Kanban Task Manager for Outlook V3, A Major Update

Today we have released version 3 of Kanban Task Manager for Outlook, the kalmstrom.com add-on for kanban style management of Outlook tasks. Both the workgroup version and the single version have been updated.

Last week I wrote about the new features in Kanban Task Manager V3, and now the responsible developer, Jitu Patidar, will tell you more about the development:

From SharePoint to Outlook
Developing version 3 of Kanban Task Manager for Outlook has been an interesting task. The new features were already present in the SharePoint version of Kanban Task Manager, so I knew very well how they should look and work on the surface.

The Outlook way
However, it was not as clear how the features we saw in SharePoint should be implemented in Outlook. SharePoint and Outlook are different platforms, and for the Outlook versions of Kanban Task Manager we could not use the same methods as in SharePoint.

I was happy to take on the challenge, and I knew that we had so much re-usable code and methods in the JavaScript code that it should be possible to implement the new features in the Outlook versions in a rather short time.

With the help of other team members I managed to get version 3 of Kanban Task Manager for Outlook ready for release only six weeks after the update of the SharePoint version.

Use both workgroup versions
The short development time is especially important for organizations who use the Outlook and the SharePoint versions of Kanban Task Manager together. Most of them waited with upgrading the SharePoint version, but now they can upgrade both versions and get the same features whether they use Outlook or SharePoint.

Upgrade!
kalmstrom.com Subscribers have free upgrades, and I recommend all who use the workgroup version as well as the single version of Kanban Task Manager for Outlook to take advantage of the new features.

New features
Peter mentioned swim lanes, instant search and more possibilities to move tasks in his earlier blog post about Kanban Task Manager for Outlook V3. He also mentioned the responsive web design, and this is something I am especially satisfied with.

Responsive web design benefits
By using fluid layouts, media queries and scripts that can reformat HTML pages, we can let users work with Kanban Task Manager and other kalmstrom.com Solutions on any device, and they will still get a good user interface.

It is also thanks to the responsive design that we have been able to add a zoom bar to the Outlook kanban board. Drag it to the left and you will see more tasks and lanes, and if you drag it to the right you zoom in on fewer tasks that will be more clearly visible.

When you use Ctrl + the plus or minus key you will get an even wider range for the zoom than the zoom bar gives you. If you want to return to the default size of the kanban board, hit Ctrl + zero, just like you do with web pages.

Try Kanban Task Manager
We allow a 30 days free trial of Kanban Task Manager, so you are welcome to download the version you are interested in from the kalmstrom.com website. During the evaluation period we give nearly the same high level of support services as when you subscribe, so please contact us if you have questions. I will make sure you get good assistance!

By Jitu Patidar
Senior Developer
Technical Support Lead
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions