The kanban board
The Tasks page can show your tasks as a kanban board: columns of cards that you arrange the way you work. The columns are your own and are independent of status. Moving a card to another column changes only its column, and changing a status never moves a card.
This page covers opening the board, adding and editing columns, moving cards, what each card shows, and the board settings.
Opening the board
- Click Tasks in the sidebar
- Click Board in the view switch at the top of the page
To open the Tasks page on the board every time, go to Settings > Tasks and set Default view to Board.
The board shows every entry whose entity is Task. The search bar at the top and the filters in the page header narrow it, just as they narrow a list. Type # and a topic, then press Enter, to see one stream of work.
Default columns
Every account starts with three columns:
| Column | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Not started | Tasks you have not picked up yet |
| In progress | Tasks you are working on |
| Done | Finished tasks |
You can rename and recolour these three, but not delete them. A task that has not been placed in a column yet sits in Not started, whatever you have renamed it to.
There is one set of columns for your account.
Columns and statuses
A task has a column (where its card sits on the board) and, separately, a status (from its status workflow, such as Not started, In progress or Done). The two are independent:
| Column | Status | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Where the card sits on the board | How far the task has got |
| Where you set it | Drag the card, or Column in the detail panel | Status in the detail panel, or the status circle |
| Set up in | The board itself | Settings > Entities > Status workflows |
| Decides done, late and Hide done | No | Yes, through Counts as done |
So a column called Done does not make a task done, and a done task can sit in any column. To finish a task, click the status circle on its card.
Adding a column
- Scroll to the right end of the board
- Click Add column
- Type a Column name, such as Review, Blocked or This week
- Under Indicator type, choose Colour and pick one, or choose Icon and pick an emoji
- Click Add column
The new column appears at the right of the board. Drag it into place if you want it earlier. Names are put into sentence case for you.
Colours and icons
| Option | Choices |
|---|---|
| Colour | 20 preset colours, or any colour from the custom picker |
| Icon | An emoji from the list, shown instead of the coloured dot |
The preview at the bottom of the form shows how the column head will look.
Editing a column
- Point at the column’s title and click the pencil (Edit column)
- Change the name, colour or icon
- Click Save changes
The cards in the column stay where they are.
Moving columns
Drag a column by the handle at the left of its title and drop it where you want it. The order is kept for your account.
Deleting a column
A bin button appears on a column you added once it has no cards in it. Click it to delete the column. To delete a column that still has cards, drag them to other columns first.
The bin goes by what the board is showing. If a filter is hiding some of a column’s cards, check before you delete; any hidden cards in it go back to Not started.
Adding a task from the board
Click the + at the top of any column to open quick capture, the same as New task. The AI files what you save. See Creating tasks.
The + buttons hide when you turn off Show the capture button in Settings > Appearance. Press N instead.
Moving cards
To another column
Click and hold a card, drag it to another column, and let go where you want it. You can also open the task and pick a column from Column in the detail panel.
Within a column
Drag a card up or down. Your order is kept for each column, across sessions and devices.
Back to due date order
Click Sort cards by due date, the button next to the view switch, or Reset to date order in Settings > Tasks. Each column is put in order: overdue first, then upcoming, then tasks with no date. You can drag cards around again afterwards.
Tasks you cannot move
Tasks a colleague shared with your organisation show on your board with a shared icon, but cannot be dragged. Only their owner can change them.
What a card shows
Each card shows its title and, when they apply:
- the status circle
- an image, such as a screenshot or the site’s picture
- a preview of the notes
- the due date and time, green for today and red when late
- who it is waiting on, with “You” for you
- its first topic and its category
- a star if it is starred
- how many comments it has
- a shared icon, if it is shared
- the people on it
Choose which of these show in Settings > Tasks > Kanban cards.
Hiding done tasks
When the filters keep done tasks out (the Status: not Done (any) filter, which Hide done by default adds), done tasks leave the board whatever column they are in. The Done column is hidden too, and cards cannot be dropped into it until you remove the filter.
Board settings
All in Settings > Tasks:
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Default view | Which view the Tasks page opens on: Table, Board or Calendar |
| Hide done by default | Opens the Tasks page without tasks whose status counts as done |
| Column width | Narrow, medium or wide, for every column |
| Order by due date | Reset to date order puts every column’s cards in due date order |
| Reset columns | Goes back to Not started, In progress and Done, and moves all your tasks to Not started. It asks first. Statuses do not change |
| Kanban cards | Which fields each card shows: status, topics, people, due date, notes, image |
| Due date borders | Colours card borders by how late a task is, while a Due: Overdue filter is on (Pro) |
Due date borders
With Show due date borders on (Pro), add Filter > Due > Overdue and each card’s border shows how late it is. You can pick each colour:
| Border | Default colour |
|---|---|
| Due today | Green |
| Overdue 1 to 2 days | Orange |
| Overdue 3 to 5 days | Light red |
| Overdue 5 days or more | Darker red |
Board layout ideas
- Simple: keep the three default columns and drag cards left to right as you go.
- Planning: use columns for when you will do things, such as Today, This week and Later, and let the status say how far each task has got.
- Hand-offs: add columns such as Review or Waiting on others between In progress and Done.