Administering task generation

Task Management includes the Task Generation app, which allows the system administrator to generate tasks as defined on the Due date, Task Template and Workflow Profile apps.

Defining the global settings for task generation

You can define the default settings for the Task Generation app for all 4 frequency period (Annual, Quarterly, Monthly, Weekly).

To modify the task generation global settings:

1. In the Task Management navigation pane, click Administration.
2. Expand Tasks, and then click Task Generation.lvapp. The Task Generation app opens in the workspace.
3. In the Task Generation toolbar, click Global Settings. The Task Generation dialog opens.
4. Complete the following information:

   Field	Notes
   Entities	Select the default Entity. Note: To choose all Entities, leave this field blank.
   Annual Timeframe	For From Period, the default is the current year.
   Quarterly Timeframes: From Period	Select the first time period. Choose from Q1 through Q4.
   Quarterly Timeframes: Through Period	Select the last time period. Choose from Q1 through Q4.
   Monthly Timeframe: From Period	Select the first time period. Choose from Month 1 through Month 13.
   Monthly Timeframe: Through Period	Select the last time period. Choose from Month 1 through Month 13.
   Weekly Timeframe: From Period	Select the first time period. Choose from Week 1 through Week 53.
   Weekly Timeframe: Through Period	Select the last time period. Choose from Week 1 through Week 53.

5. Click OK.

Adding task generation definitions

To add a task generation definition:

1. In the Task Management navigation pane, click Administration.
2. Expand Tasks, and then click Task Generation.lvapp. The Task Generation app opens in the workspace.
3. Select the frequency using one of the tabs: Annual, Quarterly, Monthly or Weekly.
4. Click Add. A new row appears in the list.
5. Complete the following information: 

   Field	Notes
   Template Group	Select the template group for this task template. For information on adding the Template Groups to this drop-down list, see Configuring Task Management settings.
   Frequency	This field represents the frequency of this task template and is defined by the frequency tab you chose prior to adding this task template.
   Due Date Period - Start (for Quarterly, Monthly and Weekly frequencies)	Select the due date for this task. For information on adding Due Dates to this drop-down list, see Adding due dates. If you choose Generate, this information is populated based on the Task Template.
   Due Date Period or Due Date Period - End	If you choose Generate, this information is populated based on the Task Template.
   Build for Entities	When this field is blank, the system will use the Entities specified in the task template.
   Generate	Choose this option to generate tasks for the selected Task Generations.
   Last Run	Displays a status of the number of tasks last created with the date and time stamp.

6. When you are finished, click Submit.

Updating task generation definitions

To update tasks generation definitions:

1. In the Task Management navigation pane, click Administration.
2. Expand Tasks, and then click Task Generation.lvapp. The Task Generation app opens in the workspace.
3. Select the frequency using one of the tabs: Annual, Quarterly, Monthly or Weekly.
4. You can update the fields that you completed when you created the task template. For more information, see Adding task generation definitions.
5. Click the field to edit the contents.
6. When you have completed your edits, click Submit in the toolbar.

Duplicating task generation definitions

If you want to create a new task generation definition similar to an existing one, you can create a duplication.

To duplicate a task generation definition:

1. In the Task Management navigation pane, click Administration.
2. Expand Tasks, and then click Task Generation.lvapp. The Task Generation app opens in the workspace.
3. Select the frequency using one of the tabs: Annual, Quarterly, Monthly or Weekly.
4. Select the row for the template you want to duplicate, and click Duplicate. A new row appears with the duplicated template.
5. Modify the information as required. For more information, see Adding task generation definitions and Updating task generation definitions.
6. When you are finished, click Submit.

Displaying task generation definitions

The Task Generation app has some display features that allow you to customize the view for your list, including filtering and grouping, and sorting, reordering, and hiding columns.

Filtering task generation definitions

If your list is large, you may want to specify a filter on certain columns so that your list is easier to manage. For example, you may want to filter by Category.

To filter task generation definitions:

1. In the Task Management navigation pane, click Administration.
2. Expand Tasks, and then click Task Generation.lvapp. The Task Generation app opens in the workspace.
3. Select the frequency (Annual, Quarterly, Monthly or Weekly) of the task generation you wish to view.
4. Click Filter. The Filter arrow becomes available in each column header.
5. Hover over the relevant column header, and click the Filter arrow.
6. Select the column values to filter on.

Note: If you add a new row or modify values, you must click the Filter arrow and click OK to reapply the filter.

To remove filters:

1. Click Remove Filter.

   All filters in the view are removed, and the Filter arrow is no longer available in the column headers.

Grouping task generation definitions

If you want to organize your template list in certain way, you can group the task generation by a specific column.

To group task generation definitions:

1. In the Task Management navigation pane, click Administration.
2. Expand Tasks, and then click Task Generation.lvapp. The Task Generation app opens in the workspace.
3. Select the frequency (Annual, Quarterly, Monthly or Weekly) of the task generation you wish to view.
4. In the Group by list, select the column to group the list by. The list is grouped by the selected column. Any task generation that do not include a value for that column are grouped in the Unspecified category.

To ungroup task generation definitions:

1. In the Task Management navigation pane, click Administration.
2. Expand Tasks, and then click Task Generation.lvapp. The Task Generation app opens in the workspace. 
3. Select the frequency (Annual, Quarterly, Monthly or Weekly) of the task generation you wish to view.
4. In the Group by list, select the blank entry. The list is ungrouped.

Changing column order

If you want to view tax task generation using a custom column order, you can change the order of the columns. Drag and drop a column to change its order in the Task Generation app.

Sorting Columns

Click a column header at any time to sort the column in ascending or descending alphabetic or numeric order.

Hiding columns

If a particular column in the Task Generation app is not relevant to you, you can hide it.

To hide a column

1. right-click the header for the column that you want to hide
2. select Hide on the pop-up menu.

To unhide all columns

1. right-click any header
2. select Unhide all on the pop-up menu.

Saving your view

If you have made layout changes to your view, such as hiding columns, changing column order, width, or sorting, grouping tasks, or filtering, they are saved when you exit the Task Generation app.

Note: The layout for the Task Generation app is always saved when you exit the app. If you have made changes to your preferred layout, but don’t want to save them, reload your saved layout before you exit.

Reloading your saved layout

You can reload your saved layout the next time you work in the Task Generation app.

To reload your saved layout:

1. In the Task Generation app, click Layout.
2. On the pop-up menu, click Reload. The layout returns to the last saved layout.

Resetting the layout

You can reset the Task Generation app to the default layout provided by Longview. The default layout sorts by ID, with no grouping or filtering.

To reset the layout for the task generation app:

1. In the Task Generation app, click Layout.
2. On the pop-up menu, click Reset. The layout returns to the default layout provided by Longview for the current frequency in view (Annual, Quarterly, Monthly or Weekly).

Deleting task generation definition

To delete a task generation definition, click the row selector to the left of the row that you want to delete, and then click Delete on the toolbar.

Exporting task generation to Microsoft Excel

You can export task template information for all task generation in the list to Microsoft Excel.

Note: Only the current view is exported. Data that is included in a filter, or in columns that are hidden, is not exported. New tasks that have not yet been submitted to the database will be exported.

To export the current view to Microsoft Excel:

1. On the Task Generation toolbar, click Export to Excel. The Save As dialog opens.
2. Navigate to the location where you want the file to be saved.
3. Type the name of the file you want the tasks to be exported to.
4. Click Save. The file opens in Excel.