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Task types
Classify what a task is, not where it's up to: define your own task types with icons and colours, reorder them, and set a default.
What you'll achieve
Define the task types your firm uses to classify work, so you can filter and report on what kind of task each one is.
You'll end up with: Task types that classify your work, each with an icon and colour, ready to filter and report on, with system types recoloured to match your scheme.
Before you start
Where a status says where a task is up to, a type says what kind of task it is. A discipline, a deliverable, a phase of work: whatever classification helps you slice the schedule and read reports. Types carry an icon as well as a colour, so they stand out at a glance, and you can filter and report on them, which is where they earn their keep.
We'll add the kind of classification Northlight Architects reports on, a Discipline type they can group work by across Riverside Apartments (RA) and every other job.
How types differ from statuses
Task types live on their own Task Types tab in Settings, separate from the statuses on the Application tab. That separation is deliberate: a type and a status describe different things, and a task has both. A task can be In Review (its status) and a Discipline task (its type) at the same time.
Some types are system types. Monument controls their name and key, so you can't rename or delete them, but you can still recolour them and change their icon to match your scheme. The Project type is the clearest example: it's system-controlled because Monument relies on it, yet you're free to give it a colour and icon that fit your firm.
Add a type
Adding a type such as Discipline with an icon and colour takes three steps.
- 1
Open the Task Types tab and click Add Task Type.
- 2
Name it, for example Discipline, then pick an icon and a colour and create it.
- 3
Drag to reorder the list, and set the type new tasks should default to.
A type may refuse deletion because it is system-controlled, is the current default, or is still assigned to tasks; the error tells you which condition to resolve. If it's system-controlled, you can't remove it, but you can recolour and re-icon it, so bring it into line with your scheme rather than working around it.
Troubleshooting
- Types apply immediately. Like statuses, a task type is live the moment you create it. There's no page save bar for this section.
- A type may refuse deletion for more than one reason. It may be system-controlled, the current default, or still assigned to tasks; the error tells you which condition to resolve. A system type's name, key and existence stay fixed either way; only its colour and icon are yours to change.
- Type is not status. If you're reaching for a type to record progress, you want a task status instead. Types classify; statuses track progress.
Where this fits next
Types and statuses together describe how tasks are classified and where they are in the workflow. Round out your setup with custom fields for extra detail, or set the codes and numbering that name your projects and documents. The Customise Monument overview shows all four on screen.