Backpack helps researcher working in imaging of ancient texts

Ryan Baumann is a research associate at the University of Kentucky working in imaging of ancient texts. Below he details how he uses Backpack to organize his work.

I'm often trying to keep track of multiple projects at once, so I use Backpack for the usual organization of notes, ideas, and todos. Since it's completely web-based I don't have to worry about data synchronization issues or being unable to use it if I'm not at one of my regular machines. The design stays out of the way, letting me jot down a short idea or use lightweight Textile markup if I want some special formatting.

But where Backpack really shines is in its ability to share data. It lets me pull together notes, images, and lists to quickly share results with colleagues in a clean, professional layout. Since I work in imaging and visualization, galleries let me easily share images of all sizes with a small preview and some optional descriptive text, on the same page with any other information I want to get across. It's only a short step up from there to have a page other people can readily collaborate on.

Top magic site thrives due to Highrise and Getting Real

Jonathan Bayme is CEO of theory11, the most active underground magic training destination on the web. He writes in to tell us how his team depends on Highrise:

Just a quick note to say that we wouldn't be where we are today without the systems you guys have created. Our site - theory11 - is the most active underground magic training destination.

We teach instructional magic tricks and bring people from all sides of the magic industry (stone cold beginner to hobbyist to professional) together to learn and advance the artform. We launched one week short of one year ago today with a team of eleven (hence the name) of the best minds in the magic industry, from Chris Kenner (executive producer, David Copperfield) to Wayne Houchin (creative consultant to Criss Angel) to Dan White (lead creative consultant to David Blaine).

We create all of our products - downloadable videos and DVD's - entirely in house using Final Cut Studio, After Effects, Motion, and every Adobe product under the sun. But the real crux of our system is Highrise. We use it in managing projects, production, post-production, and marketing. We use it to stay organized. We use it to manage our authorized retailer clients around the world. And we couldn't breathe as well or sleep as well without it. So in summary, I really just wanted to say that I appreciate everything you guys are doing. Rock on.

All about tags in Backpack

A tag is a simple label or keyword you can use to categorize your Backpack pages any way you want. Then when you click a tag you can see all the other pages that have that tag. It’s a great way to keep your pages loosely grouped in ways that make sense to you.

For example, if you have a page called “Sales meetings” you might want to tag that page “business, meeting, sales, office” or whatever you feel best describes this page. Here's a walkthrough on how to add and use tags in Backpack:

To add a tag, click the "Tags" link at the top of the page you want to tag.

Then add your tags and click the "Add these tags" button. Separate each tag with a space and use quotes for tags with more than one word ("new business").

Once you've tagged a page (you can add as many tags as you want to a page), you'll see the tags at the top of the page.

Clicking a tag will show all the other pages with that tag. Or, you can click the "My Pages" link in your sidebar. On that page you'll see a list of all the tags you've created.

Click a tag and you'll see the list of pages that match that tag.

[Case Study] Scottish wood floor company runs its business using Backpack

Richard McKay, Director of McKay Hardwood Flooring in Glasgow, Scotland, writes in to tell us how his company uses Backpack.

Our company, McKay Hardwood Flooring, a family run Scottish wood floor company, has recently introduced Backpack and is currently planning the future running of our business using Backpack and the other 37signals tools.

Our first task was to store documents that we use on to our 'Important Documents' page. Traditionally these documents were stored on our company server but it was sometimes problematic accessing these via a VPN if we were working from home or abroad. Accessing them on the cloud via Backpack has simplified this task and we are now working faster and with less hassle.

Secondly we are working on a list of company procedures using the 'Notes' feature within the Backpack page.

Another use we have found for Backpack is the online storage of supplier's pricelists (these sometimes get lost within our office. We have also uploaded all the indoor sports court marking layouts (basketball/volleyball etc) and our onsite operatives can acces these at any time no matter where they are working in the UK.

Other uses for Backpack that we've identified are:

A page with monthly snapshots of our web 'analytics' results. Minutes of meetings. All our company brochures and print ads.

A page for each employee listing holidays, absence, etc. A page for each of our smaller contracts - to include our quote, client's order, photos.

After we've got Backpack completely up and running we will switch our attention to using Highrise for our CRM.

We like using 37signals software as it's simple to use and doesn't scare off staff (they've actually embraced it as they realise it's saving them time). Also, it's quick and easy to access.

I am also working on a new start-up, Zungalow.com. We are using Backpack to organise tasks, ideas, etc.

McKay installed the flooring throughout the National Galleries of Scotland.

The company also supplied and installed the wood flooring at the Maggie's Centre, Dundee (a Frank Gehry design).

How 37signals uses Campfire

Campfire is where our team — local and remote — gathers everyday. We use it to chat, show each other screenshots, get feedback, upload files, collaborate on copy, share code, get alerts when sites are modified, search previous conversations, and much more.

It does so many disparate things that it's sometimes tough for us to explain its power. People get it but they don't always really get it. The screenshots and video tour at the Campfire site are a good start. But there's so much more.

A few months back, we posted a series of entries at Signal vs. Noise about 37signals' usage of Campfire to show 1) how we work and 2) all the little things that we get done in Campfire every day. All screenshots from the series are from real usage and were taken during a single week. It will give you lots of ideas on how you can use the group chat tool and you'll see why we couldn't live without it.

Behind the Scenes at 37signals posts:
Design
Coding
Sysadmin and development
Copywriting
Support
Miscellaneous
Postscript

And here's a sample of what you'll find in these posts:

Ryan commits a change. Then he uploads a revised screen and explains what’s different.

Embedding a tutorial video into a Basecamp project

Andrew Angus of Switch Marketing and Communications read yesterday's post "How Blutique uses Litmus and Basecamp to deliver page and test results to clients" and writes in about embedding videos in a project:

Just read the iframe idea for embedding litmus reports... I used the same idea to embed our Camtasia videos into our Tutorials project... solves a huge issue for me since before I could only add a link to the video ... I have attached a image of how it looks. It was a great help.

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

How Blutique uses Litmus and Basecamp to deliver page and test results to clients

Silas Peterson of Blutique®, an interactive consultancy located in New Orleans, Louisiana, writes in to tell us about how his team uses LitmusApp inside of Basecamp to deliver page and email platform test results to their clients.

To ensure cross-platform, cross/email-client compatibility, we generate a test in LitmusApp that includes a variety of common email clients. We then use the 'Publish' function to make the results viewable to clients and embed that URL inside a Basecamp message thread. Below is a simple break down of the process.

To begin, we generate the LitmusApp test and publish the results.

Once the test is published we can use that resource in Basecamp. We create a message in the project and place an iframe within the message with the iframe source set to the published LitmusApp test URL.

Now we can deliver the final assets as well as a comprehensive platform test to the client all within a single interface.

For more information about Blutique, visit www.blutique.com.

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

Less Accounting, more Basecamp and Highrise

Steven Bristol of Less Accounting on how the tool integrates with Basecamp and Highrise:

Accounting sucks. Less Everything makes it suck less. Our flagship product, LessAccounting.com was built with ease-of-use at the core of the accounting software, which caters to small businesses and freelancers. The app just got even better by integrating with Basecamp and Highrise to make importing contacts ridiculously simple.

From the dashboard, you can select import from Basecamp or Highrise, quickly enter your account details and then with one click sync all of your contacts. If you'd would rather pick and choose from a list, that option is there as well. Now, go grab something to drink as flying monkeys bring your contacts from 37signals to Less Accounting. Don't fret, they'll send you a friendly email letting you know when they're finished; they're smart little monkeys.

It's annoying having to add contacts to every piece of software. If we can simplify the process for our users by importing contact information for them, then it's our obligation to do so.

Try Less Accounting.

"Backpack has changed my life"

Ryan Hinricher an entrepreneur, realtor, and VP of Marketing for IT Niche, a custom web development firm, writes about finding solace in 37signals tools and Backpack in particular.

Backpack has changed my life. Backpack is essentially online storage, but becomes more than that. A personal intranet, a business intranet, and so much more. Backpack allows you to create pages within an account for projects or even something you are just trying to keep track of. I'm using it for both my online real estate investment company, The Feol-Hinricher Companies and my web development company, IT Niche. I'm able to use this extremely affordable system to manage small projects, allow people to collaborate, image files, create lists, assign tasks, edit and share calendars and more...I think this is an excellent solution for small companies and start ups.

I've been able to lose a lot of paper by imaging; contracts, leases, proposals, and any important document you can image. I created a page for a research project, a page for a family trip, and a page for every web development project my web development company is working on. It is super easy to use (plenty of demos), and is accessible from anywhere...Check it out. This increased my company efficiencies BIGTIME.

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

[Case Study] Marketing firm BKWLD loves Basecamp because it's "intuitive, easy to use, and easy on the eyes"

BKWLD, a marketing firm that creates online games, surveys, videos, and interactive for a wide range of clients. BKWLD team member Ben Borowski wrote in to tell us how the firm uses Basecamp.

How do you use Basecamp and why do you like it?
BKWLD is a company of ~20 employees, split between two cities; Seattle and Sacramento. Our design team is in Sacramento and development team is in Seattle, so coordination is crucial. We do a lot of IMs and emails to communicate, but our primary source of organization is Basecamp. Project Managers field requests from clients, massage them to be more user friendly and add them as messages to our projects. Then via email or online, one of our development leads can estimate hours, indicate whether a request is in scope, etc. At that point, tasks are created based on the approved actionable items.

We usually create lists grouped around our "releases" milestones ... internal launch, alpha, beta, live. We keep track of FTP logins, version control, CDN (basic account data) with messages as well. I personally have found writeboards excellent for spec'ing out phased development of projects. Meaning as the client requests new features, a manager will just paste them in the writeboard and a development lead can provide estimates and remove requests as they are deemed "trashed" ... we then use the writeboard as a starting point for a new proposal. All told, we are usually managing around 20-30 projects with Basecamp.

BKWLD's Dashboard.

Our dev team also uses basecamp for sharing documents such as requirements specifications and ERD schemas, keeping versions so we can track progress. We often share code and links through messages as well. I typically subscribe to the milestones calendar as well and use that in tandem with a google calendar to make sure my work is on track. Also, having all the server access and SVN info for any given project pretty much guarantees that we can fix anything from anywhere.

I love Basecamp because it's intuitive, easy to use, and easy on the eyes. Sounds simple, but that's what makes it so powerful. We use it instead of other systems because it's not developer-centric. We can use it to track development and bugs and what-not, but it's very easy for managers and clients to use. I've found that clients absolutely love writeboards as well. The ajax-based controls are lovely, making repetitious tasks much more pleasing (I referenced The Knot wedding site in my email...I had a very difficult time not having my "checked" items clear as I completed them. You had to scroll all the way to the bottom and click "update" ..ugh).