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Brian Sheehan on March 12, 2013

Brian Sheehan

As a Technical Writer and Blogger, Brian enjoys the challenge of bringing concepts to life via the written word. He is a big fan of project management, technology, and cheeseburgers.

March 12, 2013 · 2 min read

We've recently introduced a trio of new mini-features that are designed to aesthetically please (image attachment thumbnails), keep you up-to-date on upcoming issue due dates (day setting for e-mail reminders), and provide more flexibility with a project parameter (new option to calculate percentage done).

So, without further ado, let's check them out:

Image Attachment Thumbnails

When attaching an image to your issues, a thumbnail of the image can now appear on your Issue Details screen. This is particularly handy when "role-diagram-2013-v5-5.png" just doesn't give you that sense of satisfaction that you may expect (or give a clue about what it looks like). A snapshot of the graphic, on the other hand, may make all the sense in the world...

Here's a walkthrough of how to turn on this spiffy new feature:

1. Click Administration.
2. Click Settings.
3. Click the Display tab.
4. In the Display attachment thumbnails field, select the check box.
5. Click Save.

Advance Issue Due E-Mail Notification

This new mini-feature enables you to specify the number of days to receive an advance e-mail reminder for upcoming issues that are due. This is a great feature for project managers who just don't have enough hours in the day to keep track of multiple issues -- advance e-mail reminders ensure that you will be notified of due dates in a timely manner. Specifying a value for this feature enables it for both existing and new issues.

Here's how to turn it on:

1. Click My account.
2. Take note of the Preferences section.
3. In the Due issue email reminders field, enter the number of days preceding an issue due date to receive e-mail reminders (e.g., enter "3" to receive e-mail reminders three days before issues are due). To turn off this feature, leave the field blank.
4. Click Save.

Calculate Percentage Done Based on Time

One of the most popular issue parameters on Planio is the % done field -- it enables you to easily keep track of issue progress on both the Issues screen and the Gantt chart.

Traditionally, % done has been configured using either the issue field directly or the issue status parameter. We have now expanded te capability of % done so that it can be calculated using the number of logged hours (spent time) and estimated hours, whereby % done = logged hours / estimated hours.

If your users make ample use of Planio's time tracking capabilities, then using this new feature will enable you to get the most out of the % done parameter.

Here's how to activate this feature:

1. Click Administration.
2. Click Settings.
3. Click the Issue tracking tab.
4. In the Calculate the issue done ratio with field, select Use the logged and estimated time.
5. Click Save.

Do you plan on using one or more of these mini-features? Feel free to tell us about it and how they've made an impact on your organization. If you liked this article, please share a Like and Tweet as well!

Brian is currently reading The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. A great tome if you like history or a thorough bore-fest if the mere thought about the long slow decline of an Empire puts you to sleep. Either way, it's either fun or a great paper weight!