Overview & Background
Custom task status allows you to create and design unique workflows for your projects that are different from the task status offered in the Basic plan of Fieldwire.
Note: Only available on Pro, Business, and Business Plus subscriptions.
Table of Contents:
- What are the default task statuses?
- What are custom task statuses?
- How do I create custom task statuses?
- Where can I use custom task statuses?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Information
What are the default task statuses?
Default task statuses, like you'd find on the Basic plan, exist in sequential order. These are distinguished by distinct 'Types' and 'Statuses' -- these follow an Open to Tracked to a Verified workflow. A Verified task cannot come from before a Tracked task, which cannot come from before an Open task.
Statuses are also associated with Project Permissions; I.e. only certain permissions can leverage certain task statuses.
Both Tracked and Verified tasks are dated and can be analysed through Task filters, reports, and graphs. This means that Fieldwire will record the date the task was moved into a 'Tracked' and 'Verified' Status. This is especially important for any 'Time' filters one chooses to leverage.
Verified tasks will also archive after a set period of time determined under the 'settings' tab.
When a Task is first created, the default task status is 'Priority 2' (but can be moved to 'Priority 1' or 'Priority 3', given the prescience of the work). Tasks will move to 'Completed' when the Assignee has finished the work, and are 'Verified' when an Admin verifies that the work the task tracks is fully concluded. The sequential, descending logic is illustrated in the chart below using the default statuses after this
| Status | Type | |
| Open | Project Admin, Member, and Follower | |
| Tracked | ||
| Verified | Admin Only |
What are custom task statuses?
Custom task statuses follow the same sequential order as Default Task Statuses. Custom task statuses will always follow an Open to Tracked to Verified workflow. Like with default Task Statuses, a Verified task cannot come from before a Tracked task, which cannot come from before an Open task.
The key differences are that you have the autonomy to define your own Task statuses in terms of the associated, name, colour, type, permission, and order:
Adjusting the name, color, type, permission, and order of the task statuses unlocks a wide variety of potential use cases. For example, let's say that you would like to track specific issues for the punch process; you can set up an easy workflow to track work from 'Pre-Punch' to Approval.
It is possible to change the colour of the status by hovering over the task status and selecting the "cogwheel" button that appears :
In the example below, the 'Open (Default)' status is 'pre-punch'-- this is the default status when the task is created. The Task status will be moved to 'Defect', and thus 'Scheduled' when the issue is identified and work has begun. 'In-Progress' and 'Approved by Sub' is Tracked, as you'll use the date this status was adopted in reporting and filtering (We've also made sure that only Admins and Members can change tasks to the 'Approved by Sub' status). Finally 'Approved by GC' is 'Verified' and 'Admin-only' to confirm that the issue is fully resolved:
After you choose to 'Save', the Statuses are on-display and ready to use under the Task attributes:
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The Statuses on web |
The Statuses on Mobile (iOS): |
And are on display within the Kanban view:
In addition, you will be able to leverage these within Task Filters, within Reports, and on the Task analytics views. Think of custom task statuses as the essential way to define the appropriate workflow for what you would like to track within your project.
How do I create custom task statuses?
Project Admins can create their own custom task statuses from the 'Settings' option in the project.
Select 'Manage Status' to pull up the Manage Status Screen:
Here, you'll be able to adjust the name, color, type, permission, and order of the statutes. You can also add new Statuses, and have up to seven, or a minimum of three, on the project.
Project Admins can also access the 'Manage Status' window from the Kanban View by selecting the gear icon next to the status column:
To add a new status, select the '+New status' option, you'll then enter the status name:
The new status will push through and automatically be sorted under the 'Open' category and be available to All users. From here, adjust the color, type, permission, and order to perfect your workflow:
Note: You can only have one 'Verified' permission.
To delete a status, select the Trash can icon to the right of the status:
Where can I use custom task statuses?
You can leverage your custom task statuses in a variety of areas in Fieldwire. Any area that leverages task information will reflect the custom task statuses that you have created.
Within a task
From a task, you can leverage custom task statuses from the 'status' drop-down. In addition to this, you can also leverage the '@' symbol in a task message to easily update the task status (or re-assign).
You can also use the '@' symbol in a task comment on mobile to easily designate a task status:
You can also search for, and filter by Status using the '@' symbol on the tasks tab:
Note: Your custom task statuses will also populate any tasks that you've emailed out. You can respond to the email using the '@' symbol, followed by the status to change the task status within Fieldwire!
Kanban Board
Tasks will be re-ordered on the Kanban Board based on the order that the custom task statuses have been created:
You can also change a Tasks Status from the Kanban board-- select the pertinent tasks, then 'Actions', from there, you can move the tasks into your 'Tracked' and/or 'Verified' statuses:
You can also isolate tasks, based on status, from the 'Filter tasks' option:
In a Report
You can also leverage your custom task statuses within task reports. The task statuses will populate the 'Statuses' section under 'Task Filters'. These are available to leverage within the PDF detailed, Summary, and CSV reports:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between “Open” vs “Tracked”?
An “Open” task status type means there is no date associated with that task. A “Tracked” task status type (replaces “Completed”) has a date associated with when that task moves into that status. Both Tracked and Verified tasks are dated and can be analyzed through filters, reports, and graphs.
| Open Statuses | Tracked Statuses |
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Can I change the permissions on statuses?
You can change permissions on all the statuses, including Verified, except on the Open (default) status. The Open (default) status will always have “All users” as the permissions.
Do Custom Task Statuses transfer over to other projects?
Custom Task Statuses are project-specific but users can clone an existing project’s custom task statuses at new project creation. You can also edit task statuses in an existing project by going to the Settings page or Tasks page and selecting the settings gear icon to initiate the Manage Status modal.
Note: The user must be an admin user on a project with a Pro subscription or above).
More Information
Take a look at these articles for additional information about leveraging Tasks in Fieldwire: