Content:
1. What is a card subtask?
2. How to create a subtask?
3. How do you display subtasks at the closed card view?
4. How to edit a subtask?
5. How to restore a subtask?
6. How to change the order of the subtasks?
1. What is a card subtask?
Creating subtasks is the simplest level of a task breakdown.
The subtask can be considered as a smaller task, which is part of a more complex one.
In other words, it is an element of completing a larger task (img.1). Subtasks are useful when you have multiple items to do on a given card to show their progress.
The subtask is created at a card level and has two states: checked and non-checked. It does not inherit the card properties and can be completed by different users.
Img.1
2. How to create subtasks?
All card subtasks get stored in the respective Subtasks tab.
Open the Kanban card and go to the Subtask tab or right-click on the card to open the Context menu -> select Subtasks. When there are no subtasks created, the Subtask tab displays a single value of 0.
In the Subtask tab panel, users can write, post, assign, edit, and delete subtasks.
To create a subtask, enter the subtask name in the text box, assign the task (1)) and attach a file (2).
A rich-text editor becomes available. In addition, we have added markdown support for simple text formatting.
Use the "Add Subtask" button to add the subtask or press CTRL + ENTER.
Note: You can assign the subtask to a registered Kanbanize user → select a name from the dropdown list with board members. The subtask owner can be different from the card owner.
The subtasks you create appear as a checklist in the dedicated panel (img.3).
When you complete a subtask, check the box to mark it as completed.
The Subtask tab displays the number of total subtasks in the card and lets you see the number of completed subtasks vs total subtasks from anywhere in the card.
For example, when 1 out of 2 subtasks is completed the numerical fraction displays 1/2.
To focus on uncompleted tasks, you can Hide completed subtasks using the button in the top right corner Hover over a subtask to see: Subtask ID, Date/time of creation, and completion.
Img.3
3. How do you display subtasks at the closed card view?
You have to individually configure your card view in order to make the subtasks visible at their closed preview. Go to the sidebar at the right side of your board interface and select the Configure Card View icon to open the Card settings panel.
In the Card Settings panel, you first have to checkmark the Show Subtasks option.
Then you have to select any of the three Subtask view alternatives:
- Progress bar
- One per row
- Only unfinished
Option 1: Progress bar
If you select the first choice, you will see the subtask count. It displays completed subtasks vs the total number of subtasks. Click the preview icon, and the system will redirect you to the Subtask tab.
Option 2: One per row
If you select the second choice, the system displays all subtasks in a row.
With this preview option, you can easily checkmark a subtask as completed without opening the Subtask tab. This preview provides a clear picture of all subtasks that belong to the card and display their current status.
Moreover, you can quickly create new subtasks, without opening the Subtasks tab.
Just enter the subtask name in the New subtask text box at the bottom of the card and click Enter to add it to the card.
Option 3: Only Unfinished
If you select "Only unfinished", the system will automatically hide subtasks that are checked as completed on the card preview. Note that all subtasks remain available in the Subtask tab of the card.
4. How to edit a Subtask?
Open the subtask tab -> hover over a subtask that is not finished yet and use the Options icon (the three dots) to:
- edit a subtask
- convert a subtask to card
- delete a subtask
You can double-click a subtask to enable the edit mode.
Note: if a subtask is marked as complete, it cannot be edited anymore.
You can select multiple subtasks at once by holding ctrl and then clicking on the subtasks.
5. How to restore a subtask?
If you have deleted a subtask by mistake, you can restore it using the card revisions from the top right corner menu in the open card view.
To learn more about card revisions and how to use them read the dedicated article by clicking here.
6. How to change the order of the subtasks?
Very often when creating and working with subtasks, users have to change their sequence order.
To change the order of the subtask, you have to open the Subtask tab and hover over the existing subtasks to see the Reorder icon.
Just drag & drop them in any order you feel is best.
Please, read the next article to learn how to convert a subtask into a card.
Important: Reordering subtasks triggers subtask modification feature from business rules.