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How to take a screenshot

More often than not, a full screenshot is the best kind to send to us when we ask for one. Here's how to take a screenshot on a Mac:

  • Hold down Command ⌘ + Shift + 3. Your computer will save that file on the desktop. Attach it to your next email reply to the support team.
  • If you're using a Macbook Pro with a Touch Bar, you hold down Command ⌘ + Shift + 6

And on a Windows computer:

  • Press PrtScn to capture the entire screen. Windows copies that image you took to an invisible clipboard.
    Hold down Ctrl and press V to paste the screenshot in your reply to us in your email client.
  • If you have Windows 8 or 10, you can hold down ⊞ Win and press PrtScn to capture the entire screen and save that file to a folder on your computer called Screenshots, nested within the Pictures folder. Attach that file to your next email reply to the support team.

If you're using a mobile device (Android or iOS), Chrome OS, or Linux, you can find some pleasantly detailed instructions on how to take screenshots on these devices here. That's also a great option if you prefer your directions in a different language!

How to use Basecamp Debug

https://basecamp-debug.com/

This is a tool to help the Basecamp support team diagnose issues you may be experiencing. We may ask you to visit it if we need the information to resolve what's going on!

The page will tell you what your IPv4 address is and there are some really useful browser tests that run automatically. 

We'll be specific about what we need from you so if you're even unsure about what to copy from this site, please do let us know!

(If you're interested in the specifics, Basecamp Debug is performing a javascript request to files in each of our asset providers so we can verify that it's working from your browser. There's also a nice little calculation to give us an idea of what your download speed is.)

What version of Basecamp am I using?

You could either be using Basecamp Classic, Basecamp 2, or Basecamp 3. You can see the visual differences here:

You can also tell what version you're using by looking at the URL in the address bar of your page:

Basecamp 3:

Basecamp 2:

Basecamp Classic:

We'll focus on Basecamp 3 to dig into what version of the mobile or desktop app you're using.

BC3 iPhone App

Open the app and tap on the "Me" icon on the bottom righthand side of the page. Now look to the top left of the page and you'll see a gear icon ⚙. Past your notifications and your profile, you'll see a section for support and your exact version under "What's new?"

BC3 Android App

Open the app and tap on the "My Stuff" icon on the bottom righthand side of the page. Scroll down past your notification and device settings, you'll see your exact version at the bottom:

BC3 Mac Desktop App

Open the desktop app and click on "Basecamp 3" tab on the menu bar. You'll see what version you're using in a lighter font. In this example, it's Version 2.1.0:

BC3 Windows Desktop App

Open the desktop app and click on "Basecamp 3" in the top left menu bar. You'll see what version you're using in a lighter font. In this example, it's Version 2.1.0:

Generating an HAR file

Sometimes a troubleshooting journey will lead the support team to ask you to generate an HAR file. It's a log that of network requests while the issue at hand is occurring that we'll review. It's wonderful for analysis! Just as wonderful is Zendesk's support page on how to generate that HAR file! Here's their guide on how to generate that file for us using different browsers.

How to find a specific URL or link

Each Basecamp account has an account number to help us identify your data on the back end. They're unique to an account — a big part of why we ask for it. Letting us know the account URL helps us focus on the account you're asking about. 

We also have numbers for each project, each team, and the HQ in your account. Here's the format:

ww w.3.basecamp.com/ *account number*/projects/*project number*

Account number

Click on the Home to get your account URL. Copy the URL in the address bar of your browser:

Sometimes we'll need to ask you for a link to something specific in your account. We'll go over how to get each kind of link: 

Project, Team or HQ

Click on the Home page, then click on the project, team, or HQ that we're asking you about. Copy the URL in the address bar by right-clicking and choosing to copy it by hitting Command + C (Control + V on Windows). Paste it in your reply to the support team.

Messages, Events, Files, Email Forwards

These are all single URLs. You can share the URL to a single file, a single message, a single comment, and a single email forward by clicking into the tool, then the exact thing in question. Copy the URL and share it with us, please!

Here's a GIF of how it looks to get the URL of a single Message Board post:

Comments

There's a little timestamp on the right-hand side of a single comment. If it's the URL of a comment you want to share with us, navigate to that comment first. Then, right-click the timestamp and choose "Copy link address". 

A GIF of that process:

To-Do lists, To-Do groups, To-dos

To-Do lists have a few layers. The topmost is the to-do list! Begin in the project/team/HQ that we're focusing on, then click on the To-Do tool. Next, click on the name of the To-Do list and copy the URL.

Going one layer further, click on the To-Do group and copy the URL from the address bar. Note that you may not have To-Do groups set up — and that's quite alright! Only grab this link if you're asked for it. 😊

Campfire

There are two possible links that we may ask for. The first is of the entire Campfire tool:

The second would be a link to a specific post in that Campfire conversation. Right-click the timestamp of the post and copy the link address:

Pings

Similar to Campfire, there are two possible links to give us here. The first is of the entire Ping conversation:

The second would be a link to a specific post in that Ping conversation. Right-click the timestamp of the post and copy the link address: