Task Item
A task item is an instruction or reminder with no specific start or end time. It appears on the task list for one or more members.
There are 2 principal types of task items:
- Tasks (with associated instructions); and
- To-do items
Task items may be created manually (including by another member) or as part of a workflow process.
Properties
Regardless of type, task items have the following properties:
- Description of the work/reminder
- Status (whether the task has been completed)
- Priority
- Optional start and due dates (to assist with prioritisation)
- Notes (in Markdown format)
Tasks
An instruction requires a particular activity within ContactsLaw to be carried out in order to complete the task.
Instructions can create new items (e.g. documents) or operate on existing items (e.g. authorising a transaction). They can pre-fill certain details in order to save time and simplify the nature of the work.
To-Do Items
To-do items have no special behaviour and can simply be marked complete at the recipient's discretion.
Delegation
Task items can be delegated to one or more members; either directly or by assigning the task to a particular role on a matter (or within the subscription).
Tasks with multiple members operate on a first-come, first-served basis. If there is an associated instruction, members receive a warning if someone has already commenced the work.
Read/Unread
For any given task item, ContactsLaw tracks whether it has been read by each member or not.
Incoming task items are automatically marked as read when:
- The associated activity is commenced
- The properties of the task are opened in the Desktop App
- A preview of the task is displayed (uninterrupted) for at least 2 seconds in the Desktop App
Outgoing task items are automatically marked as read by the member who created them.
You can also manually mark task items as read or unread.
Desktop App
The Desktop App displays the total number of unread task items for a particular member beside each view in the navigation pane. Viewing tasks for a different member will also affect the totals. Regardless of the member selected, the totals always pertain to whether the current user has read the tasks or not.
Recurrence
All types of task items can be configured to recur according to a specific pattern, which includes:
- Unit (from days to years) and frequency of recurrence
- Start and end of the series (can be open-ended)
- Whether occurrences must fall within business hours
- Any exceptions to the pattern (dates to skip)
Occurrences
Recurring task items behave differently depending on whether a specific occurrence has been created or not. Normally, there is only one active occurrence in a series, which is created when the previous occurrence is completed; all subsequent occurrences are "virtual" and cannot be manipulated individually. You can, however, create any individual occurrence manually.
Deleting all occurrences also deletes the series.
Synchronisation
ContactsLaw supports 2-way synchronisation for task items, via integration with Microsoft 365. You can configure settings for this feature in your member profile.