The number of customers who are using ProWorkflow’s integration with Xero is increasing rapidly so we thought it would be useful to let you know that a single Xero account can link with multiple ProWorkflow accounts. Many of our customers use different ProWorkflow accounts for teams within your company so now you can do that but centralise all of your invoices and accounting in one place!
In the last few months we have rolled out several task updates in response to customer requests and we wanted to share them with you. These features can be a great time saver as well as helping you to organise tasks more efficiently.
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In-line Editing
It is now possible to edit tasks directly from the Project Details page, simply double click on any field, make any changes and click “Update!” and you’re done.
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Task Templates
Task templates have been in ProWorkflow for a long time but we’ve improved them even further. In the past you needed to assign staff to a Project in advance or they would not be included when you added a Task Template. We’ve changed that so ProWorkflow now asks if you would like to add staff to the Project if they are not already assigned to it.
This should be a great help to those of you who use Task Templates regularly.
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Task Ordering
ProWorkflow supports dependent tasks but for these to work correctly you had to remember to assign each task a unique order number. We’ve added an option that enforces Task Ordering throughout ProWorkflow so you can ensure your dependent tasks work correctly. This is found in the ‘Usability Settings’ area of the ADMINISTRATION section.
This will also be useful for customers who want to ensure each task has a unique order number to help you keep track of each task.
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Task Description – Rich Text/HTML Support
We have updated the task description field to support rich text and HTML, previously it was only possible to use plain text. This update means you now have the same flexibility for task descriptions as you do for projects. .
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This is an important update for any of our customers using the Firefox 3.5.x web browser. A bug was recently identified in Firefox that caused Firefox to drastically slow down when a page contained a large amount of JavaScript.
This applies to many pages throughout ProWorkflow and in some cases can give the impression that the browser has crashed.
This bug has been fixed in Firefox version 3.5.2 (and v3.0.13) so we ask that any affected customers use the “Check for Updates” feature found in the “Help” menu of Firefox to download the latest version. Any customers who have downloaded Firefox since the new release will not need to take any action.
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We are always looking for ways to improve the speed of ProWorkflow. We add enhancements in this area on a regular basis but improving performance on the server-side is only one part of the story.
For a typical web page, only around 20% of the time taken to “load” the page is spent downloading the actual content. The rest of the time is spent by the browser processing the content so it can display it correctly. With complex pages like those used within ProWorkflow, this processing time can be quite significant so we have the following advice:
1) If you are using Internet Explorer then consider trying Firefox or Google Chrome which both typically process web pages much faster.2) Always use the latest version of your browser as this will often improve speed as well as fixing bugs such as the Firefox JavaScript bug above.
We often get asked which internet browser is the fastest or which is the best for using the ProWorkflow solution. We asked one of the team to do a simple test. They took an account with a decent amount of information and clicked to load a number of pages in each browser. We timed the page load and this was the result.
Keep in mind that ProWorkflow is a very data intensive professional web based project management software application so isn’t comparable to ordinary website speeds.
These are the browsers we tested:
……Internet Explorer (7.0.6000.16890)
……Firefox (3.5.2)
……Chrome (2.0.172.39)
And here’s the results: (in seconds)
Looks like Chrome or Firefox are the winners! Time to get rid of the old Internet Explorer and download a faster browser!
……Firefox (3.5.2) – Download here!
……Chrome (2.0.172.39) – Download here!
The ProActive Software team are all very committed and loyal to the company and the products we build and love showing our support in any way possible.
It’s no wonder then that Chief Technology Officer, Alan Barlow, was recently seen departing the local surf shop with this beauty tucked under his arm.
According to Alan it was a “spur of the moment” purchase and he just couldn’t resist it for some orange reason!
I’m sure it was all part of Alan’s Brand Awareness campaign.
And for all you true surfer’s out there the dimensions are 6’5’’ x 23’’ x 2 ¾… And for all you geeks, it’s #FF6600.
As it’s part of the iPhone project we’re working on, the team needed to quickly finish off the ProWorkflow API. We’ve now added most of the common functions to the API, so developing for the ProWorkflow solution should be a breeze!
Contact us if you require further functionality in the API. Our top API geek, Vishal will be only too happy to please! Here’s the current list of calls and functions.
ProWorkflow API Functions List
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Authenticate GetUpcomingItems GetAllJobs GetAllTasks AddTask |
AddTimeRecord GetAllContacts GetAllContactTypes AddContact AddCompany |
Note: Contact us today if you are interested in developing third party tools to work with ProWorkflow via the API.
1. Xero Line Items
ProWorkflow is now able to send all line items in an invoice to Xero.
Previously PWF sent taxable and non tax totals but has now implemented sending all line items from the invoice through to Xero. The invoices now perfectly reflect in both PWF and Xero.
1. Copy Settings between Quotes and Invoicing
We have added the ability to copy the settings from Invoice to Quotes (or vice versa). If you have both plugins (Quotes, Invoicing) you’ll be aware they each have a separate setup section. Now users can simply copy the settings between the sections.
This is much quicker if updating payment details, display settings or default section headings!
