-- James E. Powell

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