Topic: Feature Requests / Communication within a to do

Tkt2rde, great tip, thanks!

Topic: Feature Requests / To do's: priority, due-by date

Kirk, thanks and would you consider creating three additional users called Kirk: A, Kirk: B and Kirk: C? If it’s really important to prioritize this workaround might help. You may assign tasks to these three fictitious users and also order them visually as suggested by Jason. I’m sure it will get messy but if it helps, this might be a good way.

Topic: Feature Requests / Better file management

A ZIP > DOWNLOAD > ARCHIVE may be a good option. To keep 37’s interest of having people upgrade due to lack of space, it might be well to have all files zipped and archived on the project (user initiated). May put a crazy load on things but it may help people out to download all files. We’re lucky to have opted to use our own FTP server when we started using Basecamp and still use this feature. I was surprised to see that this was removed for other users.

Topic: Feature Requests / Private Milestones!!!

Unless it really helps, we want our clients to see the actual picture as compared to anything else. It helps keep them in control when you receive silly emails saying things like, ‘What’s going on…’ – you simply ask them to login and look at the actual picture. We also use the to-do to create detailed lists that are PRIVATE and then publish them to let clients see the complexity of our work. Helps keep them engaged.

Topic: Feature Requests / Communication within a to do

All team members are assigned a color. Each user uses Launch-n-Go to insert this piece of html before the task:< span style = ” color : blue ; font-weight : bold ” >Ym says: < / span >< br > – this way we get to add comments and the next person who responds adds his/her above the latest comment. You may also assign the task to Anyone and then back to the user for another email notification. Or, you may assign it to the person concerned. Works very well for us – but what I gather after using Campfire is that it may be easier to talk about the task on chat, as compared to posting messages on the task itself. We use both options and mostly critical messages are added to our tasks.

Topic: Feature Requests / To do's: priority, due-by date

The real challenge on a project is to get it out the door. Which top-priority tasks are top-priority if you have to deal with 10 projects on average per day? Where do you start and where do you end? A low priority task also contributes in delaying the project, because you may always want to add new high priority tasks at a later date and want to work on them first, leaving other lower priority tasks unattended. A great way is to give equal priority to each task and get them done. That’s the concept of GTD. If it’s unfinished work, it’s going to get done some day, why not now? I’ve found it best to work on lists and try to get each list to a point where the only items left there are marked as done. Hope this helps.

Topic: Feature Requests / Possibility to close Messages

I agree, a simple link like ‘Hide’ besides the message title would do. On the main message screen we could hide messages while they would always appear under categories. This will keep current and important stuff in front of our eyes.

Topic: Feature Requests / Project templates and centralized file list

Windows users may want to use a product called Launch-n-Go that we use at our office for message templates. It’s the only good program I could find at the time we wanted to make our purchase for this kind of software. There are other Mac options and you may want to search 37Signals’ site – they use one. Apart from this, I like LauraY’s suggestion.

Topic: Feature Requests / Deadline for a To-Do item?

I think I’ve read elsewhere and on a note from 37Signals that this won’t get into the product since it’s simple to use it the way it is. Plus, on our projects we do not use dates with to-dos since they are misleading. The best way we’ve found is to schedule a project and it’s milestones from a date A to a date B and then get every task done between those milestones. The project ends this way, quicker.

Also, my billing department use Milestones for Billing reminders on a project called Billing. They add these way ahead in time and although it’s a hassle to not have them repeat but the exercise also lets us review a particular account that way.

My two cents!