Documentation:ActiveCollab/Comparison Overview

This summary is for those who feel they can adapt to new software quickly and would simply like a short introduction and comparison between the different software. Each section starts with the name of the Basecamp feature followed by a forward slash ('/') and the name of the most similar feature in activeCollab. A more detailed overview of all the features can be found in the in the sections beyond this comparison.

Dashboard / Dashboard

This feature is structured similarly in Basecamp and activeCollab. Both present recent activity in for all projects in a chronological order and both have quick access to active projects. Where most features are displayed as tabs in Basecamp, they are displayed as buttons in the top right corner in activeCollab. These buttons are also available on almost every page in activeCollab for easy access.

Overview / Overview

Most features found in Basecamp in the project overview tab are also found in the project overview tab of activeCollab. There is a recent activity column as well as a "People on This Project" sidebar. One thing to note is that features found on the Basecamp overview tab such as New message, New to-do list, New event, and New file can be found by clicking on the Quick Add button on the top right in activeCollab.

Messages / Discussions

Messages are called Discussions in activeCollab. Discussions remain largely the same as Messages although activeCollab does not offer an "expanded view" for its discussions and it also does not single out "most active discussions". While activeCollab may not have as many default categories provided as in Basecamp, custom categories can be added in. Commenting on discussions is featured, however, commenting on posts through email replies (a feature available in Basecamp) may not be enabled in activeCollab depending on the version being used and the administrative settings.

To-Dos / Checklists

Basecamp's To-Dos are most similar to Checklists in activeCollab. The greatest difference between the two is the inability to add comments to a Checklist. Checklists are comprised of tasks which can have priority levels, due dates and allow users to log the amount of time they have worked on each task. If commenting on Checklists is needed, Tickets (a different feature in activeCollab) support both tasks and commenting. For more information on Tickets please refer to the corresponding section in this guide.

Calendar / Calendar

While Basecamp and activeCollab both have a Calendar tab, they are somewhat different in functionality from each other. Basecamp allows you to add new events or milestones in its Calendar, while you can only view tasks and milestones in the activeCollab Calendar. Milestones, in turn, can be created in the separate Milestones tab in activeCollab; however, activeCollab does not offer the equivalent of Events in their system. Lastly, the activeCollab Calendar offers links to all activities that may have a due date, such as tasks and tickets, not just milestones.

Writeboards / Pages

Pages are the equivalent of Writeboards with some added functionality. Pages in activeCollab are much easier to format and can have embedded images, categories, and associated milestones. Furthermore, Pages can have tasks assigned to them and support tagging and attached files. Commenting is also available which means that Pages could be an acceptable substitute to Checklists as Checklists do not support comments like To-do lists in Basecamp.

Time / Time

activeCollab has a Time tab similar to Basecamp's where time can be allotted to log entries. Additionally, acitveCollab offers the distinction of whether or not an entry is billable as well as time-tracking on tasks and tickets.

Files / Files

The Files tab in activeCollab offers the same functionalities as Basecamp such as uploading files and uploading updated versions of files. Additionally, activeCollab also stores all attachments in this tab for easy access.

Additional Features

Please refer to the rest of this guide for additional features and an expansion on the aforementioned features.

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