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2.1. New Task List Item

To enter a new task item, go to CRM > Tasks > New. The following screen will appear:

Task

When entering a new task item, you are presented with the following options:

Number

Enter a code to identify the task.

Priority

Enter a priority from the drop down list to help you prioritize your task items. Priority options include, Very High, High, Normal, Low, Very Low.

Status

Enter a status from the drop down list to mark the current status of the task. Status options include, New, Pending, In-Process, Deferred, Completed.

Name

Enter a brief name to identify the task.

Description

Enter a brief description of the task item.

Due

Date task is due.

Started

Date task actually started.

Completed

Date task was actually completed.

Percent Complete

Enter or scroll to the value of how complete the task is.

Recurring

Create recurring event

When creating a recurring event, you are presented with the following options:

Recurring

Check this box if you want the event to repeat itself at regular intervals, using the frequency settings you specify below. Recurring events are generated when you run the Recurring Items utility, which is described in more detail here: Section 10.2, “Create Recurring Items”.

Every

Enter a number and select a unit of time to describe how frequently you want the event to occur. You can choose any regular schedule, ranging from once every 1 minute to once every 99 years.

From

Enter a date and time at which to start the first event. The default value is the time the screen opened. The From option only appears on some screens.

Until

Enter a date and time after which the event should no longer occur.

Create no more than

Enter the maximum number of future copies of this event you want the system to maintain. Whenever the Create Recurring Items screen is run, it will create up to the number you enter here.

Warning

If you delete all copies of a recurring event, the event will stop repeating even if the until date has not yet been reached. xTuple recommends setting this to at least 2 to reduce the likelihood of deleting all copies of the event.

Keep None

Select to make the next job catch up if work was missed.

Keep One

Select to create one catch-up job if work was missed.

Keep All

Select to create any missed jobs.

Project #

The project number of the project the task is associated with (if any).

Owner

Select task owner.

Task Assignments:

List of users who are assigned to the task.

ASSIGN

Click this button to assign a user to the task and to give them a role.

REMOVE

Click this button to remove a user from the task assignments list.

To view a time and expenses summary of the task, select Time and Expenses tab. The following screen will appear:

Task Time and Expenses

When viewing the time and expenses summary for a task, you are presented with the following options:

Hours

Specify the number of hours associated with the task using the following fields:

Budgeted

Enter the number of hours budgeted for the task. This information may be saved and updated later.

Actual

Enter the actual number of hours consumed performing the task. This information may be saved and updated later.

Balance

Displays the difference between the budgeted and actual hours.

OPEN WORKSHEETS

Click this button to open the Worksheets window from the Task window.

ADD TO WORKSHEET

Click this button to add the entered hours to the worksheet.

Expenses

Specify the expenses associated with the task using the following fields:

Budgeted

Enter the total expenses budgeted for the task. This information may be saved and updated later.

Actual

Enter the actual expenses incurred while performing the task. This information may be saved and updated later.

Balance

Displays the difference between the budgeted and actual expenses.

You can specify customer and billing rate information by task. To specify the customer and billing rate information, select the Billing tab. The following screen will appear:

Task Billing

When specifying customer and billing rate information, you are presented with the following options:

Account

Specify the CRM account the task is associated with.

Use specified billing rate

Select this option if you want to enable specifying a customer billing rate for the task.

Rate

Specify the customer billing rate for the task.

Use Specified item

Select this option if you want to enable specifying an item number for the task.

Item Number

Select an item to associate with the task.

To create reminder alarms for a task item, select the Alarms tab at the bottom of the screen, as shown below:

Task List Item Alarms

To create a new alarm, select the NEW button. The following screen will appear:

Create Alarm

When creating a new alarm you are presented with the following options:

Due

Add the date and time when you want the alarm to alert specific users and contacts.

Event

Select if you would like an event to trigger the alarm. You may select from an unlimited list of users to be notified.

Email

Select if you would like an email notification to be sent as an alarm. You may select from an unlimited list of users to be notified.

System Message

Select if you would like a system message to be issued as an alarm. You may select from an unlimited list of users to be notified.

The following buttons are available:

USER ACCOUNT

Allows you to choose unlimited number of users created in the system.

CONTACT

Allows you to choose from unlimited number of contacts created in the system.

SAVE

Creates the alarm and adds it to the list of alarms.

CANCEL

Closes the screen without creating an alarm, returning you to the previous screen.

To add comments to a task, select the Comments tab. The following screen will appear:

Task List Item Comments

When adding or reviewing comments, you are presented with the following options:

Verbose Text

Select to display all comments in the list in an expanded view which includes the entire text of each comment. To edit a comment, simply select the EDIT link next to the comment. That link will not be shown for changelog comments, which can't be edited. If the Verbose Text option is not selected, the comment list will display only header level information for each comment.

Comments

Display lists comments related to the record.

The following buttons are available:

NEW

Opens screen for creating a new comment.

VIEW

Highlight a comment and then select this button to reach a read-only view of the Edit screen.

EDIT

Enables you to edit highlighted comments—as long as the comments are not changelog comments. ChangeLog comments are system-generated and may not be edited. The Edit screen is the same as that for creating a new comment—except that when editing, the fields will contain comment information. Double-clicking on a comment will also bring you to the editing screen.

To enter a new comment, select the NEW button. The following screen will appear:

Create new Comment
Comment Type

Select a comment type from the drop-down list to classify the comment. This is a required step. Comment types may be system-defined (i.e., changelog and general) or user-defined, as described in Section 13.2.3, “Comment Types”. Once you have specified a comment type, begin typing your comment in the main text area. The text area features word-wrapping and scroll-bar support for longer comments.

The following buttons are unique to this screen:

MORE

Select to show the complete list (i.e., thread) of comments associated with the record. To hide the list, simply select the MORE button again. The comment thread will show the most recent comment first.

To enter notes for a task, select the Notes tab at the bottom of the screen, as shown below:

Task Notes
Notes

This is a scrolling text field with word-wrapping for entering notes related to the task.

To enter characteristics for a task, select the Characteristics tab. The following screen will appear:

Task Characteristics

To create a new characteristic for your current task, select the NEW button. You will then get the following screen:

Characteristic: Task

When creating a new characteristic, you are presented with the following options:

Characteristic

Select a characteristic from the list of characteristics available for your current context. To learn more about how characteristics are linked to specific contexts, please see Section 9.2.2.1, “Characteristic”.

Value

Enter a value to associate with the characteristic.

To view the documents associated with a task, select the Documents tab. The following screen will appear:

Task Documents

When associating documents, you are presented with the following options:

NEW

Select to create a new document and associate it with the current record. You may create the following document types:

Image

Select to create a new image association.

Fixed Asset

Select to create a new fixed asset association.

Maintenance Order

Select to create a new maintenance order association.

Incident

Select to create a new incident and associate it.

Project

Select to create a new project and associate it.

Opportunity

Select to create a new opportunity and associate it.

Task

Select to create a new task and associate it.

EDIT

Enables you to edit associated documents. The Edit screen is the same as that for creating a new document—except that when editing, the fields will contain document information. Double-clicking on a document will also bring you to the editing screen.

VIEW

Highlight a document and then select this button to reach a read-only view of the Edit screen.

ATTACH

Select to associate already-existing documents. The following document types may be attached: contact, account, customer, employee, file, image, incident, item, opportunity, project, purchase order, sales order, vendor, web site, work order.

DETACH

Highlight a document and then select this button to remove the association.

To associate already-existing documents, select the ATTACH button. The following screen will appear:

Attach a Document

When associating already-existing documents, you are presented with the following options:

Relationship

Indicate how the document is related to the current record. The following relationship options are available: related to, parent of, child of, duplicate of.

Type

Specify the kind of document you want to associate. The following document types may be attached: contact, account, customer, employee, file, image, incident, item, opportunity, project, purchase order, sales order, vendor, web site, work order. When associating files, you will also be given the option to save the file to the database.

Tip

There is no file size restriction when saving files to the database. However, excessively large files could cause storage and performance issues.

Notes

Leave any notes on the document file as needed.

Document

Use the lookup tool to identify the specific document you want to attach. The data entry options will vary depending on the document type you select.

To view email associated with a task item, select the Email tab. The following screen will appear:

Email

When viewing associated emails, you are presented with the following options:

Email list

Display lists associated emails.

Email body

The content of a highlighted email will be displayed here.

Limit to

Specify the maximum number of associated emails you want to be displayed in the email list. If the list is extremely long, you may experience some slowness when opening the screen.

Load All

Select to load all associated emails into the list.

Search

Enter a string of letters or complete words to search for matches in the list of associated emails. The search will scan through subject lines, To addresses, and From addresses.

The following buttons are unique to this screen:

NEW

Select to send a new email, using the default email program on your computer.

PRINT

Highlight an email and then select this button to print a copy of the email.

REPLY

Highlight an email and then select this button to reply to the email's sender, using the default email program on your computer.

REPLY ALL

Highlight an email and then select this button to reply to everyone associated with the email, using the default email program on your computer.

FORWARD

Highlight an email and then select this button to forward the email to another person(s), using the default email program on your computer.

ATTACH

Highlight an email and then select this button to attach an email associated with a contact in your contact list.

DETACH

Highlight an email and then select this button to remove the associated email from the list.