How can I create a template in the Planner app in Microsoft Teams?

Question

I would like to use the Planner app in Teams to help me manage multiple short-term projects. These projects have the same tasks but different due dates. Is it possible to create a plan template? Or is there a way to copy and reuse an existing plan?

Answer 1

Hi @Catherine,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thank you for contacting us.

I would like to provide you with the following information:

If you would like to copy an existing plan in Microsoft Planner, you can follow the steps below.

Note: You must have permission to create a Microsoft 365 Group in Planner. Only then will you be able to create a copy of a plan.

Step 1: Access an existing plan in Microsoft Planner.

Step 2: If this plan is not yet associated with a group, you need to create a group for the plan by following these steps (if the plan already has a group, you can skip this step and proceed to Step 3):

• Select Share → Create a group

Step 3:

• Click on the plan name → select Copy plan

After that, a copy of the current plan will be created automatically.

You may refer to the following information:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/copy-a-plan-50401e13-a25f-40df-93c6-b608cc28c3d4

At this time, Microsoft Planner does not yet support creating custom templates for reuse across other projects. However, according to official information from Microsoft’s development roadmap, the custom template feature for Planner has been confirmed and will be released in the future.

Currently, Microsoft is in the process of testing and refining this feature to ensure a stable user experience and to minimize potential issues before it is rolled out more broadly.

You can find more details on the official Microsoft Planner roadmap here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?msockid=18642c9475ee6e0800a43a3c741c6f97&filters=%5B%22Planner%22%5D#Roadmap

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.   

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

I look forward to continuing the conversation

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Answer 2

In the Planner app within Microsoft Teams, there isn't a direct feature to create a plan template. However, you can effectively manage multiple short-term projects with similar tasks by using the following methods:

1. Copying an Existing Plan: While the context does not explicitly mention a feature to copy plans directly within the Planner app in Teams, you can create a new plan and manually add the tasks from an existing plan. This can be done by reviewing your current tasks and recreating them in a new plan with updated due dates.
2. Using Buckets and Labels: You can organize your tasks using buckets and labels to differentiate between projects or phases within a single plan. This way, you can keep track of multiple projects without needing to create separate plans for each.
3. Task Assignment: When creating tasks, you can assign them to different team members and set specific due dates, which allows for flexibility in managing timelines across projects.

If you frequently need to recreate the same tasks, consider keeping a list of the tasks you need for each project so that you can quickly add them to new plans as needed.

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References:

• Manage the Planner app for your organization in Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Planner for admins