Using custom date fields as triggers

[Tillmann_Feibig]

Hello all,

As far as I understand, it is not possible to use the “DATE is approaching TIME” rule when it’s not the actual Due Date column from Asana itself, even though I’m unsure whether this is correct.

If true, would it be possible to implement this in the future? It would be incredibly helpful if we could use custom date fields as triggers in our rules.

Thanks!

Best regards

Tillmann

[lpb]

@Tillmann_Feibig, This feature is available already. Any date type custom field you create will be available when you click the “When” part of the rule:

Thanks,

Larry

[Tillmann_Feibig]

Thanks Larry!

It is available indeed and I also used it in my rule but it will not trigger, I set the rule as follows:

It seems to be logical and should function but it won’t trigger. Copilot told me that this due to the fact that Asana will “ignore” any date field in rules, if it’s not the “Due Date” column that is pre-defined by Asana. Not sure about that one though since AI is prone to mistakes, maybe there is also something wrong with my rule but I’ve tried different settings and it will not trigger.

If that’s not the case and you can create rules with any date field that you made yourself and it should trigger, I apologize and will work on the rule setting!

Regards

Tillmann

[Rashad_Issa]

I have the rule built using the due date and it works.

I have not tried it with a date custom field but I do not believe there is a reason for it not to read it.

This could potentially be a bug.

[lpb]

@Tillmann_Feibig,

Your screenshot shows “Start date is approaching.” I believe you’re using the built-in Start date that’s part of Due date when you add a start date range. Your rule does not appear to be referencing a custom field. Note how my screenshot “Date Published” appears in a box and yours does not.

So, try picking a different “When” condition that refers to your custom field:

Also, recognize that “…is approaching” custom fields are checked only once daily, just after midnight.

Perhaps add a simple rule to trigger “today”, no If condition, that adds a comment. Set the custom field to tomorrow. See if it triggers after midnight.

[Jan-Rienk]

Also, I think you need to set a specific start date for the start date is approaching rule to work, and a due date alone isn’t sufficient.

[Tillmann_Feibig]

Thanks guys! I set another “Test” task and will wait for tomorrow to see if it worked. Maybe it was a mistake on my part. I’ll update this thread.

Edit: We’ve tried different things to no avail, unfortunately there seems to be no solution for this. Thanks for the help!