# Practical use of brackets in task headlines **URL:** \ **Category:** Ask the Community\ **Tags:** productivity, tasks\ **Created:** [8 April 2017 01:43 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/practical-use-of-brackets-in-task-headlines/1590 "2017-04-08T01:43:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mauro\_Perez](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@Mauro\_Perez](https://forum.asana.com/u/Mauro_Perez)\ **Post date:** [8 April 2017 01:43 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/practical-use-of-brackets-in-task-headlines/1590/1 "2017-04-08T01:43:33Z")
When selecting multiple tasks o lines, Asana is no longer summing numbers put between brackets, . In our team we use this feature to measure priorities and time estimates based on f-scale [1,2,3,5,8] for every task/story. Since last week we found that we have to sum and make our burndowns counting manualy item by item. This is a major downgrade. Is it possible to re-activate the sum feature for task headline numbers in brackets?. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Bastien\_Siebman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/bastien_siebman/32/172354_2.png) [@Bastien\_Siebman](https://forum.asana.com/u/Bastien_Siebman)\ **Post date:** [8 April 2017 12:45 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/practical-use-of-brackets-in-task-headlines/1590/2 "2017-04-08T12:45:14Z")
It indeed disappeared from the Hacks list… ---
**Author:** ![Alexis](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/alexis/32/155_2.png) [@Alexis](https://forum.asana.com/u/Alexis)\ **Post date:** [11 April 2017 18:03 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/practical-use-of-brackets-in-task-headlines/1590/3 "2017-04-11T18:03:37Z")
Custom fields will help you achieve the end goal you’re looking for. 🙂 You can find details about how to use custom fields for this purpose here: > [@Count numbers in \[brackets\] hack is gone. We need it back slight\_smile](https://forum.asana.com/t/count-numbers-in-brackets-hack-is-gone-we-need-it-back/1238/2): > > Thanks for the feedback, @Wolfgang_Fischer. We’d recommend trying out Custom Fields for adding up numbers on multiple tasks. Fields also have other benefits and can help tasks stay more organized. You can see more about custom fields here: [How to Create and Use Custom Fields in Asana | Product Guide • Asana Product Guide](https://asana.com/guide/help/premium/custom-fields) Do you think this could work for your team? ---
**Author:** ![Melissa\_Butcher](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/melissa_butcher/32/2326_2.png) [@Melissa\_Butcher](https://forum.asana.com/u/Melissa_Butcher)\ **Post date:** [13 April 2017 03:43 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/practical-use-of-brackets-in-task-headlines/1590/4 "2017-04-13T03:43:05Z")
Our team uses the number add hack to total time estimates for tasks on a given day across projects. We don’t appear to be able to total custom fields across projects? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/system/32/276370_2.png) [@system](https://forum.asana.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [27 April 2022 14:24 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/practical-use-of-brackets-in-task-headlines/1590/5 "2022-04-27T14:24:48Z")
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**Author:** ![system](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/system/32/276370_2.png) [@system](https://forum.asana.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [27 April 2022 17:18 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/practical-use-of-brackets-in-task-headlines/1590/6 "2022-04-27T17:18:49Z")