SharePoint Kanban Board Enhanced In Updated Add-in

Last week I described several new features in Kanban Task Manager for SharePoint V5. Now the add-in edition of Kanban Task Manager has been enhanced in nearly the same way.

The APP file has already been released on the kalmstrom.com website, and very soon you can find version 2 in SharePoint Store too.

SharePoint kanban board
Kanban Task Manager, also available in two Outlook editions, builds on the kanban board idea, where cards with task descriptions are moved between phases as work with a project proceeds.

Having the kanban board in SharePoint will of course give a multitude of advantages over the physical board, and in the latest version we have given even more possibilities. Now you can study and manage tasks in Month and Project views, and there is a My Open Tasks web part/app part for users who only need to see and work with their own tasks.

Add an app
Microsoft has announced that the word "App for SharePoint" will be replaced by "SharePoint Add-in", so that is the term we are using in our product name. Kanban Task Manager SharePoint Add-in is installed in a site with the "add an app" command – the same as you use when creating a new list.

To find the add-in, users can either open the SharePoint Store or search among "Apps you can add". If the APP file has been downloaded from our website and added to the App Catalog, it will be available in "Apps you can add" for the whole farm or tenant.

2013 and higher
The App for SharePoint was first introduced in SharePoint 2013, and it is clear that Microsoft intends to make the app/add-in concept grow stronger.

Like other add-ins, Kanban Task Manager SharePoint Add-in does not have any custom code that runs on the SharePoint servers. This is a reassurance that the add-in cannot harm servers or reduce performance of  SharePoint Online websites.

Add-in limitations
Add-ins have two limitations that affect Kanban Task Manager. Task descriptions cannot contain attachments, videos or inline images, and add-ins don't have permission to access other sites.

We have found a workaround for the first problem, by giving a Kanban Task Manager app part that can have HTML in the task description field. The permission limitation, however, so far prevents add-in users from moving tasks to other kanban boards.

Sandboxed Solution
To encourage the development of add-ins and avoid server issues, Microsoft has deprecated the use of custom managed code in SharePoint Sandboxed Solutions.

This is however no problem for the kalmstrom.com Sandboxed Solutions, because they build on JavaScript, not on custom managed code, and they run in browsers to 99%. Therefore we can keep developing our sandboxed edition of Kanban Task Manager for subscribers who use SharePoint 2010 or who use multiple installations and want to have the possibility to move tasks between them.

Learn more about the Kanban Task Manager SharePoint editions in the slideshow!

Upgrade
I recommend current subscribers of Kanban Task Manager SharePoint Add-in to upgrade their installation. If you downloaded  the Kanban Task Manager APP file from SharePoint Store, you will get a message about the new version. When you have the file in an App Catalog, you should first download the new version from the kalmstrom.com upgrade page and then upload it to the App Catalog.

Try it
Both SharePoint editions of Kanban Task Manager may be downloaded and evaluated for 30 days, with our full support but without any obligations from your side. I am looking forward to hearing your comments!

Peter Kalmström
CEO and Systems Designer
kalmstrom.com Business Solutions