Edit tasks in a list

Last update: November 6, 2025

Topics:
Work Management

CREATED FOR:

User

The highlighted information on this page refers to functionality not yet generally available. It is available only in the Preview environment for all customers. The same features will also be available in the Production environment for all customers starting with a week from the Preview release.

For more information, see Interface modernization.

You can edit task information in a list of tasks by editing the fields displayed in the list. For information about other ways to edit tasks, see Edit tasks.

Access requirements

Expand to view access requirements for the functionality in this article.

Adobe Workfront package	Any
Adobe Workfront license	Standard Work or higher
Access level configurations	Edit access to Tasks and Projects
Object permissions	Contribute or higher permissions to the task and the project

For more information, see Access requirements in Workfront documentation.

Considerations about editing tasks in a list

Editing tasks in a list is a fast way to make changes to multiple tasks simultaneously with a clear view of how your changes might affect the project timeline.

Consider the following when editing tasks in a list:

Unlike needing Manage permissions to the task when editing it in the Edit Box, you can edit a task in a list only with Contribute permissions to the task. This allows you to edit the following limited information for the task:
- Description
- Status
- Percent Complete
- Custom Form information
  
  NOTE
  You can edit a task custom field in a list only if you have permissions to update the field.
- Log hours
- Modify Assignments
- View finance information
- Add expenses, tasks, or issues
You can edit a task in the following lists:
- The Tasks section of the project
- The Subtasks section of the project
- A task report
  
  NOTE
  By default, Workfront automatically saves your changes to tasks in the Subtasks section or in a task report.
You can control when Workfront saves the changes you make to the tasks in a list by defining the Plan Mode before you start editing the tasks.

You can decide between Workfront saving the changes you make in the following way:
* Automatically, after every change * Manually, only after you click Save.
For information about configuring when Workfront saves changes you make to tasks in a list, see the Modify Plan Mode before editing tasks in a list section in this article.
Other users must refresh their pages before they can view the updates you make to a task.

Modify Plan Mode before editing tasks in a list

You can decide whether the changes you make to tasks in a list are saved automatically as they occur, or if you want to manually save each change. To do this, you must modify the Plan Mode in a list of task before editing the tasks.

IMPORTANT

Depending on whether you save the tasks automatically or manually, you might overwrite someone else’s information as you are editing tasks in a list. For more information, see Overview of saving concurrent changes within a task list.

When you save your changes in a list for a project that has either Automatic or Automatic and On Change selected as the Update Type, Workfront updates the project timeline, along with all in-project and cross-project dependencies. Timeline calculations can take a long time if the project is large or if there are a lot of dependencies. Some methods of editing a task list can be faster than others, depending on the method you select to save your changes.

You can control when Workfront saves the changes you make to the tasks in a list. The following scenarios exist:

You can have Workfront automatically save the changes, after each update.

For information, see the section Set the Plan Mode to automatically save changes in this article.
You can have control over when you apply multiple changes at a time by manually using a Save button.

For information, see the section Set the Plan Mode to manually save changes in this article.

Set the Plan Mode to automatically save changes

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Saving your changes and all the project dependencies might be slower if your project has more than 2000 tasks or if it has a lot of dependencies.

Consider the following when saving your task list changes automatically:

You can apply a custom view to the task list and edit any task-related fields that you have access to update.
You cannot reverse auto-saved changes. This is the default setting.
When the project Update Type is Automatic or Automatic and On Change, Workfront recalculates the timeline of the project and all the in-project and cross-projects dependencies automatically after every change. For information about the project Update Type, see Select the project Update Type.

To edit tasks in a list and save changes automatically:

Click the Main Menu icon in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, or (if available), click the Main Menu icon in the upper-left corner, then click Projects.
On the Projects page, select a project.
In the left panel, click the Tasks section.
Click the Plan Mode icon at the top of the list and make sure the Autosave option is selected.
Edit any field that you have permissions to update manually.
(Optional) Press Escape to cancel your changes.
Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) on your keyboard to save your changes to the tasks and the project timeline.
(Optional) Right-click a task you want to modify.

Or

Click the More menu to the right of the task name.
(Optional) Select from the following options:

Open in New Tab
Opens the task in a new browser tab.
Insert Task Above
Inserts a task above the selected task.
Insert Task Below
Inserts a task under the selected task
Edit

Opens the Edit Task box, where you can edit the task.

For information about editing a task, see Edit tasks in a list.

Delete

Deletes the task.

For information about deleting tasks, see Delete tasks.

Indent

Indents the task by one level.

This option displays only on stand-alone tasks.

Outdent

Outdents the task by one level.

This option displays only on children tasks.

Duplicate
Creates a duplicate version of the task within the same project.
Copy to...

Copies the task to another project.

For information about copying and duplicating tasks, see Copy and duplicate tasks.

Move to...

Moves the task to another project.

For information about moving tasks, see Move tasks.

Set the Plan Mode to manually save changes

You can manually save changes you make to tasks in a list. When you save changes this way, you have the flexibility to reverse them before saving.

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You cannot reverse changes you make to tasks in a list when you are editing them in the Subtasks section or in a task report.
There are no limitations on how many changes you can reverse. You can reverse all of them one-by-one until you reach the original state of the tasks.

Consider the following when saving changes in a task list manually:

In order to save task list changes manually, you need permissions to Manage both the tasks and the project.
You cannot edit the project. The option to edit the project is disabled.
You cannot update information in the header of the project. You can only do the following when manually saving the changes in the task list:
- Subscribe to the project.
- Add the project to your list of favorites.
- Open a task by clicking its name in the list.
Edit the tasks in bulk. The Edit icon is disabled when selecting multiple tasks.
Workfront triggers notifications about the changes you make to the tasks only after you save your changes.

There are 2 ways to manually save changes to tasks in a list:

Save changes in a task list manually when you select the Manual save Standard option
Save changes in a task list manually when you select the Manual save Timeline Planning option

Save changes in a task list manually when you select the Manual save Standard option

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If your project has more than 2000 tasks, or if it has a lot of dependencies, it might take a while to visually identify the changes you make to your tasks and how these changes affect all the project dependencies. In this case, saving your changes might take longer than expected.

Consider the following when updating tasks in a list after selecting the Manual save Standard option:

You can apply a custom view to the task list and edit any task-related fields that you have permissions to Manage in that view.
When the project Update Type is Automatic or Automatic and On Change, Workfront calculates the timeline of the project and all the in-project and cross-project dependencies after you click Save. For information about the project Update Type, see Select the project Update Type.

To edit tasks in a list when selecting the Manual save Standard option:

Click the Main Menu icon in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, or (if available), click the Main Menu icon in the upper-left corner, then click Projects.
On the Projects page, select a project.
In the left panel, click the Tasks section.
Click the Plan Mode icon at the top of the list.
In the Plan Mode dialog, select Manual save, then click Standard.
Click Apply. A toolbar setting displays with options to undo, redo, and save your changes.
Click inside any field that you have permissions to update manually. The field becomes editable and you can make your changes.
Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) on your keyboard to temporarily save the changes you made.
(Optional) Click the Undo icon to reverse a change and return a field to its original state.
(Optional and conditional) Click the Redo icon to restore the change you reversed.
(Optional) Right-click a task you want to modify.

Or

Click the More menu .
(Optional) Select from the following options:

Open in New Tab
Opens the task in a new browser tab.
Insert Task Above
Inserts a task above the selected task.
Insert Task Below
Inserts a task under the selected task
Delete
For information about deleting tasks, see Delete tasks.
Indent

Indents the task by one level.

This option displays only on stand-alone tasks.

Outdent

Outdents the task by one level.

This option displays only on children tasks.

Duplicate

Creates a duplicate version of the task within the same project.

For information about copying and duplicating tasks, see Copy and duplicate tasks.
Workfront updates all in-project and cross-project dependencies when you make changes to the timeline of tasks.
Click Save when you want to keep your task changes permanently and save the timeline of the project.

Save changes in a task list manually when you select the Manual save Timeline Planning option

Saving your changes and all the project dependencies is faster. This is not available for projects with more than 2000 tasks.

IMPORTANT

We recommend that you use this option when editing a large list of tasks of more than a few hundred that have a lot of dependencies. Using this option allows you to visually identify your changes much faster than using the Manual save option.

Consider the following when using the Manual save Timeline Planning option in a task list:

You cannot apply Manual save Timeline Planning option to projects that have more than 2000 tasks.
You cannot apply a custom view, filter, or grouping to the task list. The View, Filter, and Grouping drop-down menus, as well as the Agile view icon, are disabled. The view that is applied by default contains a limited number of fields.
The timeline of the project and all the in-project dependencies are calculated automatically after each change when the project Update Type is Automatic or Automatic and On Change.
When the project Update Type is Automatic or Automatic and On Change, the cross-project dependencies are calculated after you click Save. For information about the project Update Type, see Select the project Update Type.

To edit tasks in a list when using the Manual save Timeline Planning option:

Click the Main Menu icon in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, or (if available), click the Main Menu icon in the upper-left corner, then click Projects.
On the Projects page, select a project.
In the left panel, click the Tasks section.
Click the Plan Mode icon at the top of the list.
In the Plan Mode dialog, select Manual save, then click Timeline Planning.

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The Time Planning option is dimmed for projects with more than 2000 tasks.
Click Apply.

The following changes occur in the list:
- The View, Grouping, and Filter drop-down menus are removed and the view is replaced by the following fields:
  - Task Number
  - Task Name
  - Constraint Type
  - Duration
  - Planned Start Date
  - Planned Completion Date
  - Predecessors
  - Assignments
  - Status
  - Percent Complete
- The Agile view icon is removed.
- A toolbar setting displays with options to undo, redo, and save your changes.
Edit any field that you have permissions to update manually.
Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) on your keyboard to temporarily save the changes you made.
(Optional) Click the Undo icon to reverse a change and return a field to its original state.
(Optional and conditional) Click the Redo icon to reinstate the change you reversed.
(Optional) Right-click a task you want to modify.

Or

Click the More menu .
Select from the following options:

Open in New Tab
Opens the task in a new browser tab.
Insert Task Above
Inserts a task above the selected task.
Insert Task Below
Inserts a task under the selected task
Delete
For information about deleting tasks, see Delete tasks.
Indent

Indents the task by one level.

This option displays only on stand-alone tasks.

Outdent

Outdents the task by one level.

This option displays only on children tasks.

Duplicate

Creates a duplicate version of the task within the same project.

For information about copying and duplicating tasks, see Copy and duplicate tasks.
Workfront updates all in-project and cross-project dependencies when you change the timeline of a task.
Click Save when you want to keep your task changes permanently and save the timeline of the project.

Edit a task in a list using the Summary

Click the Main Menu icon in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, or (if available), click the Main Menu icon in the upper-left corner, then click Projects.
On the Projects page, select a project.
In the left panel, click the Tasks section. The list of tasks on the project displays.
Select the task you want to edit, then click the Open Summary icon in the upper-right corner of the list. The Task Summary panel opens.
(Optional) Type an update for the task in the Updates area.
Click any of the following icons or areas to go to the task and edit information at the task level:

Documents

Add documents to the task.

Custom Forms

Add or remove custom forms or update information on the forms.

Hours

Log hours.

Approvals

Add task approvals.

Click the X in the top-right corner of the panel to close it.

Edit tasks in bulk

You can edit multiple tasks all at once. Ensure you have manage permissions to the tasks to be able to edit them.

Click the Main Menu icon in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, or (if available), click the Main Menu icon in the upper-left corner, then click Projects.
On the Projects page, select a project.
In the left panel, click the Tasks section.
Click the Plan Mode icon at the top of the list and make sure the Autosave option is selected.

IMPORTANT
You can’t edit tasks in bulk when saving tasks manually.
Select more than one task in the tasks list.
(Optional) Click the More menu at the top of the task list, then Recalculate Expressions to update all information in calculated custom fields.
Click the Edit icon . The Edit Tasks dialog box opens in the new experience.

Editing the information on all tasks is identical to editing information on one task.

For more information about editing a task, see Edit tasks.
(Conditional) In the new experience, do the following:
1. Specify the information you want to change for all the tasks you selected in any of the following areas:
  - Overview
  - Assignments
  - Custom Forms
  - Finance
  - Settings
  - Settings
  - Comment
  NOTE
  The information you are changing on all the tasks selected will override the existing information on individual tasks, except for the Assignments field. Adding a new assignee in bulk edit will add that assignee to all the selected tasks. If other assignees are assigned to the selected tasks, they will remain assigned in addition to the one added through bulk edit.
  
  If you want to edit task Duration, the tasks selected must have the same Task Constraint. Otherwise, the Duration field does not populate.
  
  Only active custom forms display in the list. If the tasks selected do not have any common custom forms, no forms are listed in this section.
  
  You can edit only the fields on the forms that are attached to all tasks selected and which you have permissions to edit. For information about bulk editing custom forms, see Manage custom forms attached to objects.
2. Click Save.
3. (Optional) Click Switch back to old experience at the bottom of the Edit Tasks box.
(Conditional) In the old experience, do the following:
1. Specify the information you want to change for all the tasks you selected in any of the following areas:
  - Overview
  - Settings
  - Assignments
  - Custom Forms
  - Comment
2. (Optional) In the Custom Forms section, select the Recalculate Custom Expressions option to ensure that all Calculated Custom Fields that are on the custom forms attached to the tasks selected are up to date.
3. Click Save Changes. All changes you made are now visible on all the selected tasks.