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Common Tasks in Project Tracker

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Rory_Hurlburt
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

I am just getting familiar with Airtable, doing some test driving, so sorry if this has been answered elsewhere and I just couldn’t find it.

I would say a vast majority of the Projects we do all use the same tasks over and over. Is there a way to create like a “preset” when you add a Project it just pre-populates a set of all the common tasks?

I’d considered just using 1 task that is attached to multiple projects but we’ll track time on those tasks and although they are all the same task they may take a different amount of time to complete. Not to mention, different employees may be completing them so they’d need to be assigned to different people.

9 Replies 9

I think the best way is to automate the creation of the tasks set when a new Project is created, with Zapier or Integromat. Check the other threads: https://community.airtable.com/search?q=checklist

Pavan_Sarda
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

Hello Everyone,

We are in advertising business and we have similar repetitive tasks. For every client, we are planning to use Project Management base. Our requirement is that when I enter the record in Project Table, four Task should get added to Task table. These four tasks are the repetitive activities which we have to perform each time.

Hence looking forward to your guidance to know if I can prepare some template so that every time Project is added, relevant Tasks get added.

Douglas_Scott
4 - Data Explorer
4 - Data Explorer

New to Airtable. I have an established set of ~ 8 tasks that need to be performed for each new client. Is there a way that when I enter a new client (currently automatically added per Zapier) that these tasks can somehow be pre-populated so that I can simply click “checkbox” when each stage is completed. I figured out a way to group clients but I must manually drag client names to pick up each task. I would rather have this automated (or create a similar end result) so that every new client will have same series of steps or tasks assigned to them. (not sure this image is visible as uploaded)

Mac
8 - Airtable Astronomer
8 - Airtable Astronomer

Zapier should be able to handle this.

You could create a new view in your AT based on date created. When a new client record is created it will appear in the “today” view. The Zapier workflow is triggered by the new record in the “today” view and creates new Airtable records. You will probably need to use a multi-step zap to pull that off, which is a paid account.

Another way automatically to generate a task list for each client is to use a linked record for each task; by pasting a list of identifiers into the linked-record field, you can create a full set of tasks for each client. You can paste the values manually or through an integration service such as Zapier or Integromat. (In Zapier, if the paste is performed into the same record that triggers the Zap, it’s considered a two-step Zap and can be executed from a free account.)

I tossed together a quick demo base to illustrate this. (It’s a shared, read-only link, so duplicate the base into your own workspace to be able to examine and modify it.)

To see how this works, create a new [Client] record and enter the client name. Then select {LinkText}, press Ctrl-C to copy the value, select {Link2Tasks}, and press Ctrl-V to paste the copied value. Airtable will pause a moment, telling you it’s ‘Pasting…’, and then show you it’s created eight new linked records in the [Tasks] table.

One caveat: Each new [Client] must have a unique name; otherwise, when pasting {LinkText} for the second instance of the client, the record will be linked to the first instance’s [Tasks].

As you can see in the [Tasks] table, you can key off the task number to create a more explanatory {Task} description. I’ve also concatenated a checkbox used to indicate completed tasks with the task description to provide a listing of tasks showing which have or have not been completed. (The {Tasks} rollup field in the [Client] table uses an aggregation function of ARRAYJOIN(values,'\n'). This creates a CRLF-delimited listing of statuses and tasks. Unfortunately, even at a Row Height of ‘Extra Tall’ only the first six tasks are displayed — but the same field, when used in a Page Designer Block, will display all eight.

To get around Airtable’s LIFO listing of rolled-up linked records, I’ve defined the [Tasks] identifiers in reverse order; sort [Tasks] by the primary field to return the list to its expected sequence. You can filter or group [Tasks] by {Client} to simplify task management.

Since you are creating new client records using Zapier, you could conceivably bypass the whole {LinkText} step and simply create your identifier list using Formatter by Zapier; paste that value into {Link2Tasks} in the record you are creating.

I don’t suppose you provide these services? All sounds good, but beyond my capabilities unfortunately.

@W_Vann_Hall I don’t suppose your base is working anymore. I duplicated it, added a new entry to Clients table and copied the LinkText field to Link2Tasks, but it keeps showing Pasting… (almost 10 min now). Do you still managed to use this? Thanks

@Eduardo_Mazzuco: @W_Vann_Hall was gone for a while, and only recently returned, so I’m guessing he didn’t see the previous post. Nudging just in case. :slightly_smiling_face: