Tasks

This page covers how to create, view, edit, and manage Tasks.

Tasks are the basic work unit in AbleTime, a thing you do to move the project forward. They aren't the only thing you track time against (see Work, Overhead and Flow) but absolutely should be used when you are tracking progress on a deliverable ... tickets, product enhancements, internal workflow processes ... whatever translates as work applied to accomplish, or move towards, a specific goal.

But first ... an important preamble. Tasks in AbleTime are wired directly into the Time Tracking component. In most project planning software, tasks are managed manually, opened, closed and dragged around in an optimistic interpretation of "where we are at" and "what we have done". In AbleTime, time is applied directly to the task. First time entry fixes the task to that date, and so on until the last entry, when the task is complete. No theatre, no drama, and no extra work ... just automated events from each time entry created.

Creating a Task

Click + Task in the toolbar to open the create dialog.

Required Fields

Title — a short name for the Task.
Category — select a project category. Each option shows the category name and how many active tasks it currently has.

Optional Fields

Description — a rich-text editor. You can drag and drop images (JPEG, PNG, WebP) and PDF files directly into it.
Assigned user — assign the Task to a project member.
Epic — associate the Task with an Epic. Only appears when Epics are enabled and at least one non-archived Epic exists. Each Epic shows a colored dot, its reference, and title. See the Epics page for details.
Todo / Backlog — a dropdown that sets where the Task starts. Backlog is offered only when the Backlog setting is on, and when Stages are enabled each Backlog stage is listed beneath it so the Task can start in that stage. Selecting an Epic that is in Backlog forces the Task into Backlog; selecting an active Epic removes the Backlog options.
Est. Hours — the estimated effort in hours (0 to 9999).
Priority — Low, Medium, High, or Critical.
Tags — labels that can be used for filtering and grouping.
External Reference — collapsed by default. Expand it to link the Task to a record in another system (see External Reference, below).

Click Save to create the Task.

The Task Dialog

Click any Task (on the Flow Board, Timeline, Ledger, or Epics view) to open its dialog. The dialog has two areas: a main content panel on the left and a collapsible sidebar on the right.

The header shows the Task reference and title (e.g. TF-12: Design header layout). If the Task belongs to an Epic, the Epic reference appears as a colored prefix (e.g. EP1-TF-12). Next to the title, the current stage name is shown with an icon (see Lifecycle, below).

If no stage is configured, the State label (e.g. Backlog, Todo) appears instead. Below the title is the category name.

States are one of Backlog, To-Do, Doing, or Done, and these are generally fixed to specific actions like tracking time. Stages are Flow, where a "Doing" Task might move from "In Progress" to "User Experience" to "Testing" to "Ready for Launch". Only Backlog and Doing states have stages.

The task panel header also includes:

Edit — opens the edit dialog. Not available for Done Tasks.
Ellipsis menu — a three-dot button (Task Actions) with actions that change based on the Task's current state (see Task Lifecycle below).
Enter Time — a calendar icon that opens the Time Entry form pre-filled with this Task. Not shown for Done or Archived Tasks.
Start Timer — a timer icon that starts a timer for this Task. If a timer is already running, a confirmation dialog asks whether to stop it and start a new one. Not shown for Backlog, Done, or Archived Tasks.
Close — closes the dialog.

When a Task is blocked, the dialog border turns red.

Infobar

Below the header, an information bar shows at-a-glance details: the assigned user's avatar and name, the scheduled date range (e.g. 5 Jan–12 Jan), the priority icon, the estimated hours chip (e.g. 8h est), and total logged time (e.g. 3h 30m total). The estimate chip turns red when logged time exceeds the estimate. If no one is assigned, it shows Unassigned. When some of the logged time was recorded while the Task was in Backlog, separate active and backlog chips appear alongside the total. Click any time chip to open the Work Log tab in the comments section.

Main Content

The main area displays:

Description

the rich-text description with inline images. Click an image to view it full-size in an overlay. Long descriptions are collapsed; click the chevron below the description, or press D, to expand or collapse it.

Expand bar

A row showing counts for related items, files, comments, and tags. Click on each to expand that section. A collapse link appears when any section is open, and sections stay open from task to task until you collapse them. Tags show as chips; when there are more than two, click the + chip to see the rest.

Related — a collapsible panel listing Tasks related to the current one such as Tasks referenced in the description, the parent dependency, and child dependents. Click an entry to navigate to that Task's dialog.
Files — a collapsible list of image and PDF attachments. Click an image to view it full-size, or click a PDF to open it in a new tab.
Work Log — a tab in the comments section with a breakdown of time entries grouped by date. Each date section shows the date label, a total duration, and individual entries with start time, user name, description, and duration. A grand total appears at the top.
Comments — a collapsible comment section at the bottom. Click Add comment... to open the rich-text editor, then click Send. Typing "@" opens the "mention" list, where you can notify specific users of the comment, or use "#" to reference other Tasks. You can also drag and drop images or PDFs into comments. You can only edit or delete your own comments. The section has four tabs: Comments, Work Log, History, and All; History and All are marked coming soon.

The sidebar rail appears on the right side of the dialog. Click collapse at the top of the sidebar to hide it, or click expand in the infobar to show it again.

Transition To — select a sub-stage when stages are configured for the current state. Choose the plain state name (Backlog or Doing) to clear the stage. Disabled for Done and Archived Tasks.
Assigned To — change the assigned user from a dropdown of project members.
Priority — select None, Low, Medium, High, or Critical. Disabled for Done and Archived Tasks.
Dependency — set or change the parent Task in a dependency chain. Disabled when the Task is in the Doing, Done, or Archived state, and hidden entirely when it cannot be changed and no dependency is set. See the Dependencies and Chains page for details.
Locked — a toggle, shown as Yes or No, that prevents the Task from being dragged or resized on the Timeline and from being shifted when a dependency chain moves. Disabled for Done and Archived Tasks.

Blocking

From the ellipsis menu, click Mark Blocked to flag the Task as blocked. A panel replaces the sidebar where you enter a blocking reason, then click Block Task. Once blocked, the dialog border turns red and the blocked indicator appears across all views. Click Unblock from the ellipsis menu and confirm to clear the blocked state.

Editing a Task

Click Edit in the header to open the edit dialog. You can change the title, description (rich text with drag-and-drop file support and @mentions), category, assigned user, estimated hours, priority, tags, and Epic. The category selector is disabled if the Task already has time entries logged against it. For Tasks in Backlog or To-Do, the Todo / Backlog dropdown from the create dialog is also available, so you can move the Task between them or into a Backlog stage.

PDF attachments uploaded to the description appear as chips below the editor. You can delete individual PDF attachments from their chip.

External Reference

The external reference section is collapsible and hidden by default in the create and edit dialogs. Expand it to enter a Source (e.g. Jira), a Ref ID, a Name, and a URL. The section heading shows (set) when any of these fields has a value. When set, the reference appears as a badge on the Task in the Ledger.

Task Lifecycle

A Task moves through the following states:

Backlog — created but not yet planned. Optional; requires the Backlog org setting.
To-Do — planned and ready to start.
Doing — work is in progress. A Task transitions here automatically when a time entry is logged against it.
Done — completed. Click Mark as Done from the ellipsis menu. Only available for Tasks in the Doing state that have time entries.
Archived — removed from active views. Click Archive from the ellipsis menu. Available for any Task that is not already archived.

Important: unlike kanbans you might be used to in other applications, you do not drag items between the four main states: Backlog/To-Do/Doing/Done. When the first time entry is entered against a To-Do item, it transitions automatically to Doing. When a Task is marked complete (either in Time Entry or via the Task Dialog) it transitions to Done.

State Transitions

From the ellipsis menu, you can move a Backlog Task to To-Do (Move to To-Do), or move a To-Do Task to Backlog (Move to Backlog). A Done Task can be reopened via Reopen — this returns it to the Doing state. The transition from To-Do to Doing is automatic — it happens when a time entry is logged.

The Reopen action is only available to organization owners, administrators, and managers.

Deleting a Task

You can delete a Task only when it has no time entries and it is not in the Doing state. The Delete option appears in the ellipsis menu when this condition is met.

Additional Actions

The ellipsis menu may also include:

Copy Link — copies the Task's direct URL to your clipboard.
Promote to Epic — converts a Backlog Task with no time entries and no Epic into an Epic. Only available when Epics are enabled. A Promote to Epic dialog opens pre-filled with the Task's title and description so you can complete the Epic details; click Promote. The original Task is deleted.
Merge — merge this Task with another. Available when the dialog is opened from a Time Flow view (Flow Board, Timeline, Ledger, or Epics) and the Task is not in the Done state. A Merge Task panel replaces the sidebar; choose the target under Merge With and click Merge. See Splitting and Merging Tasks
Split Task — split this Task at a chosen date. Available when the Task has scheduled dates and is not in the Done state. See Splitting and Merging Tasks
Remove from Flow Board — removes the Task from the board. Available when the Task has not yet started.

Keeping Tasks small and focused makes it easier to track progress. The Work, Overhead and Flow guide discusses how to structure Tasks so that each one contributes to a clear, measurable outcome.