Posts for the "Tips" category56 posts

Quick Search Feature in Every Project

Posted May 10, 2012

Each project has a built-in search feature to help you find anything you need quickly. The search is available in multiple project sections such as Tasks, Timecards, and Tickets. To use the search, simply click the hourglass on the grey filter bar and type what you are looking for. After hitting enter on your keyboard, it will filter to all items that include your search query. You can also use the advanced search by selecting the Entire Project option as shown below.

By using the advanced search, you can find data across your entire project in seconds. It shows results for your search query across all sections on the project. You can also filter to any specific section from the grey filter bar.

If you click on a search result, it will take you directly to that item. You can also apply an additional filter to only show the search results that apply to a specific user on the project.

The search option is also included on the global Projects Page to let you easily filter your project list. This feature provides a simple way to quickly find anything you need in your project management tool.

Integrate Vimeo and Youtube Videos with Your Project Management Software

Posted May 4, 2012

Projecturf lets you upload, share, and view Vimeo and Youtube videos in each one of your projects. Users can easily view the videos right in Projecturf. From the Documents section, you can upload videos and set the permissions, get them approved, track versions, collaborate online, and much more. To view a video inline, you can just simply click on the name. I've included a short video tutorial on how to share your videos here:

To learn more about sharing Vimeo and Youtube videos in your project management tool, visit our support center here. This also includes simple instructions on how to update your security settings if you are using Vimeo Plus.

Email Notification Improvements

Posted May 2, 2012

We have made a small but important change to the way email notifications work in your account. In the past, you would receive an email when you changed or added something in the app. Since you were the one that added it, the email was nothing more than a confirmation that it worked. Therefore, you would probably just delete it from your inbox. We felt this was an unnecessary extra step so we removed it to save you time. Now if you are the author, you will no longer receive emails. Of course everyone else will still receive emails on records posted to the project, just not the author.

This change was just made, so after testing it out for a couple weeks let us know in the comments if you like it or not.

Easily Set Admin Rights in Your Project Management Tool

Posted April 25, 2012

Projecturf allows you to have multiple admins in your account. You can add as many admins as you prefer and also set the permissions for each user. Admins will see all projects in your account and are able to create projects and add themselves to projects. You can easily add and remove admins as well as set the admin permission type for each user with just a few clicks. This gives you full control over who can access your projects, Address Book, and account data.

To get started, the user first needs to register with your Projecturf account. Simply create a project and add the user to the project to send them the registration email. If you have an existing project, you can just add them to that project. Once they register with your account, you can add them as an admin in the account section under System Settings as shown here.

There are two different types of admins in Projecturf. The first is a System Admin. System Admins have access to everything the account holder has access to including billing and system settings. They can also add and remove admins from your account. The other type is a Project Admin. Project Admins can only create new projects and access the global Address Book.

In the Address Book, there is an icon to denote the System and Project Admins on your account. A gold key (shown below) signifies a System Admin and a gray key signifies a Project Admin. This is a quick way to see which users have admin permissions. You can also view the list of all admins as well as add new admins, remove admins, and set admin permissions under System Settings in the account section.

To learn more about the different permissions available in your project management software, use this permissions infographic or visit the help center topic on roles and permissions.

Quick Tip: Online Project Management Tracking with RSS Feeds

Posted April 19, 2012

A simple way to track the latest activity on your projects is by using the RSS feeds. Each project in Projecturf includes an RSS feed which you can copy into the RSS reader of your choice. You will see all activity that occurs on the project in your RSS feed based on your permissions for that project. It shows the project history similar to the Dashboard section with the date and time of the activity and a link to each item. It also displays the details of the item such as who posted the update, the participants, if it's private, any comments, when it's due, etc.

Using the RSS feed, you can track all activity including when tasks and tickets are marked complete, a new document is uploaded, designs are approved by a client, discussions are created, Timecard entries are marked paid, and when a Whiteboard is updated - just to name a few. Here is an example of a recent event that was created and shows up in the feed:

To access an RSS feed, simply navigate to the Global Projects page and click on the actions panel to the right of the project name you want to track. Then copy the feed to paste into your RSS reader. There is a separate feed for each project, which is easily identified by the project name in the RSS reader.

There are many options when choosing how to view your RSS feeds. You can easily add them to your email client such as Outlook or Mac Mail, bookmark them in your internet browser such as Safari, or use any RSS reader. Some popular RSS readers for tracking your feeds include Google Reader, Feed Demon for Windows, and NetNewsWire for your Mac.

Get Things Done Quickly & Improve Collaboration with Clients

Posted April 12, 2012

A simple way to collaborate with clients, keep them informed, and get their feedback is by inviting them to your project management tool. Before you invite a client to join your Projecturf account, you can set custom permissions for your clients in each project. This can be done by granting read/write or view only access to any section or also hiding sections that clients won't need access to. Therefore, you can set up each project based on your project requirements and grant or restrict access as you see fit. For example, if you don't plan to use the Tasks section with a client, then simply hide that section when setting the client permissions.

Once you've added your client to a project, you can begin collaborating and getting things done using Projecturf. You can easily calendar upcoming meetings and events, share and collaborate on ideas related to the project using whiteboards, set budgets and track hours and expenses against the budget, create discussions with clients to keep all project related communication in one place, share files and keep track of the latest versions, assign tasks and set due dates, share project schedules, and much more. If you are a designer and need to showcase your work to a client, you can use the Designs section which nicely lays out all your designs in a thumbnail gallery. Clients and co-workers can preview the designs inline, rate them on a five star scale, add comments and feedback, and approve them right in Projecturf.

Projecturf will keep you and your clients up to speed on all the moving parts of your projects at all times. By using the email alerts, you will always get notified of any new items or changes made to your projects. You can also track progress and updates by using the activity dashboards, RSS feeds, and Daily Progress Report emails.

Navigating Projecturf is quick and easy for your clients. They can click any section to quickly access the data they need and to add new items. Lists can be filtered and sorted with only one or two clicks to instantly find what they're looking for. Clients can also use the built in search tool to find items quickly. Also, when your clients receive email notifications, clicking the link in the email will take them directly to that specific item in Projecturf so they can immediately see it and respond if necessary or even reply via email. Visit this previous blog post to learn more about the benefits of the Projecturf user interface.

Easily Track Tasks in Your Project Management Software

Posted April 5, 2012

Each project in Projecturf includes a Tasks section for creating tasks and subtasks and assigning them to staff members, clients, and managers on the project. After assigning tasks to users and setting due dates, you can easily track when tasks are completed, changed, or become overdue. To get notified of new tasks, completed tasks, and when tasks are edited, you can use the Dashboard section to view latest activity, subscribe to the Daily Progress Report email, use the RSS feeds, or allow email notifications for updates. When a task becomes late, the end date automatically turns red to notify you it is overdue as shown below.

When viewing your task lists, you can use the built-in filters to view tasks by person and to view incomplete or completed tasks. You can also use the quick sorting options to see them in the order you prefer as described here. These filters and sorting options let you quickly see the tasks that are due today, tasks that were completed, and the tasks that have upcoming deadlines for each person on the project.

You can also view and track the task lists across all projects from the Global Tasks section. If you want to see the overall workloads for each person, the Reports section includes a Global Task Assignment report for easily managing resources.

Another useful tool to get a quick overview of all tasks on your project is the Project Completion Report, which displays the status of every task and subtask (overdue tasks are also shown in red here), the due date, duration, who's responsible, and % complete. This report can be filtered and sorted based on your preferences. Visit this previous blog post to learn more about using the Project Completion Report in your project management tool.

Quick Tip: Inviting Users to Your Project Management Tool

Posted March 30, 2012

To invite people to register with your Projecturf account, just simply add them to a project. Once you add them to a project, they will receive the registration email to sign up. Before adding users to a project, you can get started by entering or uploading your contacts to your Address Book. Note that adding users to the Address Book will not send them the registration email. Users from your Address Book can easily be added to a project from the Project Settings page as shown here:

The Address Book is a great way to store your contacts and organize them into groups. This allows you to upload and store as many contacts as you'd like in your Address Book without emailing them all at once and also gives you the flexibility to send out registration emails only to users you will invite to a project.

You can also add users to the project from the Contacts section in the project. Adding someone in the Contacts section will send out the registration email as well.

To learn more about adding users to your project management application, we have outlined this topic in greater detail in the help center. If you prefer video tutorials you can watch the Getting Started video here.

Quick Tip: Easily Sort Your Project Data

Posted March 26, 2012

Projecturf offers several different ways to view and find data in a project and across all of your projects. This includes using data filters, activity dashboards, search bars, global views, reports, calendars, Gantt chart schedules, and simple sorting - to name a few. Having these tools allows you to see how your projects are progressing, find things quickly, and to easily manage workloads and update your project plans.

You can easily view data based on your preferences. A simple and useful tool to quickly view your project data in the order you wish to see it in is sorting. Most of the sections in Projecturf include column headings and you can click any heading to sort. For example, if you want to see a task list across all your projects sorted based on when they are due, just click the end date column heading for a quick sort from the Global Tasks section. You can also apply filters before sorting to refine your results. For instance, you can choose filters to show a specific user's tasks and only their unfinished tasks. After applying your filters, simply click a column heading to sort the data. You can also print your lists from your web browser.

The same sorting capabilities apply in the other sections of your project management app such as Timecards, Tickets, Documents, and Whiteboards. Each section in Projecturf has it's own custom column headings based on the relevant functionality for that section. As an example, in the Timecard section you can sort by amount to view the largest entries first or vice versa. This makes it easy to find what you need when you are tracking progress and jumping between projects and sections.

Simple Time Tracking in Every Project

Posted March 13, 2012

Each project in Projecturf includes a built-in timer for tracking your billable and non-billable hours. When you are working on a project, you can start the timer by going to the Timecard section and clicking the play button on the top right of the navigation bar. You can also pause, restart, and reload the timer as needed.

Once the timer has been started, it will remain running even if you jump between sections and projects. The timer icon will always be shown on the left side of the project tab when you have an active timer running in a project and you can run multiple timers at the same time. The timer will continue running until you pause or reload it, even if you logout of your account.

You can easily add your recorded time to a project by clicking the plus button and choosing Grab From Timer from within the Timecard section.

If you wish to add time to a task or ticket, just do a quick search for your task / ticket when entering your time and select it. Once your time is added, the dollars are automatically calculated for you based on your hourly rate. Hours and dollars entered as billable are tracked against the project budget at the bottom of the Timecard section (this is only viewable by project managers). Project managers can see everyone's timecard entries whereas staff members and clients can only view their own. You can learn more about the time tracking capabilities in the Projecturf support center.