Task Window

The task window is where you work a task or ticket: who it is about and its description at the top, the activity thread with your colleagues below them, and every detail down the right: status, assignee, due date, reminders, visibility and subtasks. Several can be open at once. The same window is where a new task is created.

Interface Layout

• Title bar: Task or Ticket, the number and the name. Click the name to rename it. Unsaved description shows beside the name while your changes to the description are not saved yet. On the right, the two panel buttons hide and show the description area and Details. The link button copies a link to the task, ready to paste into an email. The eye button watches the task. The ? icon opens this article.
• Description area (top left): the user the task is about, with the people button, Show in conversation, beside them, a Claim bar on a ticket that nobody has taken yet, and the Description with an Edit button.
• Activity (under the description): comments and the task's history, with the comment composer underneath.
• Details (right): status, assignee, due date, reminders, priority and tags, each beside its name. Then the people on the task and who can see it, subtasks, blockers, More details (type and visibility), and when the task was created.

Who can edit

Anyone who can see a task can read it and comment on it. Changing its details, description and subtasks is for the person who created it, the person it is assigned to, and supervisors. Changing Visibility, or taking someone off People on this task, is for the creator and supervisors only. For everyone else those controls are shown but disabled. Once a task is finished, only its title, description, tags and a ticket's category can change. Reopen it to change anything else. A ticket waiting in a queue is the exception: if you are a member of its queue, click Claim and it is assigned to you, so you can change it. Features marked Permission Required depend on your role or your organisation's plan.

Around the Window

The description area sits above the thread, with Details down the right. Drag the dividers to give the description, the thread or the details more room. The description area and the thread scroll separately. To work in the thread alone, hide the description area and Details with the panel buttons in the title bar. Click a button again to bring its pane back. The window remembers where you left the dividers and which panes you hid. On a phone the panes stack instead.

Changes save as soon as you make them. If you are not connected, a message says the change was not sent, and the control goes back to what is stored. Nothing is lost, so try again in a moment. If the server refuses a change, a message says why.

Open a Task

A task opens in its own window from anywhere it is mentioned.

Steps:

1. Click a row on the Tasks page, a task card in a conversation, a result in search, or a notification about it.
2. Or type its number, such as #1042, into the search box on the Tasks page.
3. Or paste a link someone sent you into your browser. You are asked to sign in first if you are not signed in already.

Result: A task that is already open is brought to the front rather than opened twice. Opening from a notification about a comment lands the thread on that comment.

Copy a Link to a Task

Every task has a web address. Copy it when you want to point a colleague at the task from outside Convrs.

Steps:

1. Click the link button on the right of the title bar, beside the eye.
2. Paste the link into an email or a message.

Result: The link is copied and a message confirms it. Anyone who follows it lands on this task, signing in first if they need to.

Rename a Task

The name in the title bar is also where it is changed.

Steps:

1. Click the task's name in the title bar. If the window was behind another, the first click brings it forward. Click again to rename.
2. Type the new name and press Enter. Esc cancels.

Create a Task

A new task uses the same window with the Activity pane hidden, because there is nothing to discuss yet. It opens from New task on the Tasks page, from a customer's message in a chat (see Tasks from a Conversation), from a user's card, or as a draft from the AI Task Assistant. Raised from a conversation, it is linked to the user and the conversation, and any message you quoted becomes its first comment. A Follow up entry on the user's card also fills in the title, the due date and a reminder. Custom… in a message's menu fills in the title and a reminder and leaves the due date to you.

Create a Task or Ticket

Give it a title, set what matters, and create it.

Steps:

1. Type the title in the What needs doing? field. It is the only thing required.
2. Choose the Type. A Task is work for one person. A Ticket is a support request. It goes into a Business Unit's queue and carries a category. The type can't be changed once it is created. If no Business Unit in your organisation takes tickets, Ticket is not available.
3. Add a Description. The full editor is available, with formatting and @mentions.
4. Set the details on the right: due date, priority and tags. Click Due to choose a date (see Set the Due Date below). A task also has an assignee (you, unless you choose someone else) and a visibility. A ticket has a queue and a category instead. There is no status to choose. Every new task or ticket starts as Open.
5. With a due date set, leave When it's due on under Reminders to have the assignee reminded when the task comes due. On a whole-day due date it arrives at the start of their day. Turn it off if they do not need one.
6. Click Create to create it and close the window, or Create and view to open it straight away.

Result: The task appears on the Tasks page and in the assignee's My tasks. A ticket goes to its queue. The queue hands it to one of its members, or it waits there for one to claim it. If a reminder or quoted chat messages came with it, the reminder is set and the messages become the task's first comment.

Only If They Haven't Replied

A follow-up raised from a customer's message offers a second switch under Reminders.

Steps:

1. Raise a follow-up from a message (Follow up… in the message menu, then Custom…).
2. Choose a Due date. The switches appear under Reminders once there is one.
3. Leave Only if they haven't replied on to have the task close itself if the user writes back before the reminder is due. Turn it off to keep the follow-up whatever happens.

Result: On the open task a line under its reminders says what will happen. Once the user has replied, it says when they did.

Task Details

Each detail sits beside its name. Every control in the rail saves as soon as you change it, and colleagues with the task open see the change at once. Changes to the status, assignee, due date, queue, visibility, people, subtasks and blockers are also recorded in the Activity thread. Priority, category, tags and reminders are not. Tag changes are listed under Tag History in the tag picker. A task's type and visibility change rarely, so they are under More details at the foot of the rail. Click it to open them. If the rail is too narrow, each name sits above its control instead.

Change the Status

A task is Open or Done. A ticket has four statuses: Open, Waiting (parked on the customer), Resolved and Closed (finished without resolving it). Every task starts as Open, and the Status list appears once it has been created.

Steps:

1. Pick the new status from the Status list.
2. For Closed, choose a reason (Duplicate, Spam, No reply or Out of scope) and click Close ticket. Cancel puts the status back. The reason is optional and is recorded in the thread.

Result: A done or resolved task leaves My tasks. Until it is reopened, only its title, description, tags and a ticket's category can change. A line under Status says so. Set it back to Open to reopen it.

Assign the Task

Who is doing the work. A task always has an assignee. A ticket goes to its queue, and only members of that queue can take it.

Steps:

1. On a ticket waiting in its queue, click Claim in the bar above the description to take it yourself. The bar says which queue it is in and how long it has waited. Hover the time to see when it joined the queue. Claim is off if you are not a member of the queue.
2. Click the Assignee button. A list of colleagues opens under it. People mentioned in the task are suggested first, then everyone else is grouped as Available, Busy and Offline. Click Show to see who is offline. Type to search by name or business unit, or pick a business unit from the list beside the search box. Click a person to assign the task to them.
3. On a ticket, only the person working it or a supervisor in its queue can do this, and the list shows only members of the queue.
4. On an open ticket, choose Unassigned at the top of the list to take the assignee off and leave the ticket for the queue. On a phone, tap the red × beside the assignee instead. You also get the × if you can change the ticket but cannot give it to someone, for example because you raised it. It then reads Unassigned (queue), and the ticket joins the back of the queue with its waiting time starting again.

Result: The new assignee is notified and the task appears in their My tasks. Reminders belong to the assignee. While a ticket waits in its queue its reminders are hidden, and they go to whoever takes it next. On a task that only its people can see, reassigning it can take someone's access away. You are asked first, with their names. To keep them on it, add them under People on this task before you reassign.

Set the Due Date

A due date can be a whole day or an exact time.

Steps:

1. Click Due. A picker opens under it.
2. Choose from the list. Each choice shows the day and time it means, from In 1 hour to In 2 weeks.
3. Or type a date, and a time if it has one. Leave the time empty for a whole-day due date. It is saved when you press Enter or click away. Esc leaves the due date as it was. If the date is not finished, or its year has more than four digits, a line in the picker says so and the date is not saved.
4. Click Clear due date to take the due date off.

Result: The Due field shows the date, with Today and Tomorrow in words and the year only when it is not this year. It turns red once an open task is late. Point at it to see the full date.

Add Reminders

A reminder reaches the assignee in the app and by email. A task can carry several.

Steps:

1. Click Add reminder beside Reminders, under the due date.
2. Under Before it's due, choose When it's due, or 10 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day or 1 week before. Each shows when it would arrive. These move with the due date if it changes.
3. Or choose a moment under At a set time (the same choices as the due date), or type a date and time at the top and click Add. These stay put if the due date moves.
4. Click the red × beside a reminder to remove it.

Result: Each reminder is listed with its time, in the order they arrive. Ones that count from the due date say so, and (sent) appears once a reminder has fired. On a whole-day due date a reminder before it counts back from the assignee's morning hour, in their time zone. On someone else's task the list can only name the day.

Control Who Can See It

Visibility follows what the task is attached to, and can always be narrowed to the people on it. It is under More details at the foot of the rail. Click it to open.

Result: The line under People on this task says exactly who can see the task right now. When you create a task it is under the Visibility list instead. People on this task lists them by name. Creator and Assignee are marked beside the two who hold those roles. Everyone else was let in by name. Click Add person to let a colleague in, or the × beside a name to take their access away. Mentioning someone in a comment adds them too. The mention picker says so before you send.

Tag a Task

Tags group tasks across the Tasks page's filters. They use the same vocabulary as chat tags. Permission Required

Steps:

1. Click Add beside Tags.
2. Click a tag under Available Tags to add it. Tag History shows who added and removed tags on this task.
3. Click the × on a tag to remove it.

Type and Queue

You choose the type when you create a task or ticket. It can't be changed afterwards.

Steps:

1. To send a ticket to another team, choose their queue from the Queue list.
2. If someone is working the ticket, you are asked first. The ticket leaves them and waits in the new queue for one of its members.

Result: A ticket has a Queue (one of your Business Units that is marked for tickets), a Category, the Waiting and Closed statuses and a close reason. The type of a task or a ticket is under More details.

Description

The description says what the task is about and anything the person doing it should know. It is shown as text until you click Edit. A colleague's change to it shows as soon as it is saved. The editor is the same one comments use. The toolbar gives bold, italic, strikethrough, inline code, links, two heading sizes, bulleted and numbered lists, and code blocks. Aa hides the toolbar if you don't need it. The @ button, or typing @, mentions a colleague, and the smiley inserts an emoji.

Edit and Save the Description

Unlike the details, the description is saved when you say so.

Steps:

1. Click Edit beside Description, or Add a description if there is none yet. If the description area is too short for the editor, it grows to fit.
2. Edit the text. The title bar shows Unsaved description as soon as it differs from what is stored.
3. Click the save button at the bottom right of the editor, or press ⌘+Enter (Ctrl+Enter on Windows). The button spins until the description is stored.
4. Or click Cancel to stop without saving. If you changed anything, you are asked first.

Result: The description is stored and shown as text again, and Unsaved description goes away. Anyone you mentioned is added to the task and notified. If you close the window with unsaved changes, your draft is there again the next time you open the task, in the editor.

Activity

The thread holds the conversation about the task and its history in one place. Your colleagues' comments sit on the left and your own on the right. Between them is the system's record of what changed: created, assigned, status, due date, subtasks. The header shows who else has the task open, how many comments there are, and a magnifier to search them.

The thread opens at its newest entry. Scroll up for older ones. New comments are added at the end and your view stays where it is. When a notification, a search match or a quote takes you back to an older comment, a Jump to latest pill sits at the foot of the thread. It counts any new comments that arrive. Click it to go to the end. A line above the composer shows who is typing.

Add a Comment

Write in the composer under the thread. Everyone watching the task is notified.

Steps:

1. Type your comment. Enter sends and Shift+Enter adds a line. Click the hint in the footer to swap the two. On a touch screen Enter always adds a line.
2. Type @ and a name to mention a colleague. The picker tells you if they will be added to the task by the mention, or cannot see it and will not be notified. @everyone notifies everyone on the task.
3. Attach a picture or a file with the image and paperclip buttons, or record a voice note with the microphone. One attachment per comment, with or without text.

Result: The comment appears at the end of the thread and the people on the task are notified. See Notifications.

Reply to a Comment

Quote a colleague's comment so the thread can see what you are answering.

Steps:

1. Click Reply under the comment.
2. Write your answer and send it. The × on the quote bar drops the quote and keeps your text.

Result: Your comment carries the quote. Clicking a quote in the thread jumps to the original comment, even if it has scrolled off. You cannot reply to your own comment.

React to a Comment

Acknowledge a comment without writing one. Reactions do not notify anyone.

Steps:

1. Click the smiley under a colleague's comment and pick one of the six quick reactions, or + for the full emoji picker.
2. Click a reaction chip to add yours to it, or click it again to take yours off.

Result: The chip shows the count, and lights up when yours is among them. Point at a chip to see who reacted and when. You cannot react to your own comment, but you can click its chips to see who did.

Edit or Delete Your Comment

Your own comments carry Edit and Delete instead of Reply.

Steps:

1. Click Edit. The text moves into the composer. Change it and send. The comment is marked (edited).
2. Click Delete and confirm. The comment leaves the thread. Anything that quoted it shows Comment deleted in its place.

Search the Thread

Find a comment in a long thread.

Steps:

1. Click the magnifier in the Activity header, type in the Search comments box and press Enter.
2. The matches drop down over the thread. Click one to jump to it, then use the arrows beside the box to step to the previous or next match.
3. Esc hides the list but keeps the search. The magnifier closes it.

Quote Chat Messages

A comment can carry messages from the customer's conversation, shown as cards with the sender, channel and time.

Steps:

1. From a chat, use Copy to task in the message menu, or drag the message onto the task window. Up to 20 messages can go in one comment.
2. Add a caption if you want one and send.

Result: Clicking a quoted message's header opens the conversation at that message. A task raised from a message carries it as its first comment. See Tasks from a Conversation.

Subtasks and Blockers

Break a task into smaller ones, and record what it is waiting on. Both live at the bottom of the details rail.

Add a Subtask

A subtask is a task of its own that belongs to this one.

Steps:

1. Type a title under Subtasks and click Create, or press Enter.
2. To make an existing task a subtask instead, open the arrow beside Create, choose Add an existing task by #, and enter its number.

Result: Each subtask is listed with a checkbox, its number and title, its assignee and due date. Tick the box to mark it done, or untick to reopen, if it is yours to edit. Click the title to open it. The count beside the heading shows how many are done, and +N more counts subtasks you cannot see.

Record a Blocker

Say that another task has to finish before this one can.

Steps:

1. Under Blocked by, enter the blocking task's number and click Add.
2. Click the × beside a blocker when it no longer applies.

Result: A banner under the user's card names what the task is blocked by, and the rail lists it. Only open blockers are shown. Once the other task is done it stops blocking and drops off the list. A blocker you are not allowed to open appears as a task you can't see.

Watching

Watching a task means being notified about its comments and changes. The person who created a task and the person it is assigned to watch it automatically, and so does anyone who comments on it or is mentioned in it.

Watch or Stop Watching

The eye button in the title bar. A filled eye means you are watching the task.

Steps:

1. Click the eye to follow a task you are not on.
2. Click it again to stop being notified about it.

Result: Tasks you watch but are not doing are listed under Watching on the Tasks page. Stopping is remembered: commenting again later does not put you back on the list. What you are notified about, and how, is described in Notifications.

Related Topics

• Tasks
• Tasks from a Conversation
• AI Task Assistant
• Notifications
• Ticket Categories
• Agent Chat
• My Profile