Custom ID field - do NOT apply ID number to subtasks (or allow option not to)

English Forum Product Feedback
1

The recently launched custom ID field is great, but having tried it out, it appears it also applies an ID to every 1st-level subtask of a task. :thinking:

I foresee there will be a split on opinions on this amongst users, so letā€™s see what you think..
(but for those who select either ā€˜Do NOT apply ID to subtasksā€™ or ā€˜Give us the optionā€™, please ALSO use the black Vote button in the top left).

  • Apply ID to subtasks
  • Do NOT apply ID to subtasks
  • Give us the option!
0 voters

I personally, Iā€™m on the side of the fence where I could see users using IDs for tickets, quotes, invoices which may likely contain subtasks, such as ā€˜Prepare..ā€™, ā€˜Send..ā€™ etc of which you would NOT want the ID numbers to apply to these subtasks.

On the other hand, I could also see users wanting IDs applied to subtasks, since you can expand a task in a List view to see those subtasks, along with their IDs (currently, expanding a task in list view is only available is there is no sort or group by enabled).

I think this would be one of those rare occasions for Asana to introduce an ā€˜optionā€™ (to apply IDs to subtasks or not), in the fieldā€™s edit menu, as per my crude mockup below. :pray:

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8 Likes
Using ID Field on main task only v2
Introducing ID custom field
The ability to set ID field only to Parent Task
Introducing ID custom field
2

@Richard_Sather,

Iā€™m not sure what the purple Vote button at the top means as youā€™ve explained it because:

  • The thread title says to vote either against ID for subtasks or for an option (ā€œCustom ID field - do not apply ID number to subtasks (or allow option not to)ā€), but
  • In the body you write, ā€œplease use the purple button at the top right to vote for NOTā€

(Also, perhaps a good practice not to include a poll in a Product Feedback post because then there are, confusingly, two Vote buttons!)

My opinion is Iā€™d like an option but, so long as Asana does not provide an option, I feel ignoring the ID custom field on subtasks (as you must now ignore all other unwanted subtask-inherited custom fields), is a small price to pay to ensure those who expect/want the ID on first-level subtasks have it.

Thanks,

Larry

3

Hi @lpb , points noted. Iā€™ve rephrased the title and the wording slightly so hopefully itā€™s not too confusing. :sweat_smile:

4

Yes, thanks, much better, and I (purple) voted!

1 Like
5

This feature would be a lifesafer for us. We currently have been using a 3rd party to add in UIā€™s so when I saw asana was bringing them in and making them searchable (!!!) I was ecstatic. I set it up and saw that our just under 1000 tasks weā€™ve accumulated have turned into almost 7000 ID numbers! I wondered where on earth they had all come through so I searched a random number and saw it was a subtask attached to a card in that project that had been sent to another department. This isnā€™t helpful for us at all, it inflates the numbers considerably and having a way to turn adding to the subtasks on/off would be a fantastic feature. I think for now weā€™re going to stick with the 3rd party until this is amended but I am hopeful for the future!

3 Likes
6

Upvoting!!!

7

Hi Jamie, may I please ask which 3rd party tool youā€™re using? Iā€™d like to see if that could work for our client who requires more robust numbering convention that what Asana allows. Thanks!

8

Heya, this is the place we use https://www.projectprocs.com/

9

FYI you can also use our Flowsana integration - we have a unique ID feature and itā€™s applied via a rule so you can choose to apply it just to top-level tasks.

1 Like
10

Yes. I also wish that Subtasks didnā€™t get unique IDs either no IDs.

Make Ticket subtasks show up as tasks not tickets
11

@Brandon_Hunt1 I moved your post (above) to an existing topic for this request. Be sure to add your vote for it at the top of the thread.

Also in terms of a solution for this request, note my post above about our Flowsana unique ID feature. :wink:

1 Like
12

As we continue developing our framework for global teams, ID fields are becoming increasingly critical. One recurring question we receive is whether teams will have the flexibility to include or exclude subtasks. Is there any update on when this functionality might be available?

13

When using the ID field, all tasks and subtasks are assigned an ID.

I want to be able to select that only parent tasks, or milestones, get the ID assigned.

14

Hi @Anton_kossmann and welcome!

FYI I merged your post (and its votes) with an existing thread for this request.

15

This is so frustrating, another option for a workaround would be to Identify main tasks whole numbers 1,2,3 etc and subtasks as 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc. Then the main tasks will still be sequential and subtasks will still have unique identifiers as well.

2 Likes
16

Iā€™d also like to know the 3rd party solution

17

We would like to create a unique ID that is only created at the Parent Task level. When we assign a subtask to a board, it automatically assigns a new ID #. Are we able to prevent this?

18

Hi @Erin_Waddington , welcome to the forum :waving_hand:

Unfortunately this isnā€™t currently possible, natively.
You may want to vote for this here:

19

@Richard_Sather This thread should just be merged into that other oneā€¦ I was just about to do it when you replied. :slight_smile:

1 Like
20

Running into this currently.

Really surprising as it seems to deviate from the ā€œsubtasks arenā€™t technically part of the projectā€ way the subtasks seem to work.

It seems that what we want like ā€œtask added to this project - running on subtasksā€ isnā€™t working, and the thing we donā€™t want ā€œID field applied to subtasksā€ is working.

@Garrett_Knoll this feels relevant for (or at least related to) your teamā€™s effort in changing subtask behaviour.