Working with topic actions

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Viewing Topic Actions
Editing topic actions

A topic action is an activity that has been identified as contributing to the understanding or resolution of a topic. Examples of activities that you may track with topic actions include:

Performing research such as literature searches.
Scheduling project meetings or milestones.
Documenting follow-up work.

Like topics, actions store information in a structured set of fields, and are given workflow states to track their progress from creation to completion. An action can be assigned to the same user that is currently assigned to the topic or to a different user.

When you click the row menu () for an action, you can click View to view all of the information on the Topic Action page.

Viewing Topic Actions

When you view a topic, you can view its actions. The Topic Actions section of the Topic page provides information about each existing action in a table that might include these standard columns:

Column	Description
ID	Unique identifying number for the action.
Action name	Name of the action.
Action description	Description of the action.
Action state	Indicates the state of the action in the workflow. States are specified in the topic workflow configuration to represent the expected workflow.
Assigned to user	User to whom the action is assigned.
Planned completion date	Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy) for performing this action. Used to produce the Topics by Action Due Date report, and used as the date for email reminders, if included in your topic workflow configuration
Actual completion date	Date (mm/dd/yyyy) on which the action was completed. Used to produce the Topics by Action Due Date report.
Attachment Count	Total count of attachments to the topic action. (Deleted attachments are not included in this count.)
Created By	Name of the user who saved the attachment.
Created	Date and time when the attachment was saved.
Modified By	Name of the user who last modified the action, including adding comments.
Modified	Date and time when the action was last modified.

The table might also include columns for custom fields added by your organization. For information about viewing, printing, or downloading tables or changing the way data displays in the table, see About tables.

Editing topic actions

When you edit a topic you can work with existing actions and add actions. When you click for an existing action in the Topic Actions section of the Topic page, you can do the following:

To update the action click Edit. On the Topic Action page you can modify general information, including the user assignment and state. In other sections of this page, you might be able to add comments or attachments to the action.
To delete the action, click Delete. At the message asking if you want to delete the action, click OK. (This option might only be available if you have the work team permission to delete topics/actions.)

The topic action is removed from the table and no further processing can be performed on it.

To reopen a closed action, click Reopen. This option is available if the action is in a final state such as Closed, and your topic workflow configuration includes a transition from that state to another state such as Open or Ongoing. This option is only available if you have the Reopen Topics/Actions work team permission. In the Action state field, select a state. Your topic workflow configuration defines the states that can be assigned to an action that is in a final state. Click Save. The Topics page appears. You can edit the action as needed.

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