RootsMagic 8:Adding a Task

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Adding Task on Tasks Page

When you add a task on the Tasks page, it isn't "linked" to any particular person, family, or fact yet, but it becomes available to use (and reuse) when adding a task in the Edit Person form.

To add a task on the Tasks page:

1. Select the Tasks page
2. Click the + button above the task list
3. RootsMagic will display the Add Task form

You can enter the following information for the task:

• Name - the name that RootsMagic will display in the task List. This name is especially important for when you reuse an existing task.
• Start date - the date the task was started (or will start)
• Last edit date - the date the task was most recently worked on
• End date - the date the task was completed
• Goal/Details - This is where you can describe the goal of the task. Clicking this field will slide in the note editor to let you go into as much detail as desired.
• Results - This is where you document the results of the task. Clicking this field will slide in the note editor to let you go into as much detail as desired.
• Status - the status of the task. The options are:
  • New
  • In progress
  • Completed
  • On hold
  • Problem
  • Cancelled
• Priority - specify the priority of this task. 1 is the highest priority, while 9 is the lowest priority
• Ref# - you can enter an optional reference number here. This is solely for your own use.
• Filename - If you have an external file which holds more information about the task, you can add that filename here to keep it with the task.
• Task type - lets you specify whether the task is a research task, a to-do item, or correspondence

There are other pieces of information (for example, media, sources, repositories) that you may add to the task once it has been created and saved. These items can't be added until the task record is actually created in the database since they need to link to the task record in the file.

Adding Task to a Folder

Normally when you add a task, you will get the simple Add Task form above. However, if you have a folder selected and the task list is filtered by that folder, adding a new task will display a modified Add Task form which lets you either add a new task, or select an existing task. This is because when you are viewing the tasks for a folder, the Add Task will add the task to the folder.

You can either add a new task just like above, or you can click the Select Existing Task tab and select a task from the list to add to the current folder.

Adding Task on Edit Person

When you add a task on the Edit Person form, it will create the task, then "link" it to the person, family, or fact that you are currently working on. As you add the task, RootsMagic will let you either create a new task or reuse an existing task.

There are two ways to add a task on the Edit Person form:

1. Selecting a fact then clicking the "Tasks" button on the edit panel
2. Clicking the Task column on the fact list

Select Fact and Click Tasks Button

Highlight the fact you want to add a task to, then click the Tasks button on the edit panel on the right side of the form. RootsMagic will display a list of all the tasks for that fact.

To add a new task, click the "Add task" button. You can add (or select) the task exactly the same way as adding a task to a folder above.

Click Task Column in Fact List

Clicking the task column for the fact you want to add a task actually has 2 different workflows to choose from:

1. Standard workflow
2. Slide-in workflow

Standard Task Workflow

With the standard workflow, this will directly open the list of tasks in the edit panel exactly the same as above where you can add or edit tasks.

Slide-In Task Workflow

However, RootsMagic offers an optional task slide-in workflow that you can turn on via the program settings. If you choose to use this slide-in workflow, clicking the task column in the fact list will slide in the list of tasks directly over the fact list, and turn the edit panel into a task edit panel.

To add a new task using the slide-in workflow, simply click the + button on the toolbar and add the task exactly the same as above. When you are finished adding tasks, click the < back arrow in the header to return to the edit person fact list.