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Managing assigned tasks
About task management
The FirstClass task management feature allows you to assign a task to another person and monitor that task in a task manager container. A task manager container can also be used to monitor a project that consists of multiple tasks.
Everyone involved in a task can comment on it, so that discussion about the task is kept in one place, inside the task manager container.
The task manager container's list of tasks uses the following appearance codes for tasks with certain states:
Creating managed tasks
To add a managed task to a task manager container, click the New button, then complete the Managed Task form.
 NoteAnyone you assign to a task must first be a member of the task manager container and have appropriate permissions. Details are below under "Creating task manager containers".
Managed task monitoring and collaboration
When you assign someone a managed task, a notification email goes to their mailbox. This is the only personal email they will receive about this task unless they tick the "Notify me of changes" checkbox on the Managed Task form. Anyone with access to this task can request these notifications.
Ensure that the task manager container has appropriate permissions for the people who are assigned tasks (for example, an access level of Contributor). This allows an assignee to open their task and change its status, as well as participate in task discussions inside the container. Permissions are described below, under "Creating task manager containers".
You and assignees can comment on a task by clicking the Comment toolbar button. In turn, comments can be replied to just as you would reply to any message. All comments and replies to them are listed under the task as a message thread that you can expand or collapse just as you do any other groups of objects in lists.
As an assignee works on a task, they can update the Managed Task form to change the task status and percent complete. Any update they make will flag the task and container, thereby notifying you even if you didn't choose to receive emailed notifications of changes when you created the task.
Updating managed tasks
To change task information, open the task and update it. You and assignees can always change "State" and "Progress".
If you ticked "Limit editing to State and Progress", this is all assignees can update, other than turning on or off emailed notifications of changes. If you as creator want to update anything else, first clear this checkbox. Remember to reset it after your changes are made.
Changing managed task status
To change the status of a managed task, choose the appropriate status at "State".
When the status is changed to In Progress, the current date is displayed at "Started on". This date can be changed.
When the status is changed to Completed, the percent complete automatically becomes 100 and the current date is displayed at "Completed on". This date can be changed.
If it's necessary to revert a completed task to a different status, choose the new status. The completion date is automatically removed.
Creating task manager containers
To create a task manager container:
1 Open the container where you want the task manager container.
2 Choose File > New > New Task Manager.
The task manager container is created and opened.
3 Name your task manager container and update other properties as required on the Info form.
4 Set the task manager container's permissions.
Setting task manager container permissions
You use permissions to control how your task manager container behaves (for example, what others can do in the container).
To set task manager container permissions:
1 Select or open the task manager container.
2 Choose Collaborate > Permissions.
3 Update the Permissions form.
We recommend that you select "Do not publish in Directory", so that your task manager container isn't in the Directory. This keeps others from knowing about your task manager container unless you tell them. It also means you can use any name you want for it, without it conflicting with a published name.
Task manager containers are intended as collaborative areas. At a minimum, you need to give access to people to whom you assign the tasks that this container will store. To do this, you first set permissions that control what they can do in your task manager container, then you make your task manager container available to them.
Your changes are saved automatically when you close this form.
Providing information about your task manager container
To provide others with information about a task manager container:
1 Choose Collaborate > Permissions with the container open or selected.
2 Click About.
3 Update the About form.
To see task manager container information, others can select your task manager container, then choose Collaborate > About.
Making your task manager container available
To make your task manager container available to someone, either create it in a container to which they already have access, or make them members of your container. Making someone a member puts a link to your container on their Desktop.
To make someone a member of your task manager container:
1 Select your container.
2 Choose Members from the context menu.
If the task manager container's Permissions form is still open, you can click Members instead.
3 Click Add Member.
ShortcutWith the members list open, you can open a list of users, such as the Directory, select users, and drag them to the members list. You can also select a plain text list of user names (one per line) and drag them.
4 Select the user.
To see a selected member's profile, click Profile.
To remove a selected member, click Remove Member.
TipYou can click the column headings in the members list to sort the list, just as you can in other lists. This lets you display the member names in alphabetical order.
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