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Create a Standalone Task

You can raise a standalone task for a piece of work that does not belong to a process, without building a template for it. The task takes assignees, a due date and content in the same way a checklist task does, and appears on the Tasks grid alongside everything else.

Before You Start​

  • You must be an Administrator, or a Member with the Task.Creator permission.
  • To attach the task to a checklist as you create it, you also need the Task.Attacher permission, and a running checklist whose template has Tasks Can Be Attached switched on. See Attach a Task to a Checklist.

Create the Task​

  1. Click the + button in the navigation bar and choose Task under Create New. The Create Task dialog opens.
  2. Type the name of the task in the Task Name box. This is the only thing the task must have.
  3. Click Assign Task and pick the people and groups responsible. Leave it empty and the task is unassigned.
  4. Click Set Due Date and pick a date and time from the calendar.
  5. Type into Task Description to give whoever picks the task up the detail they need. The box takes formatting, links and images.
  6. Click Add Subtask for each item you want ticked off inside the task.
  7. Click Add File to upload anything the assignee needs to read. Each file uploads as you choose it.
  8. Type into Tags to tag the task. Pick an existing tag from the suggestions, or type a full name and press Enter to make a new one.
  9. To attach the task to a checklist, switch Attach Task to an Existing Checklist on and choose a Template and then a Checklist. The switch is in the dialog only if you hold Task.Attacher.
  10. Click Create Task.

The dialog closes and a Task Created message confirms it.

What Each Part Becomes​

The dialog builds the task out of the same controls a template designer uses, so what you produce is an ordinary task:

Part of the dialogControl it createsBehaviour
Task DescriptionTextRead-only detail shown at the top of the task. Leave it empty and no description control is added.
SubtasksSub-TasksEvery item must be ticked before the task can be completed. Drag the items to reorder them.
FilesFileFiles to download. Whoever works the task cannot add to them here, but can attach files to a comment.

Each of the three appears at most once. Conditional logic, dynamic values, parameters and halt tasks belong to templates and are not available on a standalone task.

The tags are not part of the task's content. They are applied to the task once it exists, and they stay with it: attaching the task to a checklist later, or detaching it, leaves them alone. See Applying Tags.

What Happens Next​

The task exists immediately and, while it is unattached, everybody on your team can see it whatever their template permissions. It appears on the Tasks grid as soon as Show Standalone Tasks is selected in the Templates filter, and anybody looking at a grid the task belongs in sees the row arrive without reloading. Attach it and it follows the checklist instead, listed only for the people that checklist admits — see What the Grid Shows You.

Nobody is emailed when you create the task. The one message a standalone task sends is the overdue reminder: when the due date passes, CheckFlow emails its assignees, or every Administrator on the team when it has none.

A standalone task is created with Only Assignees Can Complete This Task already set, which matters as soon as you assign it. The people and groups you picked own the task: everybody else sees the row on the grid but cannot open, complete, snooze or reassign it, and only an Administrator is exempt. Leave the task unassigned and anyone can pick it up.

To open an assigned task up to the whole team, click the reassign icon on its row and untick the box. See Tasks You Cannot Work On.

note

You can change the task afterwards. Open it from the Tasks grid and click Edit / Delete beside its name, whether or not it is attached to a checklist. Editing is limited to Administrators and the person who created the task. See Edit and Delete a Standalone Task.

The Tags field is in the dialog for a new task only. Tag a task that already exists from its Task Tags box in the Tasks grid side panel, alongside its comments and activity.

If It Does Not Work​

What you seeWhyWhat to do
No Task entry under the + buttonYou do not hold Task.CreatorAsk an Administrator to grant it. See User Permissions.
No + button at allThe button needs Checklist.Creator, Template.Creator or Schedule.Creator as wellAsk an Administrator to grant one of those alongside Task.Creator.
Create Task does nothing and the name box is outlinedTask Name is emptyType a name. Nothing else in the dialog is required.
No templates enabled. Please check the 'Tasks Can Be Attached' setting in your template(s).No template you can see has Tasks Can Be Attached switched onSwitch it on from the template's Settings menu. See Attach a Task to a Checklist.
The Checklist list is emptyThe template you picked has no running checklistsChoose another template, or create a checklist first.
The task is not in the Tasks gridShow Standalone Tasks is not selectedOpen the Templates filter and tick Show Standalone Tasks.
A colleague sees the task but cannot open itIt is assigned to somebody else, and a new task is assigned exclusivelyClick the reassign icon on the row and untick Only Assignees Can Complete This Task.
No Attach Task to an Existing Checklist switch, opening from a checklistThe task attaches to the checklist you opened it from, so there is nothing to chooseNothing to do. Use the + menu instead if you want to pick the checklist.
No Attach Task to an Existing Checklist switch, opening from the + menuYou do not hold Task.AttacherAsk an Administrator to grant it. See User Permissions.
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