Working with Tasks
Use the task list and board, change display options, open tasks, manage subtasks, select several tasks at once, and archive finished work.
List And Board
Every project tab, saved filter, cycle, and the No project page shows tasks as a List or a Board. Switch with the List and Board buttons beside the search bar.
- List groups tasks, indents subtasks under their parent, and supports keyboard navigation and multi-select.
- Board shows a column per status or bucket. Drag a card to another column to change its status or bucket. Each column has a + to create a task in it.
Display options
Click Display to change how the current list or board is arranged. Each tab remembers its own settings.
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Grouping (list) | Status (default), Priority, Bucket, Project (on filters that span projects), or No grouping |
| Columns (board) | Status or Bucket |
| Ordering | Manual (default), Priority, Due date, Created, or Updated |
| Direction | Depends on the ordering, such as Highest first for priority or Soonest first for due date |
With Manual ordering, drag tasks to reorder them. With any other ordering, dragging on the board still changes status or bucket, but doesn't reorder.
Reading a row
A row shows the task's priority, status, ID, title, subtask progress (for example, 2 of 5 subtasks done), labels, bucket, cycle, due date, and created date. An icon marks tasks that have a description. In narrow panes, the ID, subtask count, and labels are hidden to save space.
Closed tasks sink to the bottom of their group. When a group has open tasks, its closed ones fold into a single row such as 3 closed. Click it to unfold them in place. Groups can also be collapsed from their header.
Subtasks sit under their parent with a tree line. If a subtask lands in a different group from its parent, a dimmed copy of the parent heads it so you can still see where it belongs.
Keyboard Shortcuts
In a task list:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
J / K or arrow keys | Move down or up |
Enter or O | Open the task |
C | New task |
/ | Search |
S | Change status |
P | Set priority |
L | Edit labels |
M | Move to project |
B | Move to bucket |
Y | Move to cycle |
X | Select or deselect the task |
Shift + J / Shift + K | Extend the selection |
Cmd/Ctrl + A | Select every task |
Esc | Clear the selection, then leave the list |
On a task's page, the same pickers work, plus D for the due date, C to comment, E to edit the title, J / K for the next and previous task, and Esc to go back to the list.
The Task Page
Open a task to see it full-size in the Tasks tab. The header has:
- Back to the list you came from (
Esc). - A breadcrumb of the project, the parent task if any, and the task's ID.
- Previous task and Next task buttons.
- A … menu with Make subtask of… or Make a regular task, Copy as wikilink, Copy link, Copy ID, and Archive task.
Below the title you'll find the description, which saves as you type (press Cmd/Ctrl + S or Cmd/Ctrl + Enter to save immediately), then Subtasks, then Activity.
The task's properties (status, priority, labels, project, bucket, cycle, due date, parent, and resources) show in the right sidebar under Task Info. In narrow panes, or with the right sidebar closed, a Properties button and a compact strip under the title give you the same controls.
The properties panel's Details section lists when the task was created, updated, completed, or cancelled.
Due dates offer Today, Tomorrow, Next week, and Clear, plus a date picker.
Activity and comments
The Activity timeline records when a task was created, each status change, project moves, and archive and restore. Type in Leave a comment… and click Comment (or press Cmd/Ctrl + Enter) to add a note to the timeline. Comments are Markdown. Task links, task IDs such as WEB-24, and [[Note]] links in comments are clickable.
Subtasks
Add subtasks from the Subtasks section of a task's page with Add subtask. Press Enter to add another, or Esc to stop. Tick a subtask's checkbox to complete it.
- Subtasks go one level deep: a subtask can't have its own subtasks.
- A subtask always belongs to its parent's project. Its project field shows Inherited from parent. To move it, move the parent.
- New subtasks start in their parent's cycle, and subtasks follow their parent when it joins one.
Right-click a subtask on its parent's page to open it, change its status, priority, or cycle, or choose Make a parent task, which turns it back into a regular task. A toast confirms the change and offers Go to task.
To file an existing task under another, use Make subtask of… from the task's … menu or the row's context menu. The task's own project is listed first.
Closing a task with open subtasks
When you complete or cancel a task that still has open subtasks, Octarine asks Complete subtasks too? Choose Mark all Done to close them together, or Go back to leave everything as it was. This applies wherever you close the task: the list, the board, the bulk bar, the Command Bar, or the properties panel.
Working With Several Tasks
In the list, select tasks with the hover checkbox, X, Cmd/Ctrl-click, Shift-click, Shift + J / Shift + K, or Cmd/Ctrl + A. A bar appears at the bottom showing N selected with:
- Status (
S), Priority (P), Labels (L), Project (M), Bucket (B), and Cycle (Y) - Archive or Restore
- A clear button (
Esc)
Project appears only when the selection includes a task that isn't a subtask, Bucket only when the workspace has buckets, and Cycle only when cycles are on. To complete several tasks, use Status.
After a bulk change, a toast such as Updated 4 tasks offers Undo. If some tasks changed elsewhere in the meantime, Octarine tells you how many couldn't be updated.
Right-clicking a selection gives the same actions in a menu, plus Copy as wikilinks, Copy links, Copy IDs, and Archive N tasks. Multi-select works in the list layout only.
The Task Context Menu
Right-click any task for:
- Open and Open in new tab
- Status, Priority, Bucket, Labels, Project, and Cycle submenus, with the same shortcut letters as the list
- Make subtask of or Make a regular task
- Mark as done or Reopen
- Copy as wikilink, Copy link, and Copy ID. See Linking and Deep Links.
- Save as template, which creates a template from the task. The toast's Edit button opens it in settings.
- Archive task or Restore task
Archiving
Archive tasks you want out of the way but don't want to delete. Archived tasks are hidden from lists and search unless you search with is:archived. An archived task's page shows This task is archived. with a Restore button.
Tabs And Navigation
Tasks open in tabs like notes do. A task tab's title shows its ID and title, such as WEB-24 · Fix sync conflict. When you reopen Octarine, a task tab comes back on the task, with Back leading to the list it was opened from. Following a link to a task that's already open in another tab switches to that tab instead of opening a duplicate.
Tasks, projects, filters, and cycles also appear in Recently Viewed.
Quick Answers
Can I see tasks as a Kanban board?
Yes. Switch to Board beside the search bar. Columns can be statuses or buckets, and dragging a card changes its status or bucket.
How do I change many tasks at once?
Select them in the list with X, Shift-click, or Cmd/Ctrl + A, then use the bar at the bottom to change status, priority, labels, project, bucket, or cycle, or to archive them. Bulk changes can be undone from the toast.
Can subtasks have their own subtasks?
No. Subtasks go one level deep, and they always share their parent's project.
Where did my completed tasks go?
They sink to the bottom of each group and fold into an N closed row when the group still has open tasks. Click the row to show them.