@Phil_Seeman Is it possible to create a rule based on a multi-select custom field type using Flowsana? This is related to the thread started here: Create rule/automation upon custom field selection to add to another project
Not yet; we havenât yet added support for multi-select custom fields. As you know, theyâre sparkling new! Itâs comingâŚ
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@Phil_Seeman I have been looking for a solution to the inability to tag a parent task and have the sub tasks also be tagged. Is this something that Flowsana can help with? How would I go about making that happen?
Hi @Jennifer_Steckl,
No, sorry, Flowsana doesnât currently have any automations to do this. Will definitely keep your request in mind for the future!
Introducing... The new Flowsana app
Since its inception, Flowsana has had its own web portal, located at flowsana.net, and that's where one goes to create and manage one's Flowsana workflows.
Asana has now introduced a new feature, called App Components. This feature allows third-party applications to present themselves in certain specific locations within the Asana interface itself. Pretty cool!
One of these locations is in the Asana rule builder; specifically, Asana now allows third-party behaviors to be chosen as actions in Asana rules.
We are proud to announce that Flowsana is now available in the Asana rule builder, as one of just four third-party applications involved in the initial launch of App Components. All of the unique capabilities of Flowsana rule actions can now be incorporated directly into your Asana rules, right within Asana, without ever having to visit the Flowsana web portal!
Note that this feature has just entered a public beta phase, so there may be some glitches as we and Asana work out the kinks in this exciting new capability. Please contact Flowsana support if you encounter any issues.
Also note that it does require access to custom rules, which means youâll need an Asana Business or Enterprise subscription. For those at the Basic or Premium Asana subscription level, the Flowsana web portal will always be available for you - itâs not going anywhere.
Lastly, note that this doesnât involve any changes in terms of Flowsana accounts and billing - a Flowsana rule action used in Asana is treated the same as if you built that rule in the Flowsana portal.
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This is SO exciting! I was just updating some rules on a few projects, and came across this â so much easier than going over to the web portal to make updates! One question - does this mean that all Asana users in my org will have access to creating rules with Flowsana now that Iâve connected it? Thank you!
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Bravo, @Phil_Seeman and Flowsanaâexcellent work!!!
Larry
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Hi @Jaqueline,
Glad you like this new feature!
Yes! The only criteria is that your Asana account will need to have access to any projects, custom fields, etc. that they use in a rule action. If not, then when they go to save the rule, Asana will prompt them to connect to Flowsana to make their own account. (If they do create a Flowsana account, it will be automatically linked to yours so itâs not like they will have some separate additional unconnected subscription or anything like that.)
Hi Phil. Can Flowsana assign a unique number to each task in Asana and put it at the start of the task name?
Yes it can!
To do that, youâd create a rule that typically looks like:
If a new task is created, then modify the taskâs name to {task.ShortId}. {task.Name}
This feature takes advantage of Flowsanaâs Variable Substitution capability.
Support for multiple forms per project
I'm pleased to announce that Flowsana's Forms Support workflow now supports multiple forms per project, a feature now available to Asana Business and Enterprise customers.
Now when you create a new Forms Support workflow, youâll see a dropdown list of the forms in the selected project, and you can choose the form to which this workflow applies:
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If the form is exactly the same, you can create a project template that includes the form (and any rules/workflows that you need recreated as well). Then when you need to create a new project, use that template. It will automatically recreate the form for you.
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I have been trying to build rules that will move my tasks into different columns in the my task area based on due date (due in the next week âthis weekâ due in 3 days âtoday/tomorrowâ due tomorrow âtodayâ etc). In order to do this with Asana I have to have business and pay for 2 seats - I am a freelancer so it is not feasible to pay $50 a month for this - so flowsana seemed to be the option but when I tried setting up rules âdue in 7 daysâ place in column âthis weekâ, âdue in 3 daysâ place in column âtoday/tomorrowâ - because if something is due in 3 days it is ALSO due in the next 7 days - it keeps going back into âthis weekâ and not moving along as the due date gets closer.
How can we set more than one due date rule that work at the same time?
I tried setting tags and then removing them - but that didnât work either because it would just go through the loop and all are ending up in one column - the one with the longest out due date.
Welcome, @anon55680262,
I believe you can set rules like this in My Tasks in Asana Basic (free) plan. They will run nightly after midnight. Note: They just evaluate once daily after midnight.
You might find my article helpful; it gives step-by-step instructions to set this up:
Larry
Hi @anon55680262,
Flowsana executes its rules in the order they are created (which is also the order theyâre listed on your âMy Workflowsâ page). In the case of date rules, the way to build them is from the farthest-out to the closest-in, that that order. So in your example, build the â7 daysâ rules first, then the â3 daysâ rule. That should get you the behavior youâre wanting.
Hi all,
After receiving various requests, we made some exciting enhancements to Flowsana this past weekend!
Special Handling of Subtasks (itâs back!)
Normally, the Auto-Adjust workflow type shifts dependent tasks; that is, when you change the Due Date of a task, the Start and Due Dates of all of its dependents are shifted by the same amount of time. This behavior can be applied to subtasks exactly the same as it is for top-level tasks. To include subtasks in this way, be sure to select Both top-level tasks and subtasks in your Apply this workflow to selection.
Alternately, when setting up an Auto-Adjust Workflow for a project, you now have the option of choosing Treat subtasks as dependent tasks of their parent. This option (which used to be available but was removed at one point, but now is back) is useful when you want all subtasks in your project to act like dependents of their parent task. If you enable it, then instead of having to explicitly and manually mark all subtasks as dependents of their parent, Flowsana will treat all subtasks as if you had marked them as dependent on their parent. That is, if you change the start/due date of a task in the project and that task has subtasks, then the start and due dates of all of those subtasks will be shifted the same number of days that you moved their parent task.
Note: If you select this Treat subtasks as dependent tasks of their parent option, the Apply this workflow to drop-down selection is no longer shown as itâs not relevant when using this option.
Variable Substitution Updates
Variable substitution has been around for a long time. We have added some new options for you!
{task.Description} and {task.HTMLDescription}
These give you access to the Description field of the current task being evaluated.
The only difference is that {task.HTMLDescription} provides the fully formatted description. When using the Description for external destinations like an email notification, use {task.Description} as email clients will not properly understand or interpret Asanaâs subset of HTML which it uses for its Description field. When using the Description to copy it from one task to another within Asana, like populating a subtaskâs Description from its parent task, you can use the fully formatted version; in this example you would use {parent.HTMLDescription}.
{task.Link} and {task.LinkInProject}
Using these variables, you can include a full link to the triggering Asana task.
{task.Link} provides a regular long hyperlink to the task, displayed full-screen. By contrast, {task.LinkInProject} provides a hyperlink that displays the taskâs detail pane in the context of the list view of its project.
(Note that also have {task.ShortLink} which creates a much-shoter and more compact link to the task.)
New Rule Action: Add TasksâŚ
This new action lets you automatically add tasks from a template of pre-built tasks. It is very similar to the existing Add subtasks⌠action. In fact, all of the Add subtasks⌠documentation applies to this new Add tasks⌠action as well. The only difference is that instead of letting you add subtasks below the task that triggered the rule, this action lets you add top-level tasks immediately following (i.e. below) the task that triggered the rule.
This rule action means that now you can build more dynamic projects, where steps can be added to a project based on conditions as they occur throughout the use of the project!
Note that the template subtasks can themselves have subtasks below them, and these will become subtasks in the destination project.
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Hi @Phil_Seeman I am trying to use the Add subtasks feature in Flowsana where the template task is set way in the future and then drives the relative dates that result for the subtasks. However, the subtasks keep getting added by Flowsana before I have a chance to add a due date on the primary task so itâs making the subtasks due dates way out in 2050. Any thoughts on how to avoid this?
Hi @Michelle_Tenuta,
You asked the same question in another thread and I replied there:
Hi Phil,
Apologies first if this question has already been answered but this thread has been quite long so I might have missed it.
I am trying to figure out a way to add a form response to an existing task that is already created in a project. Essentially having a form response be added as a subtask to an already existing task. I could not find a rule for this. Currently, the workaround is when a form creates a new task in the project, I can convert it to a subtask of an existing task but I am trying to reduce that step for scalability purposes.
I appreciate your help.
Hi @anon3061635,
Thanks for the question. Unfortunately Flowsana doesnât currently have a capability to move an existing task to be a subtask of another task; sorry!
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