Text Mode to pull information from a Custom Field on a Task into a Document Report.

[Tammy_Hall-Johnson]

I am struggling with being able to pull an ID number from a task custom form into a Document Report. Here is the textmode that I have...

The background -

The Document is in the document folder on the project. I need to pull the VID # from a specific task on that project.

displayname=ID

listdelimiter=<div>

listmethod=nested(project.tasks).lists

textmode=true

type=iterate

valueexpression=IF(CONTAINS("Deliver Product Sample For Photography",{name}),{DE:VID #})

valueformat=HTML

I think my listmethod is wrong?

Help!!

[RandyRoberts]

Lemme get this straight:

You have a document that belongs to a project and you want to pull a field from a form in a task on that project?

So you have to go up one level from doc to project and then come down 2 levels from project to task to form field, right?

I'm not even sure that's possible.

If you had the form attached to the document, it would be easy.

[Tammy_Hall-Johnson]

Yes! The Document is loaded into the project. I have a task in the project that is called Deliver Product Sample For Photography. That task has a custom form attached with a field called VID #. I need to pull the VID # into my document report.

It would be super easy if there was a form attached to the doc. That will be coming soon as we reimplement. Until then I need to work with what I got. :(.

I am hoping I can go up a level and then down a level to get to that task since I can pull task info into a Doc report just not everything.

T

[Doug_Den_Hoed__AtAppStore]

Hi Tammy,

I'm following, and although nasty, believe it is possible, but will wait for your confirmation of @Randy Roberts‚ requirements before I climb the ladder to High Diving Board...

Regards,

Doug

[Tammy_Hall-Johnson]

Oh Boy! I would love to hear your thoughts.

The Document is loaded into the project. I have a task in the project that is called Deliver Product Sample For Photography. That task has a custom form attached with a field called VID #. I need to pull the VID # into my document report.

It would be super easy if there was a form attached to the doc. That will be coming soon as we reimplement. Until then I need to work with what I got. :(.

I am hoping I can go up a level and then down a level to get to that task since I can pull task info into a Doc report just not everything.

[skyehansen]

hey, as far as I can tell (in theory), this could work.

If you try it on a simpler valueexpression, such as valueexpression={name}, you can see it does produce a result. I'm guessing your valueexpression has a fault in it, and frankly because I'm a lazy person, I just want to assume it's the hashtag in the VID custom field.

Now that we have labels and names for custom fields, it's become our best practice to not have any punctuation or symbols in our custom field names. So your label can continue to have the hashtag but I would probably remove it from the name and rewrite your valueexpression to follow. And try easier valueexpressions if you're still having problems! Something with low hanging fruit, like anything still incomplete, or stuff with a milestone, or tasks assigned to John Smith -- if you can get this to show a result, you can probably finagle a valid expression eventually...

[Tammy_Hall-Johnson]

You absolutely could be right regarding the hashtag as I know they have issues with it in other reports. HOwever, if I simplify it and say just bring in the plannedCompletionDate it still doesn't populate. :(

[skyehansen]

I think in this case, my workaround is to plug in a CONCAT (not sure if it's needed but I like to hedge my bets).

Keep working on your syntax. A simple way to grab a bunch of syntax all in one go is to go here https://wf-pro.com/textmode/text-mode-views-collections/ and just grab all the valueexpressions -- Narayan doesn't mind! -- and look at how they are laid out (you'll notice CONCAT being used a lot in these cases). If you can understand all the samples on wf-pro, you can usually cobble something together to serve your needs.

Here's how my "learning path" went:

SAMPLE 1 (as simple as you can get):

displayname=test

listdelimiter=<div>

listmethod=nested(project.tasks).lists

textmode=true

type=iterate

valueexpression={name}

valueformat=HTML

(we probably would have also accepted valuefield={name} since calling one field isn't technically an expression LOL)

SAMPLE 2 (slightly harder now):

displayname=test

listdelimiter=<div>

listmethod=nested(project.tasks).lists

textmode=true

type=iterate

valueexpression=IF(CONTAINS("Production",{name}),CONCAT({name}))

valueformat=HTML

SAMPLE 3 (now I can try it using a DE)

displayname=test

listdelimiter=<div>

listmethod=nested(project.tasks).lists

textmode=true

type=iterate

valueexpression=IF(CONTAINS("Production",{name}),CONCAT({DE:RET Production Schedule Type}))

valueformat=HTML

SAMPLE 4 - here's one I built on Tuesday as a proof of concept for a customer asking for something similar:

displayname=Art Release

listdelimiter=<div>

listmethod=nested(project.tasks).lists

textmode=true

type=iterate

valueexpression=IF(ISBLANK({DE:RET Production Schedule Type}),"",IF({status}="CPL",CONCAT({DE:RET Art Release}, " from ", {name}),""))

valueformat=HTML

in my customer's case, they are asking for a list of tasks, and then for each task I go back into the project, look for a task custom field called Production Schedule Type to be populated (this is our production schedule task which contains a list of custom dates), and give them the Art Release custom date from that same task if it's been completed. A completed production schedule task means the schedule is good to go, whereas a canceled or new task means the schedule's not good.

So hopefully this gives you a solid rundown on how to troubleshoot (start simple, get more complicated) and how to learn syntax (study wf-pro link).

[LisaKi7]

@skyehansen What is your are trying to pull over into a task report, example a custom form "Meeting Notes" section in to a column for a task report. I've tried this one but its not working. I did manage to pull into a project report but not at the task level yet. I know it's possible, I just cant remember the code to do so. 

displayname=Meeting Notes

linkedname=project

namekey=project:DE:Meeting Notes

querysort=project:DE:Meeting Notes

textmode=true

tile.name=component.customdata.richtextlistview

type=tile

valuefield=project:DE:Meeting Notes

valueformat=customDataRichTextAsString

[skyehansen]

hi @LisaKi7 -- this question isn't really related to the original topic, and normally it would be best to re-post as a separate question in order to get more exposure.

If I'm reading you correctly you're trying to pull a project custom field (a rich text field?) into a task report. If this is the case, you shouldn't need text mode -- simply do it in the standard report builder. You should be able to type in Project Meeting Notes and select the field from the picklist. If you're unable to see it, I recommend you have a chat with your system admin to get some support.

[Doug_Den_Hoed__AtAppStore]

Very nice, Skye. Thanks for diving in. Regards, Doug

[RandyRoberts]

That's simpler than I expected!

[skyehansen]

I was thinking the same thing Randy -- and of course it makes sense. These are just all our already-working "listmethod=nested(tasks).lists" bits of code from our project reports. The only thing we're doing is putting an extra "project." in that line, so we can use it outside of a project report.

Opens up our world a bit more, that's for sure, and I'd love to hear what other "stacked collections" (which is my terminology for this) other folks are using. [for example, I know for us, nested(project.tasks)lists was right next door to nested (resolveProject.tasks)lists].