Hi there, two big ones for you this update, let's get to it.

Slash command to create and edit faster than ever

Since the earliest days of Rise, you've been asking about ways to create tasks and adjust their properties by using the keyboard. After doing our research on it, we settled on the idea of the slash command. It's simple: whenever you're in an input to create (or edit) a task, you can press /. It will pop up a menu, which you can use to update almost all properties of a task: you can move it between projects, adjust the due date, update labels, and so on.

Most of the times, those new ideas take a bit of time to settle in to feel really great, but this is an exception: from the first time we used it, it felt amazing. Using slash allows many more options to be added without learning a specific language. And Dany did great work on the details, like the menu automatically moving out of the way when you actually need to use a slash in your title.

Visual dependencies

We're on a roll, because there's also a cool update to the timeline view: we now visually link tasks that depend on another task using a smooth line. In more complicated projects it can be hard to spot if something can already be done or if you're blocked by someone else. These lines instantly make those dependencies visible.

Other fixes and improvements

• Improvement: we now show milestones in the timeline variant of the projects overview as well
• Improvement: when using quick add, it will always open on the monitor your mouse cursor is at, which is useful if you use more than one display
• Improvement: no more delay when adding new subtasks to a task
• Improvement: in the quarter timeline, you now are seeing a today indicator and we highlight the day and week number your cursor is currently at
• Fixed: the context menu is back for tasks in your left sidebar
• Fixed: when you use the quick add modal, Rise no longer closes when it was visible in the background
• Fixed: we now correctly import Google Calendar events with type 'fromGmail' which are events created automatically by Gmail about flight tickets and other info from your emails

Big update today! We're officially launching widgets for iOS.

Since the day we launched our mobile app, you've been asking for widgets. We're excited to share that widgets are live, today. In the 1.3.0 update, you'll find our two variants: a really nice wide one that gives you a clean overview of what's on your plate for today. We also shipped a smaller version to show the current month. We have a lot of ideas for more options, but do let us know what you would find helpful.

Get the latest version of Rise for iOS, including the widgets, in the App Store

Additionally, we fixed a bunch of issues in the app. Most important changes:

• Fixed a very annoying issue where you would be logged out on flaky connections. That should be a thing of the past now
• Fixed long calendar list not being scrollable
• Fixed empty state on mobile filter views
• Fixed case where updating the task duration would not update the end time
• Improved placeholder images on dark mode
• Improvement: you now have a month picker for task due dates instead of the rolling date picker

Other improvements and changes

• Improvement: we fixed a case where smart color coding for tasks was not applied. We also now give you the option to apply a specific color for Rise tasks instead of having one color coding for both events without location or attendees and tasks.
• Improvement: improved sorting of assignees when assigning a task
• Fixed: copying an event would no longer copy over the title correctly

Available now: a seamless integration between Rise and Slack.

Link your Slack workspace to keep track of all those loose ends

Work is messy. Which is fine, as long as you have a place to make sure everything is tracked so you know who is still waiting on you. That's why we've built a deep integration with Slack, which allows you to create tasks right from any channel. And when you get around to tackle the task, Rise automatically pings the Slack thread, so everyone is updated right away.

Link your Slack account to Rise

We'd love to hear your feedback about it. Want to read a bit more about how the integration works and what it can do? Here's the documentation.

Other fixes and improvements

• Improvement: you can now reorder your favorite projects by dragging and dropping
• Improvement: you can set or update the status of a project, as well as create custom project statuses per workspace, just like you can do for task statuses
• Improvement: milestone marker in project now also shows a progress indicator, and we also no longer take canceled tasks into account for progress
• Improvement: when deleting a project we now highlight that connected tasks to that project will be deleted as well
• Improvement: you can now press Cmd (or Ctrl on Windows) and click in your calendar to create a task
• Improvement: you can now press Enter in the title field to directly save the event or task you're working on
• Improvement: we made it easier to add a missing task status if you're dragging a task to a column that is not yet enabled for a workspace
• Fixed: if you upload an attachment that is larger than 25 MB, we now show a proper error message
• Fixed: dragging an attachment on top of a task now is much easier, because you can use the whole page or side panel as drop area
• Fixed: highlight missing data when creating or updating a custom field
• Fixed: improve tracking of active team members so you're not billed for inactivated members
• Fixed: in some cases we would load your contacts multiple times, resulting in incorrect search results when adding attendees
• Fixed: always show project in breadcrumb, also when deeplinking into a task
• Fixed: it was not always possible to save an event where it contains an attendee with a special address used by Apple Calendar
• Fixed: a Google Calendar focus time event saving could fail when we incorrectly reset the type of the event
• Fixed: we incorrectly allowed editing events where you were the creator but not organizer, which caused some changes to events no to be saved to Google Calendar
• Fixed: pressing the escape key would not correctly exit the contact search field
• Fixed: when creating a subtask in the task details panel directly after creating a new task, the tasks would not be linked together correctly

We have a bunch of cool updates to share, and we hope you like it.

Personal workspaces are free

We want everyone to feel comfortable getting started with Rise and we're always looking for ways to simplify. Teams pay for Rise. For personal use, you can use your personal workspace for free, without limits.

Rise is the best way to manage your time, tasks and projects, and we also hope this adds one more reason to recommend Rise to colleagues, friends and family members.

Custom fields for projects

We shipped our most powerful addition to projects to date: custom fields. You can now define a set of fields for a project to help you structure and organize projects and tasks in any way you want.

Use fields to store text, numbers, dates and links, and you're also able to group by custom fields to build the view that fits your needs.

Every project has different requirements and with this we unlock the exact fields that help stay organized.

New task details page

Some tasks are simple oneliners, which can be handled from anywhere in Rise. Others require more space to write and discuss. With the growing set of options like milestones, custom fields and other elements, we took this as an opportunity to reorganize the task details page. The title and description are now front and center, and we moved some properties out of the way so you'll have faster access to the activity and comments posted.

Public API

We think that having one place for projects and tasks can make all the difference. This is why we make it easy to shape Rise to make it fit to your specific requirements, but we're also releasing access to our public API today. With our API, you can build your own integrations to add tasks and projects from any other source.

We've already seen some users build bots for Telegram, integrate with Notion, Hubspot and other sources. We'd love to highlight and showcase your integrations, so if you've built something fun, let us know.

Here's the documentation on getting started with the Rise API

Other improvements and fixes

• Fixed: we added incorrect suggestions to your calendar when using share availability when having set your calendar to start your week on Sunday
• Fixed: when dragging a task in timeline view, we were not updating the due date
• Fixed: Outlook event switched back to not accepted after accepting an invite
• Fixed: when opening an attached image to a task, there was no way to get back to Rise
• Fixed: when creating a new project, you can now also change the destination workspace
• Fixed: autocomplete for contacts was not working when user had a huge set of contacts
• Fixed: in some cases a task cannot be moved to a status column, we now show proper feedback to the user if that is the case
• Improvement: you can now set the projected start and end date for projects in the project details panel
• Improvement: you can now filter by workspace when looking at the Tasks page which displays all your tasks
• Improvement: we have revamped our notification email, which is now a collection of recent unopened notifications
• Improvement: you can now delete workspaces you're an admin of and which are not relevant. More updates to workspaces coming soon
• Improvement: we're now rendering milestones in a nice visual way in the project timeline view
• Improvement: when adding/removing task dependencies, or when a task is no longer blocked because a dependency was marked as done, the linked tasks are automatically updated
• Improvement: we no longer show the milestones filter option when a project does not use milestones

Over the past weeks, we’ve been shipping a ton of bigger and smaller things, and it’s about time we share those with you. Enjoy!

Projects on a timeline

We've been working our way up, so to say: we started with tasks in the calendar, then moved onto projects. Seeing one project on a timeline is useful, but the projects timeline gives you the big picture. Additionally, you can view your projects on a board and we also added inline search to quickly find the project you're looking for.

Filters

Next to the grouping and sorting options we already had, we now added a feature where you can apply specific filters when looking at all your tasks or when looking at a specific project. Filters are saved, just for you, so you can just change to make it fit exactly what you need.

By the way: we also added a super fast global search. Press cmd+k (or ctrl+k on Windows) and start typing. Next to all available actions, you can search in all your projects and tasks and jump to them.

Task dependencies

A task almost never stands on its own. You can now specify links between tasks, and we'll help show what is blocking from getting started. This is laying the foundation for a lot more visual and functional features we can lay on top of that information.

Other improvements and fixes

• Improvement: when changing events on a Google Calendar that are not editable, we now offer the option to jump to the propose new time feature at Google
• Improvement: unread notifications stand out a bit more compared to read notifications
• Improvement: you can now assign a lead to a project, as well as add a description to a project
• Improvement: you can now assign labels to projects
• Improvement: we now show the milestone on the list and card views
• Improvement: in the view options for a project, you can now show or hide specific fields you would like to see
• Fixed: task titles exposed while the toggle said that task titles were not being exposed
• Fixed: using alt-tab now always brings back Rise to the foreground, also after the quick add modal was used
• Fixed: the mobile app could log you out in some cases, this should happen no more
• Fixed: if you create a task in board view and click on the title right away, the task was not saved
• Fixed: on iOS, if you pick the date for a task, we use a month picker instead of the inconvenient date picker
• Fixed: when having lots of tasks in one board view, typing becomes very slow
• Fixed: typing brackets into the new event title field no longer instantly converted it into a task

Here's what's new: a timeline view for projects, and project milestones.

Timeline view for projects

When mapping out larger projects, especially when you’re coordinating work, it’s helpful to see what is happening at which date. Switching to the new timeline view helps you do just that.

Milestones for projects

While projects are a great way to track progress, sometimes you want to break things up even more. That’s where milestones are great: they allow you to divide work up in smaller iterations and make it easy to see if you’re on track.

Features in beta

We’re currently working on a few other features that we haven’t rolled out to everyone yet. We’re happy to enable them for you for early access, if you’re interested. Here’s what we are working on:

• Custom fields: allows you to define a number of fields to record for your tasks within a project.
• Project & task templates: useful if you want to set up a repeatable structure for projects, or quickly create tasks that have predefines checklists and other content.
• API: we have first teams making use of an API to create projects and tasks, allowing to link various systems together
• Asana import: if you want to migrate your Asana projects into Rise, we have built an importer to do just that. We’re happy to guide you through if you’re interested.

We're happy to give you a tour and discuss how we can help make the transition to Rise.

We have released our biggest update so far to our iOS app. The latest version allows you to see, add and update all your tasks and projects from wherever you are. And if that’s not enough: we also added dark mode. More details below.

If you do not yet use Rise on iOS, get it here. We hope you enjoy this upgrade, and please keep sharing your feedback! By the way, the same upgrade is nearly ready for Android, too. You can join the public beta here, if you want. The only note there is that notifications for tasks and projects are not enabled yet.

Manage tasks & projects from wherever

When you open Rise, you’ll still land on the familiar calendar. But in addition, we added your task inbox, my focus, tasks and projects to it. It’s fast, clean and neatly organized so you have access to your tasks and projects right when you need it.

Unblock your team with notifications and quick comments

Just like we have in our desktop app, Rise can keep you up to date about changes in tasks and projects that are relevant to you. One tap takes you to the task so you can take action or respond right away.

If notifications are not needed, you can easily disable all tasks for projects and tasks so you can keep getting notifications for events.

Faster loading and offline mode

One other thing you’ll notice: while we added a ton of features, we also managed to make the app launch a lot faster. We do that by saving the state of your work on device, which also has the benefit that an internet connection is no longer required to open Rise. We primarily focused on loading performance, so the offline mode might be a little rough around the edges. If you run into issues, let us know.

Dark mode!

We think this was one of the most requested items of feedback after launching the first version of the mobile app: can we have dark mode? That’s there now. Toggle it based on your preference, or based on system settings.

Desktop quick search

If you’re switching between tasks and projects a lot, speed matters. So we released a new feature to allow you to quickly jump to any project or task in Rise. Simply press Cmd+K (or Ctrl+K on Windows) and start typing.

Other fixes and improvements

• Fixed: in the mobile app, it was not possible to open a location for a read only event, that works now
• Fixed: when creating a new team in Rise, we did not fall back to email when user did not set a first and/or last name
• Improvement: in task descriptions, you can now create links with custom schemes: 'bear://', 'linear://', 'readdle-spark://'
• Improvement: you can now copy a url for a task or project using the vertical dots menu (or via Cmd+K)

We’re launching something new today: the Rise Ambassador Program. A fancy name for rewarding anyone bringing their team (or any other team too, that’s fine). We know transitioning between tools can be a hurdle, and the best person to advocate for a better tool is someone on the team. We already see that happening, and we think it’s so valuable that we want to reward that.

The Rise Ambassador Program

In addition, we have a bunch of ideas for resources to make being an ambassador even better — in our view you’re not an ambassador for Rise, but an ambassador for better work.

On to the updates:

One place for things that change with the new updates section

You now have an official ‘Updates’ section in Rise (also accessible by tying G and then U on your keyboard). When a task you’ve subscribed to changes, you’ll be notified right there. It’s a great way to stay in the loop, without leaving Rise.

Meeting Boards for Outlook

We finalized and unlocked support for creating meeting boards for Outlook accounts. The reason for delaying it a bit is that we needed a good way to identify all relevant recurring events, across accounts, which was a fun challenge. But now that all works, and if you're on Outlook you should see the button to create a new Meeting Board appear for repeating events. For now we limit the feature to the events where everyone is part of your domain, to make sure you're not giving others outside your organization access.

Other changes and improvements

• Improvement: when creating a Meeting Board, we now no longer automatically email everyone but instead ask you if we should do that
• Improvement: when you reschedule a task that was planned for a time, we now reset the time so it will jump to all day instead
• Improvement: you can now copy the link to a task and project via the dots menu
• Improvement: in list view, the project labels are now buttons with dropdown menus so you can quickly change various properties from there
• Fixed: when you would press cmd+enter (or control+enter) when adding a new subtask, the sidebar would close instead of saving and allowing you to keep adding subtasks

With the addition of Projects to Rise, we are closing one of the bigger pain points for teams: not having one overview of what is important. Meeting boards are a great way to link work with events. Odyss is a team that decided to completely move their operations to Rise a few months ago, and we sat down with the CTO to hear how they make the most of Rise in their day to day. Here's the full interview with Nolan from Odyss. We're happy to help onboard the rest of your team too -- let us know if you need help with that.

Show all project tasks in your calendar

In the last update we introduced a feature which allows you to mark projects as favorite. Now you can also toggle all tasks for one of your favorites and have all project tasks, not just the ones assigned to yourself, show up in your calendar. Whether it's to quickly see what the rest of your team is up to, check a shared content calendar or use a project to track who is on holiday--you can have it all.

Meeting board inline tasks

Meeting boards are our way to help keep your repeating events on track. They are there right where you need them, and checking what is left to do is a quick glance away.

We have improved meeting boards a bit more by not just linking a board view, but pulling in the most relevant tasks. They are now showing up in the hovercard, as well as in the sidebar. It is also there where you can use our new inline add to jot down things that need doing.

Quick add in My Focus

Continuing on the theme of making it easier to add new items: My Focus now also allows you to add new tasks without having to switch to the popup to do that.

My Focus is a bit our ‘playing area’, where we can mix different concepts to help you stay on track – improving the ability to quickly organize and rearrange your day is one of them. This is also why we decided to make the inline add a bit smarter: it will add it right after the last planned task for the day.

Improvements and fixes

• Improvement: events that span multiple days but are not marked as all day are now by default added to the all day section.
• Improvement: improved left sidebar navigation by merging the two, confusing buttons, into one
• Improvement: it is now possible to set or update the scheduled time for task from the details panel
• Improvement: on Mac, you can now make the menu bar automatically switch to a ‘small’ variant (just the Rise icon) when there are no upcoming meetings (settings → menu bar)
• Fixed: when creating an event in an Outlook calendar, we no longer send multiple emails when the Zoom meeting is attached
• Fixed: we would not take default conferencing solution into account for Outlook calendars
• Fixed: when opening the calendar of a colleague, we now show their scheduled tasks too (the ones you have access to) and we show them in the correct color
• Fixed: after changing the selection of smart-color coding, the settings would show the same color twice
• Fixed: render a changelog item for a task when the description is added or changed
• Fixed: My Focus badge incorrectly included done tasks in the open tasks badge
• Fixed: preserve ordering of subtasks when marking a recurring parent task as complete

We're back at it with improvements that help you sail through your day, wherever you are.

Rise for Android is here

We've worked hard on processing all your feedback about our Android app, and we're super happy to share you can get it now on the Google Play store. It comes with fast and smooth navigation, a really nice one, two or three day view and fast access to your scheduling links. As a little bonus, just like on iOS, a long press on the plus button allows you you quickly drop a task for processing later.

Favorite projects

Working with tasks in Rise is already pretty smooth, but we have big plans for projects. One of the things you've mentioned is that it would be great to have the ability to pin a few key projects to have quick access, so that's what we've shipped. Head over to any project and click the star icon in the top right to have it be visible wherever you are in Rise.

Other fixes and improvements

• Improvement: it is now possible to get rid of the "No more events today" and "No upcoming events" in your menu bar (head over to Settings → Menu bar and toggle "Hide menu bar when there are no events")
• Improvement: we introduced more granular settings to expose task titles, and because of that we decided to switch to exposing titles by default for new accounts
• Improvement: adding a task by clicking the plus button at the top of each column in the board view now adds the task at the top of the column
• Improvement: we've tweaked the highlight of the number of open tasks in the left sidebar, and we are now showing both the open items in your Inbox, as well as the open tasks in My Focus
• Improvement: you can now move a task back to your private workspace from the project dropdown in any task
• Improvement: we now highlight the fact that you have set a custom display timezone when editing the custom times in a scheduling link, which could lead to frustrating edits
• Improvement: for those who want to get our updates in a different fashion, we're now expose our posts and updates in RSS too! You can find the link on our changelog and blog
• Fixed: event type tabs break layout when scroll bar is visible – this is now handled correctly
• Fixed (Android): notifications now also trigger when the app is not in the foreground
• Fixed (Android): overlays no longer show a white background
• Fixed (Android): improve performance of opening events and tasks
• Fixed: copy task link shortcut also triggered opening the settings
• Fixed: adding a comment to a task would incorrectly mention the creator of the task as the commenter instead of the commenter