Card Tables

Card Tables are Basecamp's take on a Kanban board. They’re designed for work that moves through stages rather than work that’s simply done or not done. They’re a natural fit for tracking bugs, managing a content pipeline, handling incoming requests, or any workflow where seeing the full picture at a glance matters more than a checklist.

Jump to:

• Adding a card
• Working with cards
• Moving a card
• Watching a column
• Managing columns

To access Card Tables, open a project and click Card Table. If it’s not enabled, add it from the + button. Card Tables can be shown or hidden from clients depending on your tool settings.

Adding a card

Add a card to track a piece of work.

Click + Add a card, or press Shift + M. You can also click the ••• menu in a progress column and select Add card.

Give the card a title, assign it to someone, add a due date, and include any details you need.

Assigned cards appear on a person’s Assignment's page. Cards with due dates appear on the Calendar and can send “Due soon” notifications.

Working with cards

Open a card to add details, leave comments, and track progress. Click Notify me on a card to follow updates and conversations. You’ll receive notifications when there’s new activity.

Break work into smaller pieces by adding subtasks inside a card. Each subtask can be assigned and given a due date.

Completing a subtask doesn’t change the card’s overall status, so you can move the card forward when it’s ready.

Drag and drop subtasks to reorder them.

Subscribers are notified when a subtask is added or completed. People assigned to a subtask also receive a sidebar notification.

Moving a card

Move cards between columns as work progresses.

Drag and drop a card to a new column directly from the Card Table, or open the card and move it using the dropdown menu.

Watching a column

Watch a column to stay on top of new work as it comes in.

Click the ••• menu on a column and select Watch this column to receive notifications when new cards are added. You’ll see who’s watching a column at the top of it.

Managing columns

Columns represent the stages of your workflow, and you can adjust them to fit your team’s process.

New Card Tables start with default columns like Triage, In Progress, and Done, but you can customize them as needed.

Use the column menu to rename, color, or remove a column. To add a column, click the + to the right of your existing columns.

You can also collapse columns to focus on what matters and reduce visual clutter. Hover over a column header and click the arrow icon to collapse it. To expand it again, hover over the columns and click the arrow icon under the name.

Your collapsed and expanded columns are saved just for you, so you’ll always see the board the way you left it.

To pause work without moving it out of the column, enable the On Hold area from the column menu.

To remove a column, archive it or move it to the trash from the same menu.