Setting Contexts

37Signals has released their new version of Backpack, their simple organization system.

New features (from the website):
1. Move anything anywhere on a page
Now you can order the elements on your page anyway you’d like. You can have a note on top of a list or three files then a photo then a note then a list. They’re your pages to organize the way you want.
2. Move stuff to other pages
Moving stuff on a page is hot, but now you can also move stuff to other pages. One page getting cluttered? Go on, just drag it to another page. You can even create a brand new page by dragging the item to the “Make a new page” button.
3. Search!
You can now search all your Backpack pages from any page. The search field is right under the “Make a new page” button.
4. Page dividers
Page dividers let you compartmentalize your pages to keep your stuff even better organized. You can label the dividers anything you’d like.
5. New toolbar
We’ve cleaned up the toolbar and put it at the top of the page instead of under the page title. This keeps your pages nice and clean. Everything under the toolbar is yours.
6. Multiple photo galleries per page
You can now group photos in galleries and add as many galleries to a page as you’d like. You can also move the photos around inside a gallery!
7. Better titles for lists, notes, and pictures
Now every list gets a title (it defaults to “List” but you can rename it anything you’d like). Note titles are optional. Picture galleries can be titled now as well.
8. Page feeds for shared pages
Every shared Backpack page now has an RSS feed. This helps you stay up to date when someone else changes the page. You can also subscribe to all your pages at once on the “My Pages” screen.

I’ve started using it again after about a six-month layoff and am really liking the changes (especially the drag/drop and the dividers). Packrat, the invaluable Backpack desktop app, is reportedly working on an update to utilize all the new features (It’s now updated!). This app easily integrates Backpack use into any established GTD system (or your own non-specific…).

My Backpack compatriot is surely going to write one of his detailed posts on this update (He’s a big Backpack fan!). I’ll point to his post as soon as it’s up Update – it’s here!).

Relevant Links:
37Signals announcement
ReadWriteWeb