Chapter 11: WORKING WITH TASK GROUPS

This section will help you:

• Understand the TDF Task Group form
• Understand how to access the TDF Group form
• Set up new Task Groups  
• Learn how to use Task Groups  

Screens covered in this section:

• TDF Task Group form

Overview

Tour de Force gives companies and users the ability to set up groups of task, or Task Groups, in order to create and manage tasks that occur regularly.  For example, a company always performs five tasks when a Prospect requests information about the products and services the company offers from the website of the company.

 

The two types of Task Groups that exists in Tour de Force are Global and Personal. Global Task Groups have to be set up by the Administrative user of Tour de Force, and can be used by any user in Tour de Force.  

 

Any user in Tour de Force can create and use Personal Task Groups.  However, only the user that creates a Personal Task Group can use that Task Group.

 

When a Task Group is created, the Task Group is not linked to a specific Account, Contact, or Opportunity record.  After a Task Group is created, the Task items associated with a Task Group can be used to link to Account, Contact, and Opportunity records.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The TDF Task Groups Form

The TDF Task Groups form is used to create, view, and edit Personal Task Groups, as well as to create Task items for Account, Contact, and Opportunity records.

 

 

The TDF Task Groups form can also be used to link Task items associated with Global Task Groups with Account, Contact, and Opportunity records.  

 

 

Click the Personal Task Groups button to toggle to the Global Task Groups button.  

 

 

Click the Global Task Groups button to toggle back to the Personal Task Groups button.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creating a New Personal Task Group

The MRH Technology Group recommends using the Global Search utility in Tour de Force to add a new Personal Task Group.  The steps to create a Task Group are the same once the TDF Task Groups screen is accessed.

 

To create a new Personal Task Group:

 

1. Click the Global Search button on the Tour de Force toolbar.

 

2. Type the name or partial name of the Account record in the Search For field, and then press the Enter key.  Or, use the alternate search functionality to locate the Account record.  

 

3. Locate the Account record in the grid section of the Global Search window, and then right click the mouse to display the Quick Events menu.

 

4. Select Actions and then Task Group on the Quick Events menu.  

 

5. Click the Define Task Group button to access the Define Task Group - PERSONAL form.

 

 

Note that users cannot create new Global Task Groups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Click the New button to create a new Personal Task Group.

 

 

Or

 

Click the Copy button to create a new Personal Task Group using the Task items from another Personal Task Group.

 

 

7. After specifying a name to associate with the new Personal Task Group, click the OK button.

 

 

 

8. Close the Define Task Groups – PERSONAL window.

 

 

9. Click the down-arrow to the right of the Task Group field, and then select the name of the new Personal Task Group.

 

 

10. Click the New Task button to add new Task items to the Personal Task Group.

 

 

11. In the Subject field, type a description for the new Task item.

 

 

12. To assign the Task item to a user, click the Ellipsis button to the right of the Assigned field to open the Assign Task window.

 

 

Note that the Assigned field is typically blank because the user that performs the Task item is not known when the Task Groups are created.

 

13. In the Priority field, specify a priority to associate with the Task item.

 

The available options for the Priority field include:

• Low
• Normal
• High

 

14. Use the Start Date field fields to calculate the number of days, based on the date when the Task Group is used, to set the Start Date associated with the Task item.

 

For example, if Today is 07/24/06 and the date 07/25/06 is specified or selected in the Calendar window, then the field to the right of the Start Date field populates as +1.

 

15. Use the Start Date Relative Date Value field to calculate the Start Date according to the current date.

 

The Start Date is the number of days +/- from when the Task Group is used.  

 

For example, +1 means that the Start Date associated with a Task item is 07/25/06 when the Task Group is used to link Task items to an Account record on 07/24/06.  

 

 

16. Use the Due Date fields to calculate or specify the number of days, based on the date when the Task Group is used, to set the Due Date associated with the Task item.

 

Date Values are the number of days +/- from when the Task Group is used.  

 

For example, +5 means that the Start Date associated with a Task item is 07/29/06 when the Task Group is used to link Task items to an Account record on 07/24/06.  

 

 

17. Use the Reminder Date field to calculate or specify the number of days, based on the date when the Task Group is used, to set the Reminder Date associated with the Task item.

 

Date Values are the number of days +/- from when the Task Group is used.  

 

For example, +5 means that the Reminder Date associated with a Task item is 07/29/06 when the Task Group is used to link Task items to an Account record on 07/24/06.  

 

18. Type any notes or instructions to associate with the Task item in the Note field.

 

 

19. Click the OK button to add the Task item to the Personal Task Group.

 

20. After associating all of the Task items to the Personal Task Group, click the Save button.

 

 

21. Click the Edit Selected Task button to change any of the fields associated with the Task item.

 

 

22. Click the Delete Selected Task(s) button to delete one or more Task items associated with a Personal Task Group.

 

 

23. Click the Save Current Task Group as button to save the Task items as another Personal Task Group.

 

 

Note that users can only create Personal Task Groups using the Save Task Group As screen.  Global Task Groups can only be created by the Administrative User of Tour de Force.

 

 

Using a Personal or Global Task Group

The MRH Technology Group recommends using the Global Search utility in Tour de Force when using a Personal Task Group to link new Task items associated with the Personal Task Group to an Account, a Contact, and an Opportunity record.  

 

The steps to link the Task items associated with a Task Group to an Account, a Contact, and an Opportunity record are the same once the Task Group Administration screen is accessed.

 

To use a Personal Task Group to associate new Task items to an Account record:

 

1. Click the Global Search button on the Tour de Force toolbar.

 

2. Type the name or partial name of the Account record in the Search For field, and then press the Enter key.  Or, use the alternate search functionality to locate the Account record.  

 

3. Locate the Account record in the grid section of the Global Search window, and right click to display the Quick Events menu.

 

4. Select Actions and then Task Group on the Quick Events menu.  

 

5. To link Task items associated with a Global Task Group, click the Personal Tasks Groups button.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Click the down arrow to the right of the Task Group field, and then select the name of the Personal or Global Task Group.

 

 

7. To link a Task item to the Account record, check the Include field associated with the Task item.

 

 

8. Specify the Start Date, Due Date and Reminder Date for each Task item that needs to be linked to the Account record.

 

Note that all of the fields, such as the Start Date and Due Date fields, can be changed or set in the grid by giving focus to the appropriate field. For example, click the down arrow in the Start Date field to access the Calendar window.

 

The Start Date, Due Date and Reminder Date fields associated with each Task item can also be changed or set individually in the Add/Edit Task window by clicking the Edit Selected Task button on the Task Group Administration window.

 

 

9. To assign a Task item to a user, give focus to the Task item and click the Ellipse button to open the Assign Task window.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. In the Assign Task window, select the users to associate with the Task item, and then click the OK button.

 

 

Note that if no user(s) is assigned to a Task item, the Task item is added to the Task List of the user creating the Task item.

 

11. Click the Create Selected Tasks button to create the Task item(s).

 

 

 

12. Once the Task items are created, the Your Task(s) have been successfully created message displays on the bottom of the Task Group Administration window.

 

 

13. A Task Request is sent to each user that is assigned to a Task item.

 

If a user is assigned to three different Task items, then the user receives three separate Task Requests.

 

 

If the user creating the Task items associated with the Personal or Global Task Group is assigned to the Task Item, no Task Request is sent to that user.  The Task Items display immediately on the Task Lists for that user.

 

14. Each user that is assigned a Task item has the option to Accept or Decline the Task item.

 

 

If the user Accepts the Task item, the Task item is added to the Task Lists associated with that user.

 

If the user Declines the Task item, the user that originally created the Task item receives a message that the Assigned user declined the Task item.

Working in the Grid in the Task Group Administration Form

Functionality exists in the Task Group Administration window that allows users to easily manage the Task items associated with Personal and Global Task Groups.

 

The functionality that exists in the grid includes:

 

1. Click the Column Heading of a field to sort the values of that column in ascending or descending order.  

 

Click the column heading associated with the Start Date field to sort the Task items in ascending order by the Start Date related to the Task items.

 

 

 

 

 

Click the column heading associated with the Start Date field again to sort the Task items in descending order by the Start Date related to the Task items.

 

 

2. Ability to edit or change values of fields without accessing the Add/Edit Task window.

 

3. Ability to add, edit, or delete Task items associated with a Personal or Global Task Group by using the mouse to right click on the grid and selecting the appropriate option from the Quick Menu.