Migrating Basecamp 2 Projects to Basecamp 5
Only the account owner can run a migration, and the same person must own both the Basecamp 2 and Basecamp 5 accounts. Before you start, it's worth knowing what comes over and what doesn't — a few things in Basecamp 2 either don't exist in Basecamp 5 or work differently enough that they can't transfer automatically.
What moves over
When you migrate a project, these items transfer completely:
- All users on the project, including their company or organization
- Messages
- To-dos
- Files
- Documents (current version only — see below)
- Forwarded emails
- Non-recurring events
- Comments on any of the above
What doesn't move over
Some things in Basecamp 2 either don't have a direct equivalent in Basecamp 5 or can't be transferred automatically:
- Admin roles and billing permissions (you'll need to reassign these in Basecamp 5)
- Groups for people (you can [[recreate them]])
- Previous versions of documents (only the current version transfers)
- Recurring events
- File tags
- Standalone calendars
- Templates
- Client projects (there's a workaround — see below)
How to migrate a project
Migrations are managed in Adminland. The owner of your Basecamp 2 account and your Basecamp 5 account must be the same person — this is what links the two accounts together. Once you're in Adminland:
- Click Move projects from Basecamp 2 to Basecamp 5.
- Read through the confirmation screens and click through to proceed.
- If you own multiple Basecamp 2 accounts, you'll be asked which one you want to move projects from.
- You'll see a list of your active and archived Basecamp 2 projects. Archived projects will stay archived after they move. Projects in the trash can't be migrated.
- Click Move over next to the project you want to migrate.
Large projects with lots of files can take some time. You'll get an email when your project is ready in Basecamp 5. Once it's moved, your Basecamp 2 project will be automatically archived.
A note on how people are handled: Everyone from your Basecamp 2 project will be added to your Basecamp 5 account. People from your company will come over as Employee users. Everyone else will come over as Outside Collaborators. You can adjust their access from Adminland after the migration.
Migrating client projects
Client projects don't migrate automatically because Basecamp 2 and Basecamp 5 handle client access differently. Before moving a project that has clients on it, you'll need to remove those clients in Basecamp 2 first.
In Basecamp 2:
- Go to the project and click Invite more people, then select the Client tab.
- Remove all clients listed there.
- Click Turn this option off.
Now you can migrate the project following the steps above. Once it's in Basecamp 5, invite your clients directly from the new project.
If a removed client had posted any content (a comment, a file, etc.) to the project in Basecamp 2, they'll still come over as an Outside Collaborator in Basecamp 5 — but they won't have access to the project itself. You can convert them to a Client user and add them to the project whenever you're ready.
Common questions
Will people be notified when a project moves?
No. People won't receive any notification. Once the migration is complete, they'll see the Basecamp 5 account in their account list at launchpad.37signals.com.
Will my entire Basecamp 2 account be added to Basecamp 5?
No — only people connected to the projects you migrate. Someone who was removed from a project before you migrated it won't be added, unless they created content in that project (in which case they'll come over as an Outside Collaborator without project access).
Can I undo a migration?
Yes. You can unarchive your Basecamp 2 project at any time and pick up where you left off. Anything you added to the project in Basecamp 5 after the migration won't be reflected in Basecamp 2 — you'd need to copy that over manually.
I'm on Basecamp Classic. Can I migrate directly to Basecamp 5?
Not directly. You'll need to move your Classic projects to Basecamp 2 first, and then from Basecamp 2 to Basecamp 5. Wait until your Classic projects are fully in Basecamp 2 before switching Basecamp 2 to a free preserved plan.
I have a question not answered here.
Send us a message over at basecamp.com/support. We'll help you out!