Basecamp Basics Overview

School is in session! Get a preview of the Basecamp Basics series — think of this as your class syllabus.

Understanding the Home Screen

How to add your logo, pin your most important projects, view projects in a list, and jump between projects with a quick keyboard command.

What is a Project?

To understand how Basecamp works, it’s important to understand what a project is — this video breaks down the four most common uses for a project.

Starting a Project

Before starting your first project, learn about invite-only and all-access projects, project tools, and managing tools within a project.

Inviting People to Collaborate

Basecamp shines when it comes to collaboration — learn how to invite people to your account, add them to a project, and set their involvement level.

Setting Up Notifications

Personalize your notification settings. Whether you want them all day, every day, or need to temporarily turn them off, this video walks you through it.

10 Hidden Features in Basecamp

From changing your accent colors to closing comment threads — this video shows 10 Basecamp features even power users may not know about.

Working with To-Dos

Breaking down your work into tasks is critical for managing any type of project. This video does a deep dive into Basecamp’s To-do tool, including some tips to make working with to-dos even easier.

Working with Clients

Looking to work with clients inside of Basecamp? This video walks you through adding clients to your account, adding them to a project, and controlling what parts of a project they can see.

Project Templates

Instead of creating the same type of Basecamp projects over and over again, save time by creating a Basecamp template. You can even assign to-dos and set relative due dates in advance.

Organizing Work with Card Table

Want to visually see work that progresses through stages? This video walks you through using Card Table — our unique take on kanban.

Automatic Check-ins

Ask recurring questions and gather answers all in one place. Replace status calls or meetings while keeping everything on the record.

Communication Tools

Basecamp communication tools are intentionally different from one another. In this video, learn about the three main tools — Message Board, Chat, and Pings — and when to use each one.

Customizing Project Tools

One of the best ways to personalize a project is to customize the project tools. This video walks through how and why to change, rename, and duplicate tools.

Using the Message Board

The Message Board is the perfect place to make announcements, pitch ideas, pose a question, or share progress. And in many cases, it can replace emails.

Connecting to an Outside Service

With Basecamp’s Doors feature, you can connect to an outside service, external platform, or online file – all from within a Basecamp project.

Hill Charts

Visually track your To-do list progress with Hill Charts. Quickly see what hasn’t been started, what’s moving forward, and where work might be stuck.

See the Big Picture

Overseeing multiple projects? Basecamp has several ways to see high-level overviews of everything that’s happening in your account.

Customizing Basecamp for your language

Basecamp was built in English, but you can use other languages anywhere you can enter text. This video walks through what areas you can customize, including tool names, message categories, and templates.

Grouping To-dos in Basecamp

Want your to-do list to be even more detailed? In Basecamp, you can create sections within a to-do list to divide your tasks by category, department, priority, or status.

Use Boosts for Quick Replies

Not everything requires a long response. Sometimes a quick emoji will do the trick! In Basecamp, you can “boost” a message, document, or chat message instead of replying with a lengthier reply.

Basecamp’s Focus Mode

When you need to shut out distractions and get some work done, you need Focus Mode. Temporarily turn off all incoming notifications and pings so you can focus, and when you’re ready, they’ll be waiting for you.