Customise your projects

Organise Work with Projects, Folders and Subtasks

Set up a project in three short steps, group projects into folders, and break bigger tasks into subtasks you can reorder and reuse.

By Mustafa Yusuf5 min read
On this page
  1. Set up a new project
  2. Change a project later
  3. Group projects into folders
  4. Break a task into steps
  5. Every related feature

A project gives related tasks one home, with its own stages and fields. This walkthrough sets up a Groceries project, keeps trips like California together in a Trips folder and splits a task like Grocery shopping into smaller steps.

Set up a new project

Creating a project takes three short screens.

  1. Details. Type a name, then pick a colour and an icon, such as Groceries with a shopping cart. Tap the checkmark to go on.
  2. Statuses. Choose the stages a task moves through. A Project Template chip fills them in for you: Simple List gives To Do and Done, and Grocery List gives To Buy and Bought. Existing Project copies the setup of a project you already have. Tap + between the cards to add a stage, then tap Next.
  3. Fields. Check what is Included, drag Your fields into order, and tap + next to anything under Add fields you want on every task, such as a Location. A template brings its own fields: Grocery List adds Tags with Produce and Chilled, Date, Attachments, Priority, Subtasks and Time Tracking.

Tap the checkmark to create the project. It opens, along with the screen for inviting people. Close that screen if you are planning alone.

On the Home screen, tap + at the bottom and choose Project.

Three iPhone screens: New Project with the name Groceries, a purple colour and the shopping cart icon selected; the Statuses step for Groceries with To Do and Done cards and the Simple List template chip selected; and the same step with the Grocery List chip selected, showing To Buy and Bought.Open full size in a new tab
Name the project, then try the template chips. Each one swaps in its own stages.
Two iPhone screens: Modify fields for Groceries with Title and Status (To Buy and Bought) included, and Your fields listing Tags (Produce and Chilled), Date, Attachments, Priority (High, Medium, and Low), Subtasks and Time Tracking; and the list scrolled to Add fields, offering Text, Date, Location, Tags, Task Type and Collaborators.Open full size in a new tab
The Grocery List template brings its fields along. Add more from the list below them.

Press ⌥⌘N, or click + at the bottom of the sidebar and choose Project.

Tasks on Mac showing the Work board, with the add menu open at the bottom of the sidebar on Task, Project and More, and the More submenu offering Folder, Smart List and Filter.Open full size in a new tab
The add button at the bottom of the sidebar creates projects, folders and smart lists.

The first two projects are free. More projects need Tasks Plus.

Change a project later

Open the project menu and choose Edit. Pick Details for the name, icon and colour, Fields for what appears on tasks, or Statuses for the stages and board columns. The same menu has Clone Project, Move to put it in a folder, Invite people, Export and Delete.

Long press the project on the Home screen, or tap the project name at the top of its board.

Three iPhone screens: the Work project menu with Edit, Clone Project, Move, Invite people, Export and Delete; the Edit submenu with Details (Name, icon, and color), Fields (Fields on tasks) and Statuses (Task statuses and columns); and the Clone Tasks? question with Yes, No and Cancel over the Work board.Open full size in a new tab
Edit changes the project itself. Clone Project asks whether to copy its tasks too.

Right click the project in the sidebar, or click the project name at the top of its board. The Mac menu adds Open in New Window, so you can keep two projects open side by side.

Tasks on Mac in light mode with Work right clicked in the sidebar, showing Open in New Window, Edit, Clone Project, Move, Invite people, Export and Delete, and the Edit submenu open on Details, Fields and Statuses.Open full size in a new tab
Right click a project in the sidebar for the same menu, plus Open in New Window.

Each status card says what its tasks are. Tap the word after Tasks here are and choose Pending for work still to do, Completed for finished work, or Canceled for work you dropped. The Work project uses Planned and Active for pending work, then Completed and Canceled. Use … on a card to edit or remove it.

A column’s … menu on the board acts on every task in it. Move to sends them all to another status, Export makes a PDF of them, and Delete removes them after you confirm.

Three iPhone screens: Statuses for Work with Planned and Active marked pending, Completed marked completed and Canceled marked canceled; the menu on Planned offering Pending, Completed and Canceled with Pending ticked; and the same menu on the Canceled card with Canceled ticked.Open full size in a new tab
Every stage is pending, completed or canceled. That decides whether its tasks count as done.
Two iPhone screens: the Planned column menu on the Work board with Move to (5 Tasks), Export and Delete 5 Tasks; and Move to opened, listing Planned (ticked), Active, Completed and Canceled.Open full size in a new tab
The column menu acts on all five Planned tasks at once.

Deleting a field tells you how many tasks will lose what they saved in it before anything is removed.

Group projects into folders

When the list grows, group projects into folders, such as a Trips folder for California. Use + at the bottom of the Home screen or sidebar, choose More, then Folder. Name it and tap Save. Set Add to to put the new folder inside another one.

To move a project in, drag it onto a folder, or choose Move from its menu. You can drop a folder inside another folder too, and drag anything to reorder it.

Two iPhone screens: Create Folder over the Home screen with an empty New Folder name, Add to set to None and Save dimmed; and the same sheet with the name Work typed and Save enabled.Open full size in a new tab
Type a name and save. Add to nests the folder inside another one.

Break a task into steps

Open a task and tap + next to Subtasks to add steps. From the board, long press a task and choose Add Subtasks. In the Home project, Grocery shopping carries its list as subtasks: Milk, Bananas, Peanut butter, Toilet paper and Popcorn. Each one can be ticked off on its own, and the count shows how many are done.

  • Fold the list by tapping the Subtasks row.
  • Reorder them by dragging.
  • Long press a subtask to change its date, priority, status, tags or assignee, Clone Task it or Copy link.
  • Turn one into its own task with Convert to task.
  • Nest a task by dropping it onto the middle of another task.
Two iPhone screens: Grocery shopping open in the Home project with status Do, the errands tag, an Arrive location alert at Target on Mission St in San Francisco, and Subtasks 0/5 expanded to Milk, Bananas, Peanut butter and Toilet paper; and the same task with the Subtasks row folded.Open full size in a new tab
Subtasks sit inside the task with a running count. Tap the row to fold them away.
Two iPhone screens: a new subtask of Review posters being typed, Additionally review the print colors for posters, with Planned, Date, design and Priority chips; and the Mobile subtask of Finalize product roadmap long pressed, with Date, Priority, Delete, the Planned, Active, Completed and Canceled statuses, Tags, Assigned to, Time Tracking and Convert to task.Open full size in a new tab
A new subtask shows its parent task above it. Long press a subtask to change it or convert it to a task.

To reuse work, long press a task and choose Clone Task. When it has subtasks, Clone offers Task or Task & subtasks. If there are comments, choose whether to keep them. Dragging a task onto another project copies it there, subtasks and comments included. Clone Project reuses a whole project, which is handy for the next trip. It needs Tasks Plus.

Next, choose the details your tasks need in Custom fields and task details.

Explore all 22 related features

Browse the related features below for more detail, or search every feature.

Projects

Keep related tasks and their workflow together.

Folders

Group projects into a cleaner sidebar.

Nested folders

Create a folder inside another folder.

Subtasks

Break a task into smaller steps while keeping its hierarchy.

Collapsible subtasks

Hide or reveal a task's subtask tree.

Project templates

Start a new project from a reusable structure.

Clone tasks

Duplicate a task and preserve its useful details.

Clone subtask trees

Duplicate a task with its nested subtask hierarchy.

Clone projects

Reuse a complete project as a new starting point.

Move tasks

Move work between projects without recreating it.

Move projects

Place a project into a different folder.

Custom ordering

Drag tasks, statuses and project elements into a useful order.

Project icons

Give projects recognisable symbols.

Project colours

Use colour to identify projects and workflow elements.

Project PDF export

Export a project as a PDF when a portable view is needed.

Multiple windows

Open a project in its own window on Mac.

Guided project setup

Name the project, choose its statuses, then pick its fields.

Edit menu for projects

Change a project's details, fields or statuses from one Edit menu.

Use an existing project

Copy the statuses and fields of a project you already have.

Clone with comments

Choose whether a cloned task keeps its comments.

Reorder subtasks

Drag subtasks into order, or use Move Previous and Move Next.