How to use custom fields
Add the columns your workflow needs and use them in views and reports.
Custom fields turn a task list into a working register. Add the two or three your process genuinely depends on, and resist the rest.
Open Task Columns
Columns are configured per project, so a client project can carry commercial fields that an internal project does not. Decide what you actually filter or report on before adding anything.
Choose a field type
Pick the type that matches how you will use the value. A field you will group or filter by should be a fixed set of options rather than free text, because free text produces near-duplicate values that break grouping.
Use a clear reusable field name
Name the field so it means the same thing in every project. Channel and Priority travel well. Type or Status do not, because they collide with concepts the product already uses and confuse new people.
Add the field to the relevant tasks
Populate the field on existing work, not just new tasks. A field completed on half the tasks produces reports that quietly exclude the other half, which is worse than not having the field.
Use the field in Table, filters, and reports
The value of a field is what it lets you answer. Group a report by it, filter Table with it, and if neither is useful, the field is overhead and should be removed.
What success looks like
- Each field has a clear name, a consistent set of values, is populated across the project, and appears in at least one report or saved filter you actually use.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Adding fields nobody fills in, which makes every report incomplete.
- Using free text where a fixed option list belongs, producing values that cannot be grouped.
- Duplicating a concept the product already has, such as a second status field.
Questions about this workflow
Yes. A field added to a project is available in Table, in filters, and in reporting for that project.
No. Custom fields are available on every plan, including Free.
Related how-tos
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