This and other replies are enough for me not to expect an answer to my own questions.
I think I'll pass on this one...

Since I'm here and some time to waste.

1. License data is in "HKCU/Software/Crystal Office/Maple". You have to edit the value "key" from the $ to givewayoftheday. Don't include the $ in product key. I reckon I cannot give the key here. Hint: it's like XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXX-XXXX

2. Unpack with Universal Extractor

3. Copy the folder "{app}" to any folder

3b. Launch software, menu Help/About, insert license data. Restart AFTER renaming "_portable.flag" to "portable.flag"

4. From the folder where you extract the software, copy folders "Templates" and "Sample" below "{commonappdata}" under the root folder of the program

5. From menu Tools/Preferences/Spelling, download dictionaries (spelling.exe)

6. Unpack spelling.exe with Universal Extractor. Copy files. Get rid of unneeded dictionaries if you want

7. Find the right .chm for your language and rename to maple.chm (see my review)

8. If you wish, download free samples from web site

See, no mystery, very basic, very simple.

I'm having this issue too! How did you get it to install properly?

I am a heavy Evernote user and I agree that it's pretty awesome. But two things it lacks for me:

- collapsible outlining capablity
- auto-scrolling for song lyrics

Be careful Folks when using Evernote. I suggest that you read this interesting discussion about problems with Evernote here:

https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/74629-updated-and-now-all-my-notes-are-gone-hundreds-of-them/

Cheers,

consuella

This is a nice outliner, but won't handle the kind of job I think you have in mind.

TreePad X Enterprise. The BEST there is. Comes in two costy versions. :D Look up Freebyte.com
Also, if you can find it, the old Maple Professional my MapleSoft.

kalmly - thanks.
What I have in mind would be like Worldox. See http://www.worldox.com/products/worldox_gx4
Of course, a GAOTD version would have to be simpler somehow. But that's my dream freebie.
Maybe one day.

Thanks for your review. " Lack of search for specific words throughout the whole data set" rules the program out for me! I also use AllMyNotes....:-)...

Edit->Global Search and Replace do the search through the whole data set.

Patrick: to answer your questions:

– how long the program may be used (1 year, longer?)

GiveawayoftheDay products can be used indefinitely, provided they are downloaded/installed on the day they are offered, and as long as you do not update them or use Registry 'cleaners' that might delete something.

– can it be reinstalled (e.g. after a major crash)

Short answer: no -- GotD products can only be installed on the day of the giveaway

– finally, are there attractive alternatives?

For this, read the comments as others will undoubtedly suggest alternatives.

For a long time I'd been a fan of tree-based PIMs, because using them you can organize your notes, links to web pages etc. in a hierarchical (tree based) system of categories, sub-categories ...
but several years ago i found (and use now) IMHO a better way - keyword (tag) based PIM, because:
* by assigning more than one keyword (tag) to a note (piece of info), it can belong to more than one (sub) categories
* notes marked by tags are self-organizing, while in tree based system you have to manualy place it to the right place in the (tree) hierarchy, thus defining it's (only one) category.
(Firefox users know, what I mean - bookmarks manager uses both concepts: you can place your bookmark in a tree hierarchy and assign one or more tags to it, too).
Using CintaNotes
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Office-tools/Other-Office-Tools/CintaNotes.shtml
you can also easily directly store and organize pieces of info taken from web pages:
just select some text on web page, press a hot key
and CintaNotes is started, creating a new note containing that text.

A link to source web page is automatically assigned to a note,
so CintaNotes can be used as independent cross-browser bookmark manager, too.

You're right. At first, I was thinking of the software you mention and was happy to find it here. I forgot the original Maple was that old, and the name only woke up some vague souvenirs. Now, I know why I had a strange feeling with this GOTD. Thanks for pointing it out.

That Maplesoft is a Canadian company specialising in mathematical engineering software. Their software for engineering maths solutions is named Maple Pro. It can do mathematical stuff way beyond what Excel can do.
Symbolic and Numeric Math
Comprehensive Mathematics
Equation Solving
Differential Equations
Differential Calculus
Linear Algebra
Optimization
Group Theory
Statistics and Process Control
But most ordinary folks (99.5% of public, me included) won't need or could understand how to their highly specialised software.

Coming back to today's GOTD software, also named Maple Pro, which is different from the Canadian engineering software.
The software developer is a Russian company.
The address is:
Crystal Office Systems, Kantemirovskaya street, 53-1-51, Moscow

Why bother?
For the simple reason that it is one of the best methods of organising data.
The fact that it is old is of no consequence.
If you wish to show complex information IDEF is still one of the best methods available; started using it in 1994 and nothings approaches it in usefulness.

Where can I find IDEF?

You can find it at the following link:-
http://www.idef.com/

These are the modern versions of the old version that I much prefer which I used in my masters.
IDEF0 is the one I use, the top-level is an overview of the system and this can be broken down into ever more detail layers.
I have been told that when they built the space shuttle all the information had to be presented in this manner.

Some flow chart programs have this built-in but none of them come close to the old version in usability.

"Why bother?
For the simple reason that it is one of the best methods of organising data."
.
I can't speak for ric of course, but most people have cell phones, and an ever increasing number have tablets as well. It's becoming harder to find a new *dumb* TV [in the US at least] -- I think most have some version of Android built-in. Everyone wants to make a box or dongle you'll hook up to your TV(s), & like smart TVs themselves, they all connect on-line. The latest areas of expansion are wearables & the IoT [Internet of Things], & they connect to all of the above. Add traditional laptops & chromebooks.

Since there's always one or more of these devices at hand, why go back to your desk for anything? Sure you aren't going to work on a project using the Chromecast plugged into your TV, but you might want to access the pictures that you took with your cell & that were uploaded instantly. Why go to the bother of organizing your stuff in several places? Most pick one or a couple of places on-line, e.g. Google Drive. In biz, keeping their data walled off but still usable by folks insisting on using their own devices [BYOD], is one of the banes of IT dept.s. People are unwilling to put up with not having what the want/need at hand, when they want it & on the device they want it.

SO to me, "Why Bother?" is more about the concept rather than any execution. Why tie your stuff to just one place? Services like Google Drive have several tools/features to help you with the same organizational tasks you'd use Maple Pro for, And there are a lot of 3rd party apps you can use to go further & better meet your specific needs. Right now Maple Pro's competing with big names like Google, Microsoft, DropBox etc. -- perhaps it would be better if they focused instead on working with one or more of these services, e.g. maybe something similar to AODocs [aodocs.com]? They could have the same basic features, so the same reasons for people to use their software, but the added flexibility folks today demand.

Android TreeView:-
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.unnamed.b.atv.demo&hl=en_GB

You're missing the point and almost all your arguments are irrelevant.
_____________
"... most people have cell phones..."

Besides phone calls and SMS, you cannot do much else with a cell phone. I don't see it replacing a desktop PC any time soon. Now, if you were thinking of smartphones, only 57% of people in the US have one. Still, can you work on Photoshop or Easy Planner 3D with a smartphone?
_____________

"Does not seem much use on a desktop PC. Most of the features would be covered by other capable alternative software available on the desktop PC"

Isn't there some contradiction here? Anyway, I'm curious. What kind of software with similar features but not similar concept would it be given it would NOT be just an alternative to this product? Something like Windows Explorer, perhaps?
_____________

"...long past era when the PIM was all the rage in portable hand held computers...

So, modern smartphones/tablets are not hand held computers. I thought they were small computers that can be held with one or two hands. How wrong, thanks for the enlightenment. So, they don't have built-in contact managers and task managers... because they're things of the past. Then, why people spend so much money for useless devices ($1000 the last <brand name>). Oh, I get it: Watching TV! A giant step for mankind, indeed.
_____________

"In biz, keeping their data walled off but still usable by folks insisting on using their own devices [BYOD], is one of the banes of IT dept.s."

The license here is for home use. I don't know anyone who has a full IT department at home.
_____________

"SO to me, “Why Bother?” is more about the concept rather than any execution. Why tie your stuff to just one place?""People are unwilling to put up with not having what the want/need at hand, when they want it & on the device they want it."

What are you talking about? This software and the like are NOT about centralizing files. They are not DMS/EDM either. The concept, as you word it, is about organizing ideas (with pictures, text, references...) in a tree-like structure. It absolutely does NOT matter where your things are. You're free to scatter your files all over the Internet, if that's your way of life.
_____________

I can’t speak for ric of course

You cannot even speak for 7 billion people, and generalize.
_____________

I was so amazed for the number of upvotes I couldn't help writing this.

In my 20 min test with this program I was able to get it to work well, including the inserting of pictures, resizing them and showing up in the print preview. Printing was perfect and just as the preview. There are a great deal of functions available and it would take some time for those not familiar with it to learn them and how to use it. The help file will be very 'helpful' for those willing to take the time to read the sections. I did find, in experimenting with the functions, that inserting an oval shape results in a circle instead of an oval, just the same as if you used the 'insert circle'. I will not be quick to point this out as a bug but nothing I could do would change it, whether I used the insert function or from the added toolbar. Perhaps someone else might have a solution here (or the developer). Everything else seems to work just fine (at least as far as I have gotten). I will certainly keep this as it will definitely be useful as soon as I learn the in and outs of it :)...

Thank you so much for your review, which is excellent by the way. And thank you GOTD for this fantastic service.

May I ask a really stupid question of everyone who posts this comment "installed via reboot". What does that mean? When I reboot my computer, everything I installed (and didn't purposely uninstall) is still there. What do you do to uninstall a piece of software just by rebooting? Is it possible you mean "system restore"? Thanks, just asking for a tiny bit more clarity.

"Uninstalled via reboot" means that the software was installed in a VIRTUAL environment which the user did not SAVE at the end. By rebooting, all temporary changes to the operating system were erased and the computer went back to it's pre-virtual condition. A good way to test software without making any changes to your system if you are not satisfied with the outcome. Also a way to protect your system from any potential harm until or unless you SAVE your changes.

Karl, how about not ALWAYS stating 'uninstalled by reboot' with every review? It regularly creates the same multiple questions and answers that clutter up the page on a daily basis. Why not just note whether you are keeping an app or not?

Karl use a commercial VM software to do that. Sorry, I don't remember the name of it.

Karl, maybe in future you should say "uninstalled" at the end of your (much appreciated) reviews?

It would put an end to the constant inquiries about what does "uninstalled by reboot" mean.

To Susan, Thanks so much for explaining Karl's "Uninstall via reboot" which allows for a very safe installation. Would you have any hints/Links on how to create that "Virtual Environment" on Windows Xp, Vista and up?

Wow, Susan, thank you for clearing that up for me. I guess an old dog CAN learn new tricks!

Hi. There is a freeware tool for that task. In addition to, Susan's, very good explanation, here's a link to Toolwiz Timefreeze. I hope, some of you can use it. (hosted at Softpedia)
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Miscellaneous/Toolwiz-Time-Freeze.shtml

To George and Godel : using the DOWN arrow does not harm your omputer

I do not know how I got to confuse Philip with George. Anyway I hope Karl (peace be with him) will carry on with his trade mark phrase so that others (newcomers) might be interested to know that this possibility exists and will be curious to find out more

To Godel and Phillip: Asserting your superior knowledge of Software just by complaining of "clutter" generated by novices is a useless contribution to this forum. Either help out the new comers or skip by using Down Arrow as Frank suggested.
To Karl: Right after your signature line "Uninstalled via reboot", what about adding a link where the new reader would find more info about the "Virtual Environment" ? No more repeat questions, no more clutter, time and energy saved