Greetings James,

The delivery and indexing of new messages to the contact/blog takes only a few seconds.  Currently you will need to reopen the contact to see any new messages listed (we are working on a refresh method).

You did have everything setup perfectly, however I needed to make a small configuration to your account on this end (beta stuff).

You should be rolling now.  Please let us know how you make out!

Good Morning,

Yes you are right the emails did come through and are associated to the correct contact with attachments.  This is great!

This leads to my next question:

Now that I have the email and attachment within Solve360, how do I move or copy that file to other contacts and/or blogs within Solve360? 

Where is the main file repository where we can store these files so that they can be moved around and attached to multiple contacts or blogs?

Thanks,

James

This question is a great example the power of our indexing methods <g>.  Your messages are already in the dropbox and now you want to link them to new items.  All you need to do is add add “hints” to the new items.

To add hints just enter data in the fields that establish the link to the messages e.g. for a contact enter the [First and last name] and/or [Business Email] and/or [Personal Email] then reload the contact.  Just make sure that the contact/blog is shared with the same group as the dropbox address.

How do I access the ‘data fields’of the message?

Is there a way to see the contents of the dropbox?

Most of the time I will just want to move only the attached file itself to other contacts/blogs not the whole email message.

I think it would be helpful to have the option in the “+Add an Activity” menu called “Files” like you have but also give the option to pull files from the dropbox or main storage area.

Right now the “Files” option only lets you select files from local drives which will not be that useful when I’m on the road.

It would be helpful to be able to browse the list of stored files from within a blog or contact and then attach them to that record. Is there a way to do this?

Click the “Show Form” link to edit the contact/blog field data.

The only view into the dropbox is through its indexed search.  If you needed to see all of the messages I guess you could enter the dropbox email address in a contact (to link to all the messages).

I think basically you want a way to pull out attachments and show them as separate files (unrelated to email).  This requires some magic that might be possible in future releases.

Yes it is something we are used to.  Both the other virtual office programs we are using have an option to save the file attachment on a local drive or keep it stored within the virtual office file system where it could be used in multiple places after that.

This way I am able to keep all my important files that I send to clients in the online document storage area.  Making it easy to send files to anyone from anywhere without having to access the office computer.  We do a lot of traveling and have found a master file repository invaluable.

For example if I’m on the road and need to send a price list and product shots to 5 clients how would I do this currently with Solve360?

If you are working with only a few files (like your price list example), another option is to save a draft email message containing the attachments and templated text.  Then you can simply open the draft and send it off when needed.

Sending email / attaching files etc will be part of the full webmail client when it is implemented in a few months.

Hello, I have been working as you suggested using a fake contact called ‘dropbox’ so that I can see all my files in one place.  The main problem is that the original email is still attached to the file when all I need is just need the file by itself, so it can be attached to the correct contact or project or kept it in a neutral place so different people can work on it.

Having to add new keywords and then forward the email with the attached file each time I need it somewhere new is a bit cumbersome. 

1) Is there a way to separate the file from the email in Solve360?

2) How do I delete a file from the drop box?

I still feel a simple document management system would be most valuable. We have been running a 100% virtual office for quite a while now so I need a way to continue to store, organise and access our files from anywhere in the world. We don’t have any files stored locally.  Files are accessed and worked on then put back.  This method has been working well and it is secure and convenient.

Are you able to suggest a third party App that might work well with Solve360 since it has been mentioned that you might not add this functionality? Am I the only one asking for a virtual file system?  Would Solve360 (old) cater to some of these needs I see it has full document management? Does Solve360 (old) have a way of ‘signing out’ or locking a file so that only one version stays current in case many people are working on it?

Thanks,

James

Sorry, I only intended to answer your specific question about how to view everything in the dropbox, I would not use the dropbox as a way of managing files.  It is intended to record correspondence.  But the only keyword you need to enter is the email address of the dropbox; that will cause the contact to link every single message.

I agree if you need to move files around frequently then you need a general file manager / repository.  That’s not the intention of the pages as you see them now.

Ironically Solve360 (old) does have this functionality; we have not heard much demand for this with Solve360 (yet).  We’re listening…  A lot of these scenarios are related to mail, which we’ll be getting to in about six weeks.

You will be able to delete messages from the dropbox after our code update next week

James - Aug 07, 2008 01:13pm

... How do I delete a file from the drop box?

Delete and undelete email messages from the dropbox is now available.

Hi,

I’m having a problem with the linked e-mail feature, I’ve BCC my sent e-mails to Solve360, and waited a few minutes to refresh the page to see whether or not there is an e-mail linked to the contact, however it doesn’t appear on the designated contact page.  I did not have this problem yesterday/this morning, so please let me know what can I do when this problem arises.

Thanks.

Hi Elizabeth can you email us support@ with the email address you are logging in with and the name of the contact you are working on and we’d be happy to look at it for you.

Hello,

I’m still finding it a challenge moving files around in Solve360.  I keep wishing there was a place within Solve360 I could go and ‘browse’ all the internal files I have in the system without them being attached to an email. 

Please tell me how you would handle this scenario:

Say I’m off-site using a clients computer.  I’ve just created a new blog and I want to attach a series of photos to it.  The only place I see that I could keep the photos online (for now;) is in an email in the catch all ‘drop box’ Contact I created.  How do I put those pictures in the blog? I know you promote linking to another place where the photos might be stored on the net but I don’t see why I should have to set up a third party web app to host the photos just to link to them. Wouldn’t make sense for the “Photo List” or “Add File” activities in the new blog to also have the option to see the all the internal Solve360 files too, instead of just opening a local drive browse option?

Thanks,

James

Engineering has indicated that a File System is not in great demand for Solve360 new, yet it is within Solve360 old.  My two cents:  I would like to see this File System as a part of Solve360 new.  It is critical for me, as well!

We’re still listening ;)

@James I presume the reason you want to attach the set of photos is you are kicking off some new work etc with a client?  Otherwise the photos could have been saved on a blog to start with.  In this example we would use the “template” function (which is planned but not implemented yet).  The templates allow you to copy a set of stored activities to any contact/company/or blog.  Plz let me know if I’ve misunderstood.

Elizabeth - Sep 16, 2008 06:26pm

Hi,

I’m having a problem with the linked e-mail feature, I’ve BCC my sent e-mails to Solve360, and waited a few minutes to refresh the page to see whether or not there is an e-mail linked to the contact, however it doesn’t appear on the designated contact page.  I did not have this problem yesterday/this morning, so please let me know what can I do when this problem arises.

Thanks.

Just to close the loop with anyone following this thread, when using the “linked email” feature for companies check that:

- The company record is shared (so it can access the shared dropbox)
- The company record has a “linked email” activity (companies don’t have one by default like contacts)
- The company record has a value for the website field (the website domain name is also used to match emails along with the company name)

@Engineering:

“”””Otherwise the photos could have been saved on a blog to start with. “”””

Hello,

I just have a bunch of Photos not associated to anything.  I need to store them online not on a local drive.  I wish to keep them un-associated (except for the folder they are in) until I need them.  I want to create a true virtual office.  If we have to go to our local drives all the time that defeats the virtual objective.  Especially since ideally I will have no local drive.

“”””Plz let me know if I’ve misunderstood. “”””

I would like the photos stored in a place where I can access them for any client or blog without them having to be attached to an email or anyone in particular.  Just a simple spot where I can easily see the files I have in the system.  Not a fragmented system where I have to worry whether I put in the right keyword or drop-box address.  I am looking to get rid of my 3000+ emails not create more emails because that is the only way I can store and move files around.

I would like to see that when I’m in a blog or contact I can add an Activity called “File(s)” or “Photo List” and instead of only giving me the option to browse my local disc I am also given the option to see my online files. 

Are these analogies correct?  It’s like my refrigerator, I don’t sort the products in my frig by what I think I might prepare in the future I just put them in there so they are all in one place.  Then when I want to make something I remove the needed products and associate them with the recipe/meal.  Painters do not sort their paints by what is imagined might be their next project. The paints are kept in one place/cupboard/store, until something is ready to be painted.  At that point then the needed paints are extracted, put on a pallet and used. 

Same with creating Blogs/Projects, You are suggesting that I have to create a template blog first to hold some of the pictures I might need in case sometime in the future I may need them for some other blog.  This sounds like extra work and does not logically fit with your prime goal of making the system super user friendly.  Why can’t we just have the files in one place and extract them as needed?

Are you asking us to use template blogs as some sort of file and folder system?  One blog for product shots, one blog for labels, and one blog for farm shot etc….

What do I do then if I need pictures from template blogs A, B and C for a new project D?  Will I have to go into each blog and associate them to the new blog?

Please help me understand your thinking on this or maybe sign me up to Solve360 (old) where you say you have this in place already.

If any one else sees the merit of a simple file repository where we can easily assign Online Files to different blogs and contacts Please Vote Here!

Thank You,

James

Hi James,

Activity Templates will be a special feature that will encompass new functionality.  It will not be a standard blog containing activities as you presumed.  Its purpose will be to serve as a central way to manage an individual / entire set of activities that need to be “called into action” from a contact or blog page i.e. copied from the common area to the page you’re working on.  We plan to support all the existing activities (including photo-lists) and have plans for some new ones as well (e.g. email auto-responders, email templates, opportunities, etc).  If this sound like what you’re trying to do maybe we’ll just call it “the fridge” ;)

PS We don’t recommend using email messages to “store” files.

I think James request for a repository system would be very useful.

Potentially the blog templates could act as a way to store files according to the freezer section, door shelves, vegetable tray etc. I imagine it would be a big task for the blogs to act as compartmented file storage facilities, however it would be cool if a set of blogs acted as annotated file repository systems. Maybe photographs could be arranged like themes in an image library. To do this the files stored in the blog needs to be accessible, allowing files to be attached to emails and there needs to be the possibility of viewing files from multiple blogs.

The pain would be in easy retrieval and mixing and matching into emails and preview options. If only there was some simple way to transfer files from a host site such as an online image library or ftp site. Not sure if that is possible on the web, as maybe the files need to be on the client server, or on users local hard drive. Don’t know the internet protocol for such things.

Hi Floydie,

To clarify templates are “activity templates” and not a special type of blog.  Your term of a separate “repository” is a good way to think of them.  At this point I would define the repository as: a set of activity items organized/grouped in relation to their intended purpose that can be copied to a contact or blog page as needed; a common resource of ‘tools’. Blogs will not act as compartmented file storage facility.  Blog and contact pages are where the work occurs.

For example, lets say you have a set of activities that should be applied to each new lead/client or product sale (personal email campaign, future events, a set of tasks, instructions), you create this master activity set in the repository, then when working you copy this set to a contact/blog page as needed.

The backchannel to this repository is that it could be used as a way to save files in a method similar to how James described.

BTW It would not be difficult to enable the webmail client to access files/photos from the repository similar to how it will work for contact/blog pages.

Thanks for clarifying. I look forward to seeing the activity template functionality.

Hello,

ok, I’m still playing along…

2 questions:

1) I have some emails that I have forwarded to my drop box with invoices attached.  I want to move the invoice PDFs to a blog called ‘2007 invoices’.  I do not want or need the original email that held them, just the file.  How do I now attach the file to this new blog? Without having to download the file to a local machine then bounce it back up again.

2) I have a ton of emails that I have cleared out from our previous system into the Solve360 dropbox.  The originals have been deleted from the old system.  I now need to send some of these to other people.  How do I do this from within Solve360? Again without involving a local computer.

Thank you,

James

The best way is to save the file from the email message locally, delete the email message, then upload the file to Solve360 (you can upload multiple files at once).

You might have noticed a Forward icon (currently disabled) in the email preview.  This is what we are currently working on; general webmail functionality (with some nice unexpected features too).

Then there will eventually be a way to do this without involving a local machine?

I’d prefer not to have to download files to client’s or web cafe’s computer.

Thanks,

j:)

James, I was of your opinion. But I see Web 2.0 docs as the way to integrate with Solve360. (Google docs the main option.) You can point to the Web 2.0 document directly in the email, or via the blog.

Larger file transfer can be handled using YouSendIt or an ftp account. (essential for artwork from InDesign and larger .psd files). You can put a link to YouSendit in your blog too.

ok…  possibly a way to not keep one’s eggs all in one basket!

But… Considering the forces lurking behind google I’d still feel better having our sensitive data on a private secure server like Norada’s. 

As you can see I keep suggesting a true thin client model where the local computer is irrelevant to the equation and not used in any of a files movements.

Yikes, which brings up another thought, how do we work offline if there is no internet connection?  Or do we care anymore… no connection = playtime !

You can work offline on Google Docs with Google’s “Gears browser plug-in”

I hear your concerns relating to having a secure server, this will depend on the nature/volume of the documents being exchanged.

The true thin client model can only exist if files “live online” i.e. web2.0. If files are created locally and distributed for storage, changing, printing on another hard drive they are best managed on a company server.

Thanks Floydie! 

j:)

hi all,
  sorry to update an old topic, but I too am interested in being able to freely associate uploaded files.
  For instance:
  I’ve created a contact who is a photographer, and then upladed some of his images to his page.
  A blog i’m using is a proposal to a client who might be interested in the photographer.
  It would be great to grant access to the photographer’s photos via the project blog, and not have to reupload or have duplicates in my workspace.
  Any ideas on if that’s possible already or maybe in the future?
  cheers
adrian

Hello,

Adrian, this is something I have been asking about since I began using Solve360. 
How can I move files around internally?

For example…  If there are pictures in one blog or contact how can they be moved to another blog or contact without having to download them locally first and duplicate them?

It sounds like it should be a simple drag and drop feature that could create a link to a single file.

I have not been on for a while so would like to know if this functionality has been added.

This would save server space as well I think. 

Am I right in saying that if I have 10 blogs, each with the same photo in it that there are now 10 versions of the same photo on the server thus using up my allotted disk space ten times faster?

j;-)

James - Jan 26, 2009 06:51pm

Hello,

Adrian, this is something I have been asking about since I began using Solve360. 
How can I move files around internally?

For example…  If there are pictures in one blog or contact how can they be moved to another blog or contact without having to download them locally first and duplicate them?

It sounds like it should be a simple drag and drop feature that could create a link to a single file.

I have not been on for a while so would like to know if this functionality has been added.

This would save server space as well I think. 

Am I right in saying that if I have 10 blogs, each with the same photo in it that there are now 10 versions of the same photo on the server thus using up my allotted disk space ten times faster?

j;-)

hi james,
as far as I know, you are right and it remains to be seen when we’ll see this functionality.
the main thing with cloud project management for the end user like you and me will always be how and why information is shared the way that it is. Every developer and company will have a different philosophy.
  With the guys at Solve360, i’d go out on a limb and say that because their product is as good as it is, and is able to appeal to such a broad variety of companies (every company in the introduction forum seems completely different), they have to decide what would be nice, and what is absolutely necessary in terms of new features.
  I also know that it isn’t as simple as drag and drop a la a desktop, but that could change, or could be a possibility. But before that type of functionality is introduced, you’re going to see a lot of testing to insure that relations don’t break inside the system, permissions work out (crucial for secure files like faxes and pdfs of company info) etc.
  For the time being, I’m being as flexible as possible with the Solve360 sandbox, and I’ll write more about how using Solve360 is not about finding “workarounds” but more about leveraging the freedom of this unique CRM / PM.
  cheers
adrian

I know that I’m late on this one. I also didn’t have time to read every post in this thread but a possible solution might be Adobe’s http://www.acrobat.com. From what I remember once you upload files you can then share them with others. I’m not sure about the details since I’ve only used it once so far.

I, like James, am trying to be more virtual. acrobat.com with 5gb free and SSL is a pretty nice deal. Plus it’s Adobe. What I didn’t like is that there wasn’t really a way to keep what’s uploaded organized. No folders. No tags. I didn’t want to upload any more until they got something for organizing in place. Ya know what… I’m gonna go check now. Maybe there’s been an update and they’ve fixed that :)

I just took a look at the Acrobat site.  It says that you can find files quickly by “browsing by author, file type, alphabetical order, date created or last updated, or a combination of multiple filters.“

Sounds pretty handy. Is that feature new since you last looked?

We are looking for some sort of online database app.  We are trying to use the Solve360 blogs to plug in all our data but ‘at the moment’ it is very slow to work with as the form fields only hold tiny amounts of text so we have to make a note for each larger entry.  Each heading has to be re-typed for each blog which is time consuming. Steve has mentioned a template feature ‘soon to come’ which might help.

Another small problem is that new notes are created they always appear at the top of the blog. So we either have to work backwards through the list of form fields or drag the new note to the bottom of the blog which is very slow.

Any suggestions to enhance this work flow would be appreciated.

thanks,
jl

Can I just add in to this discussion that I would love to see document management also. The application is very full featured right now but it would definitely benefit from your magic solve touch in relation to managing docs. For most use cases we are happy with the docs and files in relation to correspondence. But with increased usage by staff I can see a situation where they will want to do more in the interface, especially as the email functions are built out. I would love to be able to send out my proposals through Solve and select standard sales documents to send out.

So I think a full featured document management add on would be great