I just starting using ProjectPier after using Basecamp for so long and I LOVE IT! I can customize any or all of it easily. Check it here: Zen Web Development Evolve Project Management. In it, I’ve created an easy Payment Tab via Google Checkout or Paypal, and an easy Tab for my Ajax Chat room. I’ll talk about those later! All you need to know is php and CSS and a bit of MySQL.

Ok so, one thing I instantly missed from Basecamp was the Task List Templates so I cooked up a little recipe below on how to do it. As usual, PLEASE BACKUP YOUR DATABASE BEFORE DOING MY INSTRUCTIONS! Here are the steps!

#1 – You’ll need access to PhpMyAdmin for MySQL

#2 – You’ll need to create the task list in Projectpier (but not the tasks)

#3 – After creating the task list, look in the browser to determine the numeric code for the task list. It should look like this: http://yourdomain.com/index.php?c=task&a=view_list&id=9&active_project=13 for instance. The active project is 13 and the task list itself is 9. The active project # is not important. What we want is the number 9 which corresponds to the task list itself.

#4 Find out which company to assign these tasks to: Go into the project where you want to do this task list. Click on PEOPLE. Then click on the company name you want to assign this to. In the URL, it should look like this: http://yourdomain.com/index.php?c=company&a=view_client&active_project=3&id=7 The number we want here is 7 which is the ID # for this company.

#5 Find out who you want to assign these tasks to. While still on the company page, click on the name of the person to whom you want to assign this to. In the URL, it should look like this: http://yourdomain.com/index.php?c=user&a=card&active_project=3&id=4 The number we want here is 4 which is the ID # for this user.

#6 Create your tasks for this task list:  Pre-heat oven, Take out the dough, Knead the dough, Put it in a breadpan, Put in Oven, Set timer, Go watch TV, Remove pan from oven, Let Cool, Slice Bread, Eat Bread. I am not a cook so don’t yell at me if these bread making steps are wrong! 😀

#7 Assemble these into this format. If you have more tasks, add more lines just follow the pattern, the last number is important as it is the SORT ORDER. The lower numbers are first… :


INSERT INTO `project_tasks` (`id`, `task_list_id`, `text`, `assigned_to_company_id`, `assigned_to_user_id`, `completed_on`, `completed_by_id`, `created_on`, `created_by_id`, `updated_on`, `updated_by_id`, `order`) VALUES

(null, 9, ‘Pre-heat oven’, 7, 4, ‘null’, 0, ‘null’, 4, ‘null’, 4, 10),

(null, 9, ‘Take out the dough’, 7, 4, ‘null’, 0, ‘null’, 4, ‘null’, 4, 20),

(null, 9, ‘Knead the dough’, 7, 4, ‘null’, 0, ‘null’, 4, ‘null’, 4, 30),

(null, 9, ‘Put it in a breadpan’, 7, 4, ‘null’, 0, ‘null’, 4, ‘null’, 4, 40),

(null, 9, ‘Put in Oven’, 7, 4, ‘null’, 0, ‘null’, 4, ‘null’, 4, 50),

(null, 9, ‘Set timer’, 7, 4, ‘null’, 0, ‘null’, 4, ‘null’, 4, 60),

(null, 9, ‘Eat Bread’, 7, 4, ‘null’, 0, ‘null’, 4, ‘null’, 4, 110);

#8 Insert the above code into PhpMyAdmin using the SQL tab. And PLEASE ONLY DO THE ABOVE if you REALLY UNDERSTAND IT. It is not too hard, but practice on a test site first to make sure you know what you are doing.

Using this, I just created a 38 line task list which I use over and over and over for build ZenCart eStores. I’ll be growing this list to be more precise on ALL of the tasks to do, so having this duplicatable task list is VITAL for me!

If there are others that REALLY want this to be an add-on for projectpier, I’ll consider developing it to make it basecamp-like.

-Tom