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Task Manager List of Categories
- Is there a way to search through tasks?
- Can I sort tasks by date or name?
- How do I delete a task?
- How do I create custom Icons for Custom Statuses?
- Who can see what?
- What happens if two or more Users are working on or editing the same Task concurrently?
- Why are edits sometimes not applied?
- Why do other Staff Member's edits take precedence over mine?
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Is there a way to search through tasks?
Yes, as of Version 3 you can search by Comments or Instructions. Version form added a Task Name search. The search performed is a simple in-case-sensitive search for matching strings. That is, the terms you search for must be found in the order you enter them. You can search by one or all fields.
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Can I sort tasks by date or name?
Yes, the latest version allows you to sort the task synopsis table by any column except "Assigned staff" simply by clicking on the column header. Because multiple staff can be assigned to tasks, this column is sorted by the first Staff member assigned to the Task.
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How do I delete a task?
Click on Tasks in the Admin Control Panel then click on a task name. To delete the selected task, select "Delete" from the drop down menu and submit the form. If you check the box at the bottom of the form, all assigned staff will be notified of it's deletion.
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How do I create custom Icons for Custom Statuses?
These features are available as of Version 4. See the Creating Custom Icons and Statuses chapter of the User Guide for detailed information.
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Who can see what?
On the Summary page, Level 1 and Level 2 Administrators can see all Tasks. Level 3 Users see only Tasks they are assigned to, have been marked as "Viewable by all" or were created by that User.
If a Task is marked as "Viewable by all" it then becomes visible to all Users. Otherwise only Staff assigned to the Task (and Level 1 and Level 2 Administrators) can see it in the Task List and on the Summary page.
As a Level 1 Administrator, you decide who can see which Users on the "Create a Task Table". That is, you decide if Level 3 Users can assign Level 1 or Level 2 Administrators to tasks. The same applies for all levels.
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What happens if two or more Users are working on or editing the same Task concurrently?
Scenario : User A and User B both load Task A for review. User A adds some comments, edits the instructions and submits the changes. User B is still reviewing the Task. User A's submission sent out e-mail notifications to all assigned staff members. However User B has not checked their e-mail yet and a few minutes later submitted their changes to Task A. User B will see a massage informing them that Task A has been modified since they loaded it and that their edits were not recorded (no e-mail notifications will be sent). Task A will be reloaded with User A's edits as well as User B's edits printed above the Task modification area. This allows User B to re-review the latest changes and copy and paste the relevant information back into the Task.
In short the first edit sticks, the second edit is reprinted above the textareas so it can be copied back in to the latest copy.
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Why are edits sometimes not applied?
When editing a task, 3 files are written to. If all 3 files are successfully written to, only then will the email notifications go out (if TaskManager is asked or set to do so).
The 3 files updated are 1) the file that stores the details for each task such as the task name, assigned staff, due dates, etc. 2) the file that stores instructions and 3) the file that stores comments.
When the scripts (Users) attempt to update the 3 files, they are each sequentially opened for exclusive use by the current User, User A. Locking files for exclusive use by one User prevents files from being completely wiped clean of their entire content. If another User, User B happens to try to update the scripts before User A's script processes have finished writing to the files and closed them, User B will be denied access to either 1, 2 or all 3 files. As such, only 1 or 2 of the 3 files may have been updated. In this case, no email notifications will be sent, and the following message will be returned :
WARNING: Some of the edits could not be applied, try again by re submitting the form. No email notifications were sent out.
Should you encounter this error message, it would be wise to check the edits submitted to see which did not stick, then re-apply them.
The Task editing Area (the large text boxes near the bottom of the page) always show the most current information stored in the database.
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Why do other Staff Member's edits take precedence over mine?
If two Users load a Task in their browser at the same time, it can be reasonably assumed they may both spend several minutes reading the notes before applying edits. Lets say both Users loaded the task at 10:00 on the dot. At 10:03 on the dot, User A applied their edits. At 10:05, User B tried to apply theirs. If these edits were allowed to be applied, the edits made by User A would be overwritten and lost. To avoid such losses, User B's edits would be denied and the following error message would be returned :
The [Task name] Task has been edited by another Staff Member since you loaded the Task. Your edits were not applied. Your edited Instructions and Comments are printed below. You may re-apply them and try again.
This allows User B to review the edits made by User A, and then copy and paste any or all of their edits rather than having to re-type them. This method is employed to prevent the loss of data and the possibility of losing edits which may have taken hours to think through and apply.
If this error is encountered, check the edits submitted against the current data in the Task editing Area (the large text boxes near the bottom of the page) which always show the most current information stored in the database.
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