The Tasks list contains a lot of information about a task. But a task can include a lot more information than fits in that list. To see all task-related info and to make changes to the task, use its details area.
The task details area appears to the right of the Tasks list. (If you’re working on a device with a small screen or in a small browser window, task details may be displayed in the full-screen view.)
Tip: Can’t see both the Tasks list and the task details area? Try saving a little real estate on your screen or in your browser window: Collapse the left and right sidebars by clicking the arrow at the bottom of the sidebar. (Click the arrow again to expand the sidebar.) Or, increase the size of your browser window.
Task views
You can easily change the views of your tasks by toggling between the Tasks list and the full-screen task details.
To toggle between the Tasks list and the full-screen task details:
- To display a full-screen view of a task, in the task details area, click the action icon and select View Full Screen.
- To return to the Tasks list from a full-screen view, click the ✕ in the top right of the view.
The task details area shows all task information, including a description, subtasks, discussions, files, and more. You use the task details area to add and change that information about the task as well as perform other task-related functions.
Tip: If you make a mistake while making a change to a task, undo the change. In the task details area, click the History log in the action dropdown. Click Undo for the change you want to reverse. Some activities, like deleting a task, are listed only on the Project History in the project view.
Adding and changing a description
You can add or change a task description in the task details area.
Assigning a task
A task can be assigned to yourself or any team member in the company.
Note: To ensure accountability for a task, only one person can be assigned to a task. If more than one person is working on a task, you can create a subtask for each person and assign them to the subtask.
To assign or unassign a task:
- In the Tasks list or the task details area, click the profile photo
- From the dropdown, select a team member or unassign.
Tip: If you want to assign someone to a task, but they don’t need visibility to the complete project, make them a task follower.
Adding task followers
If some members of your organization can work on a task without having full visibility to its project, consider making them task followers, and not team members. Task followers can make changes to a task and will be notified when others change the task they’re following, but they can’t see other aspects of the project, such as other tasks.
A task follower can be any person who has signed up for BasicOps. Any member of the project team can add or remove task followers.
To add a task follower:
- In the Tasks list, select the task.
- In the task details area, click the Followers tab.
- Under Task Followers, click the + and select a follower. To search for a person in the list, begin typing their name in the Find bar.
Setting and changing time estimates
You can set an estimated time to complete a task in weeks, days, hours, and minutes. Setting an estimated-time-to-complete can help you see if you can reach the due date for the task.
Any team member or task follower can change this estimate at any time.
To set a time estimate:
- In the Tasks list, select the task.
- In the task details area, click the action icon and select Set an estimate.
- Enter the number of weeks, days, hours and/or minutes that it will take to complete the task and click Save. For example, enter 1 week, 3 days, 4 hours as 1w 3d 4h.
Note: Our work week is 5 days and our workdays are 8 hours each. If necessary, we’ll convert the time you enter into weeks and days. So if you enter 1w 4d 8h, we’ll display it as 2 weeks.
Discussing a task with others
Each task has its own discussion section so you can collaborate with your team in-context in one place. You can start a discussion by posting a comment, adding files, @mentions, and #referencing other tasks and projects.
To have a task discussion:
- Select a task.
- In the task details area, click the Discussions tab.
- Type your message, click an icon to add an optional file, and click Post.
Tips: You can use @ to mention your team or a specific team member (the user(s) will get notified). You can refer to other tasks by using # followed by the name of the task. Create a task by highlighting a word or phrase and clicking the checkmark from the formatting toolbar. You can use the formatting toolbar for bolding, italicizing, underline, links, numbers list, bullet point list or task creations.
Attaching files
You can attach files to a task by drag and drop in the discussions or files section. Everyone following the task will be able to see and add files.
If the task belongs to a project, you can view all files under project's Files tab. The files will be categorized by tasks.
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