Backpack calendar now shows times after events

The Backpack calendar now lists the times of events inline in the calendar view. Huzzah.

 

Not using the calendar yet? Learn more about how it works at the calendar tour page.

Adding footnotes to to-do list items

At the Backpack forum, Rich Karpinski asked about a way to attach a comment or note to a to-do item:

I often want to store some text (either write it myself or cut and paste it in) associated with a specific to do item. But I also want a clean, one-line-each to do list. Having a “hidden” field where I could store content within an individual to do would be great.

Derick offered up this tip that offers this functionality kinda: Use footnotes to link up a to-do item with its explanation. Here's how:

In your list item, write, "Call Superintendent[1]" and textile formatting will then display it as:

I need to do this¹

Then, elsewhere on the page, place a note that explains, "<a id="fn1">1. Call during business hours only, try his cell phone (312) 555-1212 if office number doesn't work." This will display as:

1. Call during business hours only, try his cell phone (312) 555-1212 if office number doesn't work

Here's an example of how this might work:

Tinder: Campfire API

Developers who want to work with Campfire should check out Tinder, the unofficial Campfire API. We use it to send Subversion check-in notices and Capistrano deploy messages into our development chat room.

Marc Hedlund has set up a similar system and raves about it:

This turns out to be extremely useful. Not only are all the updates going to the same place; you also get to see how the checkins and deploys relate to the conversation. Awesome.

Do you use a 37signals product in an interesting or noteworthy way? Let us know.

How to make Backpack dividers linkable

At the Backpack forum, Active1 offered up this tip that makes Backpack dividers linkable — that way you can jump directly to a section, which can be helpful on longer pages...

1. Put this in a divider called Travel...

<a name="Travel"></a> Travel

2. ...and then at the top of the page in a "Note" put a link like this:

"Travel":#Travel

That link will then jump you right to the travel divider.

If you've got a lot of lengthy Backpack pages, check out this recent post too: Hit End, Home, or Page Up/Down keys while dragging to save time. It'll save you some hassle when moving objects around on a page.

New Highrise feature: Streamlined "edit contact" flow

Last night we pushed an update that streamlines the "edit contact" process in Highrise.

Before the update uploading a photo, editing contact information, and changing permissions was a 3-tab multi-click process. Now you can make all these changes on a single tab called "Contact and Permissions."

Here's what it looks like:

To upload a new photo for someone just click the "Change" link under the photo:

You'll be asked to select the photo on your hard drive, the photo will be uploaded, and you'll be dropped right back on the "Contact and Permissions" screen to make whatever other changes you'd like.

When you're done, just click the "Save this person" button at the bottom.

Cutting a few clicks out of this process will save you a fair bit of time -- especially if you're adding/editing people often. We hope you find the change as useful as we do.

Thanks for your continued support.

Basecamp helps Epsilon Concepts communicate, manage projects, and handle worldwide staff collaboration

Epsilon Concepts is a marketing-driven web design & development firm based near Richmond, Virginia. They utilize Basecamp, Highrise, and Campfire to manage 99% of their business via the web. We caught up with CEO Rob Berthume to discuss how Basecamp helps his team with communication, project management, and worldwide staff collaboration.

How do you use Basecamp and why do you like it?
For the last seven years since Epsilon Concepts was founded, we have sought after the "ultimate" solution to help us manage our business as well as keep things as web-based, simple, and mobile as possible. Luckily, we found Basecamp.

I truly believe that one of the biggest problems in the web design/development industry today is the lack of excellent project management. In fact, we believe that the horror stories we hear (usually at least a couple per day) about web design experiences can almost always be traced back to project management. Unmanaged expectations, missed milestones, miscommunications, blame shifting, lost e-mails, etc...You name the problem and it probably could have been minimized/prevented via Basecamp.

I'm proud to report that primarily through utilization of Basecamp, Highrise, and Campfire, we can say that our business is completely mobile, flexible, and seamless. Additionally, all of our information and transcripts are secure, always available, and the software is constantly being improved without having to do a thing.

The number one reason we love Basecamp: it's a powerful, flexible, and extensible application that is actually EASY. Initially, when I decided to implement Basecamp for our project management needs, I was somewhat concerned that our less "computer literate" clients may have reservations about jumping out of their e-mail accounts and into a program like Basecamp. This concern turned out to be completely bogus as to this day we haven't had a single client that hasn't been able to instantly understand, utilize, and harness the power of Basecamp. In fact, we were surprised just how many clients instantly uploaded a picture in their Basecamp profile and just how much they bought into the concept.

We also use Basecamp for managing things like public relations, proposals, contracts, miscellaneous tasks, even some of our employees!

Which features in Basecamp do you use most?
"Subscribe to iCal" (Perfect for viewing/managing milestones on my MacBook Pro and TREO.) Time tracking (Intuitively designed, useful time-tracking functionality in relation to specific to-dos in specific projects, and excellent "create a report" and "export to CSV" capabilities.) Private messages (A great tool for internal communication.) To-do lists (Helpful for breaking down proposed deliverables into meaningful "task nuggets".) Chat (Yes, there is SKYPE, AIM, YAHOO, etc...but are all of those chat transcripts stored in one place? Do clients or staff have to download applications? What about file sharing and data security?) Writeboards (Online whiteboards. The concept is simple, but 37signals' execution on this element should be applauded. Hands down, most clients talk about the Writeboard functionality being the coolest feature.)

What did you use before Basecamp and why did you switch?
This question gives me a headache just remembering "life before Basecamp!"

Mobile productivity with Basecamp and Highrise on the iPhone

J. Matthew Buchanan of MyMacPractice, a site about simplifying your professional practice by switching to the Mac, talks about how he uses Basecamp and Highrise on the iPhone:

The iPhone changes all of that. Browsing is a pleasure and text entry is easy and comfortable. I use Highrise and Basecamp from 37signals to manage the majority of my practice, and Safari dances through both of these sites with ease, allowing me to review and edit information from anywhere. I feel the iPhone - and specifically its web features - have finally allowed me to gain some mobile productivity.

Check out the full post on his site.