The Note window has been made larger in our code update that is scheduled for release late this week / early next.  Stay tuned.

Thanks. Do we have any control over how big?

With this release it’s been made larger, no change in functionality / user control over size.

Please make this change everywhere. I just noticed that the call note form is even smaller.

Notes, Task Description and Call details edit areas have all been made larger.  You will see the changes when you relogin.

Great work, sure that will be an improvement.

But can I ask about the Description window? How do you plan to make that larger? Currently we are looking at attaching the project brief as a file as the description is just nowhere near big enough… how about moving the tags to a single row, then adding the description in crossing both columns? Maybe too big then for some users?

Need some feedback from other users as to how much material they put in the description box.

BrianJAnderson - Apr 22, 2009 05:52pm

Great work, sure that will be an improvement.

But can I ask about the Description window? How do you plan to make that larger? Currently we are looking at attaching the project brief as a file as the description is just nowhere near big enough… how about moving the tags to a single row, then adding the description in crossing both columns? Maybe too big then for some users?

Need some feedback from other users as to how much material they put in the description box.

Hey Brian,
  I use tasks a little differently than you but maybe this might help.
  A task list to me is a mini-project like “create proposal”
  under this task list is a series of one step things i need to do in order to create the project:
    draft cover letter,
    create budget items
    format copy and create pdf
  send proposal to bob

For larger documents like project briefs, I either throw them into notes or use a google doc link (this is especially good for copy that i’m collaborating on with someone else.

  i use description as a sort of outline for each of those tasks so for “draft cover letter”
  - who is this for
  - include mentions of last weeks trade show
  - talk about the possibility of a partner ship

short and sweet, just enough to get me started thinking about how to draft the copy

hope this helps!
adrian

I think a re-sizable text box with richer text editing would do the trick for now. Best not to show the entire project brief/scope document as text on the Project Blog details, would then be a long scroll to activities. Unless you had the option of show/hide the description box?

Interesting conversation… I had not really used the notes before you mentioned this, and this links with a couple of thoughts I have had.

1st regards: Notes and Blog descriptions:
Having the ability to include hyperlinks into the notes and description would be really great. I could then surmise a lot in a small space.

2nd regards: Google doc as an activity
For me it would be fantastic to have an *active* activity feature associated with Google Docs. (like you have for opportunities)
This would enable a team to monitor working documents hosted on Google Docs.

Fields included in activity could be:
Author(s):
Approved/Read by:
Creation Date:
Approval Date:
Date for collaborative review:
Date to designer:

This could also help:
Track marketing copy requiring writing, editing, and approval
Sales data on Google spreadsheet
Presentations

Any thoughts?

Hey Floydie

Regards point 1 - agree, and would expect that the rich formatting options would only be increasing. Engineers will confirm

point 2 - I think these specific fields associated with a Google Doc are probably a bit too specific to whatever you use the tool for… it seems to me that the fine line the Norada team have to walk is between over and under featuring. In this case I think many people would not be using approvals, designers and collab reviews for their google docs, and the last thing we want is redundant fields.

The best solution therefore is multiple custom field type options which we can apply to activities as well as Contacts and Blogs. I have asked this question about multiple field types and it is on the roadmap… but have not yet asked about implementing custom fields into the activities themselves. Engineers…?

Hi Brian, thanks for your feedback. Your idea of a custom field (do you mean custom activity with custom fields?) could be a nice solution, although I am not totally sure how this would work in practice.

I understand you comments about loading bespoke content management fields into a CRM / Project Management solution. However, at present the Google Doc activity itself is a website link with a different icon, and provides no means to manage that activity – at present – outside of adding comments. I am using Google docs to manage discussion during conference calls, and it would be great to track progress through the blog. We also have to submit by certain dates proposals, and budgets to funders - the success of these applications often define our “opportunities”.

Another possible solution maybe to allow Google docs to added to a task, thus connecting the document to the timeline?

A longer term, exciting solution, could be to have an additional window for documents, rather like the contacts window. Then Web 2.0 documents (not just Google but also Adobe.com, image libaries) could be tracked, and assigned to one or more blogs.

Regards point 2: I understand there are some bigger fish to fry for the engineers, but it is good to chew on ideas. (:O))

Agree, will be interesting to see if they are working on any document management solution inside, or whether they will leave it to 3rd party developers to build apps to link Solve through the API… we have just strted using Knowedge Tree and it is a consideration to hook them up via the API somehow… though would prefer document management inside Solve

Hi Brian… You make some good points.

Is it possible to use Knowledge Tree for managing Google Docs, or do the document files sit on your web server?

KT is a doc repository which sits on your server. I wouldn’t know about integrating it with Google Docs, but that too is a fine idea! Although I cannot find any reference to Google Docs integration on the KT forums.