The first batch of Basecamp 3 updates

Hello everyone!

Wow! We’re just a few weeks into Basecamp 3 and so far the response has been fantastic! We’re so pleased that so many people are loving Basecamp 3 (here’s a great post from a customer who explains how they’re using Basecamp 3 to run their whole business). This is only the beginning — we have a lot of great stuff coming in 2016.

Since launch, our whole team has been heads down fixing a few things, tweaking some stuff, and generally tightening things up. Once the initial launch dust clears, we’ll be back working on some brand new big improvements to Basecamp 3. In the meantime, we wanted to fill you in on some of the fixes we’ve baked in already.

For those keeping score, since we launched Basecamp 3 on November 3rd, 2015, we’ve made 877 commits to the code base and deployed 400 times. That’s a lot of activity! Basecamp 3 is getting better not just every day, but multiple times a day!


Here are a few of the highlights

  • Loads of improvements to the sign-up and sign-in process and experience. We’re sorry this was a bit clunky at the start — should be ironed out nicely now.
  • Google Sign-in now works for customers using IE 11.
  • You can now reply directly to notifications from the iOS lock screen if you’re using version 3.03 of the Basecamp iOS app (available on from the App Store).

Respond with a swipe and a tap right from the lock screen
  • You can now move individual to-dos between lists on different Basecamps. Prior to this update you could only move to-dos between lists on the same Basecamp.
  • You can now set the first day of the week in your region (some people like the week to start on Monday, while others prefer it starts on Sunday). You can do this from your “Personal Info” page (click your avatar in the top right corner of the web app, or your avatar on the home screen in the mobile apps).

Starting the week on a Friday? Crazy, but now you can!
  • To-dos with due dates will automatically send a reminder 24 hours before its due.
  • The “What’s coming up or due soon?” report date will always display the next 45 days. This is clearer than the sliding “this month and next” range we had in place originally, which showed 60 days at the beginning of the month and just 31 days at the end.

45 days from now
  • Added a “+” button to the right of the avatar strip at the top of a Basecamp to help clarify this is where you add/manage people.

Now you can click + to add/manage people
  • We added multiple-account support for Clientside emails. This means that if we match an email you forwarded in from a client, and you’re working with that client on multiple Basecamp accounts, Basecamp will send you an email back asking you to clarify where the email you forwarded should go.

Which Basecamp in which account?
  • Major improvements to people management on Basecamp With Clients. Separate places/flows to set up your team and who’s on the client side.
  • Deleted comments will also be deleted from the Latest Activity timeline as well.
  • Improvements to the text editor on Android. Formatting will now be properly maintained across platforms.
  • You can now move people between companies/organizations via the Adminland section. Put someone in the wrong place? No problem anymore!

Let’s move Claire from Know Your Company to Basecamp
  • If you reply to a ping or Campfire chat via email, and you attach a file to that email, the file will make it into Basecamp.
  • A welcome email is now always sent when you add someone to a Basecamp.
  • We added a My Devices screen for managing and troubleshooting push notification issues across devices. You can do this from your “Personal Info” page (click your avatar in the top right corner of the web app, or your avatar on the home screen in the mobile apps).

Know which devices you’ve registered, and test notifications on each one.

Thanks thanks thanks!

Everyone’s feedback so far has been super helpful. Our support team is keeping track of all the key requests, suggestions, and ideas. In the coming weeks we’ll be reviewing this feedback and incorporating it into our thinking as we flesh out our development plans moving forward.

And if you haven’t tried Basecamp 3 yet, please do. Your first Basecamp is entirely free forever, so give it a whirl risk-free.

Thanks again and talk soon!

-Jason Fried CEO, Basecamp