TeamworkPM’s Engine Room

A few weeks ago I put out a request on our Facebook page to chat to a few design houses that use TeamworkPM so they could share their experience with you, about what they do, and how they use Teamwork.

One company that has found Teamwork Project Manager effective in the day to day running of the business is Paradigm Marketing and Creative, a boutique style agency based in Tennessee that assists clients with all their marketing needs. The sheer breadth of services offered by Paradigm include everything from branding, analysis, web and print design, and advertising to creative services such as 3d animation, videos and photography. President of Paradigm, Charles T. Gaushell explains why the company relies so heavily on an effective project management application:

“Because our services are so broad, our client base is also broad. Projects we’re involved with can include everything from completing an initial brand analysis to designing websites and brochures; from producing online PR to shooting a high definition video and rendering an extensive 3d floor plan to animating a 2,000 acre community. Using Teamwork enables everyone in the company to keep track of their tasks and assign tasks to coworkers.”
Now in its 20th year in business, Paradigm’s focus on creativity has assisted clients across seven countries and 43 states, and two years ago the company decided to get rid of their older time keeping program to focus solely on Teamwork to keep track of all tasks, a decision which Gaushell admits has made the day to day running of Paradigm much easier:
“We use Teamwork to remind ourselves of deadlines and milestones- we’re big Dropbox and ProofHQ users, so being able to link projects has been a critical update. Also having Teamwork accessible at home and on the road using our smart phones, tablets and computers saves time and effort. Teamwork guides us through our project reviews at our weekly meetings by giving us a snapshot  and roadmap for the given week. It’s also great for organizing and keeping assignments and projects accounted for and features such as Messages, Comments and Notebooks are used daily. Teamwork for us has made communication much smoother and easier since we can track every email, reply and text version,” he added.

If you too would like to share your TeamworkPM story with everyone here then please get in contact as we would love to hear from you.

Even though it's a slightly shorter month we haven't held back on the amount of updates we got out this month and that's not counting the mother of all updates : Lockdown.

We really hope you find these updates help you be more productive and allow you to manage your projects just the way to want. As always we are open to feedback and if you have any other ideas on new features or comments on current ones please let us know.

Key features rolled out in February.

Lockdown for tasks.

Lockdown for Notebooks.

Lockdown for Messages and files.

New calendar for Teamwork Mobile

 

Small Ticket Items

• Comments update
• Sites Switch Uses cache, shows loader image and displays installation favicon.
• Messages If the word attach is in message body when no files are attached; prompt the user.
• Return results which contain the search term within the title ahead of the rest.
• Dashboard Increase number of Late/Upcoming milestones shown from 15 to 50
• Companies Deleting a company should mark all users in that company as deleted
• Subscription Page Type changed "your" to "you"
• Companies Improve search so "St Johns" will match companies with "St Johns XYZ.."
• Update People: Import: Check to see if user is already in the system and not deleted
• Update Copy Project: Project Settings now copied to target project
• Update Project Chart: Improved "scale" when min date and max date fall within same year
• Update When uploading a new version of file, display the original file's name for reference
• Update Milestones: Allow a person to complete a milestone if they are assigned to it even if they don't have Add/Edit Milestones permission
• Update Tasks: Report: Added in Completed Date to Excel report
• Update Dropbox: Added new option to get a permanent shareable link for a Dropbox file that can be emailed to people or sent to someone without having to have a Teamwork account
• Update Quick Add: Remember last project used when adding a task for next time to speed things up for user
• Update Workaround for .xlsx file viewing in IE
• Update All Completed Tasks: Add option to filter by "Completed between dates" or "Due between dates"
• Update All Completed Tasks: Changed date chooser to Date Picker control instead of selects
• Update Everything: All Completed Tasks: Added new option to filter by either "Compelted by" or "Assigned to"
• Update Comments: Show a hover on number of people notified to show who received an email notification
• Update Resources: Add ability to copy resources from one project to another
• Update Dashboard: Activity: Yesterday not highlighted like Project Overview Activity
• Update Dashboard: Limit Late/Upcoming Milestones to 15 records and display message showing count of others
• People & Companies Fix clipping issues - long company names
• UI Messages - category picker uses new drop-picker interface style
• UI Sidebar - Completed task lists limit to 10 items with "more" option
• UI  Task Lists: Reorder: Added "drag handle" to make it more obvious that they can be reordered by dragging/dropping
• Optimization All tasks new version now uses eTags

Having answered a huge amount of feedback over the years, the release of this update fills me with great joy - I know from now on I will no longer have to tell people that you can't make a task private to just one user!

So from today you can make tasks private to individual users regardless of the company they are in. Gone is the "only private to the owner company" option. Now you are free to pick and choose who can see what within a project.

Working with multiple departments or even outsourced companies?  No problem. You can keep tasks private between you and one, or indeed, a handful, of them.

These screenshot show the new Lockdown feature. You can find it in the privacy tab when creating tasks. This gives you the power and freedom to specify exactly who can see the task.

 

It really is a thing of beauty!

When we started working on the Lockdown feature we often found that we also wanted to keep certain notebooks private - we'd use them for storing passwords and sharing sensitve data within a project. So we decided that Notebooks too should get the same Lockdown teatment.

Once that was decided we were able to bring the same new streamlined interface to Notebooks.  As you can see from the screenshots - gone are the old tabs which hid important information.  Instead, everything you need to see is visible at a glance.

Lockdown now enables you to pick exactly who will be able to view the notebook - previously you could only make it private within the owner company.  Just think of the huge flexability this offers.

And finally, as with Lockdown on messages and files, once the notebook is published placing your mouse over the lock icon will show exactly who is allowed to view the notebook.

As someone who often takes part in meetings out of the office, one of the areas of TeamworkPM that I use the most is the main calendar. This is because while at a meeting I need to schedule the next appointment and to make sure both parties are free.

To avoid forgetting, or worse double booking, I usually create that next meeting straight away. To do this I have to login to our TeamworkPM site, via the browser on my phone, and although this view was not bad for checking times, the real issue came when having to create or edit events.

Today I’m really happy to announce that the days of struggling to create new events while out on the road are over thanks to the release of an integrated calendar for Teamwork Mobile. This update now makes entering new events so simple.

Take a look at this short video to see the new mobile calendar in action: 

Or if you'd prefer a bit more detail here are a some screen shots taken from my iPad:

Over the years, one of the most requested features has been the ability to mark a message and it's attached files as private - visible only to a select group of people.  This becomes especially important as more third party companies are added to a project.  We would have loved this ourselves when working on client projects back in the day!

 

We call it Lockdown and with todays update this feature is now available in all of your projects.

 

It doesn't end there though. While we were at it, we gave the interface a make over as well. We removed the clutter and brought the most important information within easy reach.  To see what we mean, take a look at the first screen shot below.  It's taken from the old tabbed interface which hid away some key properties.  Now look at the second screenshot, notice how privacy and notify are both fully visible and instantly available.

 

It's with this new interface that Lockdown feature really shines. Take a look at the trio of screenshots below.  The first is of our old way of doing things; you only had the option to make a message either public or private within the owner company. The second and third screenshot show the new lockdown feature; you can choose exactly who is allowed to view the message, regardless of what company they belong to.

 

Notify, too, works exactly as you'd expect - it won't allow you to notify people who shouldn't see the message.

 

Don't worry, once you've published the message you can always double check exactly who has permission to see it - simply hover over the lock icon.

 

As always we really hope you love this update and if you have any questions or feedback please let us know.

It’s competition time again at TeamworkPM HQ.
We have yet another iPad 2 to give away to one lucky person.

Entering the competition is so simple all you need to do is to follow us on Google+. That's all, do this and you’re in with a chance.
 it’s that easy!

If you are already following us, then it's even easier for you as you're already entered and in with a chance to win an iPad2.

The draw is going to take place on the 8th of March, so you must be in by then to be in with a chance. CLICK HERE for our Google+ page

After taking our fill of turkey over Christmas, we got busy coding and have a nice round of updates to your favorite project management app this month. Drum roll please... the full list of features and fixes include:

New Feature: Teamwork Mobile Released!

We have some great news this month with the release of the Teamwork Mobile - a nicer way to access your data on modern phones and devices that have browsers.

See the full blog post – Teamwork Mobile Released

New Feature: Comments can now have files attached!

This has been one of our most requested features for a long time now. You can finally attach files to comments in TeamworkPM.

See the full blog post – New in TeamworkPM: Comment file attachments!

New Feature: All Comments

You can now see all comments across all your projects in one place. Sort it, filter it, love it.

See the full blog post – Find and view comments across all projects in one handy place

Comment email notifications now include file attachments

You can now just reply to a comment email notification and include a file attachment and the file will automatically be sucked into Teamwork.

 

 

Calendar now has a PDF Agenda report

When you need to go to one of those pesky meetings, bring a print out of your company calendar which will include all Events, Tasks and Milestones! We added various time ranges so you can get the report you need quickly.

 

 

Our API now supports XLS (excel format)

This is pretty cool: you can now browse to /projects.xls and we will serve you the list of projects in excel format!

We basically modified the API so that any request ending with ".xls" in served as an excel file. All standard API calls are supported so have a look at http://developer.teamworkpm.net/ for some inspiration.

 

Small Ticket Items

• Administrators can impersonate a user - to ensure everything is set-up ok.
• Project Chart: Added option to sort by "End Date".
• 'Tasks by Email/Quick Add': Added support for @me.
• Everything page: Remember the last section accessed so clicking "Everything" jumps to the last accessed section.
• "Mentions" in 'User Status/Task By Email/QuickAdd' now matches against user login name also.
• Subscriptions: Added ability to send payment receipts to an alternative email address.
• All Time: Log Time: Support for cyrillic descriptions.
• Project View: Tab added for Starred projects.
• Android: Added icon for Android bookmarks.
• Daily Report: Added ability for a user to request we send them a copy on demand.
• Recurring Tasks: Create estimated time on next in series.
• Passwords: Always send temp password in lower-case for consistency (Doesn't impact authentication if lower or upper case).
• View File: Added 'Delete' button to this page.
• Opimization: RSS feeds and iCal feeds now served off slaves databases.
• Core: We now push out task start dates when parent dependency is moved.
• UI: Minor fixes on comment bubbles after count is updated.
• UI: Milestones: Improved wording on Add/Edit form to make options clearer.
• UI: Tasks: Multiple People - create task for each person - newly uploaded files are now attached to ALL created tasks (instead of just the first).
• UI: Thumbnail icon for xslm file type.
• UI: Project Name hover tooltip menu added to new All Tasks page.
• UI: Fixed white-on-white links on Markdown more information.
• UI: "Next Monday" quick date option added - shows on Fridays only.
• UI: Completed Tasks: Hover title should show the date completed and the person who completed it.
• UI: Projects List Page - Added ability to Star/Unstar projects from this page.
• Markdown: Threw out the old code and rewrote the parser for speed and stability
• Lots of nerd work on getting the app faster. More hardware, more caching, more sweat and tears...
• Calendar: 24hr time picker added
• Reassign items: We now update all previous activity logs
• Copy Project: If no activity is picked, a blank slate is now not shown 
• API: Time Entries: Try and handle times entered in incorrect format (e.g: 0454 p.m.).
• API: Added support for search.
• API: Added 'userIsMemberOfOwnerCompany' to /authenticate.xml.

 

Bug Fixes

• Markdown: Multiple referenced links in a paragraph block.
• Recurring Tasks: Weekly on dates in February ending in December giving issues.
• Fix event editor people picker - shouldn't have horizontal scrollbar ever.
• New User - "Add Company" callback system was broken - fixed now.
• Calendar: 24hr Date Format: 12pm going in as 12am if date format is military.
• API: Messages: GET /messages/[id].xml request fails if attached files have the same file size.
• API: Tasks: GET /tasks/[id].xml request fails if attached files have the same file size.
• Milestones: Edit: If user assigned to a milestone is no longer on the project, set the milestone assigned to the first available person on the project.
• Dropbox: Safari: "Select All/Select None" not firing.
• Dropbox: Fix for folders with "+" in the names. Passing by Ajax URL was breaking this
• vCard: Import: Fix for Outlook 2010 format.
• Settings: Show a message when a user tries to associate a company with the project and they already have a project named the same associated with the same company.
• Project Chart: Reposition "Today" line on chart when screens are small.
• Logo in PDF reports sometimes was broken

 

We hope you love these changes!

Today we are happy to announce the launch of Teamwork Mobile. This optimized version of TeamworkPM will work on most modern smart phones and tablets directly within the devices web browser. There are no prerequisites; no apps are required and nothing needs to be installed.

What is Teamwork Mobile?

Teamwork Mobile is a touch-optimised web app which utilises the latest in web technologies (HTML5, CSS3 & JS). These allow for smooth transitions, quicker page loads, data caching and much more. These technologies allowed us to make one app that works on most modern phones and devices.

For all of you that have been asking us for a BlackBerry app, this version will work very well on the latest BlackBerry phones.

The app features a responsive layout which allows it to adapt to screens of different sizes. So whether you are using it on a tablet, in your PCs web browser or on a touch device, the interface will automatically change to allow for optimal use (so it works great on an iPad for example).

 

This version of Teamwork will work across a wide range of devices. Though we do not have the means to test TWM on every platform, we expect that it will work so long as your device fits any of the specifications listed below.

Apple iOS (3.2 - 5.0) Android (2.1 - 4.0) Windows Phone (7 - 7.5) Blackberry (6 - 7) Blackberry Playbook (1.0 - 2.0) Palm WebOS (1.4 - 3.0) Meego (1.2)

Samsung Bada (2.0) Kindle 3 and Fire Nook Color (1.4.1) Chrome Desktop (11 - 17) Firefox Desktop (4 - 9) Internet Explorer (8 - 9) Opera Desktop (10 - 11)

 

So what can Teamwork Mobile do?

If you are familliar with either of our current native apps (Android & iOS) you will be happy to see that we have used a very similar layout and the feature set is much the same; so getting to know the new app should be a piece of cake.

Some of the features included in this version are as follows:

• All Tasks Page
• All Milestones Page
• Search
• Statuses - View / Add
• Activity Views
• Notebooks - View
• Messaging - New / Reply
• Tasks - View / Add / Edi t/ Complete
• Task Lists - View / Add / Edit
• Milestones - View / Add / Edit / Complete
• Contacts

We also have a few updates planned already so make sure you keep an eye on the blog to remain updated on what we are working on.

How do I access the mobile version?

TeamworkPM should detect that you are accessing your account from a mobile device and should change across to the mobile version automatically. If it doesn't just put /m after your TeamworkPM url to access the mobile site. eg. http://yourcompanyname.teamworkpm.net/m

I'll leave you with a fun video showing Teamwork Mobile running on different devices.

The ability to see comments across all your projects in one place was a feature we had been discussing at TeamworkPM HQ for a while, but as you can all see from our roadmap, there is always a lot on, so this feature kept getting pushed out.

Last week, after Dan had a long conversations with a customer, he decided to dedicate a few days to finally get the All Comments feature built and out the door.

For people who have lots of projects on the go, and who receive a lot of emails a day. You guys are really going to love this update to the Everything section. We have added a new tab within the Everything link called, All Comments. This new section allows you to view all comments across all projects to which you have access to, in one place.
There are also a nice selection of filters to help you narrow things down so you can just focus on the information you are looking for.

You also have the option to jump directly into any project by clicking on the project name. You can link directly to the task or file the comment was placed on as well using the first link. We have also built in tool tips as well on the first link. Placing your mouse over this link will display more information about the task, file etc. without having the leave the page.

As always we hope you find this new feature really helpful and if you have any feedback on this or any other areas please let us know.