Reporting text mode help - only showing projects that do not have a certain task

[AGraz1]

Hi All!  We have a Task custom field that is a checkbox indicator for Go Live Task.  (This indicator is checked in project tasks to indicate which is the Go Live one for tracking purposes.)  I'm ideally looking to have a report that only shows Projects that do not have any Tasks in it with the Go Live Indicator checked.

The purpose is for Project Managers to be able to catch if they've missed identifying this key data point in any of their projects.

Any ideas on how to achieve this?

[Jason_JB]

I'm replying primarily because I have this need, too.  We use a custom field w/ a pick list of "special tasks", but same concept.

A couple notes from digging I've done:

• I think EXISTS will solve this, but I haven't had time to actually work through building it out.  Here's the link to the documentation I previously was pointed to: https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/workfront/using/reporting/reports/text-mode/create-complex-t...
• My current workaround is to use a report that includes all projects that should have the go-live task and then use collections to pull the date in.  That way if I have a blank cell I know the task is missing.

[Stacey_Robertson]

Could you create a project custom form field that either calculates from that task field or fusion could read the task and mark the field on the project custom form.  Then you could check projects for that field being empty?

[skyehansen · Accepted solution]

If an exists filter is the answer, it will probably look something like this:

EXISTS:a:$$EXISTSMOD=NOTEXISTS

EXISTS:a:$$OBJCODE=TASK

EXISTS:a:projectID=FIELD:ID

EXISTS:a:DE:<what is your task custom field name?>=<what is the answer that populates when it is checked?>

The first three lines should be correct as-is -- you're looking for something that is task-related, and will not exist, in your project report. The fourth line is what you would need to fill out, with the name of your field and answer you're not looking for. (remember to preface that name with a "DE:")

[AGraz1]

Thanks, Skye!  I have tried the following and it is still pulling in some projects that have tasks with the Go Live indicator checked as Yes.  Did I make a mistake in what you were advising?

Full text for filters:

DE:project:Project Setup Workflow=WF Workflow January 2022
DE:project:Project Setup Workflow_Mod=in
EXISTS:a:$$EXISTSMOD=NOTEXISTS
EXISTS:a:$$OBJCODE=TASK
EXISTS:a:DE:Go Live Indicator=DE:Yes
EXISTS:a:projectID=FIELD:ID
owner:managerID=$$USER.ID
owner:managerID_Mod=in
status=AIY CUR YTE RPL
status_Mod=in

[skyehansen]

Yes. (Sorry, was that too blunt?  But yes all the same)

"DE:" is Workfront syntax for "this is a custom field". It's only needed when you are calling out the field's name, not the field's answer. You would have just had Yes on the other side of the equals sign, not DE:Yes.

[AGraz1]

Haha, not too blunt and a perfect answer! 

Thanks very much, of course that worked and now is all good.  Appreciate the assist!

FYI @Jason_JB  - Skye's EXIST text did the job on my side, if it helps you as well.

[Jason_JB]

Thank you!!!

This got me excited enough to make time to try it today.  It worked, and I realized that my need is more complex than I thought.

I need projects where a task with a flag (like above)

* does not exist (this worked)

* exists AND all iterations of it have status = NA0 

I tried a few things, but it looks like the extra logic step may be more than the filter can do.  Have you done something like that before?