Two things…
I thought it was possible to add a task’s Description field to the project’s List view. But I seem unable to do so. Any suggestions?
Why isn’t that Description field visible via the Add Fields, choose from Library capabilty?
Thanks,
Steve
Welcome to the Community Forum @Steve_Mattera!
You are right, It’s currently not possible to add a column in your List view to see the Tasks Description. I think this is a very good suggestion! I’ve gone ahead and moved this thread to the Product Feedback category to allow other users to upvote.
I hope this helps!
Hi - still getting used to the forum format, so hopefully this is the correct place to do this. Is there an update on this? In my previous position, we used Workfront and it allowed users to add the task description to the list view, and we found it very helpful. Are there plans to add?
@anon27926765, @Steve_Mattera,
Until/if Asana offers this, consider Asana2Go (Disclaimer: I’m the creator) which offers a Description column (see all Descriptions at once for tasks in list) and/or a hoverable icon (take up less width and see any one Description instantly):
Larry
I am so confused as to why some of these features are not available. The seem pretty basic to me. Every single search I have done today results in “feature not available yet” and 6 months later - still no update? You can’t undo something easily, importer tool only works once a week, you can only have one date (any other needs to be manually input)… hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Another +1. Since follow up tasks are “linked” (not a true linking relationship, to be clear) via a link to the parent issue via the Description, I cannot see the parent issue without clicking through dozens of tasks. Trying to clean imported data to Asana has proven to be a nightmare because of all these papercuts that add up significantly.
Even an advanced search for a non-empty Description is impossible. I’m now reliant on coding together some janky API script to try and capture this data. Ridiculous.
Every few months I come back to Asana and think “This is going to be the time I’m going to be able to run a project off of it” and every time, I discover three or four new small things I just can’t fundamentally do, and then scrap this tool for Excel.
Asana, let me be clear: You are being outclassed by older-than-the-earth spreadsheet software… Sure, Excel doesn’t have fancy css or smooth js transitions, but it covers the basics to a point that I don’t have to worry about the engineering and product teams at Microsoft ignoring feedback for years with issues that make it impossible for me to work in an efficient way. Soapbox? Yes. Wrong? Absolutely not.
Strong upvote. Without this, I have to use Google Sheets or Airtable (instead of Asana) to keep track of an important list for which my staff needs to be able to browse the descriptions without clicking into each list item.
Looks like this still hasn’t been released. Why not?? I’ve been a heavy Asana user for 5 years and just came across a clear need for this. I’m creating a bunch of outreach tasks. I want to add a short description for each company that I am outreaching to. I could create a custom field, but would be so nice just to have the first sentence of the description show here. Now I have to choose between slowly opening each task to add the description or creating a custom field and then being able to quickly add to each task from the list view. Why should I have to choose?
This still hasn’t been added? Is it in the works at least?
It would be valuable to be able to see description in the list view. We just started to use Asana on our end. Powerful tool but this seems like a simple to implement valueadd.
@Emily_Roman - is there any update on this request?
Hi @anon56247163, we don’t have updates about this feature yet! At the moment, it’s currently possible to add a text custom field to your project so you can show a description in List view. We will comment on this thread if this is something we plan to implement in the future!
9/25/24 and is there still no way to see the Task Description in List view, oof.
Summarized recent conversation: “Why can’t the important information be in List view with everything else? We pay how much?!? Isn’t Monday free? Can Monday do that?”
Please, don’t make me have this conversation, I am begging you, add Task Descriptions to List View
Hey Asana team,
It’s actually pretty embarrassing that this type of feature doesn’t exist. In fact, it’s not even a feature, it’s basic functionality.
The ability to add a default field of a table to the list view should have existed from day 1. Not having it after this long is a bit of a joke.
Please do something about this.
I’d fully appreciate this capability being added to. For such things as interactive Action Logs, it will prove significantly beneficial if those reviewing the actions do not have to click on each and every task to be reminded of the description. Alternatively, hovering the mouse over the short description (task name) and showing the detailed description would also be a real benefit.
Is this still not a thing? I need this.
I figured out how to do it for list view. Add a custom field to your list view called Task Description. In FIELD TYPE select TEXT and save. When you are creating your project, type the description in your new custom field vs the description section of the task.
Hi everyone!
This feature request has been around since June 2020 — that’s a lot of years asking for a Description column! 
While we wait for a native solution, what if we let AI do the summarizing for us?
From an AI transformation perspective, I’d like to share a practical workaround using Asana AI Studio to turn lengthy task descriptions into concise, leadership-friendly summaries directly in the Project List view.
Instead of squeezing an entire description into a column, we can use AI to generate a one-line summary and populate a Text custom field. Project managers and leaders can then understand the purpose of a task at a glance without opening every task.
Step 1: Create a Text custom field
Create a Text custom field called Task Summary and add it to your project’s List view. This is where the AI-generated summary will appear.
Step 2: Configure an AI Studio rule
Create an AI Studio rule that reads the task description, identifies the primary objective or deliverable, and generates a concise summary of 10–20 words.
The instruction should tell AI to preserve the key meaning, avoid inventing information, and return only the summary.
**
Step 3: Choose the execution trigger and make the rule reusable**
I configured the rule to run manually. Not every task needs an AI-generated summary, so manually triggering it for selected tasks helps control AI credit consumption. You can also use an appropriate automated trigger if you want summaries generated whenever tasks meet specified conditions.
You don’t have to recreate the rule for every project:
Starter and Advanced: Add the rule to a project template so new projects created from that template can reuse the workflow.
Enterprise and Enterprise+: Package the rule and relevant configuration in an Asana Bundle and apply it to the appropriate projects.
This makes the solution reusable and easier to scale across teams.
Step 4: Generate and display the summary
Run the rule on a task, and AI Studio analyzes its description and populates the Task Summary custom field. The result appears directly in the List view, while the original description remains untouched.
What about AI credits?In my test, the lowest-cost model available in the AI Studio model selector consumed 232 credits per run. For planning, let’s use an average of 250 credits per task summary.
Based on the monthly AI Studio credit allocations shown in Asana’s plan comparison, the estimated capacity is:
| Asana plan | Monthly credits | Approx. summaries/month |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 50,000 | 200 |
| Advanced | 75,000 | 300 |
| Enterprise | 200,000 | 800 |
| Enterprise+ | 200,000 | 800 |
These are estimates, not guaranteed limits. Actual consumption depends on the model and task description, and credits are shared across the billing account with other AI Studio workflows. Additional credits may be available for purchase.
Leadership-friendly: Get the gist without opening every task.
AI-powered: Transform detailed descriptions into concise summaries.
Credit-conscious: Run manually only where needed, or automate when appropriate.
Reusable: Standardize the workflow through templates or bundles.
No loss of detail: Keep the full description for the people doing the work.
The idea isn’t to replace the Description field. It’s to give it a useful companion: the full story for the team, and the executive summary for everyone scanning the list.
After waiting since 2020, perhaps we can let AI help bridge the gap in the meantime!
If this workaround helps address your use case, please click the checkmark below this reply to mark it as a solution. Thank you!
