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Tasks

Overview

Sugar's Tasks module is used to track to-do or action items that can be related to various Sugar records to which the task is relevant. Tasks with due dates will display a color coding on list views and dashlets to help alert users when a task is overdue or will be due soon. You can view tasks in specialized dashlets on related records as well as in your calendar to help you plan your workday and complete important action items on time. As tasks are completed, they can be closed via various convenient methods throughout Sugar. This documentation will cover information and actions specific to the Tasks module. For instructions concerning views and actions which are common across most Sugar modules, such as creating, editing, and deleting calls, please refer to the Working With Sugar Modules section of this page.

Please note that you will only be able to see task records as allowed by your team membership, user access type, and assigned roles. For more information on teams and roles, please refer to the Team Management and Role Management documentation in the Administration Guide.

Task Fields

The Tasks module contains a number of stock fields that come out-of-the-box with Sugar. For information on using and editing various field types, refer to the User Interface documentation. The below definitions are suggested meanings for the fields, but the fields can be leveraged differently to best meet your organization's needs. Administrators or users with developer-level role access have the ability to alter, add, or remove fields via Admin > Studio. For more information on configuring fields, please refer to the Studio documentation in the Administration Guide.

Field Description
Assigned To The Sugar user assigned to the task.
Comment Log A shared log of messages, comments, or other text, including the name of the user that added the log entry and the date and time it was added. It is possible to tag other users and link to other Sugar records in Comment Log entries by inserting a clickable pill; see the User Interface documentation for more details.
Contact Name

The contact record the task is related to.
Note: The task will appear in either the contact's Active Tasks dashlet or Inactive Tasks dashlet in the intelligence pane.

Date Created The date the task record was created.
Date Modified The date the task record was last modified.
Description A description or other information about the task.
Due Date

The date and time the task is due to be completed.
Note: The task will appear on the assigned user's Calendar per the date and time of the task.

Integration Sync ID

The sync key field used by external integrations to identify Sugar records in the external application. See the Integrate REST API endpoints in the Developer Guide for more details on how to use this field.

Priority The priority or importance of the task (e.g., High, Medium, Low).
Related to

The module and record that is related to this task.
Note: The task will appear in either the Active Tasks dashlet or Inactive Tasks dashlet of the selected module record's intelligence pane or the Activities subpanel or History subpanel (BWC modules only).

Start Date The date and time the task is started.
Status The current status of the task (e.g., Not Started, In Progress, Completed, etc.).
Note: Closing a task will automatically set the status to "Completed".
Subject The subject or a brief summary of the task.
Tags User-created keywords that can be used to identify records in filters, dashlets, and reports.
Note: For more information on creating and using tags, please refer to the Tags documentation.
Teams The Sugar team(s) assigned to the task record.

Task Due Date Colors

When viewing the Tasks list view or Tasks dashlet, the due date will be highlighted in one of two colors: blue or red. This allows users to quickly recognize scheduled tasks that are either overdue or due within the next 24 hours.

Task due dates are highlighted in list view and dashlets as follows:

  • Blue: Tasks with any status other than "Completed" with a due date in the next 24 hours.
  • Red: Tasks with any status other than "Completed" with a due date that has passed.
  • No color: Tasks with a status of "Completed" or with a due date 24 hours or more in the future.

100-task-duedate-colors

Task Dashlets

Dashlets showing task records can be added to your Home page, list view intelligence panes, and record view intelligence panes. The List View dashlet is a basic dashlet that allows you to select the Tasks module and create a filter so that the dashlet displays tasks that meet your filter criteria. For more information on list view dashlets, please refer to the Sugar Dashlets documentation.

Sugar also offers two dashlets with specific task-related functionality: the Active Tasks dashlet and the Inactive Tasks dashlet, which are briefly explained in the following sections.

Active Tasks Dashlet

The Active Tasks dashlet displays all tasks in a status of "Not Started", "In Progress", and "Pending Input" with the tasks broken into three tabs based on their due dates and adjacent buttons for performing actions on the tasks. When used on a related module's record view, the dashlet becomes contextual, and only shows tasks that are relevant to the current record.

For complete information regarding the Active Tasks dashlet, please refer to the Sugar Dashlets documentation.
Tasks ActiveTasksDashlet Create

Inactive Tasks Dashlet

The Inactive Tasks dashlet displays all tasks in a status of "Completed" or "Deferred" with the tasks broken into two tabs based on their statuses and adjacent buttons for performing actions on the tasks. When used on a related module's record view, the dashlet becomes contextual, and only shows tasks that are relevant to the current record.

For complete information regarding the Inactive Tasks dashlet, please refer to the Sugar Dashlets documentation.
InactiveTasksDashlet simple

Tasks Tile View

Tile View allows users to visualize and engage with their tasks in an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Users can drag a tile from one column to another to change its status.
TasksTileView

To access Tile View, navigate to the Tasks list view and click on the Tile View icon next to the search bar.
Tasks TileViewIcon

For more information on using the Tile View, refer to the User Interface documentation. For information on configuring Tile View layouts, refer to the Tile View Settings documentation in the Administration Guide.

Closing Tasks

Once a task has been completed, users can edit the Status field to "Completed" while on the record or list view. As a more convenient option, Sugar also allows users to close tasks, which automatically sets the status to "Completed".

Please note that the Close option will only appear if the task is not already in a status of "Completed". The following sections explain several ways to close tasks in Sugar.

Closing via List View

Use the following steps to close a task via the list view:

  1. Navigate to the Tasks list view by clicking the Tasks module tab.
  2. Use the Module Search to find the task records you wish to close.
  3. Click the Record Actions menu to the far right of the record's row and select "Close".
    100-close-lv

Closing via Record View

Use the following steps to close a task via the record view:

  1. Navigate to a task's record view.
  2. Select "Close" from the Actions menu.
    Tasks RV ActionsMenu Close

Closing and Creating New via Record View

Use the following steps to close and duplicate a task via the record view:

  1. Navigate to a task's record view.
  2. Select "Close and Create New" from the Actions menu.
    Tasks RV ActionsMenu CloseAndCreateNew
  3. The displayed record view is pre-populated with the original task's values. By default, the new task's status is set to "Not Started". Update the necessary fields then click "Save".
    Task CloseCreateNewSave

Closing via Subpanels

Use the following steps to close a task from the Tasks subpanel on the record view of a related record:

  1. Scroll to the Tasks subpanel on the record view of a related record.
  2. Select "Close" from the Actions menu of the task record you wish to close.
    100-close-subpanel

Closing via Dashlet

Tasks with statuses of "Not Started", "In Progress", or "Pending Input" appear in the Active Tasks dashlet on the record views of related records. Closing a task will cause it to move to the Inactive Tasks dashlet along with deferred tasks. 

Use the following steps to close a task via the Active Tasks dashlet:

  1. Navigate to the Active Tasks dashlet on your Home page or a module record view's (e.g., Accounts) intelligence pane.
  2. Click the appropriate tab (Due Now, Upcoming, To Do) on the dashlet, then locate the task record you wish to close.
  3. Click the X button to the right of the task's row in the dashlet.
    Tasks CloseTask ActiveTasksDashlet
  4. A pop-up message will display asking for confirmation. Click "Confirm" to proceed.

Once the task is closed, the task record will be moved to the Inactive Tasks dashlet and the task's status will change to "Completed".

Working With Sugar Modules

The Tasks module uses Sugar's Sidecar user interface. The following sections detail menus, views, and actions common to Sidecar modules and contain links to additional information within the page or links to the User Interface documentation.

Task Menus

The Tasks module contains various options and functionality which are available via menus in the module tab, list view, and record view. The following sections present each menu and its options with a link to more information about the menu option either in the User Interface documentation or, for Tasks-specific functionality, within this page.

Module Tab Menus

Click the Tasks module tab in the navigation bar to access the Tasks list view. You may also click the three-dots menu in the Tasks module tab to display the Actions, Recently Viewed, and Favorites menus. The Actions menu allows you to perform important operations within the module. The Recently Viewed menu displays the list of tasks you most recently viewed. The Favorites menu displays the list of tasks you most recently marked as favorites.
Tasks ModuleTabMenu1

The Actions menu allows you to perform the following operations:

Menu Item Description
Create Tasks Opens the record view layout to create a new task.
View Tasks Opens the list view layout to search and display tasks.
Import Tasks Opens the import wizard to create or update tasks using external data.

For more information on module tab menus including reasons a module may not be included in the menu, see the User Interface documentation.

List View Menus

The Tasks list view displays all task records and allows for searching and filtering to locate specific tasks. You can view the basic details of each record within the field columns of the list view or click a task's name to open the record view. To access a module's list view, simply click the module's tab in the navigation bar.

List View Mass Actions Menu

The Mass Actions menu to the right of the checkbox option in the list header allows you to perform mass actions on all currently selected records. You can use the checkbox on each record's row to select individual task records or click the checkbox in the list header to select all records displayed on the current set of list view results.
massactions
The Mass Actions menu allows you to perform the following operations:

Menu Item Description
Mass Update Mass update one or more tasks at a time.
Recalculate Values Visible only if the module contains fields using Sugar Logic and only to System Administrators or users with Developer-level role access, this option will refresh the selected records' calculated values.
Merge Merge one or more duplicate tasks.
Delete Delete one or more tasks at a time.
Export Export one or more tasks to a CSV file.
Doc Merge Select or create a DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX template to merge record data into documents that will be accessible in the Doc Merge widget.
Doc Merge to PDF Select or create a DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX template to merge record data into PDF documents that will be accessible in the Doc Merge widget.
List View Record Actions Menu

The Record Actions menu to the far right of each record's row allows you to perform actions on the individual task directly from the list view.
listviewmenu

The list view's Record Actions menu allows you to perform the following operations:

Menu Item Description
Preview (Eye icon) Preview this task in the intelligence pane.
Edit Edit this task.
Follow (Available if Activity Streams are enabled)Follow changes to this task in your activity stream.
Close Close this task.
Delete Delete this task.
Doc Merge Select or create a DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX template to merge record data into documents that will be accessible in the Doc Merge widget.
Doc Merge to PDF Select or create a DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX template to merge record data into PDF documents that will be accessible in the Doc Merge widget.

Record View Actions Menu

The Tasks record view displays a single task in full detail including its fields, subpanels of related records, and activity stream. To access a task's record view, simply click a hyperlinked task name from anywhere within Sugar. The record view's Actions menu appears on the top right of the page and allows you to perform various operations on the current record.
recordviewmenu

The Actions menu allows you to perform the following operations:

Menu Item Description
Edit Edit this task.
Share Share a link to this task via email.
Note: To send emails through Sugar, users must first configure a default user email account via Emails > Email Settings.
Download PDF

Download the record's information as a PDF file.

  • This menu option is only visible if the administrator has created a PDF template for the Tasks module via Admin > PDF Manager.
  • Clicking on this menu item will expand and contract the menu to reveal or hide the available PDF templates. 
Email PDF

Email the record's information as a PDF attachment.

  • This menu option is only visible if the administrator has created a PDF template for the Tasks module via Admin > PDF Manager.
  • Clicking on this menu item will expand and contract the menu to reveal or hide the available PDF templates. 

Note: To send emails through Sugar, users must first configure a default user email account via Emails > Email Settings

Close and Create New Close this task as "Completed" and duplicate it to a new task.
Note: This option only appears as long as the status does not equal "Completed".
Close Close this task as "Completed".
Note: This option only appears as long as the status does not equal "Completed".
Copy Duplicate this task to create a new task.
View Audit Log View a record of changes to this task.
Delete Delete this task.
Doc Merge Select or create a DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX template to merge record data into documents that will be accessible in the Doc Merge widget.
Doc Merge to PDF Select or create a DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX template to merge record data into PDF documents that will be accessible in the Doc Merge widget.

Common Views and Actions

The following links will open specific sections of the User Interface documentation where you can read about views and actions that are common across most Sidecar modules. 

Content Link Description
Creating Tasks
    Basic Task Creation
    Creating via Quick Create                  Creating via Subpanels
    Creating via Duplication
    Importing Tasks
The Creating Records section covers the various methods of creating new task records, including via the Create button in the Tasks module, the Quick Create menu in the navigation bar, via the Tasks subpanel on related modules, duplication of an existing task record, and importing a list of tasks into Sugar using a .csv spreadsheet.
Viewing Tasks
    Viewing via List View
    Viewing via Record View
    Viewing via Recently Viewed
    Viewing via Dashlets
    Viewing via Activity Streams              Viewing via Preview
    Viewing via Reports

The Viewing Records section describes the various methods of viewing task records, including via the Tasks list view and record view, the Recently Viewed menu in the Tasks module tab, list view dashlets showing task information, activity stream entries concerning task updates or where a user mentions a task, previewing tasks in the right-hand side panel, and reports displaying task data.
Note: There are also specialized dashlets for tasks, which are explained in detail in the Task Dashlets section of this page.

Searching for Tasks
    Global Search
    List View Search
        Creating a Filter
The Searching for Records section provides an introduction to the two searching methods for locating tasks: global search, which searches across all Sugar modules, and list view search, which searches and filters within the Tasks module.
Tasks List View
    Total Record Count
    Create Button
    List View Search
    Checkbox Selection
    Mass Actions Menu
    Favorite Designation
    Column Reordering
    Column Resizing
    Column Sorting
    Column Selection
    Preview
    Record Actions Menu
    Pagination
    Activity Stream
    Dashboards
The List View section walks through the many elements of the Tasks List View layout which contains a filterable list of all task records in Sugar. While the generic menu options are described in the User Interface sections linked to the left, the options specifically available in the Tasks list view's menus are available in the List View Mass Actions Menu and List View Record Actions Menu sections of this page. 
Tasks Record View
    Favorite Designation
    Following Designation
    Next or Previous Record
    Actions Menu
    Show More
    Subpanels
        Related Record Subpanels
        Filtering Subpanels
        Reordering Subpanels
    Activity Stream
    Dashboards
The Record View section walks through the many elements of the Tasks Record View layout which contains detailed information about a single task record. While the generic menu options are described in the User Interface sections linked to the left, the options specifically available in the Tasks record view's menu is available in the Record View Actions Menu section of this page.  
Editing Tasks
    Editing Inline via Record View
    Editing via Record View    
    Editing Inline via Subpanels
    Editing Inline via List View    
    Mass Editing via List View
The Editing Records section describes the various methods of editing existing task records, including inline via the tasks record view, in full edit mode on the record view, inline via the Tasks subpanel on related module records, inline via the Tasks list view, and via the Mass Update option on the list view.
Deleting Tasks
    Deleting via Record View
    Deleting via List View
    Mass Deleting via List View
The Deleting Records section describes the various methods of deleting unwanted tasks, including via the Tasks record view, an individual record's Actions menu on the Tasks list view, and the Mass Actions menu on the list view.
Exporting Tasks The Exporting Records section provides an introduction to the export functionality which allows you to download a list of tasks and all their data as a .csv file for use outside of Sugar (e.g., in Microsoft Excel).
Recalculating Calculated Values The Recalculating Calculated Values section provides instructions on utilizing the Recalculate Values list view option to update calculated field values in the module if the administrator has changed the field's formula via Admin > Studio.
Merging Tasks
    Merging via List View
The Merging Records section provides instructions for merging duplicate tasks which will combine field values and related records into a single task.
Viewing Task Audit Logs The Viewing Record Audit Logs section describes the View Audit Log record view option which displays a history of changes to the task's audited fields.
Task PDFs
    Downloading Task PDFs
    Emailing Task PDFs
The Record PDFs section provides instructions for these record view options which allow you to download or email .pdf files of task information as configured by an administrator via Admin > PDF Manager.
Favoriting Tasks
    Favoriting via List View
    Favoriting via Record View
    Favoriting via Subpanel
The Favoriting Records section describes the various methods of marking tasks as favorites, including via the Tasks list view, Tasks record view, or any Tasks subpanel appearing on the record view of a related module. Favoriting a task allows you to easily access it from list views, dashlets, or the Tasks module tab.
Following Tasks
    Following via List View
    Following via Record View
The Following Records section describes the various methods of marking tasks as "Following", including via the Tasks list view and record view. Following a task causes its activity stream updates to be included on your Home page and Tasks list view activity streams so that you can easily keep up with changes and user posts on the record.
Sharing Tasks The Sharing Records section provides instructions for the Share record view option which composes an email with a link to the task record. If the recipient is logged into Sugar, clicking the link will bring them directly to the task's record view.