Configure system updates

Last update: February 7, 2025

CREATED FOR:

  • Admin

Adobe Workfront generates automatic system updates in an object’s Updates area to record the following events:

  • Changes users make in an object field
  • Actions users perform on an object

These system updates include the following type of information:

  • The change that was made
  • The name of the user who made the change
  • The time and date of the change

For more information about system updates, see System-tracked updates.

As a Workfront administrator, you can configure which object fields and actions Workfront tracks to record system updates.

For example, you could have Workfront track all changes users make to the names of issues throughout the system. Any issue name change then appears as a system update on the issue’s Updates area.

Access requirements

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

You must have the following access to perform the steps in this article:

Adobe Workfront planAny
Adobe Workfront license

New: Standard

Or

Current: Plan

Access level configurationsSystem Administrator

For more detail about the information in this table, see Access requirements in Workfront documentation.

Determine which fields Workfront tracks for an object type

You can determine what information Workfront tracks when users change information associated with a certain object type throughout the entire Workfront interface. You do this by adding or removing the fields you want Workfront to track for that object type.

NOTE
  • Workfront cannot track and record updates about calculated custom fields.
  • You can customize the system update for projects, tasks, issues, portfolios, programs, and users. You cannot customize the system update for templates, documents or timesheets, but Workfront does record system updates for these objects.

Add fields you want Workfront to track

You can add fields you want Workfront to track for a particular type of object throughout the Workfront interface. When users change information in that field, Workfront records information about the change as a system update in the Updates area for the object.

NOTE
You can track up to 300 built-in and custom fields in the update feeds. If you are tracking the maximum number of fields and want to track additional fields that are not displayed in the All Fields Sub-tab, you must first remove some of the tracked fields in order to track new fields. For more information about removing fields from the update fields, see see Remove fields that you don’t want tracked.

  1. Click the Main Menu icon Main menu icon in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, then click Setup Gear settings icon .

  2. In the panel on the left, click Interface > Update Feeds.

  3. ​Click Add Fields, then click the object that you want to be tracked.

  4. In the​ Update Feeds box that appears, start typing either a built-in (standard) field or a custom field for the object, then click to select it when it appears in the list.

    If Workfront is already tracking the field, you cannot add it a second time from the list.

  5. After adding all the fields you want Workfront to track, click Add Fields.

    The built-in fields that you added show under the Built-in Fields sub-tab.

    The custom fields you added show under the Custom Fields sub-tab.

    The All Fields sub-tab shows both the built-in and the custom fields that are being tracked.

Remove fields that you don’t want tracked

You can remove fields you do not want the system to track for a particular type of object throughout the Workfront interface.

  1. Click the Main Menu icon Main menu icon in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, then click Setup Gear settings icon .

  2. Click Interface > Update Feeds.

  3. On the Tracked Fields tab, select the All Fields sub-tab.

    This shows both the built-in and the custom fields that are currently being tracked.

  4. Select the field you want to stop tracking, then click Remove.

  5. In the Remove Field box that appears, click Yes, Remove It to confirm.

Any updates about the previously-tracked fields are preserved in the Updates area where they were recorded.

Determine which actions Workfront tracks for an object type

You can have Workfront track the following actions that users can perform on objects throughout the Workfront interface.

For example, you can have Workfront record an update every time a user changes an assignment to a task or issue. The change then appears as a system update in the Updates area for the task or issue.

ActionObjectsDefault Status
Assignment is changedTasks, IssuesEnabled
Baseline is deletedProjectsDisabled
Billing record is created or deletedProjectsEnabled
Document is created or deletedProjects, Tasks, Issues, Portfolios, ProgramsEnabled
Expense is created or deletedProjects, TasksEnabled
Hour is logged or deletedProjects, Tasks, IssuesEnabled
Issue is deletedProjectsEnabled
Task is deletedProjectsEnabled
Someone's Access is changedProjects, Tasks, Issues, Documents, Portfolios, ProgramsEnabled
Subscribe comment objectProjects, Tasks, IssuesEnabled

To configure which actions you want Workfront to track:

  1. Click the Main Menu icon Main menu icon in the upper-right corner of Adobe Workfront, then click Setup Gear settings icon .

  2. Click Interface > Update Feeds.

  3. Click the Actions tab.

  4. Select an action to enable it, or deselect an action to disable it.

  5. Click Save.

When you disable an action, any previously-recorded update about that action is preserved in the Updates area where it was recorded.

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