Hello. Is it possible to set one of the templates for a project as a default so that all new tasks are based on it?
I’ve defined a template but it’s quite easy for people to just create a new blank task and not use it.
Thank you.
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That’s not possible natively in Asana.
I’ve moved this topic to where you can click the title to scroll to the top and vote by clicking the purple Vote button.
A workaround, if you’re interested, could be to flag tasks for correction that don’t use the task template. You could do this with a rule that checks for a custom field with value set by the task template and if not present perhaps add a comment with @mention to the task creator.
Thanks,
Larry
I see. That’s unfortunate. I think it’s just good common sense that if you define a template for a project, that’s because you want it used by default. Hopefully this will be seen as low hanging fruit and we can see this improvement sometime soon.
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Hi @Mig82_UC ,
As an alternative, similar to @lpb’s suggestion would be to create a rule that when task is added to the project, have a list of actions that will ‘format’ your task as per your default task template.
These actions can include setting custom field values, adding a description and other native fields such assignee and due date, for example.
Note that this solution might not be viable on the Starter or Advanced tiers as such a rule may quickly chew through your monthly Rule limit.
1 Like
I’m sure that’s the case for you, and some percentage of others, but that would upset many workflows unless it was an option that could be configured. Remember, too, that often not just one task template is defined in a project, but several.
Thanks,
Larry
I believe you’re right. It should be configurable in case you have more than one template. But at the moment it’s not even possible, and I have no way of encouraging adherence to the template. I have several use cases for this. Product Roadmap items, product feedback, project tasks, bug reports, etc. All should come with a well defined set of… questions that need to be thought through. We define templates for each to make sure that the person drafting the task is reminded of trying to answer those questions. But if they can just hit + and start with a blank task that bypasses the template, then the template is of little use. So… would it really upset many workflows? I think it would help improve more workflows than it would upset.
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I completely agree. I don’t see why this is not already possible.
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Frustratingly, the recently added delay to rule triggers makes this workaround less reliable. I have manual rules with conditions that check for a value set by these rules, so now users need to awkwardly wait after entering the task details or go out of their way to click the execute rules popup prior to triggering the manual rules.
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It’s been a year almost. Still not possible. Wonder if anyone is paying attention.
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Yes! You can see that quite a few requests have been released, marked in development, or considered. The fact that it hasn’t been implemented doesn’t mean it’s been ignored.
Thanks,
Larry
might as well throw my hat in the ring - i’m also an asana newcomer and this is something i sorely miss coming from our previous platform 
2 Likes
+1 to this request.
Currently use ‘last modified date’ but when a task is added to a project or any other small change to anything in the task then it re-updates.
This would be really useful for finding those tasks which are in backlog and have not had a status update in quite a while
1 Like
+1 to this. For some projects, I’d like to make all new tasks follow the template by default. This is important for keyboard users, because from what I can tell, creating a new task with a template requires using the mouse.
Without this feature, I can use rules instead of templates, but that’s not ideal because there’s a brief delay before the rule runs.
2 Likes
This would also be useful when creating tasks from a form.
I just realized, you also can’t use the “Add task” button at the bottom of boards to create tasks from a template. With all these limitations, it feels like using task templates would cripple a lot of Asana’s functionality. So for me, task templates are not really usable without this.
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I am currently setting up our project workflow and 100% agree that it would be useful make a specific task template the default “new task.” Honestly, what is the point of a task template if they can’t be used as a default option for a project? In the picture below, just add an option to “Make Default”
2 Likes