How To Become a Trello Power User

Best Hardware: New Devices to Foster Creativity and Security

This month, there are three twisty new products that just might jump-start your workflow.

We’ll start with a keyboard that’s got a twist: It lets you concentrate on creating documents and illustrations without having to stop in your tracks to remember how to call up frequently used functions in different applications.

Next, a twist on Internet security: a  tiny desktop box that lets you see and control who is using your network and on what devices.

And finally, a power play: a portable power outlet to charge mobile devices and even your laptop.

 Logitech Keyboard Lets Us Dial in Frequently Used App Functions

Whether you are composing a word-processing document or crafting an intricate illustration or web design, a foundational tool to create them is the keyboard. Until now, there was no keyboard that offered instant access to the app-specific functions you need while adapting to the app you are using. But the aptly-named Craft Keyboard from Logitech lets us literally call up functions with the twist of an on-board dial.

The backlit keyboard, which lights up as soon as your hands hover over the keys, is armed with keys scalloped for a comfy fit. You can connect the keyboard via a USB dongle inserted into the computer or via Bluetooth pairing. The Craft can be paired with up to three devices — Windows, Android or macOS – and each can be accessed with three dedicated keys on the top right.

What makes the Craft unique is its touch-sensitive aluminum dial, dubbed the Crown. It recognizes the app you are working in and gives instant control of that app’s tools you need. I just barely touch the crown to instantly access context-sensitive functions. In Microsoft Word, for example, I touched the Crown to select font and turn the dial to select the font size. When I moved to Adobe Photoshop, a touch of the Crown immediately brought up the crop function to resize my photo. Dialing let me size it up in a snap.

Selecting the specific functions in each app  is completed using the free Logitech Options, which also works to customize Logitech mice settings and other recent keyboards. Currently Options works with the following applications: Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint; and Adobe Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, Premiere Pro CC; and Adobe In Design CC. More apps will be supported in the future.

At nearly three pounds, this high-end professional keyboard is best kept firmly on the desktop or table, making typing with no wiggle room ergonomically comfortable and controlled. Logitech says the battery on the wireless keyboard should last at least seven days, depending on the user’s workload. A USB recharging cable is included, which can be connected to any USB power source, be it PC or wall adapter. I got ten days’ use before I needed to recharge.

Logitech’s Craft clearly has its mark on the multi-tasking professional with its $199 price tag. What it so smartly handles with its Crown dial will be worth the cost for the audience it’s aimed at.

For Mastering Your Network Security, You’ve Got that “Fing”

The Fingbox monitors and controls your home network. After loading an app on my smartphone (it works with either Apple or Android), I was the master of my Internet universe or at least if felt that way.

The app quickly found the Fingbox on my network and then inventoried every device connected to it either by WiFi or Ethernet cable. The intuitive display was easy to understand and did not require a degree in networking to take charge. Next to each device listed on the app display was a “Block Device” label which I could touch to take it off the network.

While all my devices were safe, if an unknown intruder gained entry, the Fingbox’s set of LED lights would switch to red from the normal okay status blue and I would get an alert on my phone. Fing persistently monitors for opened ports, malicious threats and vulnerabilities. Blocking devices extends to blocking users, too; that’s great for pausing all kid’s devices. To knock the intruder into the dust, I would simply press Block Device on the app.

The Fingbox is a particularly worthwhile investment ($129) for anyone with a basic Internet router. But more advanced ones which also used smartphone apps to monitor and control home networks already have most of these functions built in, like, for example, the Amplifi router I reviewed back on September 22, 2016. Still, one feature these advanced routers don’t have which Fingbox does is the ability to remotely monitor your network. I was able to monitor my network anywhere using my phone app whether the phone was connected by WiFi or by cell service.

I could also check to see which device (or user) was hogging bandwidth and with a few touches on the phone re-proportion network throughput.  Like I said, with Fingbox you become the master of your network. More Netflix streaming for me, and less Youtube for young Joey. The kid should be doing homework anyway.

Portable Power Outlet: When the Lights Go Out, My PC Stays On

MyCharge.com’s Portable Power Outlet is billed as a charging hub and inverter which is a prosaic way of describing what amounts to a mini-electric generator—no diesel oil needed.. After all, this 2.5 pound battery pack can not only recharging the expected smartphones, tablets, and other portable USB devices but it kept my laptop operating long after the power in the house went out.

With a Lithium Ion battery capacity of 20000mAh built into its 5 by 5.75 inch chassis, the Portable Power Outlet has enough juice to keep a 65-watt powered laptop running and recharge other mobile devices simultaneously. It is armed with not only an AC port that work like any wall outlet in your house as well as two USB 2.0 ports and one USB-C 3.0 port. On-off switches on top let you power one or two devices separately or in tandem.

I liked that the outlet comes with the intelligence to ensure complete device compatibility and stop charging devices when it senses they are at 100 percent. MyCharge says the battery can hold its charge for up to one year. And when charging small USB devices, they recharge much faster than with smaller battery packs.

But, like any ‘generator’ the Portable Power Outlet does not come cheap at $180. Currently it is available only at the manufacturer’s website.

How To Become a Trello Power User

By now you know what Trello can do for you when it comes to organization and project management, and you’ve learned the basics of setting up Trello for your own personal needs. You’ve also read an overview of Trello for teams, including how the application can facilitate better communication and collaboration.

You can use Trello well, even effectively, with just that information. But to really become a Trello power user you’ll want to step up your game with keyboard shortcuts, application tie-ins, and automation. Here are the tips and tricks you need to know to upgrade Trello from convenient to life changing.

Learn the Keyboard Shortcuts

There are a variety of keyboard shortcuts that can be used within Trello to save you time and clicks. “Trello’s system can have a learning curve for new users,” says Brad M. Shaw, president/CEO of Dallas Web Design Inc. Learning keyboard shortcuts changed this for him, and therefore changed his relationship with the app. “Doing simple things like using the space bar to assign the card to yourself, pressing D to open the due date menu and L to add a label saves valuable time,” Shaw says.

Here are some of the most valuable keyboard shortcuts — the ones you’ll use nearly every time you’re in Trello:

• Arrows: The left and right arrow keys allow you to move between adjacent cards. To select the car below the current one, press J. And to select the card above the current one, press K.
• B: To open the boards menu in the Trello header, press B. You can then use the up and down arrows to select the board you want, and then Enter to open the selected board.
• C: To quickly archive a card you have open or selected, press C.
• D: Need to add a due date to a card? Press D when it’s open or selected and you’ll get the due date picker.
• E: Quick edit allows you to change the title and other attributes of a card. Open this option by pressing E when the card is selected.
• Enter: When a card is selected, press Enter to open it.
• Command or Ctrl plus Enter: Press Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) and Enter at the same time to save any text you’re writing. This includes comments, a card description, etc.
• Esc: To get out of what you’re doing–for example, adding a comment to a card–without saving your edits, press Esc.

Take the Time to Learn Markdown

Need to keep markdown tips handy while you learn it? Keep it handy in a card on your board.

Markdown is a simple language used to add formatting to text, and learning it can radically improve your Trello experience.

“Using markdown effectively will open up a whole range of possibilities regarding how you organize your information on Trello cards,” says Sam Warren, marketing manager at RankPay.

Here are some of the basics:

• Bold: Put two asterisks around text you want to appear in bold, **like this**.
• Italics: This works the same way as bold but with a single underscore, _like this_.
• If you need to use double asterisks, or underscores, but don’t want them to format text, surround the text with a single apostrophe on each end, ‘_like_this_’.
• Blockquote: Use a greater-than sign to put text in blockquotes, > like this.
• Lists: Use a single asterisk, a plus sign, or a single hyphen at the start of a line to create lists, and a number with a period after it to make numbered lists.

Take Advantage of Automation

If it’s useful to have an easy way to save links to your Trello board, the Chrome extension will come in handy.

There are some applications that can automate tasks within Trello, or make it possible for you to do them without going directly into your boards every time.

If you use Chrome, the Trello bookmarklet allows you to add links to your boards right from your browser, without navigating away from the page. Each link will appear as a new card on the board and list you suggest.

And Butler Bot is a bot that allows users to automate their workflows in Trello. You can use Butler to create custom buttons that perform frequent Trello actions with a single click: for example, schedule a card for the same day each week, or ensure cards are automatically marked as complete as soon as every item on their checklists has been marked as done. The commands are created in plain English instead of programming language, which means it’s simple for even non-programmers to automate a workflow on top of Trello.

Integrations, Applications, and Extensions

You can use Trello even when you aren’t in Trello–for example, in Slack via the official app.

Users with a no-cost Trello account can add one Power-Up per board. Power-Ups allow you to link another application in with your board, for greater functionality. For example, if you’re using a board to plan an editorial calendar, or for another purpose that involves a lot of due dates, the Calendar Power-Up and it’s split-screen monthly view may be helpful.

If your team is using Streak for communications and Trello for planning, combining the two via the Trello for Slack app can really smooth the process. You can add Trello boards directly to a Slack conversation, or see key insights by pasting a Trello link directly into a Slack channel. You can also connect Slack conversations to Trello cards.

There are dozens of other extensions and applications that work well with Trello, depending on your and your team’s needs.

More Handy Tips and Tricks

Remind yourself about old cards: “I enable ‘Card Aging’ so cards that haven’t been touched change color over time, avoiding anything falling through the cracks,” says Vu Mark Nguyen, marketing director at Phoenix LiDAR Systems.

Use due dates: You can set due dates for each card, which gives you notifications in the right-side menu when cards become due and can help you and your team stay on track. “Remember that you only get to set one due date for a card,” says Bart Turczynski, editor at Uptowork. “Set everything up so that you don’t need to keep switching due dates or resort to keeping track of them in the description field.”

Those two tips, along with the others in this article, should get you started–and explore  this Trello board for more ideas that may take your Trello use to the next level.