I would like to be able to post messages on files that are uploaded already. Currently you can only comment on files you post under messages.

+1 to this. Perhaps what we thought would be great is when posting a message or comment, we could have a choice of uploading a file or associating this message with a file?

You can create a new message and link back to the file in the Files section.

Yes but doesn’t the file then get filed under no category? Something that has annoyed me really and something I feel should be one of those “4 hour small victories”

Yes but doesn’t the file then get filed under no category?

It does, I am trying to sneak my request for selecting message categories for files submitted with a message/comment into as many topics as I can. here’s another one!

I’ve requested it before but got no feedback, amazed as I think its messy.

The way my teams always do it is post a Message with a File attached. That way, you give context to the file. Plus, the file also shows up in the Files tab.

Granted, that doesn’t help the Files tab display, but it’s a good habit to get into.

Its kinda kludging it though.

Our most common use of images is for design during development, and we need to comment on them. Initially we used the message board and the discussion movement was great. But we noticed that in the file section a new file was uploaded each time we added new version to our message dialog. Wanting to have all our files in one spot, and old revisions linked to newer versions, we started using the file tab to replace images. However our dialogs became disjointed as it often unclear when new versions came into being, and not convenient to quickly look at them from the dialog.

We’re at a loss for the best way to use the current system. Being able to state when images should be posted in the file tab that might help. Another option would be to specify a new version of an existing file when posting an image in the message boards.

Being able to start a message dialog from an existing file would be helpful, and within that discussion we would not upload new versions as that would be done via the file tab. I think ideally messages started in this manner would have the history of the file reproduced at the top of the page.

We’re at a loss for the best way to use the current system.

Jens—Basecamp will do everything you need I think, provided you work with its constraints and not against them. (That means investing some effort training your users to work a particular way.)

In your case it sounds like there are a few ‘rules’ that would support our workflow:

• Add new files with a message and a file attachment—that file will show up on the Files tab.

• Add revisions of that file via the Files tab then write your messages linking back to that new file (or, if you want to keep the original thread running, write your messages in comments and link back to the revised file. If you’re not sure about linking back and forth, make sure everyone knows how to build either textile-style or HTML hyperlinks into their messages.)

• Start a new discussion of an existing file by linking back to the file in the Files tab. As above, you can add revisions using the add update feature.

It takes a bit of getting used to, but when you start working with the system, some things get that much simpler. We used Campfire for a time to keep a running discussion of how and where to post things, learning mostly by making mistakes. If something seemed awkward or clunky, there was usually a better way. Just takes a concerted effort to uncover it!

Mike,

Thanks very much for your tips! I think your suggestions will work – now I just need to get everyone here following these rules. We are not trying to work against the system, just everyone is using it the way they think they should. I still believe the comination of messages and files could be much more intuitive if basecamp would automatically create messages from files, and allow you to upload newer versions of files from within messages.

Jens

can someone pls post a textile or html code line to link to a file already in a project.

Thanks

This is working ok for us. However to keep the message dialog running (like you say) we have to add a new message with the updated link to the most recent file each time we make an update. This is what I’d like to be done automatically. So for message dialogs that are based on a file (or created from a file) I’d like to see one of the following:

Suggestion 1: At the top of the message I’d like a link to the most recent file (perhaps followed by links to older versions)

Suggestion 2: Each time the file is updated add a message entry containing a link to the new version automatically.

I would like to +1 to this feature request. I could see no easy way to link back to files in a message (other than writing HTML), and I’d rather keep the discussion centered around the file, not open up a whole new message about it.

We’re developing this as a Basecamp add-on http://www.vyoopoint.com
It will allow you to track comments per file/image/video so you have a good version controlled history of comments relating to a particular mockup or design.

We are just discovering a disconnect with this issue as well when dealing with our clients.

It’s very convenient to have a message thread and attach revisions to comments within the thread. This allows us and the clients to follow any commentary regarding the change orders. However, when viewing all of the files through the file tab, all of the versioning is lost.

If possible, when attaching a file to a comment, could it be possible to have an option to associate the new upload as a new version as a previously uploaded file? That way all file links will remain within the message thread, and the versioning of a single file is maintained within the file view as well.