Brian Sheehan on April 23, 2013 Planio 101: How to Create a New Project
Over the last year we've discussed many exciting features within Planio, many of which are brand new (CC Additional Contacts, New Mini Features), several are quite Project Manager-friendly (Milestones & Roadmaps), and others are just downright awesome (E-Mail Drop Box).
Today I was thinking that it may be a good time to step back and look at a subject that we've never discussed here on the blog AND affects every new user: how to create a new project. Yep, believe it or not, we've never done a walkthrough of this, the most instrumental of actions for all Planio users.
So, grab some snacks, open a beer, call up all your friends who are new Planio users, and check out the process of creating a new Planio project...
- After launching and logging on to Planio, from your Home screen, click Projects.
- The Projects screen appears -- this interface lists all available projects. Click New project.
- The New project screen appears -- this interface is used to configure your project's settings. Note that although the only required fields are Name and Identifier, it's still good practice to complete as many fields as possible so that your project is meaningful to its members.
- In the Name field (required), enter a name for the project.
- Note that, as you enter a name, the text also appears in the Identifier field; it will be formatted for standardization purposes.
- In the Subproject of field, select a parent project for the new project, if applicable.
- In the Description field, enter a meaningful description of the new project.
- As mentioned, the Identifier field will be populated with formatted text derived from the Name field -- the text here can be modified, if needed. Note that, after the project settings are saved, the project identifier can no longer be modified. The Identifier is used to, you guessed it, identify the project in a standardized manner... for example, it is used in the project's URL address and is also used when configuring Planio's Firefox toolbar.
- In the Homepage field, enter a URL that is associated with the project (e.g., a relevant company Web page). This information is displayed on the Overview tab when a member browses to your project on Planio.
- In the Public field, select the check box to indicate that the project should be available to every user of the Planio account with a non-member role. Leave the check box unselected to indicate that users need to be a member of a project in order to view/modify its contents. You can visit How to Create a New Role to learn more about roles.
- In the SalesKing client field, select a SalesKing client from the drop-down list. SalesKing is an integrated 3rd party feature within Planio that enables you to export time-tracked activities as line item invoice entries in the SalesKing application. One aspect of the configuration process involves creating clients and products within the SalesKing interface and then associating them in Planio -- this particular field is used to associate a SalesKing client with your new project.
- In the Planio apps section, select all applications that you'd like to activate for use within the project. Note that, if you selected a SalesKing client above, then you should likewise select the SalesKing check box.
- In the Trackers section, select all trackers that you'd like to use in your new project. To learn more about trackers, please see Selecting and Editing Trackers and Viewing and Grouping Trackers.
- When done, click Create or click Create and continue to proceed with the creation of another new project.
- After clicking Create, the Settings interface for your new project will appear. You can explore the other project settings tabs (e.g., Planio Apps, Members, Forums, CRM & Helpdesk) or proceed to creating issues for your project (see Got Issues? for assistance).
How to Delete a Project
Tired of your project and want to start fresh? Here's how to delete a project:
- From the Home screen, click Administration.
- Click Projects.
- Click Delete on the row that corresponds to the project you wish to delete.
- The Confirmation screen appears requesting affirmation of the deletion. To delete, in the Yes field, select the check box.
- Click Delete.
- The project will be permanently deleted from the Planio environment.
How to Archive a Project
Okay, so you're not really using a project at the present time, but you might use it down the road... what to do? Archive it! Planio offers an archiving function that essentially stores project data and keeps it in reserve for you until you need to access it in the future. The primary benefit is that archived projects do not count towards your plan limit... so you can archive projects, as needed, without worrying about using up the allotted projects for your particular Planio pricing plan.
Here's a walkthrough of how to archive a project:
- From the Home screen, click Administration.
- Click Projects.
- Click Archive on the row that corresponds to the project you wish to archive.
- A browser window appears requesting confirmation of the archive -- click OK.
- Your project is now archived.
...and how to view archived projects and unarchive a project:
- In the Status field of the Projects screen, change the status from active (default) to all.
- Click Apply.
- Click Unarchive on the row that corresponds to the project you wish to unarchive.
- The project's status will become active and it will be available for use.
We hope that this oft-overlooked information has been of some help to our newer users. For you veterans out there, we'll have a deeper look at the integration and configuration of Planio apps in upcoming posts. Until then, cheerio!
When not reading, writing, or breathing, Brian is busy playing manly games with his 5-year old daughter... like coloring My Little Pony pages and debating the virtues of pink vs. lavender. Sigh...
Are you a new Planio user? If so, has this article been helpful? Please feel free to share your experiences or Planio wish lists via a comment. Toss us a Like/Tweet as well!
