DeskAway was featured as site of the week on Kylereddoch.com.

DeskAway gives you an accurate view of your project progress and eliminates common problems when working in teams: email spam, multiple file versions, lost files, task accountability issues, lack of clarity & work transparency. DeskAway is an online software, so, there is nothing to download or install on any computer. All you need is an Internet connection and a web browser.

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Thanks Kyle!

Viewing all your DeskAway events and project due dates within your Google Calendar is fairly easy.

1. Login and go to your DeskAway Calendar.
2. Right-click on the “Subscribe to iCalendar” link (from the “Left Panel” on the Calendar page) & click on “Copy Link Location“. This is the iCalendar link to your calendar. Any other iCalendar supported programs like Apple iCal, Outlook or Mozilla Sunbird can use this link to subscribe to your calendar. Clicking on this link will bring up the default program on your computer that supports iCalendar. For, now lets just copy the link.

3. Login to your Google Account and head over to the Calendar. Click on the “Add” link in the “Other Calendars” section & then select “Add by URL” from the drop down menu. Now paste the link that you copied in step #1. The link should start with “webcal:….”

4. Voila! Your DeskAway events, due dates of Projects & Tasks & Milestones (that you are a part of) can be seen on the Google Calendar. You can change the color of this calendar too!

5. The Google Calendar will update automatically as your DeskAway Calendar gets updated. (We have seen that the update is very irregular).

No more going to multiple calendar windows and programs. Consolidate all your calendars in Google and enjoy a hassle-free experience of your personal as well as work events and due dates!

Bonus - If you are using a Blackberry you can download the Google Sync for your Blackberry and then sync up your inbuilt calendar and contacts to your Google Account. So now you can take your DeskAway events with you where ever you go!

If you’ll are using other phones and have got the Google Sync working then do let us know if your DeskAway events show up in there.

Want to know how best you can use the features available on DeskAway? Want to ensure that all your team-mates use DeskAway optimally? If yes, then it’s best that you keep the “Display Help Tip” option turned on, in your account.

What is it?

Help Tip is a series of Tips on how you can use a particular feature on DeskAway optimally. It tells you what you can do and how. It also gives your details about the section with the help of a Demo Video. This tip is present on all sections of your DeskAway account.

Where can I find it?

To the right hand side of the screen below “Quickies”:

How is it useful?

Help Tip guides you with details of all the things you can do on any particular section on DeskAway. It also has quick, short tips on how to use a particular section - if you are one of those who are pressed with time. Having this on yourself and asking your team to keep it on and referring to it, will help you optimize your DeskAway usage.

However, you do have an option of hiding it at any given point in time, so once you have gone through all the tips, do go ahead and hide it, you can turn it on to refer to it anytime you want. You also have an option of turning it off, which means that you will not get to see these tips again.

I find the Help Tip really useful; their quick tips help me get through most of the new features they add on a regular basis. I dig into their Demo Video on days when I have more time on my hand, to make the most of what DeskAway has to offer!

Did you know that if you used the customization options on DeskAway, it can help build a strong brand identity for your business among your internal customers (employees) and external customers (partners)?

The “Settings” Tab on your DeskAway account allows you to customize the look and feel of your account pages and much more. Here is how:

Through the “General Settings” section you can upload a logo of your business that will be displayed on all pages of your account - a start to claiming ownership of the DeskAway account as your own.

The “Themes” tab allows you to personalize your DeskAway account theme, syncing it with your company colors. Creating an environment that reflects your brand and your business.

You can also customize and categorize various interaction points of all your users to create a seamless experience of using your DeskAway account.  You can create default categories of Projects, Departments and Blogs - making it easy for teams to just click and select from these pre-set categories. You can also set permissions and modify alters from the “General Settings” tab, making it intuitive for the team members to access and get reminders for their tasks and milestones, as required. Thus, building a positive association about your business in the user’s minds.

The internal user is as important as the external user for any business. These small changes in your DeskAway account will create an online environment which reflects the attitude and the philosophy of the company, thus making it a pleasant experience for your employees and teammates using DeskAway. Perhaps, this could also drive more usage of your DeskAway account.

In this episode of The Project Shrink, Bas de Baar had the pleasure of talking to Stephane Grenier, author of “Blog Blazers”, a fabulous book for every type of blogger, as to why every project manager should start a blog.