We did it! The ProWorkflow native iPhone app is now live and available in the iPhone App Store! Go grab it people!!
Download Now!
The ProWorkflow team and the dev team at Curious Mediaworked hard over the past few months to get this app built. The ProWorkflow solution is a comprehensive app and we wanted the iPhone app to be just as powerful so took the time to do it right (and native)!
The free iPhone app will add some awesome value to your business and extend ProWorkflow’s use past the desktop to anywhere people are connected! This is a first release so feedback is welcome!
We decided to make this app free so it’s easy to download for all ProWorkflow users and their staff. Let us know if you would prefer we charged for it 
Just head to the AppStore today on your desktop or iPhone and get yourself a copy! Couldn’t be easier!
An iPhone App section has been added to our Help Center to help users get up and running with the iPhone app.
Tell your workmates, friends, colleagues, business contacts, clients, contractors and anyone you can think of! The more staff you get on this app the smoother your business will run, so head to the shops and buy some iPhones if you haven’t already!
Want some screenshots?
Check out this post for some screenshots of the iPhone app.
Enjoy the iPhone app and get in touch if you have any questions!
Download Now!
We’ve had the team working extra hard the past few weeks to put out a great Christmas ProWorkflow update for our customers!
This is the start of a number of speed and usability related updates we’ll be rolling out over the coming months that will really improve the way ProWorkflow works on a daily basis. Here’s what we’ve rolled into this update…
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Application changes!
Rebuilt Project Details Page
We’ve rebuilt the ‘Project Details’ page from the ground up! At first glance you may not notice a lot of difference as the changes are subtle but it transforms the speed and usability of the page. Here’s what we did:
1. Rebuild all the ‘Modules’ on the page.
These have been recoded to load quicker, expand and collapse, have tidier options and be movable through the new ‘Tools’ option.
2. Added a tools option to enable, disable and reposition functionality as needed on the page.
3. Moved the ‘Favourite’ icon.
4. Rebuilt the ‘Project Contacts’
Note: I’ll expand on these changes further down the post.
New ‘Tools’ section!
The big new feature in this update is the new ‘Tools’ tab on a project. This gives the Project Manager a lot more flexibility when laying out a project. For example if you use ‘Messages’ a lot you can have it moved to the top of the page. Another example is you could have the ‘Tasks’ section default to closed if there are a large number to display. In the tools you can:
- Move sections on the page so the most useful is near the top.
- Set the default to open or closed for a section.
- Set the default sort order for Files and Messages. Very helpful for those whose clients have had difficulty finding files!
Removed the need for the ‘Edit Project’ popup & link!
You no longer need to use the ‘Edit Project’ popup and link at all! The project information can all be edited directly on the page! We’ll be removing the ‘Edit Project’ popup and link completely in the next update – awesome!
Improved the ‘New Project’ popup!
Adding a new contact while adding a new project used to be a difficult mix of popup windows. Not now! Just click ‘Add Client’ and some slide down fields appear. You can add a new Client, Company or Client in a Company!
If you need some additional contact information fields, simply click the ‘Add More Details’ link. Easy!! This has removed two more popups!
‘Project Settings’ page rebuilt!
The ‘ADMINISTRATION > Project Settings’ page has been updated so you can set defaults for when adding new projects. We’ve also added the new ‘Tools’ options to the right.
New ‘Add/Remove Project Contacts’ feature!
You can now ‘Add and Remove’ Project Contacts on the page! Awesome! In the past you would need to click ‘Edit Project’, scroll down the the ‘Staff Assigned’ multiselect and add or remove staff there – very clunky! The new system is a heap easier and makes adding and removing contacts to a project a breeze! And one less popup window!
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Moved ‘Add to Favourite’ icon
Location of ‘Favourite’ feature has moved to beside the project title.
Many users overlook this feature but it is useful. Click the icon the ‘Add project to Favourites’. The project will now appear on the left menu in the ‘Favourites’ section of the navigation. Very handy if you have a project you’re working on continuously or frequently. This saves you looking around for it.
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Moved ‘Client View’ option
Previously, to allow a Client to view projects, you would click ‘Edit Project’ and select ‘Client View. This option has been added to the Project Details box on the Project Details page so you can simply click it to enable the option.
The default for this option can be set on the ‘ADMIN > Project Settings’ page.
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Support Resources!
HELP Center live – http://help.proworkflow.com
We have put together (Mostly Richard) a new Help Center to replace the outdated Knowledgebase. The new Help Center is being updated regularly, it’s more dynamic, has videos and is easily searchable. Check it out!
API Center live – http://api.proworkflow.com
We created a new site for all resources related to the ProWorkflow API. Feel welcome to take a look and contact us if you want an API key for your ProWorkflow account. We have a good number of ProWorkflow users writing their own custom reports and integrations and loving it!
iPhone Update!
The ProWorkflow iPhone application has been completed and submitted to Apple for approval.
It’s just a waiting game now, but will be worth the wait! In the meantime, check out the screenshots!
This is round one! When we get more customer feedback we’ll look into a second release!
And that’s not all… !!
We have another cool update coming around mid Jan 2010 and we’re also keeping a fairly major change and new feature up our sleeves for a big update in late Jan or early Feb that everybody will love!
Keep an eye on the blog! Merry Christmas everyone!!
ProWorkflow lets you export reports, projects, contacts and much more to PDF files. This is a really useful feature but we’ve had quite a few customers run into problems when using Firefox for Mac.
The problem comes about because of how Firefox handles the PDF files. There are quite a few ways to fix this but we’ve found that the best solution is to install this plug-in which enables native PDF support for Firefox for Mac.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7518
Further details are also available at http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Opening+PDF+files+within+Firefox
Wow, we’re almost there!! In the final few days of testing and polishing of the iPhone app and the excitement is building around the office. I know all our awesome, patient ProWorkers (and you impatient ones too) have been hanging out for this so we’re all burning the midnight oil to produce this awesome new tool!
So here we go! Here’s the login screen:
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We’ve kept it clean for the ‘Time Tracked’ report. You may notice the ‘Change’ button next to the user. This allows you to ‘Show Info For’ any other user (if you have the correct permissions).
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Note: The ‘Time’ screen also has pull-down filters (see below). This is a great way to get a basic time report of your time or other staff’s time.
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Here’s a crowd favorite, the ‘Upcoming Items’ view. Tasks can be marked as complete with the tickbox, or you can tick the triangles to start tracking time. Orange background indicates any tasks or projects due on the ‘Current day’
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And the old faithful, the ‘Project Details’ page. You can scroll down to see the tasks on a project. Click the arrow to see the full project description. Tasks can be easily added to the project if needed and assigned to staff.
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Here’s the super slick Contacts section. There is a built in search and the screen can be listed by Contacts or Companies. Click through to view details.
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Below shows the slide down contact options:
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And finally, we added a ‘Settings’ section in the same place as the native iPhone app settings so you can set your default preferences.
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Here’s the settings:
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And some more…
Feel free to send care parcels, our development partners are hardly leaving their desks!!
We’ve rebuilt the ‘Project Details’ page and made it a heap faster! We’ve improved usability and added some cool tools! The main thing, which you won’t see, is that the page has been rebuilt in divs so the page load speed should be less of an issue – we know a lot of our users are undertaking some very intensive projects!
We’re getting this page to the point where everything is directly editable, so we can eliminate the ‘Edit Project Details’ popup! Awesome!
This update will be rolled out very soon so be patient, but it should make the experience much better! Here’s a few teasers…
Project Contacts
You’ll see that ‘Project Contacts’ can now be added or removed right on the page. Clicking the ‘Edit’ link on the right of the Contacts box now slides down further options.
Staff, Clients and Contractors can be easily added to the project. This will save a heap of time.
New ‘Project Tools’ Tab
This new tab which is only seen by SuperUsers and Project Managers is the new place to add or remove tools and functionality on the Project Details page. You can also change the order of the tools on the page!
(these will be the defaults per project)
You are able to select whether the different elements show in the default project view as well as whether they’re expanded or contracted.
Client Login
The ‘Client View’ can now be activated from the ‘Project Details’ box.
We’ve had really helpful feedback from our users as to what needs are for this page and I’m really looking forward to seeing these changes out live!!!
They’re coming in the next rollout due soon!
We recently rebuilt the File Manager functionality in ProWorkflow. The new release of this adds some great flexibility and speed. In the rebuild you can now do the following:
1. File Folders
Add files to the project folder, a particular task or a custom directory. You can also drag and drop files between folders.
2. Folder Permissions
A custom folder allows permissions to be set so you can limit access to individual users.
3. Download Files
You can download the files rather than just viewing them.
4. Versioning
Adding a new iteration of same file name now appends with a ‘1.2.3..’ as appropriate. This is very handy for revisions of files.
5. File Sorting
You are able to sort by Project and Tasks, Date Order, File Name or Size. The next release will enable the sort order to be set by default (thanks to customer feedback).
The ProWorkflow development team are always looking for ways to improve our customers’ experience and we often use new features in other technologies to increase speed and usability. Every now and then, that means we have a customer or two who runs into an issue due to running old software. Our recent Files update used Adobe Flash to allow multiple uploads and a few customers running older versions of Flash or who hadn’t updated OSX recently ran into a problem!
So we thought it would be really useful to add some details on how to keep all of your relevant software up to date!
Operating Systems:
Windows :
Visit http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=3646727 using Internet Explorer to get instructions specific to your version of Windows
Mac:
- From the Apple menu, choose Software Update.
- Software Update checks for available updates. In the Software Update window, select the items you want to install, then click Install. Usually, you should install all available updates. (Mac OS X v10.3 only: Click the Check Now button.)
- Enter an administrator account name and password.
- After installation is complete, restart the computer if required.
Internet Browsers
Internet Explorer:
Running Windows Update (as detailed above) should offer you the option to update Internet Explorer if updates are available.
Latest version: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/Internet-explorer/default.aspx
Handy hint: We recommend using an alternative browser if possible due to Internet Explorer being very slow at processing javascript. This can result in pages in ProWorkflow taking up to 5 times longer to load than other supported browsers.
Firefox:
Firefox usually checks for updates automatically but to check this manually – click “Check for Updates” from the Help Menu.
Firefox will guide you through the update process if an update is available.
Latest version: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/firefox.html
Chrome:
To check for updates, click the “About Google Chrome” link from the Tools menu (the spanner icon).
Chrome will check for updates and provide a link to update if available.
Latest version: http://www.google.com/chrome
Safari:
Running the OSX Software Update check will offer options to update Safari if updates are available.
Latest version: http://www.apple.com/safari/
Adobe Software
Flash Player:
Visit http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/155/tn_15507.html to check your current version and compare it with the latest version listed.
Latest version: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
PDF Reader:
To check for updates click “Check for Updates” in the Help menu.
Latest version: http://get.adobe.com/reader/
The team have been quiet the past few weeks. They’ve actually been hard at work doing a huge rewrite/rebuild of the ‘Project Details’ page. We’ve simplified it, rewritten the code, made it load much faster and it’s now more intuitive! In line with our mission to remove pop-ups, we’ve now made it possible to edit ALL project info direct on the page. The ‘Edit Project’ popup is now redundant and will soon be removed!
In addition, there’s a really interesting part two to this rebuild which will be revealed soon
This update is being rolled onto a few beta tester accounts tomorrow, but it should be rolled out live very soon! (this or next week if all is well). The changes are subtle, but powerful!
If interested, contact us and Lara will send you a sneak preview email explaining what’s changing.
