Feature List
ProjectForum is an easy to install web application, used through standard web browsers, that lets workgroups collaborate and coordinate their work on projects. Each of your groups gets its own dedicated forum for its projects, containing any number of separate web pages.
In ProjectForum, your group decides what to post, what to share, what to discuss, and how to organize it all. Create whatever new pages you need for new topics. Each page is fully editable by everyone, right from the browser. No special tools are needed, nor knowledge of complicated markup languages like HTML. Its easy enough for everyone to contribute, adding their own material, commenting on existing material, or helping to organize it all.
ProjectForum is centered around simple free-form text, making it easy to understand, and easy to work with - creating or modifying content within the group is as easy as writing an email message. There's no complex interface, set procedures for working, or complex web forms to navigate.
| Powerful Simplicity | F | B | S | E | F=Free B=Basic S=Standard E=Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easy content creation | Creating new pages and changing existing ones is done right in your web browser, and is as easy as writing an email message. | ||||
| Link material easily | Connect your ideas and resources, by linking from any page to any other, or to material anywhere on the web. | ||||
| Flexible organization | Through creating and linking content, you decide how your forum is organized and structured. Start simple and adjust things as you go. Put things where they make sense to you, not where a cumbersome user interface forces you to put them. | ||||
| Easy to Learn and Use | F | B | S | E | F=Free B=Basic S=Standard E=Enterprise |
| 100% Web based | All interaction is done through a web browser, meaning no software installation for your users, and no new application to learn. | ||||
| Short learning curve | ProjectForum is designed so that your groups can be creating, sharing and discussing in minutes, devoting time to work not software. | ||||
| WYSIWYG Editing | A browser-based 'What You See Is What You Get' editor provides a familiar writing and editing environment. | ||||
| Simple formatting | ProjectForum makes it easy to format pages for easier reading, without needing to learn complex tools like HTML. | ||||
| Quick comment posting | Every page provides a comment area making discussions about topics quick and easy. | ||||
| New page templates | Customizable templates provide an easy way to create many similar pages, such as for meeting notes or contact pages. | ||||
| Recent changes | See at a glance the last few changes, to quickly identify and contribute to the "hot topics". | ||||
| Search | A search box on every page lets you easily find information throughout the forum, even across projects. | ||||
| Easy Setup | F | B | S | E | F=Free B=Basic S=Standard E=Enterprise |
| Easy to install server | The ProjectForum server application can be installed in minutes, and needs no cumbersome configuration or special software. A single install supports everyone in your group. | ||||
| Cross-platform | The server runs on any Windows, Mac OS X, Linux or FreeBSD machine. Users just need their existing web browser, whatever their platform. | ||||
| Easy administration | Administration is all web-based, and generally requires little time to maintain, so you can just set it up and run. | ||||
| SSL Security | Optionally connect using SSL (https), so that all network communications are encrypted, for better security. Note that SSL is not currently available on our hosting service. | ||||
| Users | F | B | S | E | F=Free B=Basic S=Standard E=Enterprise |
| Guest Users | Forums can optionally be left open so that users do not need to have an account or password to view and/or edit them. | ||||
| Per-Group User Accounts | Group admins can create a list of user accounts for their group (user name and password), separate from that used by any other group. | ||||
| Site-wide User Accounts | Site-wide user accounts allow the same account to be used across multiple groups, without needing to sign in for each group. Group administrators control whether the account can or cannot access each individual group. | ||||
| Unlimited users per forum | License includes unlimited number of users (license based on number of groups). | ||||
| Workgroups | F | B | S | E | F=Free B=Basic S=Standard E=Enterprise |
| Multiple workgroups | Multiple groups can be run off a single instance of the ProjectForum server application, so no system changes are needed. | ||||
| Unlimited groups | License includes unlimited number of groups (license based on number of registered users). | ||||
| Project areas | Provide subgroups with their own forum areas for smaller group projects, linked to the main group project forum, or provide a locked down forum for access to more confidential materials. | ||||
| Archive older groups | Keep copies of older group and projects available online for reference. | ||||
| Permissions | F | B | S | E | F=Free B=Basic S=Standard E=Enterprise |
| Password protect forums | Let only the people you want into your forum, by assigning it a password, either to enter it or just to make changes. | ||||
| Page locking | Lock down content on a single page, preventing any changes or allowing only comments to be added. | ||||
| Per-Group Access List | Group administrators can specify the list of individual accounts able to access the group. | ||||
| Per-Forum Access List | Separate lists of users are available for each forum on the site, both groups and projects. | ||||
| Fine-Grained Permissions | Administrators can decide for each user whether they should have read, write or administrative privileges for the forum. | ||||
| Rich Content | F | B | S | E | F=Free B=Basic S=Standard E=Enterprise |
| Include Markup | Build up larger pages by including the contents of other forum pages or even pages from other web sites. | ||||
| File attachments | Post current copies of presentations from meetings, research reports, or other documents, rather than clogging up peoples' email with large attachments of each new draft. | ||||
| Images | Attach images to pages, either reference material such as charts or graphs, or just some graphics to perk up the page. | ||||
| Slideshows | Create simple web-based slideshow presentations directly from forum pages. | ||||
| Custom Links | Create new link types that allow you to directly integrate specific types of information from other web resources into your forum pages. | ||||
| Advanced Features | F | B | S | E | F=Free B=Basic S=Standard E=Enterprise |
| RSS Support | Easily track changes in any forum, or include an RSS feed in a forum page so everyone can track changes in other web sites. | ||||
| Email Notification | Receive emails when pages in the forum change, making sure you are notified of any changes. | ||||
| Version history | Track all changes to see how work evolved over time, or go back to restore older material. | ||||
| Activity tracking | See who has been contributing to discussions and who has not, or verify what each person has seen or changed. | ||||
| HTML Export | Generate a set of static HTML pages from a forum, e.g. for transfer to an existing web site or other media. | ||||
| Web Views | Provide a view-only mirror of a forum, suitable for use as an external web site, whose content is updated as the forum changes. | ||||
| Choice of Themes | Allow you to choose one of several built-in themes, determining the appearance of your forum. Choose a distinctive look that fits your group. | ||||
| Custom Themes | Create a new theme to more closely blend in with other web resources in your organization. |