Setting Up an Automatic Task for Pre-approving Content

You can set up a preapproval task to automatically require 1 or more users to approve content before the content enters the regular approval process; see Setting Approval Chains.

NOTE: You also can create a task automatically when a form is submitted. See Also: Assigning a Task to a Form

To set up an automatic preapproval group, go to Workarea > Settings > Configuration > Setup > Application Setup > Workarea Tab > Enable Preapproval Group and check the box. Afterward, you assign user groups to folders whose content must complete the preapproval process before it enters the regular approval process.

Setting Up Task Types and Categories for Filtering Task Reports

You can organize tasks by category and type and assign several types of tasks to each category. For example:

• Task Categories: Content Maintenance, Engineering, Sales, Documentation, or Web Design, and so on.
• Task Types: Hardware content update, Software content update, Edit Content, Update Documents, Contact Customer, and so on.

You can use the task types to filter tasks in a task report. See Filtering Tasks By Task Type.

1. Go to Workarea > Settings > Configuration > Task Types. To collapse a Task Category, click next to the Task Category name; to expand one, click .
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   NOTE: The View Categorization screen has a system-defined category (Form Submission Task) that can only be used with forms. You can change its name but cannot delete it. For more information, see Working with HTML Forms.

2. From the View Categorization screen, click Add Task Type. The Add Task Type Screen appears.
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3. In the Task Category area, choose an existing Task Category from the drop-down menu, or enable the Add Task Type to New Task Category radio button and enter a new category name in the text field.
4. Add a Task Type name in the Task Type field.
5. Enter a Task Type Description.
6. Choose a Task Type Availability.

   You can hide Task Types from users by enabling Not Available in the Add Task Type and Edit Task Type screens. If you make a Task Type unavailable, the assigned task's Type and Category are changed to Not Specified.

7. Click Save Task Type. Your new Task Categories and Task Types appear on the View Categorization screen.

Creating a Task

Prerequisite

You must have permission to create a task.

1. You can create a task from the following locations, from which the Add Task screen appears.
   • the Workarea > Reports > Task folder. Creating a task through the Tasks folder lets you create a task which may or may not be associated with content.
     1. Click a link to view only tasks in that category. For example, if you click Assigned by and to me, the View Tasks screen appears in the right frame, listing all tasks assigned to you or assigned by you. From the View Tasks page, you can view, sort, update, or add tasks.

        Links to screens displaying tasks by status appear.

        Show the tasks by status

        • All open Tasks—all tasks whose status is open
        • Assigned by and to me—tasks assigned to you and those that you assigned to someone else
        • Assigned to me—tasks assigned to you
        • Assigned by me—tasks that you assigned to someone else
        • Created by me—tasks you created
        • Assigned to User—search for tasks assigned to a user
        • Not started—tasks whose state is set to not started
        • Active—tasks whose state is set to Active
        • Awaiting Data—tasks whose state is set to Awaiting Data
        • On Hold—tasks whose state is set to On Hold
        • Pending—tasks whose state is set to Pending
        • Reopened—tasks whose state is set to Reopened
        • Complete—tasks whose state is set to Complete
        • Archived—tasks whose state is set to Archived
        • Deleted—tasks whose state is set to Deleted
     2. Click Add. The Add Task screen appears.
   • a Workarea > Content > {folder} > {content item} > View Content screen > click Add Task ().
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     • the content’s ID number and title appears on the screen
     • the language of the content is the default language
   • a website by clicking the access point () or content menu () and choosing Add Task.
     • the content’s ID number and title appears on the screen
     • the language of the content is the default language
2. Enter the following information into the Add Task screen.
   • Title—Enter a title for the task (for example, Update Content).
   • AssignedTo—To assign the task to yourself, proceed to the next field; otherwise click Select User or Group and choose a user or group.

     NOTE: To assign the task to someone else, you must have Redirect permissions. The user to whom the task is being assigned also must have permission to edit the content.

   • Language—Select the language of the content assigned to the task.
   • Content—If this task involves a piece of content, click Select. A new window appears from which you can navigate to the content. You see only content in the selected language.
   • Priority—Select the priority of the task. Your choices are High, Normal and Low. The priority appears on the View Tasks screen, where a user can sort tasks by priority.
   • Category—Select a category for the task. When a Task Category is chosen, the Task Type drop-down box is auto filled with task types associated with that category. See Also: Setting Up Task Types and Categories for Filtering Task Reports.
   • Type—Select the Task Type for this task. You must specify a Task Category before you assign a task type. See Also: Setting Up Task Types and Categories for Filtering Task Reports.
   • Add—By clicking the Add link, you can add Task Categories and Task Types. See Also: Setting Up Task Types and Categories for Filtering Task Reports

     WARNING! If you Add a Task Category or Task Type while adding a task, the task information (Task Title, Assigned To, Language, and so on) entered will be lost when the screen refreshes.

   • Edit—By clicking the Edit link, you can edit the Task Type chosen in the Task Type drop-down box.
     

     WARNING! If you edit a Task Type while adding a task, the task information (Task Title, Assigned To, Language, and so on) entered will be lost when the screen refreshes.

   • State—Choose a state for the task.

     If the task is not linked to content, you can assign it to any state. However, if you later link the task to content (through the Content link above), the state switches to Not Started. The state appears on the View Tasks screen. A user can sort tasks on the screen by state.

   • Start Date—Using the calendar button, choose a start date for the task. The start date appears on the View Tasks screen, where users can sort tasks by start date.
   • Due Date—Using the calendar button, choose the date by which the task needs to be completed. The due date appears on the View Tasks screen, where users can sort tasks by due date.

     If you see a mix-up of the month and date of your entry (for example, you select March 2 but see February 3), make sure the date format specified in the Windows Control Panel Regional Settings dialog matches your current language. Also, make sure the settings apply to the default user.

   • Description—Add additional information to describe the task. The description appears on the View Task screen.
3. Click Save. If email notification is enabled, an email is sent to the user or group to which the task was assigned.

Editing a Task

You can change any task information (except Assigned By and Created By).

1. Go to Workarea > Reports > Tasks > All open Tasks.

   NOTE: You cannot edit a task when viewing it from the Content folder.

2. Click the task. The View Task screen appears.
3. Click Edit. The Edit Task screen appears.
4. Edit the task and click Update.

Viewing a Task

Prerequisite

To view a task, you must be 1 of the following users. See Also: Determining Which Tasks are Visible

• an administrator
• a user with the Task-Create role
• the user who assigned the task
• the user to whom the task was assigned

You can view a single task in the following ways.

• Viewing a task from the content folder
  1. Go to Workarea > Content > {folder} and click on content associated with a task.
  2. Click on the Tasks tab which lists the tasks that are assigned to the content.
• Viewing a task from the tasks folder
  1. Go to Workarea > Reports > Tasks > {type of task}. For example, All open Tasks.
  2. Click the task you want to view. The View Task screen appears.
• Viewing a task's history

  Ektron maintains a history of all events and comments in the life of a task. For example, the task history shows when and by whom the task was created, when it changed to Active, when it was linked to content, when its state changed, when it was approved, and so on.

  NOTE: You can view the task’s history until the task is purged.

  1. Go to Workarea > Reports > Tasks > {type of task}. For example, All open Tasks.
  2. Click the task you want to view. The View Task screen appears.
  3. Click History (). The history of task events appears.
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Viewing Task Reports

Workarea > Reports > Tasks displays all tasks, filtered by type of task.

• The Tasks folder displays only tasks assigned to you or tasks that you assigned to another user or user group.
• The Tasks folder displays all tasks if you are in the administrators group or assigned the Task-create role.

The following list shows the types of tasks that you can view, filter, and assign to other users, if you have permissions; see Determining Which Tasks are Visible.

Tracking the Progress of a Task

A task that is assigned to content normally progresses through a series of states. The state helps track a task’s progress from creation to completion and even removal. When you review a task's history, you can use the state to review a task's state, when it was changed, and by whom it was changed.

Some states are assigned by users, and others are assigned only when an event occurs to the associated content. For example, when content is first submitted for approval, the associated task’s state changes to Not Started.

IMPORTANT:
* An administrator user can always change a task’s state to any other state.
* Only users with archive and delete permissions can set a task’s status to archived or deleted. This can be done at any stage of the task flow process.
* You can add comments to a task at any time. See Adding Comments to a Task.

The following graphic illustrates the sequence of user and system actions that change a task’s state.

The following list shows the progression of task states.

• Not Started—User action—Assigned when task is created.
• Active—System action—The task’s content is checked out.
• Awaiting Data—User action—The task is started but the assigned-to user is awaiting data from an external source. You can use comments to indicate the data required for task reactivation.
• On Hold—User action—Task cannot be worked on at this time.
• Pending—System action—The content is submitted for approval.

  A task remains pending while its content is in the approval process. When the content is approved, the task’s state changes to Completed. If any approver declines the content, the task’s state changes to Reopened. If an editor edits the content and then checks it back in, the task’s state changes to Reopened.

• Reopened—System action—Content is declined by an approver in the approval process. Also, if someone edits content whose task state is pending, the tasks’s state changes to Reopened.
• Completed—System action—The last user in the approval chain approves the content and it is being published.
• Archived—User action—After a task is completed, administrators can assign this state. It no longer appears on open task lists but is kept for reviews and reports. Only the administrator can view Archived tasks. See Archiving a Task.
• Deleted—User action—When an archived task is no longer needed for reporting or reviewing, administrators can assign this state. While in this state, the task remains in the database. See Deleting a Task.
• (Purged*)—User action—When you purge a task, it and all of its transactions are removed from the database, so *the purged state does not actually show. Only administrators and users with Task-Delete role can purge. See Purging a Task .

You can receive email notification of changes in status for tasks and associated content. See Installing Ektron about setting up email notifications.

Archiving a Task

To clean up your Completed Tasks list without deleting a record of the task, you can move selected tasks to the Archived Tasks list. This helps you focus on more recent task completions.

1. Go to Workarea> Reports > Tasks and choose the type of task that you want to archive. (Typically, you would archive completed tasks.) The View Task screen appears.
2. Select tasks one at a time, or click the check box on the top left corner to select all.
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3. Next to the Change to State field, choose Archived from the drop-down list.
4. Click Set.

Deleting a Task

Prerequisite

You must be an administrator or assigned the Task-Delete role.

You can delete a task that is no longer needed, such as after it is completed or archived, depending on your organization’s policies.

1. Go to Workarea> Reports > Tasks and choose the type of task that you want to delete. The View Task screen appears.
2. Click Delete(). A confirmation message appears.
3. Click OK.

Purging a Task

Prerequisite

You must be an administrator or assigned the Task-Delete role.

WARNING! Purging removes a task and its history from the database.

1. Go to Workarea > Reports > Tasks > Deleted.
2. Select tasks one at a time, or click the check box on the top left corner to select all.
3. Click Purge.