Legacy Task Tracker

As of March 14, 2023, the Task Tracker—previously known as the New Task Tracker—has been enabled for all accounts and removed from the Early Access page. The legacy Task Tracker can still be utilized if needed, but will be sunsetted in the near future.

When the legacy Task Tracker is enabled on your account, a "Legacy" tag appears in the project workspace to differentiate it from the Task Tracker tab. 

If you need to remove the legacy Task Tracker from your account, go to Settings > General and then uncheck the Legacy Task Tracker checkbox. To reactivate the legacy Task Tracker after it's removed, you will need to contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM).

Differences Between Legacy Task Tracker and New Task Tracker

The new Task Tracker offers a more updated design and features that complement your processes. The following sections highlight some of the new features and actions that are only available in the new Task Tracker.

Custom Task Statuses

Using custom task statuses in your projects gives you more versatility and consistency when it comes to prioritizing and managing all your project tasks across your account.

Saved Views

Personalize how project information appears and then save that view so you can easily switch back and forth between views without needing to re-create them.

Shared Views

Keep everyone on the same track by creating a Shared View, which is accessible to team members that you specify.

Editable Task Dependencies

Establish the relationship between predecessor and successor tasks so you can visualize the sequence in which they must be completed in order to close a project.

Custom Columns

Configure which columns appear in the Task Tracker table and determine their order. You can then save that configured view for future use. 

Expand All/Collapse All

Expand or collapse all the task hierarchies in the Task Tracker table at once by clicking the arrow in the task row header.

Quick Filters

Quickly adjust applied filter values from the toolbar without having to open the Filters modal.

Task Highlighting

Instantly locate key project phases and deadlines with highlighted Milestone task rows and overdue Start and Due date columns.

Summary Bar

View a summary of estimated hours, cost, fees, and other information at the bottom of the Task Tracker table. 

Duration Column

Use the Duration column to see the total length of a task and quickly adjust the end date in terms of days.

Duplicate Tasks

Duplicate a single task or a task and all its subtasks. Information such as the assignees, start and due date, task budget, task estimated hours, and more will also be duplicated.

Move Multiple Tasks

Select multiple adjacent tasks, then drag and drop them anywhere in the work breakdown structure (WBS).

Estimating in Task Tracker

You can use the following features to build estimates in Task Tracker:

• Additional estimate-related columns:
  • Estimated Cost
  • Estimated Fees
  • Resource Estimated Hours
• Update Task Estimates bulk action
• Estimate actions from Summary bar:
  • Quickly update task estimated hours and task budgets
  • Create allocations in resourcing based on your resource estimated hours
  • Select different rate cards to see how your project is affected
  • View and capture project snapshots
  • Move the project from the Estimate stage to the Project stage

To Dos Column

Add and view To Dos associated with your tasks.

Copy and Paste Changes

You can use keyboard shortcuts to quickly copy and paste changes for tasks.

Undo and Redo Actions

Easily undo and redo actions made in the Task Tracker table using the buttons in the toolbar or keyboard shortcuts.

Project Task Tracker [Legacy]

The project Task Tracker is a project-specific list of tasks, deliverables, milestones, or issues that are required to complete a project. You can access the Task Tracker after selecting a project from the Projects List by clicking on the Task Tracker tab.

The Task Tracker keeps tasks and team members on track and on schedule; it provides transparency for clients and consultants to clearly understand both the work being performed and the timeline for completion.

On Task Tracker tab, you can perform the following:

• Create tasks, deliverables, and milestones
• Assign resources to project tasks
• Drag and drop tasks to manage projects (re-prioritize and nest)
• Specify project dates for project milestones 
• Quickly access the Task side panel, where you can view and manage activity posts, checklists, proofs, files, and attachments.

The Task Toolbar

The project Task Tracker tab is a working list of all the tasks, milestones, deliverables, and issues associated with a project. The main tasks toolbar provides view, filter, and sort options.

Task Information

Kantata OX Premier customers can select from the following views: Task Information, Task Progress, Task Finances, Resource Scheduling, Milestone Weighting, or Issue Tracking. These views give you an immediate look into a project’s status, start and due dates, allocated team members, estimated and actual hours, budget, and more.

If you need help locating a particular task, use the search bar or the filtering and sorting tools.

Search

This will look at nearly all the fields on the task row or the Task side panel for matching information.

Sort

The following Sort options are available:

• Order (default)—Sorts your tasks in the order you’ve arranged them. If you haven’t moved any tasks, they will be sorted by date added, from newest to oldest.
• Priority—Sorted from highest to lowest priority level.
• Upcoming—Tasks with a status of Not Started are sorted by Start date, from the newest to the oldest. Tasks with a status of Started or Needs Info are sorted by Due date, from newest to oldest. When tasks have the same Start or Due date, the one with the most recent activity appears first. Tasks with an overdue Start date will always appear at the top.
• Updated—Sorts tasks by those with the most recent activity, in descending order.
• Added—Sorted by date added, from newest to oldest.
• Search—If you perform a search on the task's Search bar, this sort is automatically selected.

Cascade Changes to Dependencies

By default, the Cascade (“   ”) button—on the right-hand side of the main task toolbar—is inactive when you open the project Task Tracker.

When Cascade is active:

• Modifying a task Start Date will automatically cascade changes to dependent tasks so you don’t have to manually adjust the dates of all predecessors and successors.
• You can also cascade date changes to dependencies from the Task side panel, but only if it was opened from the project’s Task Tracker.
• Shifting task dates also shifts any scheduled hours allocated to a resource for that task.
• If you refresh the browser or leave and return to the project Task Tracker, the Cascade button will be inactive again. 

The Task Row

Individual task rows show the task type, title, tags, assignees (project resources), status, and start and due dates. You can easily reprioritize tasks, create new top- and sub-level tasks, apply tasks from templates, and delete tasks.

Right-click anywhere on a task row to access to frequently-used task-related actions.

Type—This drop-down menu allows you to change an individual task type.

• Tasks are items that need to be completed.
• Deliverables are things that need to be produced, such as documents.
• Milestones are project deadlines, marking the completion of a phase or stage of a project.
• Issues are bugs or items that need to be resolved.

Tags—These are used to help identify specific keywords or topics and facilitate searches across projects in Kantata OX. Think of them as hashtags that help you reference and sort Kantata OX tasks, deliverables, milestones, or issues. For more information, please see our Tasks Overview article.

Assignees—These are the resources assigned to the task, responsible for performing the work. Members invited to the project can be assigned to any task in the tracker and each task can have multiple assignees. You can also select and view all unnamed resources that have been assigned to tasks via templates.

Start Date and Due Date

Changing the Start Date of a task will also change the task Due Date (if specified) while retaining the duration of the task (i.e., the number of working days needed to complete the task). Conversely, changing the Due Date of a task will not affect the Start Date; it only extends the duration of the task.

When a task has predecessor or successor dependencies (managed in the Local Gantt) and the Cascade (“   ”) button is active, adjusting the task’s Start Date will automatically cascade changes to any dependencies linked to the task.

If you adjust the Due Date of a task with multiple dependencies, only the duration of that task will change, but the duration for predecessor and successor tasks will remain unchanged. For more information, please see our article on dependencies.

Task Side Panel

Click on the title of a task to open the Task side panel. From here, you can:

• Access and view counts of Activity posts, linked Files, Checklists, and more.
• In the Description field, you can write notes, add Tags, update the Status, and the Start/Due Date of the task at hand.
• If you have a Premier account and are logged in as a Project Administrator, you can set the budget and edit billable hours within the Time & Fees section.

Nesting Tasks [Legacy]

You can capture the entire breakdown of your project and nest up to five levels (including the parent task) of tasks, issues, deliverables, or milestones. Use additional levels of subtasks to organize your work in more granular detail. This allows you to capture all the necessary tasks that need to be completed for project success and completion. 

You can nest your tasks underneath others by either clicking the Add Subtask button on a task or by using drag-n-drop.

Changing a Parent Task Date

The start and due dates of a parent task are based on the earliest start and due date of its subtasks. To change the date of a parent task, you must change the dates of the subtasks under the parent task.

Task Tracker Filters [Legacy]

If your project has several tasks and a large number of resources, filters are very useful for viewing only the tasks or resource information you are interested in and hiding the rest. Using the Filters modal in the project Task Tracker, you can combine various elements (task fields and values) to create a filter that fits your needs. For example, you may want to view critical task deadlines, milestones, or other important information—such as tasks that have not yet been started.

Click the Filters button on the Task Tracker toolbar to open the Filters modal. For more information about the Filters modal, see the Filters Overview article.

The following filtering options appear in the Fields section:

• Assignees—Filter by tasks that are assigned to specific project members.
• Due / Start Date—Use the default or custom date range options to filter by task Start Date and/or Due Date. Here's what you can choose:
  • Before this date—The end date in the date range defaults to tomorrow’s date.
  • After this date—Makes the start date in the date range three (3) days before today’s date.
  • On this date—Makes the start date in the date range today’s date.
  • Between these dates—Sets the start date for today and the end date for two weeks from today’s date.
  • Starts / Due within the next XXX days—Sets the date range between a user-specified number of days; the default is “3”.
• Priority—Filter by task priority; this allows you to focus on tasks that may require more attention than others in the project.
• Status—Filter by tasks with a specific status; this includes custom statuses.
• Tags—Filter by the tags associated with each task. You can select multiple tags when filtering results.
• Type—You can choose to filter by specific task types.

After applying filters, the Filters button will appear outlined, indicating that filters are active; the number of filters currently applied is shown to the right of the button name.

If you want to completely clear the current filters, click the Clear (“   ”) icon on the Filters button; this returns the Task Tracker to its unfiltered state.

Archiving Tasks [Legacy]

After completing a task, you may want to remove it from the project. The best way to do this is to archive the task; this way, the task can still be reviewed and activated again, if necessary.

There are two ways to archive a task:

• From the Task Tracker
• From the Task side panel

How to Archive a Task From the Task Tracker

1. Hover over Projects on the left navigation.
2. If the project containing the task you'd like to archive doesn't appear in the Recent Projects section, click All Projects and locate the project from the Project List on the subsequent Projects page.
3. Once you've selected a project and are in the project workspace, click on the Task Tracker tab.
4. In the task list, locate the task you'd like to archive.
5. Right-click anywhere on the task row and select Archive from the resulting pop-up menu.
6. Once a task (and its subtasks, if any) is archived, it is considered View Only and can only be accessed when View Archived Tasks is selected. 

Unarchiving a Task [Legacy]

Archiving tasks for a project can help keep tasks that need to be completed front and center, or hide tasks without having to re-enter them again if a project has been put on hold. You can unarchive tasks when the project is ready to start. 

How to Unarchive a Task

1. Hover over Projects on the left navigation. If the project containing the task you'd like to unarchive doesn't appear in the Recent Projects section, click All Projects and find it from the Project List tab on the Projects page.
2. Once you've selected a project and are in the project workspace, click on the Task Tracker tab. 
3. Select the More icon (“   ”) in Task Tracker, and then check View Archived Tasks. 
4. The task table shows only archived tasks. Click on the Task Title you want to unarchive from the table to open the Task side panel.  
5. Select the Unarchive icon (“  ”) from the top-right of the Task side panel. You can only unarchive one task at a time.
6. Click OK to unarchive the task.
7. The unarchived task appears at the top of the Task Tracker. You can re-order it as necessary.