Sams Teach Yourself Basecamp in 10 Minutes

Patrice-Anne Rutledge is a business technology expert and author of 30 books who has been featured on MSN, AOL, CNN, Inc., CareerBuilder, Fox News, and other media outlets around the world. She specializes in teaching others to maximize the power of new technologies such as social media and online collaboration to manage and grow their businesses. Patrice has extensive project management experience, managing large, global projects for leading Silicon Valley technology firms. She can be reached through her website at www.patricerutledge.com

Introduction    1

1    Getting Started with Basecamp    5

Introducing Online, Collaborative Project Management    5

Understanding Basecamp Account Plans    7

Signing Up for a Basecamp Account    9

Summary    13

2    Customizing Your Basecamp Workspace    15

Adding a Logo    15

Specifying Color Schemes    18

Defining Default Settings    20

Summary    24

3    Managing People, Companies, and Permissions    25

Setting Up People and Companies in Basecamp    25

Understanding Account Owner and Administrator Roles    26

Managing People in Basecamp    27

Managing Companies in Basecamp    33

Assigning Account Administrators    38

Summary    38

4    Working with Projects    39

Defining Projects    39

Creating a Project    40

Assigning People and Permissions to Projects    44

Managing Project Settings    49

Searching Project Data    53

Creating Subprojects    54

Summary    54

5    Entering and Tracking Milestones    55

Setting Realistic Milestones    55

Understanding Milestone Permissions    57

Adding Milestones    57

Adding Multiple Milestones    60

Editing Milestones    61

Commenting on Milestones    63

Completing Milestones    66

Viewing Milestones    67

Deleting Milestones    71

Summary    72

6    Entering and Tracking To-Dos    73

Understanding To-Do Lists    73

Understanding To-Do List Permissions    75

Creating To-Do List Templates    76

Creating To-Do Lists    80

Editing To-Do Lists    84

Commenting on To-Do Items    85

Completing To-Do Items    88

Reordering To-Do Lists    89

Viewing To-Do Lists    90

Deleting To-Do Lists    95

Summary    96

7    Working with iCalendar    97

Understanding iCalendar    97

Subscribing to an iCalendar Feed    98

Troubleshooting Problems with iCalendar    106

Summary    106

8    Posting and Commenting on Messages    107

Posting a Message    107

Leaving Message Comments    112

Formatting Message and Comment Text    113

Sending a Comment by Email    115

Viewing Messages and Comments    116

Editing Messages and Comments    119

Deleting Messages and Comments    121

Summary    122

9    Sharing Files    123

Uploading Files    123

Viewing Project Files    127

Editing File Details    130

Uploading New File Versions    131

Deleting Files    132

Summary    132

10    Tracking and Managing Time    133

Understanding Time Tracking in Basecamp    133

Entering Time Associated with a To-Do List Item    135

Entering Time on the Time Page    137

Viewing Time Entries    139

Editing Time Entries    140

Deleting Time Entries    141

Creating a Time Report    141

Exporting Time Entries    143

Summary    145

11    Collaborating with Writeboards    147

Getting Started with Basecamp Writeboards    147

Creating a Writeboard    147

Editing a Writeboard    151

Formatting Writeboard Text    154

Making Writeboard Comments    158

Viewing and Comparing Writeboard Versions    159

Exporting a Writeboard    162

Deleting a Writeboard    163

Summary    163

12    Working with Chat Functionality    165

Understanding Basecamp’s Chat Functionality    165

Understanding Campfire Account Types    166

Signing Up for a Campfire Account    167

Configuring Basecamp to Work with Campfire    170

Participating in Group Chats    171

Providing Guest Access to Your Chat Room    179

Summary    180

13    Viewing Project Activity on the Dashboard    181

Viewing the Dashboard as a Project Owner or Administrator    181

Viewing the Dashboard as a Basecamp User    187

Summary    188

14    Working with RSS Feeds    189

Understanding RSS Feeds    189

Selecting a Feed Reader    190

Subscribing to Your Global RSS Feed    190

Subscribing to a Project’s RSS Feed    192

Viewing Your Feed    193

Summary    194

15    Managing Your Account    195

Understanding Account Management Options    195

Changing Your Basecamp URL    196

Changing Your Credit Card    197

Viewing Your Invoices    197

Upgrading Your Account    197

Downgrading Your Account    199

Paying in One Lump Sum    199

Changing the Account Owner    201

Canceling Your Account    202

Enabling the Basecamp API    203

Exporting Your Basecamp Data    203

Joining the Basecamp Affiliate Program    205

Summary    205

16    ntegrating Basecamp with Add-ons and Other

Applications    207

Integrating with Other    37signals Applications    207

Understanding Basecamp Add-ons    209

Choosing the Right Add-on Application    210

Integrating Basecamp with Invoicing, Billing, and Accounting Applications    211

Integrating with Reporting, Charting, and Planning Applications    213

Integrating with Time-Tracking Applications    215

Integrating with Other Third-Party Applications    217

Summary    219

17    Accessing Basecamp from Mobile Devices    221

Understanding Mobile Access Options    221

Accessing Basecamp from Your iPhone    222

Accessing Basecamp from Other Mobile Devices    225

Summary    226

Index    227