Topic: Feature Requests / Milestones

Lots of posts on the milestone labeling subject. The description would be handy, like a tooltip thing, but not likely to happen anytime soon based on my experience.

In the meantime, help yourself by setting a naming convention. Many use something like acronyms depending on needs that go from broad to narrow as a prepend to the project title. E.g.; Client, location; or type(new/used, car/truck, etc). I used the “job num” “client” “Location” “Project title” E.g.; 0807-12 SDCC Gateway Admin Bldg Structural Review. This distinguishes this project form all others without more info.

I also include more info in the “project overview” field and check display it in the overview. There is a great place for a short description of the project, including some contacts info, etc.

Topic: Feature Requests / Project Structure

We manage on-going projects by using milestones as a divider. It can be “Jan 2008 Issues” with related todo’s that define each issue and resolution. You can get clever in naming todo like “Welcome Page Fonts – Issue” and “Welcome Page Fonts – Resolution” if you want to separate them. If you track how long an issue is pending, then use the [dates] for reported and completed. Since you will show all issues received under the Jan milestone, show the resolved there also and do not complete the milestone until all thise are complete. Just a thought.

Topic: Feature Requests / New People Screens!

On the right side of the Administrator Assignment screen, you state what an administrator can do vs the account owner. Please add what a non-administrator (user) can do. There is confusion and it should be very minor.

Also, when assigning permissions to other company users we select a radio button that increases permissions. I want the same categories for each user in the all people screen. For example, I administer BC for my company but individuals originate messages, to-do lists and items, etc. I want them to continue that and view all, but block them from setting moving milestones.

Topic: Feature Requests / Project Structure

Sorry but I don’t agree with Iwainwright on not using Milestones. In your project listed at the top, you include as sparate items “‘collateral’, ‘event newsletter’, ‘exhibition’,” considering them as sub-projects. I would be inclined to have a milestone like “Collateral Tasks Complete” with the date you need that done (allow for slippage). The same for the others. You would create a ToDo List and relate it to the Milestone. Then if you are to received deliverables from the Collateral tasks, you can consider those as tasks under the ToDo list e.g.; “[8/17/08] Collateral to deliver XXX.” The date is used if it has a defined deadline. Also try to be brief in Task statements.

If you simply use ToDo Lists and tasks, you end up with dozens of them like sticky note and can’t find anything. We have some Milestones that include a task that must be repeated in each of dozens of locations. The list is specific to that task with items as checklists for each location. Just printing that is 2 pages per list. But it tucks nicely under a milestone.

Topic: Feature Requests / Project Structure

The format has tio fit your situation and may be different than all others. The notion of project/sub-project is appealing at first glance, but consider how much time it will take to manage double posting.

At some level, all “sub-projects” of a project are milestones, just that some milestones are bigger than others. On larger projects, I typically have a dozen or so milestones that are true milestones. I have broken out milestones by contractor, by phase, etc. based on the project. Under each milestone I have task lists that further define the milestone.

If some tasks/lists are date bound I include date due [07/15/08] as the title leader to the task or task list. I try not to do much of that because I find I spend way too much time running down status and it all seems to get done in the last few days anyway.

Anyway, that’show I use Basecamp.

Topic: Miscellaneous / Retired User's Replacement

Hmm, I understand the need to preserve history, but in this case they are members of client companies whose history is not critical. I changed the name, email & login and it looks OK in that the projects the predecessor worked on now shows the replacements name. My intent is that they assume the retired guy’s personID as I don’t care if it’s Bill or Bob that did anything and I don’t have to go through all the selected clients projects to add the new guy to each (they don’t see ALL that clients projects).

So at this point, my question is does this set a timebomb in the processes that will break my data?

Topic: Miscellaneous / Retired User's Replacement

When a retiring user (A) has a history of messages, etc., and is replaced by a new user (B), would simply changing the name and login of (A) to (B) allow (B) to see all that’s gone before and carry on?

Is there a reason I’ve overlooked why this would not be a good thing?

Topic: Feature Requests / Request: Different colors for different projects

It’s workaround city! I prefix each milestone with the project number, others use client name + project number, etc.. There is a lot that can be done with grease monkey scripts for those who know how (I don’t). Try Scripts

Topic: Tips & Tricks / Back-Date Milestone Complete?

Completing milestones take the target date as complete date. This causes many of us the opposite concern when a milestone delay slides the schedule but it isn’t readily apparent which one is the culprit. We have asked for a true completion date entry but no joy so far.

Topic: Feature Requests / Files Resource (accross Projects) and timed Delivery

Don’t know if it would be what you want, but I have a “project template” for my company with the standard milestones, to-do templates, messages, etc. I copy/paste milestones into new projects as they apply. I believe you can put your standard files in such a project and copy to new projects. I haven’t tried actually copying a file from one project to another, but if it doesn’t work, at least you would see what you need where.

Topic: Feature Requests / Support for Microsoft Office 2007 Filetypes

bryandocx… You probably have looked into this, but I hope you have opened doc files from other sites through your browser to rule out a real browser issue. I know my browser has settings as to what applications I will use to open various file types. It’s possible you may have “docx” but not ‘docx; doc’.

Just trying to be helpful.

Topic: Feature Requests / Milestone template

Hi, This has been requested to death, so in the meantime, you might consider a project faux-template with all your normal stuff in it as a base to copy paste milestones, etc. into new projects. It’s still a pain but less so.

Topic: Feature Requests / Multiple Categories

That would be good (not a #1 but good). It supports using messages as we do today, like a thread in a forum.

Topic: Feature Requests / Better organization for archived projects

What I do is add a company “Client Name – Complete” without client personnel assigned, and as projects complete I add that company and select it to file under and mark the project on-hold.

This allows the client personnel that could see the project before to still see it but keeps it offline. We have a lot of projects and are in the max category so the number of projects is not an issue.

Works for me so just thought I’d pass it along.

Topic: Miscellaneous / 'People on this project'

Occasionally they respond but as they say in the ‘Rules’”
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Not for official support

While the staff from 37signals may chime in, these forums are not for official support or response. If you need support click the “Help” button inside Basecamp.
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They’ve heard all this stuff before and given the size of the wish list, are very careful at what they take on. I’ve seen a lot of requested features added, but I can’t tell you why one was chosen over others.

If we were to vote on the wish list, I suppose this would not be in the top 10. That’s why I like the alternative idea of a script to log in to each project.

Topic: Feature Requests / Projects sorted by companies on non-admin accounts

I’m not a Basecamp tech but wanted to see what you are finding. I made a user without admin rights and gave him access to all projects. Logging in as him I see all the companies with their projects just as I do when logged in as admin.

I don’t think it should matter, but I do use a grease monkey script (Basecamp Client Collapse) that collapses the project list by company under each companies button.

Topic: Miscellaneous / 'People on this project'

Or…... give us a script that logs each one of us into all 118 projects each day.

Topic: Feature Requests / when did full xml export appear?

At first glance I thought Spencer posted the magic xml I’m looking for. I would like to have whatever will allow me to sync (or at least download) all project data to my local servers. I’m kinda doing that now via the downloads which takes me pretty far. I’ve said before the I think BC does a great job at what they do, I just need more.

Topic: Feature Requests / Issues including sub-contractors

The “globalness” is the problem when you have competing contractors working various projects. There just isn’t a ready solution within BC at this point.

I’d vote for ‘linked projects’ that provide a master project with links to sub-projects. Then include object options to make them private to that project or visible to the master. However, I don’t think that’s within BC’s scope and don’t anticipate it happening. If not too complex, it may be a candidate for the API and link them on the local server (or a web service).

Topic: Feature Requests / Issues including sub-contractors

Same issues. Had to take sub offline from Basecamp for dialog and use only for ‘shared’ communication. Bummer.

Topic: Feature Requests / Due dates for To-Dos

You must mean Neil’s project <g>.

Topic: Feature Requests / Due dates for To-Dos

• rwsllc : It’s not auto-notification, but there is a grease monkey script that colors to-dos in alert colors when they near the date and go red when passed. You can find it and others here: UserScripts”:http://userscripts.org/scripts/search?q=basecamp
  It seems to me that if a script can know when it’s close to due that an expert can make it send a msg.

Topic: Miscellaneous / Need help w/ Overview Formatting

For each project I need to enter information at the top of the Information section. It has grown to now I need it in a table format, evenly alligned and blanks where the info isn’t available yet. I know this won’t format like I want but the general idea is:
/[Owner:] Owner1 can be a long name…..... [Bid #:] AA-0002-99
[Client:] Client can also be long …..... [Const Est:] $92,345,000
[Contact] ................................ [Const Days:] 421
[PM]Another first and last …............[LD:] $2,500/Day/
...and more.

Of course I’d like to not use dot spacers, etc. I’d prefer standard sized font and bold the field names but not the entered data.

I’ve spent a chunk of the day and other than frustration have not accomplished much with it. I have been to the sandbox, Andrew Crow’s, etc. without close to getting it.

When it’s ready, I envision simply pasting the table into each project and enter the info. Can you show me how?

Topic: Feature Requests / A Small Thing... Date Calculator

I’m laying out projects with up to 425 day construction periods and I have to leave BC to do the math. There has to a java script or even grease monkey add-in to do this from both add milestone pages. Just a simple enter a date and +/- calendar days/weeks/months to get the new date.

Again, a nuisance not a heart stopper!

Topic: Tips & Tricks / How Comp ToDo List w/o Items?

I have a series of milestones and one of them has a single task predecessor just right for a todo. If I express the item as the list How can I complete it?