If you're a part-time telecommuter, you can be more productive with Symantec Corp.'s  pcTelecommute. The software provides small to midsize companies with work-management tools such as file sharing and synchronization between office and home computers, dialing and screening calls, sending and receiving faxes, logging activities, and generating status reports.

You first install pcTelecommute on your office PC and then on your home system. A disk is created from the office installation with identification information that will let you log in to the office computer from your home PC. The software's intricate installation procedures are made easier by the clear instructions in the Install wizards. Your office and home PCs can connect via modem, or through TCP/IP or SPX protocol connections on a network.

On your office PC, you set up a password to establish the dial-up connection, then add your home printer as an allowable printer. Your office PC must be left on for you to access its applications and files from home.

On your home PC, you input the password to establish the dial-up connection to your office PC, and customize phone, fax, file-synchronization, and work-monitoring features. You define the activities you want to log, such as calls and number of synchronizations, and set a reporting period of up to 30 days.

Using your home computer to access your office computer, you can run applications installed on your office PC, including e-mail (read-only). You can also transfer and synchronize files between the two computers, and print office files on your home printer.

For outgoing calls from home, pcTelecommute can dial phone numbers for you. It lacks voice mail, but if you subscribe to a Caller ID service with your local phone company, pcTelecommute will display incoming-caller information (though not second-level, call-waiting Caller ID). If you have turned on Call Screening, only calls from defined priority contacts can get through. Other caller information is stored with incoming faxes in your in-box.

The program also helps users negotiate the telecommuting terrain by including helpful video clips featuring telecommuting guru Gil Gordon, a paperback version of The Telecommuter's Advisor by June Langhoff, and a link to Symantec's telecommuters' Web site.

With its office-to-home computer link and communication features, pcTelecommute offers a win-win solution for productivity-minded offices.

pcTelecommute
Symantec Corp.
800-441-7234; 541-334-6054
www.symantec.com
Requires: 35MB hard drive space; fax modem (Caller ID-capable modem recommended); Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0 or later