In adding more functionality to the Task system within Open Leads, it was necessary to make some changes to the way that Users were assigned to tasks. This is most apparent when a Workflow is used to assign Tasks, but not a user. The result is that any tasks attached to leads that are created by that Workflow will be assigned to “No User” (since no user was selected by the Workflow). In these cases, when users are assigned after the Lead is in the Lead List, users must open their Lead Detail to see tasks. It is a good idea to have them go ahead and edit the Tasks for new Leads assigned in this manner, and assign the Tasks to themselves. Tasks will then appear on the users Task Tab.

You will also notice a new selection menu on Tasks that are set up to trigger another Workflow upon completion, or Tasks that trigger Workflow Branching. This selection menu gives you the option of choosing the user to be assigned to the next round of tasks – either a specific user or the “User Assigned by Workflow.” This is a much stronger model than the previous options, which made it possible to assign a single Task to multiple Users assigned to the same Lead. This lead to some confusion and a lot of times the task not getting completed properly.

An additional function of these changes – all tasks now have a single user. Only one person should be responsible for any one task, and this ensures enforcement of this rule. This greatly increases the practical application of user Task Lists in the Task Tab section. Now it functions much stronger as a To-Do list.

In the Task editor where tasks are created and assigned by a Workflow, the user selection dropdown has changed a bit. “Default User” has been changed to “User assigned by Workflow” – we think this change will make it clearer to users what is happening with the user assignment.

We made a slight adjustment to the Tasks Tab yesterday. It now defaults to “active” Tasks in all instances. Users must check box to display completed Tasks on the list.

The latest addition to Open Lead is the Tasks Tab. We wanted to create one central location where all of a users tasks are quickly and easily viewed.

The Task Tab consists of two elements, the Calendar and the Tasks List. As you open the Tasks Tab, your default view is all Tasks scheduled for today. On the calendar, today’s date is outlined in red for easy visual identification. Dates with tasks scheduled are displayed in bold.

You may move forward and backward in the calendar and click on any day to view the Tasks, both active and completed for that day. You may also select a date range within the calendar by clicking on the beginning date, and then Shift+Click on the end date. Your Task List is then updated for the selected date range.

Your Task List consists of columns showing the User Assignment, Task Name, Lead that the Task is associated with, and both the Scheduled Date and the Completed Date. You may use the search box to find specific tasks by name, lead name, etc. that are displayed in those columns.

To complete any of the Tasks, simply click on the Task Name or the Lead Name, to be taken to the Lead Detail screen, where you may complete the task, edit it or add additional tasks for that lead.

Toggle between your scheduled tasks and all of your tasks by clicking on the “All Tasks” link in the top. This is useful to see all of your tasks “at-a-glance.”

Two new features on the Task Tab are the “Suscribe to iCalendar Feed” and “View in 30 Boxes” options.

Your Open Leads Task list is now available as an iCal feed. Clicking on this link will open your default iCalendar-compatible application, such as Microsoft Outlook and Apple iCal, and you can then subscribe to your Open Leads Tasks, and display them on your default calendar. The iCalendar feed only shows Active (uncompleted) tasks and only goes back 30 days. You should use your Tasks Tab inside Open Leads if you need to explore a longer range.

For those who prefer a web-based solution, clicking on the “View in 30 Boxes” will cause your iCalendar feed to be displayed in a 30Boxes.com read-only calendar – offering a quick view in a full-calendar mode.

** NOTE: Both the iCal and 30 Boxes features are for individually assigned tasks. Account Administrators, by default, have “All Users” as their initial screen, so that they may see all of the leads for their entire account. Admins should switch to the view for their User Account (switch users in the dropdown to the right of the calandar) to subscribe to their iCal feed, or to view their Tasks in 30 Boxes. The links for these features appear in the blue header bar on the Tasks List.

Stay tuned, as will be adding additional features and functions to the Task Tab in the near future.

The Open Leads “Email-in” feature now supports XML emails from NewHomeGuide.com and NewHomeSource.com, in addition to leads from RetireNet.com and CommunitiesNet.com – giving builders, developers and realtors the ability to have their leads from these website written directly into their Open Leads accounts.

Using filters created especially for these sources, Open Leads automatically parses the data and enters it into the appropriate fields in your account. Plus, using our Workflow feature, you can automatically assign users, send an autoresponder email, and schedule followup for these new leads as soon as they hit your account.