March 2025 Newsletter

Video: Milestones Add-in For Microsoft Project (Requires 2025)

Check out this video to see a big new feature in Milestones Professional 2025.

We have a new way to get your MS Project information into Milestones Professional. Download the Milestones MS Project Add-in today and check out how easy it is to use!

Check out our Videos page to see all of our available videos. You can also directly go to our Youtube Channel to see them as well.

Be sure to Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for all the latest and greatest Milestones software videos!

March 2025 Tips and Tricks

For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for March 2025

Microsoft Project Add In
Where can I find the Microsoft Project Add-in for Milestones?

New in Milestones Professional 2025
What is new in Milestones Professional 2025?

Show curtain in front of task bars
Can a curtain be shown in front of a task bar?

Coded symbols and bars
When importing an MS Project file using the Code Bars and Symbols format, is there a way to have each of the individual task rows within a swim lane show up so that they are on separate rows within the swim lane when you first do the import instead of having to try and individually move each of the tasks to separate rows.

Make a legend as a group
I would like to make a legend I can just drag around, but the standard legend options aren’t flexible enough for my needs.

 

Transparent text
When I double-click a toolbox symbol, the Text Background is set to Default.   How do I set the default?

Copy a toolbox to another schedule
I have created a toolbox that is perfect for my needs.  Can I copy it to another schedule?

Scroll-Lock affects arrow keys
I am trying to move symbols to different outlines within the row but holding down shift and then using the arrow to go up or down.  This normally works but is not currently working for me.

Set up a default format and toolbox
I want all new schedules to be in a certain format, with only the symbols and connectors I use displayed in the toolbox.  Is this possible?

Shade holidays
How do I shade holidays?

Shift all dates
I have a schedule which I used last year for a project.  I have a project coming up which starts in a couple of months.  The project schedule will be close to identical and I would like to start with an exact copy of the schedule I used, but have it start on a future date.  Is this possible?

For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for March 2025

Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025

Click here to Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025 for only $199 (if you already own any version of Milestones Professional).

To see what has changed, check out our “What’s New in Milestones Professional 2025” page.

Join the Milestones Professional Users LinkedIn Group

For anyone interested, there’s a free Milestones Professional user group on LinkedIn you can join to share best practices, network with other users, and maybe learn some tips along the way from other experienced Milestones users. To join, head over to the following website and click Join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=6796817

Note: This user group is an unofficial group run by Milestones software users, and is not managed by KIDASA Software, Inc. A free LinkedIn account is required to join the group.

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    February 2025 Newsletter

    Video: What’s New In Milestones Professional 2025

    Check out this video to see some of the big new features in Milestones Professional 2025.

    These include Grouping objects, new bar types, new bar gradient options, Select Symbols by Date Range, our new MS Project Add-in, and more!

    Check out our Videos page to see all of our available videos. You can also directly go to our Youtube Channel to see them as well.

    Be sure to Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for all the latest and greatest Milestones software videos!

    February 2025 Tips and Tricks

    For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for February 2025

    Microsoft Project Add In
    Where can I find the Microsoft Project Add-in for Milestones?

    Reset startup choices
    I’ve inadvertently ‘switched off’ the File Open Dialogue Window (the one where I can select from the various files I’ve worked on).  When I now open MSPro, it directly opens the default template file instead of opening the File Open Dialogue Window.  Please advise on how to reactivate.

    Bars not lining up
    Below attached can you please advise how to align the bars properly and alos text on the bars are not vertically middle.

    Toolbar bottom is cut off
    The top RIbbon where File, Connections, Edit ,Dates Insert, Layout format tabs are goes missing periodically.. How do I ensure that these items are not hidden?

    Attach a date heading to a task row
    Other than adding a text note, is there a method to add a custom date format as Q4FY25 or QTR4FY25 to either milestones or task bars?

    For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for February 2025

    Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025

    Click here to Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025 for only $199 (if you already own any version of Milestones Professional).

    To see what has changed, check out our “What’s New in Milestones Professional 2025” page.

    Join the Milestones Professional Users LinkedIn Group

    For anyone interested, there’s a free Milestones Professional user group on LinkedIn you can join to share best practices, network with other users, and maybe learn some tips along the way from other experienced Milestones users. To join, head over to the following website and click Join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=6796817

    Note: This user group is an unofficial group run by Milestones software users, and is not managed by KIDASA Software, Inc. A free LinkedIn account is required to join the group.

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      November 2024 Newsletter

      Video: Timeline from MS Project

      See how you can use our “Link to Active MS Project Task” to create a nice looking timeline in Milestones Professional. The cool thing is that you can update the schedule automatically when your MS Project dates change.

      Check out the video below:

      Check out our Videos page to see all of our available videos. You can also directly go to our Youtube Channel to see them as well.

      Be sure to Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for all the latest and greatest Milestones software videos!

      November 2024 Tips and Tricks

      For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for November 2024

      Set up a swimlane schedule
      I want to create a “Swim-Lane” chart.  How do I get started?

      Assign specific text to a toolbox symbol
      Is there any way that I can assign each toolbox symbol to have a specific text to it or to include the task name next to each symbol automatically so I don’t have to do it manually?

      Add a percent complete symbol in a column
      How do I add a percent complete symbol to a column?

      Blank custom symbol in the toolbox when sharing
      I am sharing my schedule with others.  However, when I share the schedule, all of my custom bitmap symbols are missing and show up as blank symbols in the toolbox.

      Add a link
      Hey, can I insert a link into my schedule?  Does it go in a text box or is there some special vehicle for it?

      Attach a date heading to a task row
      I want to add a date heading about half-way through my schedule.  Is this possible?

      For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for November 2024

      Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025

      Click here to Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025 for only $199 (if you already own any version of Milestones Professional).

      To see what has changed, check out our “What’s New in Milestones Professional 2025” page.

      Join the Milestones Professional Users LinkedIn Group

      For anyone interested, there’s a free Milestones Professional user group on LinkedIn you can join to share best practices, network with other users, and maybe learn some tips along the way from other experienced Milestones users. To join, head over to the following website and click Join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=6796817

      Note: This user group is an unofficial group run by Milestones software users, and is not managed by KIDASA Software, Inc. A free LinkedIn account is required to join the group.

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        September 2024 Newsletter

        Video: Logarithmic Date Headings

        Did you know that you can expand certain months on your schedule?Using Logarithmic Date Headings, you can make certain time frames up to 8 times larger!

        Check out the video below:

        Check out our Videos page to see all of our available videos. You can also directly go to our Youtube Channel to see them as well.

        Be sure to Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for all the latest and greatest Milestones software videos!

        September 2024 Tips and Tricks

        For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for September 2024

        Copy symbols from one schedule to another
        I need to copy some symbols on one schedule to another schedule.  How can I do this?

        Sanitize a project schedule
        Is there a quick way to remove all links to any and all milestones in your file quickly, without having to go to each milestone?   We’d like to strip off all links associated with milestones within a file and any short names we’ve given or placed on a file.

        Calculate BCWS using baseline duration
        I have a row with many milestones (20 or so).  I would like to calculate the difference between two specific milestones on each row of my schedule.  (Start up date and First Delivery Date) Any ideas?

        Frequency of use of a toolbox symbol
        Is there a way to get a summary of how many times each toolbox symbol has been used?  I need to identify which symbols in the toolbox have been used the least.

        Calculate difference between two milestone dates on a row with many milestones
        I have a row with many milestones (20 or so).  I would like to calculate the difference between two specific milestones on each row of my schedule.  (Start up date and First Delivery Date) Any ideas?

        Change the default save location
        I would like to change the default location where charts are saved.  How can I do this?

        Change the font size of many symbols at once
        I want to change the font size of all symbols at once.

        Customize the toolbox
        I notice that the Milestones schedules all have different toolboxes.  Can I customize my toolbox so that when I create new schedules, I always start with the same toolbox?

        Date format and importing from Excel
        We are trying to import a spreadsheet from Excel to Milestones. We have correctly mapped the dates to the proper fields, yet the start and finish dates are not appearing in the Milestones schedule. What is the solution?

        Date heading divider override
        In the Date Heading area: is there a way to make the background color dark and the divider lines lighter?

        For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for September 2024

        Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025

        Click here to Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025 for only $199 (if you already own any version of Milestones Professional).

        To see what has changed, check out our “What’s New in Milestones Professional 2025” page.

        Join the Milestones Professional Users LinkedIn Group

        For anyone interested, there’s a free Milestones Professional user group on LinkedIn you can join to share best practices, network with other users, and maybe learn some tips along the way from other experienced Milestones users. To join, head over to the following website and click Join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=6796817

        Note: This user group is an unofficial group run by Milestones software users, and is not managed by KIDASA Software, Inc. A free LinkedIn account is required to join the group.

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          August 2024 Newsletter

          Video: Tips and Tricks #4 for Milestones Professional

          We made another Tips and Tricks video, this time talking about copying / moving symbols between rows, Filtering your rows by symbol type, 3 different ways to show Vertical Text, and more!

          Check out the video below:

          Check out our Videos page to see all of our available videos. You can also directly go to our Youtube Channel to see them as well.

          Be sure to Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for all the latest and greatest Milestones software videos!

          August 2024 Tips and Tricks

          For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for August 2024

          Only one letter showing for month
          I am trying to recreate a template that we use in Milestones Professional.  In the attached format, the month is represented by one letter versus 3.

          Remove shadow from some symbols
          I have several triangle symbols on my schedule.  That said, I only want to show a shadow on a few of them. Is it possible to do that without having to change all of them?  I can’t find the option when I click on the triangles that I want to change.

          Find a task row
          How do I add column data that shows me the “Task Row” that my milestone/bar is on? In “Symbol Properties” I can open tab “Vertical Links” to see that I have connected my milestone to “Task Row 403” but I have no way of finding that row.

          Horizontal bar height
          I need to change the vertical width of horizontal bars on my schedule.  Right now I want all the horizontal bars to be much thicker.

          Month after start of contract date headings
          Would it be possible to show date heading as a monthly count based on an event or milestone without utilizing custom heading options?

          We would like to show range of month before milestone as count down (e.g. -1, -2, -3 and so on of the month from project award, and +1, +2, +3 of month after project award).

          For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for August 2024

          Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025

          Click here to Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025 for only $199 (if you already own any version of Milestones Professional).

          To see what has changed, check out our “What’s New in Milestones Professional 2025” page.

          Join the Milestones Professional Users LinkedIn Group

          For anyone interested, there’s a free Milestones Professional user group on LinkedIn you can join to share best practices, network with other users, and maybe learn some tips along the way from other experienced Milestones users. To join, head over to the following website and click Join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=6796817

          Note: This user group is an unofficial group run by Milestones software users, and is not managed by KIDASA Software, Inc. A free LinkedIn account is required to join the group.

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            June 2024 Newsletter

            Video: Automation using Programming in Milestones Professional

            Did you know that Milestones Professional has an Automation interface? You can use macros in Excel, and other programs to create schedules inside Milestones Professional automatically, using the data inside Excel.

            This video shows one example, and you can find more examples in the Help Tab > Automation Help.

            Check out our Videos page to see all of our available videos. You can also directly go to our Youtube Channel to see them as well.

            Be sure to Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for all the latest and greatest Milestones software videos!

            June 2024 Tips and Tricks

            For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for June 2024

            Trouble changing schedule start and end dates
            I have this one schedule which is giving me fits.  For some reason, I am unable to change the start and end date range for the schedule.  Any ideas?

            Vertically linked symbols not moving as expected
            I have my symbols vertically linked and they are not moving as expected

            No change or unexpected changes after schedule refresh
            I have a schedule and MPS that I have an issue with updating. The schedule is tagged to the MPS but the MPS is not updating.

            Tag a column that contains fill color overrides
            Could you explain the purpose of the “or Column tag of Override Fill Color” feature in the Symbol Properties>Size/Color/Summary menu, and how to use this feature? I’m unable to find any information on it in either the User Manual.

            Symbol text too far away from symbol
            My symbol text is spaced too far away (vertically) from my bar.

            Task row height adjustment
            How can I adjust the height of a task row?  How do I reset the height to its original setting?

            Switch-to views for fast date switching
            Can I easily switch to another time period?

            Set percent complete from several tasks (on one row)
            We have a Milestones Professional plan linked to Microsoft Project.  Is it possible to show the % complete from Microsoft Project if there is more than one bar per row?  I have read various documents in the Knowledgebase but haven’t seen any document that indicates whether this is possible.

            Remove page breaks
            How do I get rid of my page breaks so that Milestones just puts the same number of tasks on each page?

            Need larger toolbox
            Is there a way to increase the size of the tool box? it is too small to see what symbols I need to use. I’m using a very high res monitor.

            For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for June 2024

            Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025

            Click here to Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025 for only $199 (if you already own any version of Milestones Professional).

            To see what has changed, check out our “What’s New in Milestones Professional 2025” page.

            Join the Milestones Professional Users LinkedIn Group

            For anyone interested, there’s a free Milestones Professional user group on LinkedIn you can join to share best practices, network with other users, and maybe learn some tips along the way from other experienced Milestones users. To join, head over to the following website and click Join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=6796817

            Note: This user group is an unofficial group run by Milestones software users, and is not managed by KIDASA Software, Inc. A free LinkedIn account is required to join the group.

              Sign up for our newsletter!

              April 2024 Newsletter

              Video: File Compare in Milestones Professional

              If you have two Milestones Professional schedules, each tagged with Unique Identifiers (such as UniqueID from MS Project or ActivityID from P6), you can compare the differences to any tagged dates by using our “File Compare” feature.

              Check out our Videos page to see all of our available videos. You can also directly go to our Youtube Channel to see them as well.

              Be sure to Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for all the latest and greatest Milestones software videos!

              April 2024 Tips and Tricks

              For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for April 2024

              Individual symbols displaying in the summary bar
              If I add a milestone to a task row, it’s also showing up on the summary bar.  How can I turn this off for the entire schedule?

              Copy and paste a toolbox to another schedule

              Copy and paste a legend from one schedule to another

              Make a hidden legend reappear
              I hid the legend and now I need to put it back on the schedule.  After I hide the legend, how do I get it to reappear?

              Use a bitmap graphic as a symbol
              I have an image bitmap of a company symbol that I would like to use as a Milestones symbol.  How can I do this?

              Vertical link to a symbol on the same task bar
              Do you know how you can link to task within the same task bar? I would like to create a vertical link between two symbols on the same row.

              Want a different triangle shape
              Is it possible to get a different triangle symbol?  I see there are several to choose from but I have a specific requirement.

                

              Want solid connector (not dashed) after status date
              How do I make the horizontal connector between the triangles solid and not dashed after the status line?

              Symbol note frame and background
              I see that I can change the background color for the symbol note.  But what if I want to get rid of the background color and the frame?  Is this a possibility?

              Attach a picture to a symbol
              I would like to attach a picture to a symbol.  Is this possible?

              For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for April 2024

              Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025

              Click here to Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025 for only $199 (if you already own any version of Milestones Professional).

              To see what has changed, check out our “What’s New in Milestones Professional 2025” page.

              Join the Milestones Professional Users LinkedIn Group

              For anyone interested, there’s a free Milestones Professional user group on LinkedIn you can join to share best practices, network with other users, and maybe learn some tips along the way from other experienced Milestones users. To join, head over to the following website and click Join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=6796817

              Note: This user group is an unofficial group run by Milestones software users, and is not managed by KIDASA Software, Inc. A free LinkedIn account is required to join the group.

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                March 2024 Newsletter

                Video: Timeline Schedule Creation in Milestones Professional

                We start from scratch and create a Timeline Schedule in Milestones Professional. This might give you some good ideas for your own schedule.

                Check out our Videos page to see all of our available videos. You can also directly go to our Youtube Channel to see them as well.

                Be sure to Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for all the latest and greatest Milestones software videos!

                March 2024 Tips and Tricks

                For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for March 2024

                Add a date to a note
                Is there a way to have the date be part of the Note?

                  

                Add a tag to a symbol
                I added a symbol to my schedule and want to link it to Microsoft Project.  What’s the easiest way?

                Adjust the position of symbol within a task row to relieve crowding
                Symbols on a task row are close together, if not on top of each other. How can I display them better?

                Comment symbols
                How are Milestones’ Comment symbols generally used in a schedule?

                Compare two files after refresh
                I have refreshed my Milestones Professional schedule with the latest dates from Microsoft Project.  Is there any way to see the deltas for tasks which have been changed?  Like this?

                Extra thick line on schedule
                I can’t figure out how to get rid of this extra thick line on my schedule.  It’s apparently not a grid line and I can’t pick it.

                Hide the dates on summary lines
                When I roll-up all lower-level task bars to the summary line, I would like to hide the symbol dates.  Is this possible?

                Hide the legend
                I don’t want to show a legend on the bottom of each page. Is there a way to make that space disappear so I can use that space for more task lines per page?

                Lost vertical connections
                I have lost my schedule’s vertical connections, globally (all of them!).  Any ideas how that happened?

                Moving symbol note is slow
                Is there a faster way to move symbol notes?  I am using the toolbar directional arrows but find them sluggish

                For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for March 2024

                Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025

                Click here to Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025 for only $199 (if you already own any version of Milestones Professional).

                To see what has changed, check out our “What’s New in Milestones Professional 2025” page.

                Join the Milestones Professional Users LinkedIn Group

                For anyone interested, there’s a free Milestones Professional user group on LinkedIn you can join to share best practices, network with other users, and maybe learn some tips along the way from other experienced Milestones users. To join, head over to the following website and click Join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=6796817

                Note: This user group is an unofficial group run by Milestones software users, and is not managed by KIDASA Software, Inc. A free LinkedIn account is required to join the group.

                  Sign up for our newsletter!

                  February 2024 Newsletter

                  Video: Filter and Sort Columns in Milestones Professional

                  Learn how to sort and filter your columns in Milestones Professional with this new video. Check it out below!

                  Check out our Videos page to see all of our available videos. You can also directly go to our Youtube Channel to see them as well.

                  Be sure to Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for all the latest and greatest Milestones software videos!

                  February 2024 Tips and Tricks

                  For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for February 2024

                  Date heading only shows letter on some pages
                  My date heading shows some months with the full name and others with an abbreviation.  Is there a way to make it consistent?

                  Symbol text not aligned
                  How can I get the numbers, which are symbol text to line up?  You can see that the first one is lower than the others.

                  Can’t remove picture
                  I’ve put together a schedule that contains imported (copy-and-paste) graphics.  For some reason, there is a graphic towards the top of my schedule that I can’t get rid of.  I can’t even click on it.  Any idea why?

                  Expand width of some column titles
                  I see some samples which appear to have some column entries spanning more than one column.  What’s the procedure to do this?

                  EV line takes a sharp drop
                  I have attached a file showing EV calculations I am doing for a project. I notice that the EV curve takes a dive after the current date“ or close to it. For the life of me I cannot understand this behavior.

                  Showing trends with a bar
                  Can Milestones’ bars show trends?  If so, how?

                  Create your own symbol dates
                  If you build custom date headings, can you get the symbol date format to correspond to those headings, rather than a specific calendar date?

                  Copy and Paste: one Excel column to Milestones
                  Can I select one column of information in Excel and paste that column into Milestones?

                  Unique ID
                  Is there a way to quickly see the Unique IDs on each symbol while I’m working on a Milestones chart?

                  Using Templates
                  Every time I start a new schedule, I format it the same way, including color scheme, toolbox choices, number of rows per  page, etc.  Is there an easier way?

                  Display Numerical Value
                  My calculation/indicator column is only showing the symbol indicator.  How do I get the numerical value to show as well?

                  Printing by Time Period
                  My schedule spans 12 months. I would like to print a separate sheet for every 3 months.

                  For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for February 2024

                  Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025

                  Click here to Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025 for only $199 (if you already own any version of Milestones Professional).

                  To see what has changed, check out our “What’s New in Milestones Professional 2025” page.

                  Join the Milestones Professional Users LinkedIn Group

                  For anyone interested, there’s a free Milestones Professional user group on LinkedIn you can join to share best practices, network with other users, and maybe learn some tips along the way from other experienced Milestones users. To join, head over to the following website and click Join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=6796817

                  Note: This user group is an unofficial group run by Milestones software users, and is not managed by KIDASA Software, Inc. A free LinkedIn account is required to join the group.

                    Sign up for our newsletter!

                    January 2024 Newsletter

                    Tips and Tricks #3: Milestones Professional

                    We made a great video for this month with some new Tips and Tricks, including:

                    • Two symbols on top of each other
                    • Global symbol date format
                    • Vertical / Sideways text in column
                    • Dependency Mode
                    • Change Background of individual Rows
                    • Symbol Text Background

                    Check out our Videos page to see all of our available videos. You can also directly go to our Youtube Channel to see them as well.

                    Be sure to Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for all the latest and greatest Milestones software videos!

                    January 2024 Tips and Tricks

                    For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for January 2024

                    Show hidden columns when all are hidden
                    I hid the only column on my schedule.  Now my schedule has no columns.  How do I add a column on the left?

                    Two symbols on top of each other
                    Is there any way to move milestones in front or behind when they are stacked on top of each other with overlapping dates? I don’t want to use vertical symbol position and move to another level.

                    Bar colors change unexpectedly after refresh
                    I have a schedule with several joined bars.  P3 is supposed to be filled blue but stays white.  Then, after I refresh, the bar for P2 disappears and P3 fills as expected:

                    See bar status color in toolbox
                    My bars are all the same color before status, but they have a different after status color, how do I tell them apart in the toolbox?

                    Link to Active MS Project Tasks not working
                    I am trying to bring tasks into my Milestones schedule from Project server.  I’m not getting any errors, but nothing is coming in

                    Remove a shadow under a bar
                    Can anyone advise how I may remove shading under a bar and legend entry?

                    Get list of all Project UIDs in Milestones schedule
                    I’m using Symbol Links to an MS Project file. Is there a way to get a list in Milestones Pro of all the UIDs I am linked to?

                    Numbers or letters inside symbols
                    I need to have numbers inside my triangle symbols.  Right now I am using symbol text and the text is pretty small and hard to re-size when the symbol sizes change.  Is there an easier way to do this?

                    For these and more, view Tips and Tricks for January 2024

                    Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025

                    Click here to Upgrade to Milestones Professional 2025 for only $199 (if you already own any version of Milestones Professional).

                    To see what has changed, check out our “What’s New in Milestones Professional 2025” page.

                    Join the Milestones Professional Users LinkedIn Group

                    For anyone interested, there’s a free Milestones Professional user group on LinkedIn you can join to share best practices, network with other users, and maybe learn some tips along the way from other experienced Milestones users. To join, head over to the following website and click Join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=6796817

                    Note: This user group is an unofficial group run by Milestones software users, and is not managed by KIDASA Software, Inc. A free LinkedIn account is required to join the group.

                      Sign up for our newsletter!