How do date triggers work in rules? (Title changed)

If I set the trigger for a rule to “Task is overdue” will the rule not work on completed tasks?

For example, I set up a process to delete a task from the project a specified number of days (e.g., 3 days) after completion, but it doesn’t seem to be executed.

If rules can’t be applied to completed tasks, are there any alternatives?


Currently, it doesn’t seem to be triggered on completed tasks.
I think it’s necessary for Multi-home feature of asana.

Hi @ka_nishiyama , there isn’t a rule action to delete a task. Perhaps you mean to remove the task from a project?

And, no, the ‘when overdue’ trigger will not run on completed tasks because the task is no longer regarded as overdue since it is completed. However, I can understand your use case, although I’ve never come across this need with any of the numerous customers we’ve worked with.

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Actually, @ka_nishiyama, you could try creating a formula field A that is (Completed date +3 days, for example) and then another formula field B that is (Formula A - Today).

Then you could create a rule trigger when Formula B is changed and Number is equal to 0, then run your action.

I haven’t tried this but it should work in theory, although I’ve ran into some bugs when triggering formula number fields..

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Hi @Richard_Sather

I’m considering the following behavior.

Base Project

  • Project A: Tasks A1-A50
  • Project B: Tasks B1-B50

Project C: Displaying tasks within a specified period

  • Displaying tasks from 3 days before to 3 days after today’s date
  • Tasks can be completed or incomplete.

Task manipulation based on rules

  • Multi-home from Projects A and B to C based on the due date
  • Delete overdue tasks from C.

Cannot execute “creating a formula field A that is (Completed date +3 days)”.

You need to use the DateAdd function :wink:

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An error occurs and you cannot proceed.

The output of a formula cannot change from a date to number, or vice versa. Please create a new formula.

Yes, this is expected, you cannot modify an existing one. Did you try creating a new formula from scratch?

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@川村風太 , thank you for the information.

I tested rule execution using due dates and date (field types).

This is the current rule execution status (Asana’s features are constantly changing, so this is the current status). Therefore, I changed the title.

1 For due dates

  • Timing: When changed, Rule execution: Execute tasks = OK, Completed tasks = OK
  • Timing: When approaching, Rule execution: Execute tasks = OK, Completed tasks = NG
  • Timing: When overdue, Rule execution: Execute tasks = OK, Completed tasks = NG

2 For date fields

  • Timing: When changed, Rule execution: Execute tasks = OK, Completed tasks = OK
  • Timing: When approaching, Rule execution: Execute tasks = OK, Completed tasks = OK
  • Timing: When overdue, Rule execution: Execute tasks = OK, Completed tasks = OK