The Livelink Companion is a very useful utility which has been released free of charge by OpenText. It works in a similar way to other Browser Toolbars - such as the ones from Google, Alexa and Yahoo!.

There are several really exciting and useful features in this component which will be of interest to users as well as the Developer & Admin communities, these include the following :

• The ability to have a short cut menu to every Livelink server you have access to.
• The ability to be automatically logged into these servers as you browse them.
• The ability to communicate useful sites, links etc to other users in a similar way to Instant Messaging clients.
• News feeds from a variety of other sources from News to Share Prices, Development postings to Virus Warnings.

Within the Toolbar you can define a series of Livelink instances that you can connect to - which can include your own companies ones, the Knowledge Center, the FirstLook site etc. Once defined, and successfully connected, you will be able to see which are currently accessible - indicated by the red crosses or green ticks next to the server name - as well as most of the options in the main menus - Personal, Enterprise, Tools and Help - specific to that Livelink instance. The screenshot shows what this currently looks like.

Also helpful if you have access to multiple Livelink servers is the fact that the Companion will automatically log you in to each of the severs that you have defined once you have entered valid login details. This can save you trying to recall all of the usernames and passwords that you need to user for the variety of instances that you support or have access to - such as the Livelink Knowledge Centre.

Built into the Companion is the ability to circulate useful links to a group of other users with a short description via the Companion Alerts functionality, similar in use to Instant Messaging. You can create your own friends list that you can send to and recieve from, although some of the links that you may send / recieve may not be accessible to the recipient if for example the object is part of a password protected site, such as the OpenText intranet.

One of the other features I have found helpful is the diverse selection of news feeds that are available via the Companion. Using these, you can keep an eye on new posting in some Livelink Developer forums, the latest News / Weather, Share prices, Virus Warnings and much more.

There is a lot more on offer in this great tool - which is also free - so I recommend that you download it and try it out for yourself.

About the Author
Greg Griffiths is an experienced Livelink Admin/Developer currently working for a large corporate, using Livelink primarily for workflow. He has several years experience in creating complex solutions utilising a variety of technologies such as Javascript, ASP, Oracle and XML in conjunction with Livelink to achieve results. An experienced Admin/Developer he regularly contributes to the discussions on the Knowledge Centre and on this site. More information can be found in his profile or on his site.