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Edit tasks in a list edit-tasks-in-a-list

Last update: Mon Mar 11 2024 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

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  • User

You can edit task information in a list of tasks by editing the fields displayed in the list. For information about other ways to edit tasks, see Edit tasks.

Access requirements

You must have the following access to perform the steps in this article:

۶Ƶ Workfront plan*
Any
۶Ƶ Workfront license*
Work or higher
Access level configurations*

Edit access to Tasks and Projects

Note: If you still don't have access, ask your Workfront administrator if they set additional restrictions in your access level. For information on how a Workfront administrator can change your access level, see Create or modify custom access levels.

Object permissions

Contribute or higher permissions to the task and the project

For information on requesting additional access, see Request access to objects.

*To find out what plan, license type, or access you have, contact your Workfront administrator.

Considerations about editing tasks in a list considerations-about-editing-tasks-in-a-list

Editing tasks in a list is a fast way to make changes to multiple tasks simultaneously, with a clear view of how your changes might affect the project timeline.

Consider the following when editing tasks in a list:

  • Unlike needing Manage permissions to the task when editing it in the Edit Box, you can edit a task in a list only with Contribute permissions to the task. This allows you to edit the following limited information for the task:

    • Description

    • Status

    • Percent Complete

    • Custom Form information

      note note
      NOTE
      You can edit a task custom field in a list only if you have permissions to update the field.

    • Log hours

    • Modify Assignments

    • View finance information

    • Add expenses, tasks, or issues

  • You can edit a task in the following lists:

    • The Tasks section of the project

    • The Subtasks section of the project

    • A task report

      note note
      NOTE
      By default, Workfront automatically saves your changes to tasks in the Subtasks section or in a task report.

  • You can control when Workfront saves the changes you make to the tasks in a list. Your changes can be saved automatically or you can manually save them.

    For information about configuring when Workfront saves changes you make to tasks in a list, see the Select a save option when editing tasks in a list section in this article.

  • Other users must refresh their pages before they can view the updates you make to a task.

Select a save option when editing tasks in a list select-a-save-option-when-editing-tasks-in-a-list

You can decide where the changes you make to tasks in a list are saved automatically, as they occur, or if you want to manually save each change.

IMPORTANT
Depending on whether you save the tasks automatically or manually, you might overwrite someone else’s information as you are editing tasks in a list. For information about how Workfront saves changes on tasks that you make concurrently with other users, see Overview of saving concurrent changes within a task list.

When you save your changes in a list for a project that has either Automatic or Automatic and On Change selected as the Update Type, Workfront updates the project timeline, along with all in-project and cross-project dependencies. Timeline calculations can take a long time if the project is large or if there are a lot of dependencies. Some methods of editing a task list can be faster than others, depending on the method you select to save your changes.

You can control when Workfront saves the changes you make to the tasks in a list. The following scenarios exist:

Edit tasks in a list and automatically save changes edit-tasks-in-a-list-and-automatically-save-changes

TIP
Saving your changes and all the project dependencies might be slower if your project has more than 2000 tasks or if it has a lot of dependencies.

Consider the following when saving your task list changes automatically:

  • You can apply a custom view to the task list and edit any task-related fields that you have access to update.
  • You cannot reverse auto-saved changes. This is the default setting.
  • Workfront recalculates the timeline of the project and all the in-project and cross-projects dependencies automatically after every change, when the project Update Type is Automatic or Automatic and On Change. For information about the project Update Type, see Select the project Update Type.

To edit tasks in a list and save changes automatically:

  1. Go to the project, then click the Tasks section.

  2. Click the Plan mode menu at the top of the list and make sure that the Autosave option is selected.

  3. Edit any field that you have permissions to update manually.

  4. (Optional) Press Escape to cancel your changes.

  5. Press Enter to save your changes to the tasks and to the project timeline.

  6. (Optional) Right click a task you want to modify.

    Or

    Click the More menu to the right of the task name.

  7. (Optional) Select from the following options:

    table 0-row-2 1-row-2 2-row-2 3-row-2 4-row-2 5-row-2 6-row-2 7-row-2 8-row-2 9-row-2 layout-auto html-authored no-header
    Open in a new tab Opens the task in a new browser tab.
    Edit

    Opens the Edit Task box, where you can edit the task.

    For information about editing a task, see Edit tasks in a list.
    Delete

    Deletes the task.

    For information about deleting tasks, see Delete tasks.
    Indent

    Indents the task by one level.

    This option displays only on stand-alone tasks.
    Outdent

    Outdents the task by one level.

    This option displays only on children tasks.
    Insert Task Above Inserts a task above the selected task.
    Insert Task Below Inserts a task under the selected task
    Duplicate Creates a duplicate version of the task within the same project.
    Copy To

    Copies the task to another project.

    For information about copying and duplicating tasks, see Copy and duplicate tasks.
    Move To

    Moves the task to another project.

    For information about moving tasks, see Move tasks.

    Changes are saved automatically and you cannot reverse them.

Edit tasks in a list and manually save changes edit-tasks-in-a-list-and-manually-save-changes

You can manually save changes you make to tasks in a list. When you save changes this way, you have the flexibility to reverse them before saving.

TIP
  • You cannot reverse changes you make to tasks in a list when you are editing them in the Subtasks section or in a task report.
  • There are no limitations on how many changes you can reverse. You can reverse all of them one by one until you reach the original state of the tasks.

Consider the following when saving changes in a task list manually:

  • In order to save task list changes manually, you need permissions to Manage both the tasks and the project.

  • You cannot edit the project. The option to edit the project is disabled.

  • You cannot update information in the header of the project. You can only do the following when manually saving the changes in the task list:

    • Subscribe to the project.
    • Add the project to your list of favorites.
    • Open a task by clicking the its name in the list.

  • dit the tasks in bulk. The Edit icon is disabled when selecting multiple tasks.

  • Workfront triggers notifications about the changes you make to the tasks only after you save your changes.

There are two ways to manually save changes to tasks in a list. These two ways are described below.

Save changes in a task list manually when you select the Manual save Standard option save-changes-in-a-task-list-manually-when-you-select-the-manual-save-standard-option

TIP
If your project has more than 2000 tasks, or if it has a lot of dependencies, it might take a while to visually identify the changes you make to your tasks and how these changes affect all the project dependencies. In this case, saving your changes might take longer if your project has more than 2000 tasks or if it has a lot of dependencies.

Consider the following when updating tasks in a list after selecting the Manual save Standard option:

  • You can apply a custom view to the task list and edit any task-related fields that you have permissions to Manage in that view.
  • Workfront calculates the timeline of the project and all the in-project and cross-project dependencies after you click Save, when the project Update Type is Automatic or Automatic and On Change. For information about the project Update Type, see Select the project Update Type.

To edit tasks in a list when selecting the Manual save Standard option:

  1. Go to a project, then click the Tasks section .

  2. Click the Plan Mode menu at the top of the list and select Manual save, then click Standard > Apply.

    A toolbar setting displays with options to undo, redo, and save your changes.

  3. Click inside any field that you have permissions to update manually. The field becomes editable and you can make your changes.

  4. Press Enter to temporarily save the changes you made.

  5. (Optional) Click the Undo icon to reverse a change and return a field to its original state.

  6. (Optional and conditional) Click the Redo icon to restore the change you reversed.

  7. (Optional) Right-click a task you want to modify.

    Or

    Click the More menu .

  8. (Optional) Select from the following options:

    table 0-row-2 1-row-2 2-row-2 3-row-2 4-row-2 5-row-2 6-row-2 layout-auto html-authored no-header
    Open in a new tab Opens the task in a new browser tab.
    Delete For information about deleting tasks, see Delete tasks.
    Indent

    Indents the task by one level.

    This option displays only on stand-alone tasks.
    Outdent

    Outdents the task by one level.

    This option displays only on children tasks.
    Insert Task Above Inserts a task above the selected task.
    Insert Task Below Inserts a task under the selected task
    Duplicate

    Creates a duplicate version of the task within the same project.

    For information about copying and duplicating tasks, see Copy and duplicate tasks.

  9. Workfront updates all in-project and cross-project dependencies when you make changes to the timeline of tasks.

  10. Click Save when you want to keep your task changes permanently and save the timeline of the project.

Save changes in a task list manually when you select the Manual save Timeline Planning option save-changes-in-a-task-list-manually-when-you-select-the-manual-save-timeline-planning-option

Saving your changes and all the project dependencies is faster. This is not available for projects with more than 2000 tasks.

IMPORTANT
We recommend that you use this option when editing a large list of tasks of more than a few hundred that have a lot of dependencies. Using this option allows you to visually identify your changes much faster than using the Manual save option.

Consider the following when using the Manual save Timeline Planning option in a task list:

  • You cannot apply Manual save Timeline Planning option to projects that have more than 2000 tasks.
  • You cannot apply a custom view, filter, or grouping to the task list. The View, Filter, and Grouping drop-down menus, as well as the Agile view icon, are disabled. The view that is applied by default contains a limited number of fields.
  • The timeline of the project and all the in-project dependencies are calculated automatically after each change when the project Update Type is Automatic or Automatic and On Change.
  • The cross-project dependencies are calculated after you click Save, when the project Update Type is Automatic or Automatic and On Change. For information about the project Update Type, see Select the project Update Type.

To edit tasks in a list when using the Manual save Timeline Planning option:

  1. Go to a project, then click the Tasks section.

  2. Click the Plan Mode menu at the top of the list and select Manual save, then click Timeline Planning> Apply.

    This option is dimmed for projects with more than 2000 tasks.

    note tip
    TIP
    When you navigate away from this page, Workfront re-enables the Autosave option.

    Notice the following changes in the list:

    • The View, Grouping, and Filter drop-down menus are removed and the view is replaced by the following fields:

      • Task Number
      • Task Name
      • Constraint Type
      • Duration
      • Planned Start Date
      • Planned Completion Date
      • Predecessors
      • Assignments
      • Status
      • Percent Complete

    • The Agile view icon is removed.

    • A toolbar setting displays with options to undo, redo, and save your changes.

  3. Edit any field that you have permissions to update manually.

  4. Press Enter to temporarily save the changes you made.

  5. (Optional) Click the Undo icon to reverse a change and return a field to its original state.

  6. (Optional and conditional) Click the Redo icon to reinstate the change you reversed.

  7. (Optional) Right click a task you want to modify

    Or

    Click the More menu .

  8. Select from the following options:

    table 0-row-2 1-row-2 2-row-2 3-row-2 4-row-2 5-row-2 6-row-2 layout-auto html-authored no-header
    Open in a new tab Opens the task in a new browser tab.
    Delete For information about deleting tasks, see Delete tasks.
    Indent

    Indents the task by one level.

    This option displays only on stand-alone tasks.
    Outdent

    Outdents the task by one level.

    This option displays only on children tasks.
    Insert Task Above Inserts a task above the selected task.
    Insert Task Below Inserts a task under the selected task
    Duplicate

    Creates a duplicate version of the task within the same project.

    For information about copying and duplicating tasks, see Copy and duplicate tasks.

  9. Workfront updates all in-project and cross-project dependencies when you change the timeline of a task.

  10. Click Save when you want to keep your task changes permanently and save the timeline of the project.

Edit a task in a list using the Summary

  1. Go to the project containing tasks you want to edit.

  2. Click Tasks in the left panel.

    The list of tasks on the project displays.

  3. Click the More menu after the task name, then click Open Summary. Select the task you want to edit, then click the Open Summary icon in the upper-right corner of the list.

    The Summary opens.

  4. (Optional) Click the X icon in the upper-right of the Summary to close the panel and edit the tasks inline.

    Follow the steps about editing a task in a list to inline edit the task.

    For information about editing the task in a list, see Considerations about editing tasks in a list in this article.

  5. (Optional) Type an update for the task in the Updates area.

  6. Click any of the following icons or areas to go to the task and edit information at the task level:

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    Documents Click Click here to add to add documents to the task.
    Details Click to update information about the task.
    Custom Forms Click to add or remove Custom Forms or update information on the forms.
    Hours Click to log hours.
    Approvals Click to add task approvals.

  7. Click the back button on your browser to return to the task list when you finish updating the task.

Edit tasks in bulk

You can edit multiple tasks all at once. Ensure you have manage permissions to the tasks to be able to edit them.

  1. Go to a project containing tasks you want to edit in bulk.

  2. Click Tasks in the left panel.

  3. Ensure that the Autosave option is selected.

    note important
    IMPORTANT
    You cannot edit tasks in bulk when saving tasks manually.

    For more information about ways of saving changes to tasks in a list, see the section Considerations about editing tasks in a list in this article.

  4. Select several tasks in the tasks list.

  5. Click the Edit icon .

    The Edit Tasks dialog box opens.

  6. Specify the information you want to change for all the tasks you selected.

    Editing the information on all tasks is identical to editing information on one task. If you want to edit task Duration, the tasks selected must have the same Task Constraint; otherwise, the Duration field does not populate.

    For more information about editing a task, see Edit tasks.

    note note
    NOTE
    The information you are changing on all the tasks selected will override the existing information on individual tasks, except for the Assignments field. Adding a new assignee in bulk edit will add that assignee to all the selected tasks. If other assignees are assigned to the selected tasks, they will remain assigned in addition to the one added through bulk edit.

  7. Click Custom Forms to edit the custom forms attached to all the tasks selected. Only active custom forms display in the list.

    If the tasks selected do not have any common custom forms, no forms are listed in this section.

    You can edit only the fields on the forms that are attached to all tasks selected and which you have permissions to edit.

  8. (Optional) In the Custom Forms section, select the Recalculate Custom Expressions option to ensure that all Calculated Custom Fields that are on the custom forms attached to the tasks selected are up to date.

  9. Click Save Changes.

    All changes you made are now visible on all the selected tasks.

For information about bulk editing custom forms, see the section “Edit multiple Custom Forms when bulk-editing objects” in Manage custom forms attached to objects.

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