New in MLO 4 Android: Create task from template

MLO 4 for Android offers a simple solution for creating typical projects. Suppose, you're going on a vacation. Instead of recreating all tasks from scratch, use the option 'Create from template' which you can find in the bottom toolbar.

It allows you to create a task or a whole project based on an existing branch. Unlike standard duplication, this functionality shifts dates to the actual ones, while keeping the intervals for the set dates. 

How to create from a template

1. In the task list, select where you want to create a new project and tap 'Create from template' in the bottom toolbar.

2. Select the task you want to use as a template and tap Create. In our example, we selected last year's task 'Trip to Asia':

3. In the pop-up dialog, select the anchor task from the template, select the type of date you want to move (Due, Start, Reminder, Review) and set a new date for it.

The anchor task is usually the task around which the project is organized. It can be the product release date or start of the vacation leave. After creating a project from a template, the date of the anchor task will move to the new selected date,and the dates of other tasks in the selected branch will be also shifted keeping the interval with the anchor task. Thus, you get a new project with all its subtasks, the dates of which are shifted relative to the date of the new project.

 

You choose the anchor task yourself. By default, the anchor task is the task which has the Start/Due/Reminder/Next Review date, and this date is the earliest in the selected branch. In our example, the task 'Request a vacation leave' was the earliest task in last year’s vacation planning. MLO defined this task as a anchor task and suggested the new Due date (Today) which you can change.

 

4. Add a new name to the task created from the template

 

 

Done!

What it does

The anchor task 'Request a vacation leave' is set for Today, other related tasks start next week, and the trip itself starts in a month — all dates in the branch have been updated, the intervals have been kept in accordance with the template.

Other task properties that have also been updated

• Dates of Recurring tasks
  

Note: If you selected the date which does not match the recurrence pattern of the anchor task, you will be prompted to change the anchor task date.

 If the selected anchor task has recurring subtasks and they cannot be shifted to the new date keeping the interval, then they are shifted to the closest date and the corresponding warning is displayed.
 

• Reminders

Note: Dismissed reminders from the template will be reopened and set to the new relative date in the created project.
 

• Dates of Reviews
  
• Dates of creation, modification and completion of tasks
• Date when the task was starred

Note: Dates are shifted relative to the Due date of the anchor task, if it is set. If the Due date was not set, then the dates are shifted relative to the date that is the earliest from the Start date / Reminder / Next Review.

Usage Tips

We advise you to mark template tasks with a special tag/context/caption to quickly find them in the task list. You can then use it to filter tasks in the dialog for selecting a template on the "All tasks" screen:

 

In addition, the dialog for selecting a template task retains its last state. That is, next time it will show the tasks already filtered by the word "template".  All you have to do is choose the one you want.