Remove auto-formatting to bullets/numbered lists

English Forum Product Feedback
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1

I need to be able to put numbered lists into my task/subtask description WITHOUT the auto-formatting. I also need to have certain parts of my description be in different colors, whether a text color change or a highlight color. Anyone else??? :slight_smile:

2

Bumped and voted.

I can see this causing some visibility issues because each user can set their own Asana theme (Dark or Light). Asana has already solved this with the color combinations available in Custom Field options. These include both highlight and text colors that are readable in both themes.

A few potential issues:

  1. Accessibility: About 4.5% of the global population is colorblind. Are the colors used easily distinguishable to those who have different types of colorblindness?
  2. Implicit vs explicit communication: Colors are great for smaller orgs and individuals where everybody agrees on what each color means. If any collaborators are not clear on the color key, information will get lost.
3

Hi @anon37882722, thanks for providing this feedback!

We do have an existing threads for one of your requests that you can add your vote to:

Regarding the removal of auto-formatting, we don’t have plans to introduce this right now but I’ll keep you posted and let you know if we have any updates :slight_smile:

4

Hi @anon37882722,

As for your first point:

  • We can undo autoformatting by pressing Ctrl+Z or Cmd+Z right after the automation happens.
  • “1.” and “1)” are converted so I use other forms like “1 -” when I don’t want autoformatting.

I hope these tips help :slight_smile:

2 Likes
5

This IS so helpful! Thank you!!

6

Hi Support,
When I start a text line and begin typing a dash + space + phrase (eg. - short phrase) my dash gets converted immediately to a bullet. Some times this is helpful but in my current use case it is not helpful.

Is there some way I can type a dash + space + phrase without having Asana convert it into a bullet list automatically and instead leave it with a dash?

7

@Scott_Hofmann,

I’m not aware of any built-in override for this behavior, but perhaps one of these workarounds will help:

  • Type dash space Cmd/Ctrl+Z phrase to undo the formatting with one shortcut key, or
  • Type space dash space phrase to avoid the conversion to bullet, and either accept it with the leading space or go back and delete it, or
  • Use a text expander to do all the above with a shortcut (I haven’t tried this but an app like Text Blaze should support this.

I’ve merged your post into an existing thread where you can click the title to scroll to the top and vote by clicking the purple Vote button.

Thanks,

Larry

8

Larry,
Thanks for the tips. I appreciate the below solution but it only works for me on a Mac, not on the iPhone app.

The second option of typing a space then a dash works on the iPhone app and the Mac but I would prefer not use this method.

What I would love to do is use dash space Cmd/Ctrl+Z phrase to undo the formatting on the Mac and on the iPhone enter list creating bullets, then after finishing my bulleted list, highlighting the list and going to format > unformat (which currently does not exist) to change bullet back into a dash and remove indent.

If I want some other formatting (bold, etc.) I would add that formatting after the unformat operation.

Can you pass that suggestion along for me if it sounds doable? Thanks.

9

Actually, this Product Feedback thread and your vote means that it will be considered by Asana (no guarantees,o of course!).

Thanks,

Larry

10

That’s a workaround, but tedious still.
I just want the option to have software stop interfering with things when I don’t want it to.

The clip of the bird getting frustrated with a plastic containers’ lid comes to mind.