August, 2021

August 2021

Asana Customizations!

Hello From IT!

This month’s Tech Bits we are exploring custom fields and tags within Asana. These customizations allow you to make Asana your own, and help speed up your workflow by giving better context in a broad view.

Custom Fields

Custom Fields are much like spreadsheet headers to add, organize and visualize details in Asana with color coding and sorting. You can have up to 30 fields in a single Project. While looking at an Asana project in “List” view, you will see in the far right a “+” button where you can add a field

There are 3 Field Types: Drop-down, Text, and Number. Each of them have different information you add for the associations you are looking for.

Drop-down Field Type

When you first create a custom field, Drop-down is the default field type. Here you can add a “Field Title” and then “Options” for different responses. In the example below, I created a custom field called “Budget Approved?” With the options Yes, No, Pending. A Drop-down custom field can have up to 100 options.

Text Field Type

The Text Field Type is versatile because it allows you to enter any type of information that has a specific answer. In the example below, you can enter a start date, a first name, or a website URL!

Numbers Field Type

The Numbers Field Type allows you to enter numbers that will be calculated for a SUM as if it were in an excel spreadsheet. Examples include how many minutes a particular topic will take to go over in a presentation, or the cost of a particular item as seen below. I can use several different formats as well such as the currency or percentages.

Choose From Library

Asana has a built-in library that has pre-made Custom Fields for you to use. Some of the really useful ones are an Approved drop down custom field, and a Point of Contact text field! A great feature with the library is that when you create a custom field, it can be added to this library for others in the organization to use.

What are Tags?

Tags allow you to give tasks additional context or to group similar tasks for easy viewing. You can create your own association for tasks that make sense for you! To start, you must add the Tags field by clicking on the Customize button and then make sure the Tags button is slid to the right.

You will now see the Tags custom field in your Asana Projects. You can go to any of your Tasks and click on the Tags field and start to name your tags which you can color code.

I recommend naming the tags something simple that you can easily remember and help associate your task easier. In the example, I created the Tags “Install” when that task has anything to do with me needing to install an application. I also created the Tag “Hex” when the task has something to do with the application Hexnode.

Once done, I will be able to search for a task just by looking for the Tag associated with it. In the example below, I clicked on “Hex” and it showed me all the tasks that I have added with that tag.

When Should I use a Custom Field or a Tag?

Asana suggests the following: “Tags and custom fields allow you to categorize, filter, and denote information in Asana. In general, custom fields are best for standard use across an Organization, while tags are more informal.”

Use a Custom Field if you:

• Want to add certain data to all tasks in a project

• Have standard information you need to track on tasks across projects

• Want to make sure your collaborators fill out certain information for each task in a project

Use Tags if you:

• Need ad-hoc tagging where you have unlimited options or you aren't quite sure what needs to be tagged at the time of creation

• Only need to mark a few tasks within a project

• You want to see all the tasks associated with a tag

That’s it for this month’s TechBits! If you found this information useful and intriguing, let us know the value it provided by emailing us at techbits@episcopalrelief.org. We’ll see you next month!