I must be an idiot here ...
I can create a template just fine ... but how on earth do I use a task
template? New just brings up a blank task form, as does New Task
Request.
If I physically find the template folder and double-click the template,
it
properly opens the new task. But isn't there a way within outlook
(tasks)
to
grab a template?
(Sorry, appparently I'm a bit thick-headed here ......)
Gabrielle
:
You can also see if Microsoft Project might offer similar productivity
gains. You'd simply create all your steps you'd perform for a client,
save
it as a Project template, and maintain project files for each client.
Project, while seeming a bit unweildy is very simple in the end.
http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/prodinfo/standard/default.mspx
But, I think the Outlook Task "Save As Template" is probably all you
need.
Other than that, if you feel the investment worth it, you should seek
a
Development contracting firm. There's lots out there. A simple
two-week
contract might be worth it for you.
--
-C. Moya
www.cmoya.com
"Jocelyn Fiorello [MVP - Outlook]"
Thanks for posting that. My research gave me a similar answer but I
hadn't
gotten back here to post it yet.
Another resource for Outlook custom form development:
http://www.outlookcode.com/d/forms.htm
--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook
*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered --
please
reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***
:
These sorts of "workflow" things usually require development work.
Basically, you would need to hire someone to create this as an
Outlook
add-in or set of macros and custom forms.
Having said that, there might be some things you could do on your
own.
Outlook allows you to create Templates. Simply create a task and
choose
"File | Save As -> Outlook Template". Then you can easily create
future
tasks by opening these templates.
Similarly, you can turn a Task into a form (Tools | Macros |
Publish
Form
As) and make it easily "recreatable" in the future.
Not sure if this might help....
http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/worktogether/forms.mspx
Good luck.
--
-C. Moya
www.cmoya.com
Thanks Jocelyn --
Okay, let me see if I can illustrate.
I'm a realtor. I perform a number of steps that are the same for
"each"
seller and "each" buyer ... and for "each" prospect. When I list
a
home,
for
example, the obvious steps are simple -- get listing papers
signed,
hang a
keybox, order a sign installed, prepare a flyer, etc etc. When a
buyer
for
that home is found, then another series of steps occur -- file
legal
paperwork with office, send contracts to escrow, send contracts
to
title,
track inspection dates, etc., and so on.
Because I work with both a business partner and an assistant,
along
with
the
various folks at the office, various tasks are assigned to
different
people,
depending on the situation.
During the course of a transaction, I'll need to print out status
reports
that indicate whether things have been done, and when. At the end
of
the
transaction, a hard copy of the "task status sheet" can be
printed
and
then
filed in the closed client file.
And then a new series of follow-up tasks are needed for that same
contact.
There are a number of 3rd party packages that perform some of
these
tracking
steps. Unfortunately, most of them don't interface well with
Outlook,
Word,
and Excel, are lacking in one area or another, or don't sync well
with
Palm
OS (PDA), which is pretty much required in this area. Some of the
really
big
name ones are just plain cumbersome in parts, are incomplete in
others,
and
are expensive.
So ... I have a series of template letters I've created in Word
and
Excel.
I
keep 99% of my contacts in Outlook, and there are relationships
between
some
of those contacts. Now I'm trying to get a handle on how to
better
track
task
assignments.
Does this help?
:
I don't think there is any way to link contacts and tasks in
that
manner...but you might look at the following article for some
possible
3rd
party solutions:
http://www.slipstick.com/addins/tasks.htm
If you like, you can illustrate a typical scenario for one
contact
from
start to finish and then tell me what you want to happen after
step
4
is
over
-- maybe that will help me understand better.
--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook
*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered --
please
reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***
:
Ummm, I'm not sure how to set a recurrence here. I "do" need
to
track
the
activity and maintain it for each contact, so setting a task
as
"not
started"
won't work, I don't think.
Can I do a one time recurrence for each contact? Help! I'm not
understanding
this I guess .........
Thanks again!!!
:
Can you just assign these tasks to a category and then view
by
category to
see them all in the same group? You can mark them completed
when
each is
done for the first contact, then when another contact comes
in,
find
the
completed tasks and change their status back to "Not
started".
If
you need
to keep a record that the items were completed, set a
recurrence
on
each one
-- then when you mark a task complete, the complete one will
be
saved
while a
new one will be regenerated.
--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook
*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be
answered --
please
reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***
:
After adding a new contact, there are a number of tasks
that
then
need to be
done and assigned to someone. I know how to assign a task,
but
what
I want to
do is maintain a series of tasks that can then be
associated
with a
contact
and assigned.
For example, when adding a client to my contact list, I
then
must:
1. Send a thank you note
2. Do task 2
3. Do task 3
4. Do task 4
These four tasks happen with "every" new contact, but task
1
and
say 4 are
arbitrarily assigned to someone and tracked by me,
therefore
the
list
shouldn't be all inclusive in one task.
How do I save this group of tasks so that they can be used
over
and
over
again?
(hope this makes sense)
Thank you!
