Today we’ve moved the new Contacts and Interface tools out of beta and into the main WORK[etc] release. I believe that most of our customers have already made the switch to using the beta link, so this shouldn’t be too much of a shock.
To recap on the main Contact changes please read the original post – not a lot has changed since then. Mostly we have been tightening up the interface and adding a few more time savers.
Here are some additional updates (and cool stuff) explained…
Sending Email from within WORK[etc]
Depending on your work style, you can either send email to your contacts through your desktop email application or through WORK[etc] itself. Sending email through WORK[etc] will also store that email against your contact’s activity history.
Throughout this latest release, we’ve updated a lot of screens to now float above the screen you are currently on. Previously, WORK[etc] would take you to a new page to complete an action. Now it will simply load that next page into a floating window. No longer having to navigate to another page will mean a big time saving in using WORK[etc] and also improve usability.
Contacts Directory
The contacts directory has undergone a massive overhaul.
Contact Details:
The contact details pages for employees, companies and people have all been redesigned to show more meaningful information without having to scroll or open a new page. Additionally, most fields are now instantly editable by simply clicking on the field and then clicking the green pencil to edit.
Adding a new person, employee or company.
We now have a new floating window that lets you quickly add a new contact with only basic details, with the option of adding more detailed contact information at a later stage.
Bookmarks & Expand / Collapse Side Panel
The side panel help menu now lets you expand and collapse – providing you with more screen space to work. Simply click the grey column to expand or collapse.
Also – the side panel includes a new tool, “bookmarks”, which lets you store frequently visited page on WORK[etc]. Use it to mark regularly used contacts, important projects or big sales opportunities.
Other Changes…
There are also a whole lot of other small changes and tweaks going live – too numerous to mention each one. But, the overall effect should be a WORK[etc] is that easier and faster to use… we need to be making your business, easier for you to run.
**Also, thanks to Donny, Mike, Sam, Mark and many other customers who gave a lot of valuable feedback that ultimately helped us deliver a better product.
Projects…
We’re back working full time on the new project tool. It is requiring some major reworking of the code and it is going to be a few more weeks before it is ready for a wider beta release.
The major challenge has definitely being combining a Gannt Chart/Timeline with workflow.
From my research, online project management software either takes the form of, what we’re calling internally, a “dumping ground” (think Basecamp) or a visual diagram (think MS Project).
But what we’re working on is a hybrid of the two, with the ability to effortlessly switch to the style that best matches your individual work style. A visual representation of a project, but then actually use that chart to interact and progress the project.
So – apologies for the delay on this, I know so many people are holding out for this … I’ll update the blog with some more screen shots shortly.
