We updated Tasks Plus, acGarage Plus, Communications, Planning and Reports Plus modules in last two days.

You may download the latest versions from our My Account area, or automatically upgrade using acGarage Plus.

Here are the changelogs.

acGarage Plus 3.4.6

Enhancement:
+ Added "Direct" method for auto upgrade (no need of FTP/SFTP, but via PHP)

Known Issue:
+ When user switches from SFTP to Direct and then back to SFTP, there may be permission issues. Please ensure "owner" for "custom/modules", "custom/auth_providers", "work" and "work/backup_modules" folders is changed to SFTP user if doing so.

Communications 3.1.3

Enhancements:
+ Compatible with activecollab 3.3.10
+ Filter Communications based on user and time period
+ Activity logs on Communication created
+ Email notifications to participants on communication creation
+ Status bar badge updates when communication is replied to

Fix:
- "New Communication" button needs to be clicked twice
-  Strip HTML characters in communication reply
-  Communication was not showing updated details after editing

Tasks Plus 3.4.2

Enhancement:
+ Support ticket notifications are sent from mailbox name and email address now

Fixe:
- Completing a task while commenting properly changes the workflow label now

Planning 3.2.2

Enhancements:
+Add Estimted and Actual time in assignments list.

Reports Plus 3.5.3

Enhancements:
+ CSS changes to avoid style conflict with other modules.
+ Flash version removed.

Fixes:
- Filters were visible to the user regardless of the permissions.
- Time Reports Plus date filter was not showing today's date.
- Time records were not properly aligned while grouping.
- Canceled invoices were not updated in the finance report.
- Only assigned projects will be displayed as legends in people leader board.
- Projects were not accessible when tracking modules is not installed.

This is a compatibility update. Confidential Items now show up correctly in File Attachments, Recent Activity, Assignments and Time Reports. We also fixed an issue with file uploads.

Our customers have been asking for these features for a while. We were waiting to see if activeCollab 3.0 was coming soon. Because then we could update according to the new structure. But since activeCollab 3.0 is taking longer than anticipated, we thought of pushing an update that provides these often requested features.

And if you haven’t yet read the post about creating confidential global documents, you can read it here.

We recommend you upgrade and look forward to hear your feedback!

As usual, customers can download the latest release from our members area.

Enhancements in 1.3:

• Added run time filtering for client companies
• Export to CSV and Create Invoice work across the board now
• Export to HTML option added
• Adjust time records to % option added. This is very flexible.
• Summarize by Milestone, Ticket / Page / Checklist, Task
• Summarize by Category of Ticket / Page / Checklist
• Revamped core logic
• The module is localization enabled now

All customers can download the latest version from our member’s area.

The new version helps you plan your Basecamp projects even faster. Here are some highlights.

Smart Estimates

Smart Estimates

Finally you can add estimates for your milestones, todo lists and todo items. Estimates total up automatically, and show up in an easy to understand format. Some examples of estimate’s smartness:

• 2 becomes 2h
• 8 becomes 1d
• 5d becomes 1w
• 160h becomes 1m
• 170h becomes 1m 1d 2h
• Adding estimate for Todo updates estimate for Todo list and Milestone too
• Totaling up updates parent’s estimate only if parent’s current estimate is lower than sum of children
• And there is even an estimate slider in Card view and Batch Update
• You can configure estimate conversion calculations from your account settings

We don’t compare Estimates with Actual Time yet. That’s reserved for another release!

Start and Due Dates

Start & Due Dates

Basecamp added Due Dates to todo items a while ago (this was the most demanded feature from Basecamp!) PlannerX allows you to add due dates for Todo lists and Start dates for all items. We listened you and have added a date picker. At the same time, we have made it easier to enter dates with auto completion. Enter “6” in a date field in Outline view, and it will automatically convert it to “3/6/10″ (6th March, assuming you are using MM/DD/YY format – configurable from your account settings). We believe you will love it!

Intelligent Batch Update

So far, you could update the assignee name using Batch Update. You can now update estimates and dates as well. Here are some cases on how Batch Update can come in handy.

Batch Update

• You have done your initial estimation. But now need to pad them before submitting to management. Just select all items you want to update, click on Batch Update (or Ctrl + . on keyboard). Then Add 25% to Estimates. PlannerX will automatically do all the calculations.
• Someone left your team and you now need to reassign her tasks to a new hire. Select appropriate items and select the new hire’s name from the Assignee drop down Batch Update.
• Your project is delayed. It’s running about two weeks late and you need to update all start / due dates. This would be a nightmare, but with PlannerX, you can just select these items, go to Batch Update. And add 2 weeks to start and due dates. Save back and you are done!
• Completed a lot of items? Select them all and complete them in one go with Batch Update!

We expect Batch Update will save you a lot of time. It’s especially useful on dynamic (read delayed, troubled, messy – or just about any) projects.

Everything Saved back to your Basecamp

We store estimates, start dates and due dates (for Todo lists) with item names in Basecamp. This way you and all other people on your project can see them. You can edit estimates and dates in Basecamp too, and they will be imported to PlannerX. You could even use any other tool to update / manage this information. This is the best compromise between usefulness and readability. We hope you like it.

Gantt Charts that work

We know you love our Gantt charts. We have made them more reliable now. Many customers complained Gantt charts were not working. We have revamped the whole logic and they work much better now. You can even print big charts spanning multiple pages now! They are not editable (we are not sure if we want to add that complexity yet), but super useful even in the current state.

Same Efficiency, and even better

PlannerX is known for its efficiency. Especially how it allows you to manage your project plan quickly. We have retained all those bits and added some more. You can continue using keyboard to navigate and create new items. We have improved keyboard navigation and even added a “text import” feature that lets you type in a plan just as you would in Notepad. PlannerX will automatically convert it to Milestones, Todo lists and Todo items. We have also solved some annoyances (like “Remember Me” not always working) to make your experience more enjoyable.

Text Import

More coming soon

There are numerous enhancements and bug fixes in this release. But apart from that, it is a significant upgrade to our core. This release also brings PlannerX almost on par with our Planning Module for activeCollab.We will release few more upgrades over the next few weeks. Here are two items on our list:

• A bookmarklet that lets you open PlannerX right in your Basecamp project – so no need to come to PlannerX site
• Better printing support for Outline and Card views

We plan to continue improving PlannerX and look forward to your feedback.

Thank you!

Nirav Mehta for the Apps Magnet Team

Apps Magnet is launching 3 products today, and have a special 20% off on combo pack till midnight November 30th.

What are these new products?

Housekeeping Module – $19

Automate routine system maintenance and cleanup activities with Housekeeping module. Our housekeeping module was exclusive to acGarage subscribers, now it’s open to all! It can save you many hours of work and give you peace of mind. All for just $19!

acHack – Incremental Backup – $21

activeCollab’s Backup module takes full backup every day. Incremental Backup copies only those files that have changed to the backup. This significantly improves backup performance and drastically reduces disk space usage. This provides you the most optimal and secure data backup for activeCollab.

acHack – Copy Pages and Discussions with projects – $17

The process of creating new projects from templates in activeCollab does not copy over pages and discussions. Pages and Discussions are very important part of a project – we use pages to gather initial design brief / project requirements. We even want that our discussions are structured similarly across projects.  Not being able to import discussions and pages was a limitation.

This hack solves that problem. Creating a new project using a template project will now also copy pages and discussions from your template project to the newly created projects.

What’s the special deal?

These three products total up to $57. But we are giving a big 20% off if you buy them together. The offer is valid only till midnight November 30th, MST.

Get Housekeeping Module + Incremental Backup + Copying Pages & Discussions for only $45.60 – Offer Expired.

Plus you get full one year upgrades.

Not sure yet? Take your money back if you are not happy

We are confident of our work. We use these tools daily on our projects. And we know they create awesome value. So if you are not happy with the product, just let us know within 30 days and we will give you your money back.

Support us in bringing out great products

Building great products takes huge efforts. We spend long hours thinking, crafting and fine tuning our products. We took one extra week to tweak little things so that your experience with the products is great. When you buy Apps Magnet products, you are not only getting value for yourself, but also allow us to invest in improving these products and building better solutions.

Buy all three products together, and get 20% off now

The offer is only available from this page, and will end midnight 30th November 2009 MST.

Click here now to buy Housekeeping Module + Incremental Backup + Copy Pages and Discussions with Project for $57 $45.60 – Expired.

BTW, acGarage customers get all three products free. acGarage customers will also get all future acHacks for free. Learn more about acGarage and how it can save you many hours and thousands of dollars.

Another must-not miss opportunity

You may know that we are also working on the next version of Reports Module. The new version will be coming next week and the price will go up to $69 from the current $39. If you haven’t purchased the Reports Module yet, lock in the price and buy it now. You will get one year upgrades for free.

That’s all! Thank you

That’s all for now! We thank all our customers for their continued support. We will strive to make your activeCollab experience better and better!

acGarage is the first and only comprehensive upgrade, development and housekeeping service for activeCollab. It provides continuous improvement for your activeCollab setup, managed our team of experts.

You can now setup Housekeeping Preferences from your acGarage profile. Here’s a how it looks.

Housekeeping Preferences in acGarage Profile

Introduction Video Added, Documentation Updated

We also added an introduction video for acGarage. In this video, I narrate the story behind acGarage, how it works and what benefits you can get. Spoiler: you can save 100+ hours and $2000+ every year with acGarage!

We also added Frequently Asked Questions and reorganized support documentation.

If you have not yet signed up, I welcome you to review the introduction video, FAQs, and sign up. Come, join us!

acGarage: an annual service that takes care of all activeCollab upgrades – core, custom modules, themes and hacks! It’s like we are standardizing activeCollab customizations!

acGarage gives you:

• Latest stable / beta releases of activeCollab, set up on your server by our experts
• Verified upgrades to modules, themes and hacks we support
• Peace of mind! (imagine not worrying about latest versions or upgrades)
• And all enhancements we add to the service over the year!

acGarage takes away:

• No need to keep track of latest versions
• No need to download, unzip, upload, wait, wait, upgrade, activate
• No need to keep tracking changes between version to manage hacks (for hacks we support!)
• No need to keep tracking aC core, modules you have bought, themes you use and hacks you’ve added
• In short, acGarage takes away all the pain of upgrading and maintaining an activeCollab setup

Signup Now - only $199

It’s just $199 for as many upgrades as required, throughout the year. It’s a great bargain if you consider cost of your own time. As a matter of fact, we had one customer pre-order acGarage (even before we finalized on the name). He was so happy with the service that he rated it as “most excellent”!

Take worries and hassles out of upgrading activeCollab. Sign up for acGarage today. You’ve got much more to do in the time you’ll save!

Read more about acGarage here – including how it works and what modules / themes / hacks does it support.

We are also committed to making the product even better. We released a bug fix + feature enhancement update today. Here’s what’s changed from version 1.0.

Changes from v1.0 to v1.1.1

Enhancements:

• If there are unsaved changes, prompt user to save when she goes to another page
• Skip “Open” child elements with “Completed” parents when “Show Completed Items” is unchecked.
• Item positions are managed within items and not at project level

Bug Fixes:

• Tickets are always created with Private visibility
• Ticket not saving when navigating by clicking on another item in list
• Duplicate Ticket IDs created when switching type from Ticket to Page and back
• Crash if Pages or Checklists module was not active
• Show Completed option does not save state
• Focus lost after clicking on Type drop down in Outline view

Thanks to everyone who found, reported and helped us solve these issues.

A lot more is happening at AppsMagnet

We are working on a lot of things. Here is list of upcoming milestones:

• Reports Module – mockups of next version, feedback from customers
• Planning Module training videos and documentation
• (new) acHacks – Professionally supported hacks to AC, one every month, with “under-the-hood” explanations
• (new) Upgrade & Housekeeping Module – automatic AC / Extensions / Theme upgrades and automated cleanups
• (new) acJournal – weekly newsletter on new and noteworthy about activeCollab
• (new) Mylyn plugin for AC
• (new) Basecamp Importer for activeCollab

The latest version of Reports module is available!

Feature Additions:

1. Clicking on an item in Most Active / Longest Open list will open it in a new window.
2. Report module does not require views anymore!
3. Checks available RAM and takes only as many weeks’ snapshot as possible. (In short, number of weeks snapshot to take = memory available in MB / 4)
4. Wrapped Reports SWF output in a <div> tag. Makes it easier to apply CSS on it. Thanks to Leon Poole for the idea.

Fixes:

1. Fixed problem where Reports overlapped Quick Add popup. Thanks to Leon Poole for the fix.
2. Used localized version of “iteration” in charts.

And it’s still at $39! Save yourself time and energy managing projects. Go ahead and buy the Reports module for activeCollab!

This version adds many powerful features and works with latest stable activeCollab version. Here is what has changed.

• Reports module now works with AC 2.1. Also added installation checks.
• You can now see reports grouped by activeCollab project groups.
• Added support for updating reports daily. Default changed to daily updates.
• Reports now also include Pages – active (open) / archived (closed), and hours logged on them. They also show up in most active and longest open lists.
• If project names are too long, the project drop down used to be too wide. Fixed.
• Confirmed that the module works over SSL as well.
• Increased memory limit and execution time limit while installing. This will make it work for setups with many projects / tickets.

We are excited about this release and got great response within minutes of releasing it! Here’s a customer feedback:

Thank you. This is an amazingly powerful and useful tool and on top of making it compatible you added all the extra power features that were suggested! I’m ecstatic.

– WillemN from gfxi

If you are an existing customer, you get upgrades free for one year and would have already received it. If you are interested, you can buy Reports module from activeCollab from here, it’s only $69.

As always, we look forward to your ideas, suggestions and feedback!