Chapter 6 Using Tasks

This chapter provides information on how to work with Ximian Evolution Tasks.

• Overview of Tasks

• Creating a Task

• Assigning a Task

• Sending Task Information

• Marking a Task as Complete

• Sorting Tasks

• Deleting Tasks

Overview of Tasks

You can use Tasks to create a task, view existing tasks, sort the task list, or change the status of a task.

Figure 6–1 shows a typical Tasks window.

Figure 6–1 Typical Tasks Window

In the Tasks window, your tasks are organized as a table. The rows of the table display information about your tasks. The columns represent information fields for your tasks, such as the completed status of the task, the summary of the task, and so on. From left to right, the Tasks window displays the following columns by default:

• Type

  The task type is indicated by an icon. The following table lists and describes the task-type icons:

  Icon	Description
  	Task is unassigned.
  	Task is assigned.

• Complete

  The completion status is indicated by an icon. The following table lists and describes the completion—status icons:

  Icon	Description
  	Task is incomplete.
  	Task is complete.

• Summary

  The Summary is a short text description of the task.

For information on how to change the current view, save the current view, or create custom views, see Using Views.

Tasks are displayed in different formats in the Tasks window, depending on the status of the task. The following table lists and describes the task formats:

Creating a Task

To create a task, perform the following steps:

1. Choose File -> New -> Task. A Task window is displayed.

2. Enter the task information in the Basic tabbed section. The following table describes the elements in the Basic tabbed section:

   Element	Description
   Summary	Type a short description of the task.
   Due Date	Use the drop-down combination boxes to specify the date and time by which to complete the task.
   Start Date	Use the drop-down combination boxes to specify the date and time at which to start the task.
   Globe button	To specify a time in a different time zone, click on the globe button to the right of the drop-down combination boxes. A Select a Time Zone dialog is displayed. Click on the map to select a time zone, or select a time zone from the drop-down list, then click OK.
   Description	Type a detailed description of the task.
   Classification	Select one of the following options: Public: Select this option to enable other users on your network to see all details of this task in your schedule. Private: Select this option to prevent other users on your network from seeing any details of this task in your schedule. Confidential: Select this option to allow other users on your network to see only that this task is in your schedule. The other users cannot see the task details.
   Categories and text box	Type the category name to assign a category to this task. If you want to assign more than one category, separate the categories with a comma.  Alternatively, click on Categories. Use the Edit Categories dialog to select a category.

3. To enter more details about the task, click on the Details tab. The following table describes the elements in the Details tabbed section:

   Element	Description
   Status	Select one of the following status options from the drop-down list: Not Started In Progress Completed Cancelled
   Priority	Select one of the following priority options from the drop-down list: Undefined Low Normal High
   % Complete	Use the spin box to specify how complete the task is, or type the percentage in the text box.  Depending on the value that you enter, Evolution updates several other elements, as follows: 100: Selects Completed from the Status drop-down list. Inserts the current date and time in the Date Completed drop-down combination boxes. 1–99 inclusive: Selects In Progress from the Status drop-down list. Inserts None in the first Date Completed drop-down combination box. Clears the contents of the second Date Completed drop-down combination box. 0: Selects Not Started from the Status drop-down list. Inserts None in the first Date Completed drop-down combination box. Clears the contents of the second Date Completed drop-down combination box.
   Date Completed	Select a date from the first drop-down combination box, and a time from the second drop-down combination box, to specify the date and time at which the task was completed  Depending on the value that you enter, Evolution updates several other elements, as follows: date: Selects Completed from the Status drop-down list. Inserts 100 in the % Complete text box. Inserts the selected date in the first Date Completed drop-down combination box. Inserts the current time in the second Date Completed drop-down combination box. Now: Selects Completed from the Status drop-down list. Inserts 100 in the % Complete text box. Inserts the current date in the first Date Completed drop-down combination box. Inserts the current time in the second Date Completed drop-down combination box. Today: Selects Completed from the Status drop-down list. Inserts 100 in the % Complete text box. Inserts the current date in the first Date Completed drop-down combination box. The contents of the second Date Completed drop-down combination box remain unchanged. None: If the status of the task is Not Started, no elements are affected. If the status of the task is In Progress, Evolution inserts 50 in the % Complete text box. If the status of the task is Completed, Evolution updates several elements, as follows: Selects Not Started from the Status drop-down list. Inserts 0 in the % Complete text box. Inserts None in the first Date Completed drop-down combination box. Clears the contents of the second Date Completed drop-down combination box.
   URL	Type the URL associated with the task, if any. Click on the connect button to open the specified URL in the default web browser.

4. To save the task, choose File -> Save.

   To save the task and then close the Task window, choose File -> Save and Close.

   To save the task details in a file, choose File -> Save As to display the Save as window. Enter the filename, then click OK.

   To close the Task window without saving the task, choose File -> Close.

5. To preview the details of the task, choose File -> Print Preview.

   To print the details of the task, choose File -> Print.

Assigning a Task

You can only assign a task from a local folder. You cannot assign a task from a Sun ONE folder.

To assign a task, perform the following steps:

1. Double-click on the task in the Tasks window to open a Task window containing the tabbed sections described in Creating a Task.

2. Choose Actions -> Assign Task to display the Assignment tabbed section.

3. Select the organizer of the task from the Organizer drop-down list.

4. The task assignments are listed in table format. You can customize the table by adding or removing columns, as described in Using Views. By default, the task assignments table contains the columns described in the following table:

   Column	Description
   Attendee	Evolution automatically enters the current user as the first entry in the attendee list. To add another attendee to the list, click on the Click here to add an attendee text below the attendee list. Type the name of the person, group, resource, or room to which you want to assign the task. If you want to send the task information to the attendee, you must type the email address of the attendee in this field.
   Type	Click on the field under the Type column header to activate a drop-down list. Select one of the following types from the drop-down list: Individual Group Resource Room Unknown
   Role	Click on the field under the Role column header to activate a drop-down list. Select one of the following roles from the drop-down list: Chair Required Participant Optional Participant Non-Participant Unknown
   RSVP	Click on the field under the RSVP column header to activate a drop-down list. Select Yes or No from the drop-down list to specify whether to send a reply to the meeting organizer.
   Status	Click on the field under the Status column header, to activate a drop-down list. Select one of the following status options from the drop-down list: Needs Action Accepted Declined Tentative Delegated

5. Click on the Invite Others button to create a new entry in the assignments table. Evolution also displays the Select Contacts from Addressbook dialog, which you can use to select attendees.

6. Choose File -> Save and Close. Evolution creates the task assignments and then asks if you would like to send the task assignment information.

7. Click Yes to send the task assignment information to the specified mail addresses.

   Click No to save the task assignment information without sending to the specified mail addresses. You can send the task assignment information at a later time, as described in Sending Task Information.

Sending Task Information

To send task information, perform the following steps:

1. Double-click on the task in the Tasks window to open a Task window.

2. Choose Actions -> Forward as iCalendar to display a task information window. The task information window is an email message window, similar to the Inbox Compose a message window. Evolution automatically inserts text in the Subject text box and in the message content area. Evolution includes the task information as an attachment to the message.

3. Type the email addresses to which you want to send the task information, in the To text box. If you want to send the information to more than one address, separate the addresses with a comma. Alternatively, click on the To button. Use the Select Contacts from Addressbook dialog to select addresses.

   For more information about the elements in the task information window, see To Send a New Message.

4. Choose File -> Send to send the task information to the specified email addresses.

5. Choose File -> Close to close the Task window.

Marking a Task as Complete

To mark a task as complete, perform the following steps:

1. Select the task in the Tasks window.

2. Choose Edit -> Mark as Complete.

Sorting Tasks

For information on how to sort tasks, see Chapter 1, Overview of Ximian Evolution.

Deleting Tasks

You can delete individual tasks, or all tasks marked as complete.

To Delete Individual Tasks

To delete individual tasks, perform the following steps:

1. Select the tasks in the Tasks window.

2. Choose Edit -> Delete to display a confirmation alert.

3. Click Yes to delete the selected tasks.

To Delete All Tasks Marked As Complete

To delete all tasks marked as complete, perform the following steps:

1. Choose Actions -> Expunge to display a confirmation alert.

2. Click Yes to delete all tasks marked as completed.