A word about subtasks

Let me start by saying that the next version of Outlook 12 will not have sub-tasks. However, there are some new ways around this. First, categories will be much more prominent, and people can use categories as the headers of their projects, for example "Garage Clean Up," "Errands," etc., and then sort the To-Do Bar by Category. Another tactic is to use a task as the main "project" task and then list out each of the subtasks within the master task. In Outlook 12, you will be able to use bullets and standard word formatting in tasks which will give you the ability to neatly list out your tasks and cross them off when you are done.

You can also use a combination of techniques: you could have a category called "Projects" where you list your "master tasks" that contain subtasks within them and then a list of "Next Actions" categories under which you can list your next actions (ala Getting Things Done, Take Back Your Life!, etc.) You could then pull out each next action from the master project task. As you move toward completing the overall project, the number of underlying tasks will decrease. Also, because multiple categories can be applied to the same item, you could apply both the project category and the appropriate next action category to the item. For example, if I have a task where I need to clean out my garage, which involves the following set of sub tasks:

• Find rental truck company
• Take recyclables to recycling
• Take old boxes for donation to Goodwill
• Sweep floor
• ...

I could create a task called "Garage Clean Up" with the list above as a bulleted list inside the task. I would then mark the task "Garage Clean Up" with the category "Projects" so that it appears in my "Projects" grouping in my To-Do Bar (which in this case, would be grouped by category.) I would then copy "Find Truck Rental" into its own task and mark it with the new category "Garage Clean Up" and the next action category type "@Online" since I will most likely find a rental truck company online. After I find a truck rental and set up the appointment, I will mark "Find Truck Rental" complete and then pull out the next task (or two in this case) from "Garage Clean Up" task, and likewise mark it with the appropriate project category ("Garage Clean Up") and next action category ("@Truck").

This is just one approach of many. For more sophisticated task management, I highly recommend Microsoft Project as the way to go - that is what it is for!!! And now Project tasks will integrate into Outlook, so you will now get the best of both worlds! For more on Project, check out the links to the right, including Dieter Zirkler's blog: https://blogs.msdn.com/dieterz/.

Comments

• Anonymous
  January 13, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  January 14, 2006
  This is what I figured in one of my comments on a previous post. You folks spend so much time/effort/money on "features" yet there's been no real improvement in Outlook's primary underlying objects (e.g. tasks) since it was first released.
  
  Ironically, ths post, instead of showing how Outlook can be efficiently used to do personal project/task management, shows just how much one has to kludge the system to accomplish what most people woul assume to be cor functionality.
  
  There's lots of nice looking improvments coming in Outlook 12. Too bad some of the effort wasn't focused on getting the core right (or at least better).
  
  Maybe 13's the lucky number.

• Anonymous
  January 14, 2006
  A piece of software is really weak when you announce work-arounds before even releasing the product!!!
  

• Anonymous
  January 14, 2006
  Melissa:
  
  This is a bit off topic, as it is regarding a previous post, but I was wondering if the new flagging behavior you mentioned for emails (focused on when to answer it - today, in 2 days, in 1 week, etc.) would be available for messages in IMAP email accounts, or whether it'd be available only for exchange accounts?
  
  

• Anonymous
  January 14, 2006
  Lack of sub-tasks is very disappointing! Using Ms Project for basic time/task management is way overkill IMHO. Adding text in tasks is even worse. What about scheduling, tracking, etc. If I do that, for consistency I may do all my planning in a text editor, and not bother with Outlook tasks at all.
  Using categories may be a good workaround for now, but if you are designing a new version (still a year away), especially with efficiency in mind, why not build it well from the beginning? Doesn't it sound like to much to ask? I do not want to beat a dead horse, but such a glaring omission seriously undermines using Outlook for task management in the first place. So maybe instead of polishing other, much less important features, it would be a good idea to reconsider and add it after all? I am even talking now about nice options like in ListPro, just give us a basic linking of tasks!!!

• Anonymous
  January 15, 2006
  Everyone disappointed in Outlook 12 task management take heart. It looks like the Mozilla Thunderbird developers are getting it: "Some very clear user requirements have emerged for task management:
  * Hierarchical task relationships, including dependencies "
  http://wiki.mozilla.org/Calendar:Lightning:Task_management
  
  It looks like open source folks may yet again fill a gap and gain some market share as a result. There is nothing like a healthy competition.

• Anonymous
  January 16, 2006
  Okay. This answers the long-standing question I've had. Without complete task management, Outlook is useless to me. Who would ever use Project for their personal tasks? I work in a Fortune 500 company and they still barely use Project for the big corporate projects. There are just no words to say how incredibly disappointed I am that after ten years Outlook tasks have only barely evolved. So disappointing.

• Anonymous
  January 17, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  January 18, 2006
  I am very impressed with the advancements that have been made in outlook in general and task management in particular seems to have taken some fantastic strides.
  
  But I’m afraid I have to join the chorus here, the lack of subtasks looks like a really terrible omission.
  
  Everything else looks superb, the entire application seems like it is going to have so much greater depth...it looks like all the other elements are in place.
  
  But there is just no way of avoiding the fact that subtasks are absolutely fundamental to the whole time management process.
  
  Very, very frustrating to have the application so close to being a complete solution, only to see it fall at the very last hurdle. :-(
  

• Anonymous
  January 18, 2006
  I've been trying to work around the whole sub-task thing and the lack of a Project object in Outlook 12 -- I'm not having any real luck.
  
  I tried using a Contacts folder, treating each contact as a project instead. But then there's no way to bubble up status information from the associated tasks to the project object.
  
  I worked for a while on just using categories and folders -- oy... Way more overhead than I think it's going to be worth.
  
  I do like how you can put the task folders into groups, though. It's nice that you can use the groups for other parts of Outlook too. But when I tried setting up email/tasks/journal/etc with all the same groups and folder names and it's not possible. Groups aren't available for eemail folders (why doesn't email use the same navigation structure?). And on the Tasks page, the Tasks folder can't actually be renamed?
  
  So I gave it more of a shot, and I'm still disappointed. Either it's going to need more/better functionality in Outlook, or we're going to need more help to be able to arrange the real world work into the current more-limited structure.

• Anonymous
  January 22, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  January 23, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  January 31, 2006
  I was just googling on finding workarounds for the lack of subtasks feature in outlook 2003. I read this interesting site from the bottom of this page to reach this article. No subtasks? Not sure if Microsoft got its research right. True, tasks are already complicated. Not having subtasks does not make the software less complicated. It only makes it less useful

• Anonymous
  February 03, 2006
  I think a lot of progress has been made with Tasks, so applause to the whole Outlook team.
  
  But...let's not miss the boat (once again)!
  With the research references cited (Covey, GTD, etc) clearly MS has not really talked to users and is ignoring the research.
  
  We use MS Project and love it -- for PROJECTS.
  But my daily life is not a project, it is a string of a few inter-related tasks with some sense of inter-dependency or priority. I need some way to manage that in Outlook. MS Project is wholly inappropriate for this - like trying to hang a picture nail with a sledgehammer. I'd recommend dropping this suggestion for fear of damaging your credibility.
  The fact that it is 2006 and I still can't track a major task with a few dependent tasks makes me laugh. I'm still forced to do the thinking when Outlook should be doing it for me.
  
  Have we really just spent 3 years waiting for the next version of Outlook to get all these other improvements but miss out on the basics?
  
  Outlook is about being informed and productive, working with teams, sharing information, prioritizing. Everything in my life centers around the mountainous list of tasks that have to get done. But here it falls short of the mark - way short.
  
  MS should go back to the drawing board and get tasks right. I have to agree with all the other posts here that we've made nominal progress for what should be quite simple.
  
  I'm incredibly disappointed on this one front.

• Anonymous
  February 04, 2006
  I hope you guys reconsider adding sub-tasks. I would love to have a basic interface for subtasks, in the daily task bar.
  
  One possible way of implementing this is to allow people to hit the TAB key to "ident" a task into a sub-task.

• Anonymous
  February 05, 2006
  I totally agree with the other people here: subtask functionally is a prerequisite for implementing e.g. a trusted system based on GTD principles. I'm quite disappointed as well... :-(

• Anonymous
  February 07, 2006
  
  Microsoft will never own up to it, but it is pretty clear that the main reason task dependencies / subtasks are not included in Outlook is because it would canibalize sales of Project.  Or at least, that is what the marketing folks at Microsoft are afraid of.  They are pretty confident that garage upstarts will not have any material effect on Outlook market share, so leaving out the feature won't hurt them.  Adding it in may cause them to lose money overall, so financially it is in their overall best interest to leave it out.  If Microsoft's goals were to make life better for people using their software, they of course would have added that piece of functionality long ago.  Unfortunately, their true goal is to make money, and leaving that feature out makes them more money than including it.
  
  SChung

• Anonymous
  February 12, 2006
  I use great tool MyLife Organized to add subtasks to my Outlook tasks:
  http://www.mylifeorganized.net
  
  Al

• Anonymous
  February 16, 2006
  Achieve Planner is quite nice. I do have Project 2000/2002 but as I'm not made of money I won'te be updating them...so long as they work.
  
  I'd really like to keep using Outlook...but all I'm using it for now is email. Everything else is in a paper planner since there is no software that has the functionality I need.
  
  No sub-tasks in Outlook? Goodbye, then.

• Anonymous
  February 20, 2006
  I was extremely disappointed to learn of the lack of sub-tasks in Outlook 12 and it is the main reason I don't use it now for overall task management. Project is no substitute for what should be in Outlook task mgmt.
  
  And on another note - would it be so difficult to have a prioritizing/display algorithm that when sorted by due date, puts tasks without due dates at the TOP, followed by due soonest, ending in due latest? Can I be the only person in the world that has items who's due date is not specific, but rather ASAP? I want to see these followed by 'what's coming next', and YOU CAN'T DO THIS IN OUTLOOK! (sorry).
  
  Also, using an algorithm, it would be nice (read: invaluable) to be able to sort a task list and still be able to drag/drop to re-order the tasks and have that new order kept as the sort order for that view. Without re-digging this all up, the way it works now is as soon as you change a view or pick one that has a sort or a group-by, you CANNOT drag/drop to set the order. Hello - Microsoft employs smart programmers, and being one, there are several ways to do this behind the scenes. I want to filter tasks based on a particular category, etc. and still drag them around to customize the order and have it retained.
  
  I realize it's probably way too late for this, but I sent this feedback many many months ago, and it would appear these features are very much a minority, which I find hard to believe for those that have tried to use tasks regularly - as the comments in this post indicate.
  
  Anyway, here's hoping someone is actually listening...
  

• Anonymous
  February 20, 2006
  Fortune favours the bold. Go straight to the point by stating "...that the next version of Outlook will not have sub-tasks" and don't present even the slightest plea why not. Next, bluff your way by stating "... there are some new ways around this" and coolly present unworkable workarounds that have been around since Outlook's inception. To top it all "recommend MS Project as the way to go" for personal task management. Stunning.
  
  How right are S Chung's striking comments above: subtasks are not included in Outlook because the marketing folks at Microsoft are afraid it will canibalize sales of MS Project. Who needs more convincing evidence after reading the incoherent babble in "A word about subtasks"?
  
  From a recent newsletter: "While many users [...] want the ability to create subtasks, Microsoft's studies show tasks are underused and too complicated. They feel the addition of subtasks would reduce the usability even more." Sounds like another self-fulfilling Redmond prophecy, doesn't it? Present Outlook as a full-fledged PIM, but equip it forever with less than bare personal tasks functionality. Then prove yourself right by a "study" that shows tasks are underused (sic!).
  
  MS has a proven track record of only fulfilling their users wishes when they perceive a threat to one of their licenses to print money. For example, for years MS has ignored point-blank to improve Outlook's ramshackle "Find" functionality, until... Google came around. Then they acquired Lookout and immediately started giving this excellent product away for free.
  
  Unfortunately, for "personal task outliner and to-do list manager" functionality such a threat is currently not visible as yet, so MS can fool around with impunity.

• Anonymous
  March 07, 2006
  Buy a Macintosh.  At least Apple listens to their customers.

• Anonymous
  March 10, 2006
  In response to Bryan Block's comments about task sort order and the ability to drag/drop - we are doing this.

• Anonymous
  March 11, 2006
  So from a GTD stand point I just want to say that grouping tasks according to the larger outcome is just a waste of time. Instead having a grouping in the context in which the task can be accomplished. This was a critical difference for me and totally created a whole productivity gain. I Stopped trying to keep my tasks associated with larger outcomes.
  
  For me it would be a mistake to even grace my task list with larger outcomes. I use OneNote for that and I can label them and see and manage the list inside OneNote12 with next actions being handled in outlook.
  
  As David Allen says, "Nobody does a project, you do actions that lead up to a completed project" He also said in his Roadmap seminar that there is no need to associate the project at all with the task because you'll know. Just when you review make sure each project has at least one next action on the list in the appropriate context such as "call" "work" "home" or "errands" to me this is the most powerful thing I've changed in the last year to really boost my productivity.
  
  When the organization becomes more complex it will break down. (not a direct quote but I have to attribute it to David Allen)

• Anonymous
  March 17, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  March 21, 2006
  I've got the same problem when I tried to make Outlook my major task tracking tool - having no subtasks gives no flexibility. After some research and trial I've ended up with MyLifeOrganized where I can track everything now, plus can sync it with Outlook when needed.

• Anonymous
  March 24, 2006
  It would seem to me that Mozilla may have an opportunity to dethrone a giant in the name of Microsoft Outlook.  Indeed, if MS keeps this attitude up with any of their other products, we may see the complete downfall of the Microsoft Empire.  Anyone buying this?  Wake up Bill!  Still no subtasks?
  
  I have to go with Hans Spoor on self-fulfilling Redmond prophecies.  Outlook tasks have always been below par; no wonder hardly anyone uses them.  Perhaps if you improved them with, hmm, let's see,...subtasks? ... maybe then people would use them.  
  
  IMHO the real issue here is put forth quite well by S Chung.  Why would MS want to cannibalize MS Project sales by broadening the scope and application of Outlook to include "PIM".  Afterall, Outlook is an Enterprise-centric application; why configure it for better use in the consumer market.  The consumer market just isn't worth the hassle, is it?

• Anonymous
  April 12, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  April 13, 2006
  again echoing all that's been said in terms of dissapointment that outlook 12 task objects are unchanged. the difference for me is that i don't need sub/parent tasks per se. that really implies a mini-project kind of functionality, which would be very nice to have built into outlook but has been solved rather effectively by after market products such as www.pockethinker.com and Franklin Covey's plan plus.
  
  what i crave dearly is an ad-hoc means of organizing and breaking down related "next actions". say for example, you begin to tackle Task X and realize you actually can't start because of some "blocking" Task W that you hadn't thought of before. I'd like click a button that creates a blocker task that inherits Task X's properties (e.g. priorities, categories, etc.) and then have a view that shows me ONLY the next actions.
  
  likewise, i'd like the ability to designate a task chain at whim. again say you're thinking about Task X and you realize that as soon as that's done Task Y should follow and so forth until  a final Task Z which completes the chain.
  
  A Journal/Gantt style view would then allow you  to reorder the chain as necessary.
  
  frankly, i'd rather not wait for a next release of outlook for this feature. i've been looking all over for an add-on or stand alone task manager that fits this description and integrates well with outlook. no luck so far.

• Anonymous
  April 13, 2006
  Kenneth -
  
  To get Project tasks into Outlook, you need Project Server to keep the tasks in sync.
  
  Maybe you can get your company to get a Project Server... ;-)
  
  -Melissa

• Anonymous
  May 16, 2006
  PingBack from http://www.fixyourtodolist.com/blog/?p=58

• Anonymous
  May 20, 2006
  sorry state of affairs Bill Gates!!!!

• Anonymous
  May 22, 2006
  I have just installed Outlook 2007 beta 2, because I'm keen to see what new things have been added, to...

• Anonymous
  May 22, 2006
  I think it's wrong to say that Categories are a "work around" for sub-tasks.  Categories enable you to see all Tasks that relate ie belong to the same project, client, piece of work etc.  Hardly anyone uses Categories in Tasks - because they haven't worked out that that's where the power is.
  
  Categories also already exist on PDAs (sub Tasks don't).  So if you've never Categorised your Tasks, made a Timeline view by Category to see what Tasks you have for each project, then do so before convincing yourselves that the function's missing.  It's just very well hidden and not called sub-Tasks.
  
  

• Anonymous
  June 03, 2006
  This is depressing news.  I was just starting to put all my to do items into Outlook 12 beta to try to better organize my life.  this was the first time I had ever tried to use Outlook as an organizer.  First I quickly put in a long list of tasks such as "chop down dead tree" and "replace HVAC air filters"  both of them have the subtask of "get ____ from homedepot".  I was hoping that the next time I went to home depot, I could sort the list by homedepot and pick up a chainsaw and some air filters, and mark that part of the task complete. Otherwise, I tend to forget other projects that I am working on when I make a home depot trip.
  
  But, now I realize that there aren't any good methods of doing subtasks, and I have to find a real organizer.  
  
  I am going to uninstall outlook 12 beta, and try Mozilla  Thunderbird.  I can't see why I would recommend anyone to upgrade if they already use outlook xp.

• Anonymous
  June 03, 2006
  What about releasing an addon to add this functionality. I would pay something extra if it means I can use Outlook for my daily task management needs.

• Anonymous
  June 10, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  June 23, 2006
  Please add Subtasks!
  
  I would agree that Tasks as currently implemented are confusing and hard to use. The average user calls up a Task form, is immediately stymied as to what all that *rap is, and never goes back.
  
  That experience does NOT mean that Subtasks are a waste. It means the default Task form is too confusing. Simplify the basic task form, add in hierarchical tasks (i.e., Subtasks) -- and voila - folks will intuitively see the usefulness and begin to use this part of Outlook!
  --
  dgg

• Anonymous
  June 27, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  July 02, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  July 03, 2006
  First, with reference to Microsoft Project servers, I was responding to a question about how to sync Microsoft Project tasks into Outlook - for that you need a Microsoft Project Server. I included a wink because I know that it can be hard to convince a company to go out and purchase a an expensive piece of software like Microsoft Project server.
  
  I did not mean to imply that in order to do subtasks you should go out and get a Project Server - I don't think that you should do that just for the subtasking abilities of Project! Project is a much bigger, more sophisticated program than Outlook, and it has its purpose. I do believe that if you have a complicated project, then Microsoft Project maybe the right tool.
  
  I do believe that there are a few ways to do subtasks in Outlook as it is now: categories (have one for each major task/project), using the body of the task (list out the tasks in the body, use strikethrough within the task to mark the subtasks off), and OneNote. With the latest version of OneNote, you can list your tasks (and notes about your tasks) in OneNote and with one click turn each task into an Outlook task with a start/due date - all with a link back to OneNote in Outlook. Therefore, you can have a page of tasks in some form of hierarchy in OneNote and have a single master task in Outlook with a link back to the page (see Olya's post in this blog for more on that.) For some, these may be imperfect solutions, but know that we will continue to strive to improve in the area of task management. (I realize that what people may want is the ability to create hierarchical tasks in Outlook - and that these solutions are imperfect, but again, know that we are thinking about it - and your suggestions help.)
  
  Thank you for all of your comments.
  
  -Melissa

• Anonymous
  July 03, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  July 04, 2006
  Perhaps the OneNote solution works just fine, but it still seems like an incredible overcomplication.  I really like how well Outlook syncs between my PDA and my computer, and I'd really rather just keep a single list of tasks in a single program than link all around and have to download different programs (assuming OneNote is available for my PDA... I haven't looked).
  
  I'm sorry, it just doesn't make sense to me, and it probably never will, why Microsoft seems to be insistent that I use two programs when one would suffice perfectly with the tiniest little addition.  The ONLY reason it could possibly be is that you want me to spend the money on purchasing additional programs.  But when there will always be freeware that offers up just as much inconvenience, why would I?

• Anonymous
  July 19, 2006
  At about 8:00AM this morning, I decided to take a serious look at using Outlook to help me "get organized" with tasks relative to a business I am starting.  
  
  By 8:20AM, after checking out the fields I could add, etc. to the task manager tracking screen, it occurred to me that I needed SOME way to add/create/manage subtasks, which Outlook 2003 didn't seem to offer.  
  
  By 8:30AM I used Google to search the topic "create subtasks in Outlook".  After reading through this chain, I decided to NOT waste any time trying to "force fit" a solution using Outlook.  I agree with everyone else that subtasks are needed and I also agree that using Project for this would be serious OVERKILL!  
  
  It is now about 8:45AM and I'm going to check out "myLife Organized".
  
  Thanks to everyone for their comments.  You've saved me a great deal of time, energy, and frustration!
  
  Microsoft:  Let me join the chorus of those asking you to rethink subtasks in Outlook.  They are needed, without any doubt!
  
  Still time to get another cup of coffee before 9:00AM!!

• Anonymous
  July 19, 2006
  Dear Microsoft !
  
  Please accept that your costumers do not want any more workarounds! We want a solution and that means hierachical subtasks in Outlook.
  
  thx to all here for saving my time on trying workarounds ...

• Anonymous
  September 01, 2006
  It is a sad state of affairs when simple ideas are killed by myopic product design. As a research professor my research projects require many tasks and subtasks, I am glad I stumbled across this discussion. I will look into other options rather than spend fruitless efforts to "engineer" an Outlook solution OR spend a ton of money on MS project. Thanks for the sage advice. Frustrated researcher.

• Anonymous
  September 07, 2006
  Thanks for all the posts. At least I know I am not alone in my quest!
  
  As a software product manager I find it interesting that the researchers/strategists at MS cannot make the distinction between the need for planning a project up front (MS Project) and the need to deal with heuristic planning. That is, most folks I know need a way to translate action items that come in via email into tasks AND that since emails come from many places, there is a separate and distinct need to organize tasks AFTER THE FACT. We all have to deal in linear time...priorities change...life happens. Being able to reorganize and regroup tasks akin to the outlining functionality in MS Project makes sense for Tasks in Outlook.
  
  I contend that the prior comments about not wanting to cannibalize sales of MS Project  might be completely misplaced. Why? Well, think of Tasks in Outlook as MS Project lite. Bet it would take much less convincing of management to invest in MS Project Server for the big stuff, if they had some comfort level with "lite" usage in their daily life. Wait - did I just say that some management might be proactive in planning? Clearly I've lost my mind. <huge grin>
  
  If MS folks are lurking...reconsider.
  
  ...off to check out MyLifeOrganized....
  
  Rho

• Anonymous
  September 07, 2006
  Follow-up.
  
  My Life Organized didn't cut it. Tasks with email attachments and file attachments didn't "come along". <sigh>
  
  Rho

• Anonymous
  September 14, 2006
  Gee! No sub-tasks? Are you people from the stoneage?
  
  Seems all the people here in European Perliament, where I just began working don't have a convenient tool for personal data management.
  What a shame for the world.

• Anonymous
  September 18, 2006
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 04, 2006
  Hi again, Just thought that I would share a solution I've come up with until we get sub-tasks...And yes, I used to live in the land of Ecco... There's a product that is actually being marketed as a mind mapping tool - Visual Mind. It is a product out of Norway. The reason this is working for me is that I have little visibility to what the shape and form of my projects/tasks will be. So, they tend to be very fluid - heuristic-like. The folks at Visual Mind have done one very cool thing...they let me drag an email into their product and attachments come right along (no right mouse selections). Because it is a mapping tool, I am able to organize and re-organize tasks as needed. It isn't a task manager in the traditional sense and I imagine for most, it won't have the bells and whistles. But, for those of us who live on the edge and need to sort/resort and figure out the shape/form/magnitude of work effort...it seems to "feel" right. We'll see if I can go home any earlier because of it. Rho

• Anonymous
  October 13, 2006
  Microsoft obviously does not have a user group that does any kind of mini or multiple project management.  To take over three years to delivery OL 2007 and then not include vastly improved mini project and task management AND Scheduling is simply mind boggling.  The vast majority of the business users are locked into Exchange. Because of this Microsoft does not truly care about delivering real PIM and mini project functionality is BECAUSE THEY DO NOT HAVE TO.  Company's will eventually have to go to this.  A very arrogant approach that will only be changed as Google, Mozilla, and LINUX continue to cut into Microsft's customer base.

• Anonymous
  October 18, 2006
  Hey you! I am looking for some good scenarios around lightweight project management (hierarchical task

• Anonymous
  October 22, 2006
  I've been studying this problem over the weekend and come up with my own work around. My 'Projects' I've created as Categories in their own right, prefixed with a +. So now I have @Context categories and +Project categories. Each task can be labelled with two or more categories e.g. @Home, +Tidy Garage. The +Project categories act as parents to the sub-tasks within that project category.

• Anonymous
  November 19, 2006
  I have simillar problems as everyone else here.  Has anyone experimented with TaskMaster from Critical Path.  It is an outlook plugin.  I wanted to know if it handles sub-tasking etc.  They don't have a trial version so I can't tell what it can do.  Any feedback is appreciated.

• Anonymous
  January 03, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  March 29, 2007
  A lot has been said about subtasks and I will not repeat, just a short comment that subtasks are really needed... My post here is to call attention to another issue. Outlook 2007 does NOT have "Active Tasks for Selected Days", which was in TaskPad and was eliminated in To-Do Bar. This is a major mistake, as this feature is required to see your upcoming to-do tasks... I am considering going back to Office 2003 because this feature was eliminated in 2007.

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  October 03, 2007
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• Anonymous
  October 06, 2007
  Gee! No sub-tasks? Are you people from the stoneage? Seems all the people here in European Perliament, where I just began working don't have a convenient tool for personal data management. What a shame for the world.

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  October 06, 2007
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• Anonymous
  October 13, 2007
  Over twelve years ago, I was using Attain's InControl on the Mac. The ToDos were organized in a hierarchical way in an oultine column. Other customized columns could be added according to needs. Columns could contain text, numbers, date, url or document links, etc. Typical columns could be "Due Date", "Priority", "Links", "Context" (for GTD), etc. You could create as many filters as needed to pin point exactly what you wanted to see (for example, a filter to show only items related to a specific project due today and to be performed at the computer). What a beauty it was! All this ended about 8 years ago when I had to switch to PCs for professional reasons. I have been looking for the equivalent on the PC side on a regular basis since then without success. The closest application I've seen was Ecco but it was already off the market. I can't believe that there still isn't a decent PC outliner with multiple customizable columns! Mac users have been enjoying these for years (the latest is Omni Outliner). I have too much real estate invested in PCs now to go back to Macs (and it wouldn't be practical anyway because of work) but I wish I could! Not allowing subtasks in Outlook is pure nonsense! The work arounds are not efficient! Outlook has such great features going for it. Why not finish the job once and for all and add a hierarchical view! Just give us the option to view the Subject column (or field if you prefer to call it this way) as an outline! You do this and Outlook becomes the best PIM on the PC side.

• Anonymous
  October 17, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  October 22, 2007
  Is there NOT even a close match for 'Active Tasks For Selected Days' feature in Outlook 2007? It's an indispensable part of the way I do my Outlook setup!!

• Anonymous
  October 23, 2007
  You should consider using the Daily Task List as it shows you your tasks for the days in the view. -Melissa

• Anonymous
  November 07, 2007
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  November 12, 2007
  Hi Melissa, Obviously, a lot of heated criticism about the lack of subtask functionality within Outlook 2007. I myself have turned to OneNote, creating an hierarchial outline there, and linking next actions to Outlook 2007 to accomplish this. However, it begs the question: can you or someone at Microsoft please respond to this multitude of posts requesting subtask functionality within Outlook 2007? Obviously, there is a host of users who would like a lightweight project management functionality without having to pop for the full-feature MS Project. Any response from you would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Calvin

• Anonymous
  November 12, 2007
  Hi Everyone, From the comments it is clear that many of you want subtasks in Outlook. We hear you! Thanks for the feedback and know that we are listening. Thanks, Melissa

• Anonymous
  November 20, 2007
  I'll try and keep the feedback respectful, but this situation is very frustrating. I'm a big Outlook user, I use it to manage my life. Inbox, Tasks, Calendar, and Contacts are all stuffed with information. I've used Project in the past, I'll use Project in the future, but it is so completely unsuitable for managing the day-to-day items I currently store in Outlook that even the suggestion I should be using it instead is ire raising. If someone at Microsoft cares to listen, I'd be more that willing to illustrate the  activities of my life, and hence entries in Outlook, that are SEVERELY under served by the current Tasks capabilities. If many people don't use Tasks, then they can't be considered customers of the feature. I, however, am most definitely a customer of Tasks, yet you ignore my (and all the others here) advice in favor of non customers?!? Ignoring my customer and instead listening to the person in the next cubicle while developing a small business app doesn't make any sense, and neither does this. Please listen to this very concerned and passionate customer, and add subtasks (among other things) as soon as possible. Thank you for your time. Drew

• Anonymous
  November 20, 2007
  I should also mention that I use Outlook because it's one of (or THE) best option out there, and also does a plenty of things right. Two items that instantly guaranteed I wouldn't be downgrading from 2007 are the To-Do Bar and the Daily Task List. I find these features hugely useful, and can only hope you apply the same ingenuity to subtasks and life (project) management.

• Anonymous
  December 09, 2007
  Melissa, Your Nov 12 post is very encouraging. I have been monitoring this site weekly in the hope that something positive would come out. Since you are listening and hear us, here is another suggestions: provide facilities for subtasking such that it can be synchronized with ms project and sharepoint. Curious to see if anyone else has a similar need? waiting patiently, Peter T

• Anonymous
  February 15, 2008
  Hello just thought i would add that me and a close friend have been searching for the perfect PIM to migrate to from pocomail and paper..  We would be sold on Outlook 2007 but are surprised how weak the task management is..  We will not use it without subtasks. Were hoping for an update to outlook07. please please! :)

• Anonymous
  February 25, 2008
  Here a work around I use for subtask: create a new contact folder and name it "projects" (or whatever you want). The create a new contact for each project you have. From that contact you can create as many tasks as you want. This way you can have as many tasks as you want associated with one projects. Customize the contact form for your needs and you are all set! Michael Glotzkowski

• Anonymous
  March 03, 2008
  qberror -  that's an intersting approach.  How do you handle task dependencies on tasks within the task?  For example.  I setup a Contact folder called "Projects" and a Contact Called "Project A" I have a task called "Task 1"  now I can't finish "Task 1" until "Task 1A" and "Task 1B" is finished.  any thoughts on that?   I of course would rather this be in Outlook already, but it's not and I need to get some work done now...

• Anonymous
  March 25, 2008
  Just in case someone considers, my +1 goes for introducing nested tasks / projects / hierarchy in Outlook. I am a MS Project user, but I don't want that for managing my agenda. I would not mind having a behind-the-scenes dependency on MS Project (even though other users possibly do not agree), since I am having it installed anyway. But I cannot stand handling my personal agenda from somewhere else but in the same program I use for e-mail, or installing an MS Project server at my PC (yup, I have campus license, but memory is a scarce resource) for a not-so-good integration.

• Anonymous
  April 08, 2008
  Another suggestion: possibility to create checklist templates (not task forms) that can be converted to tasks, i.e. subtasks. Hopefully included in the next service pack.

• Anonymous
  May 07, 2008
  Since tasks first appeared with Outlook, i have been mystified why there hasn't been a hierarchical approach made available.  I have tried a host of third-party options, but they just don't have the infrastructure of outlook and most of my tasks originate with email. MyLifeOrganized is close, but syncing is critical and the feature i use doesn't work now with Outlook 07 - MLO says it is a (convenient?) bug in Outlook.  I would be counted as the 98% that DON'T use outlook tasks, but if it had some basic functionality i would use it everyday, and so would my team. If MS is thinking that Project would be cannibalized they are greatly mistaken.  Project is incredibly complicated.  An "intermediate" task manager might in fact be a useful stepping stone to Project (which IMHO it needs).

• Anonymous
  May 28, 2008
  The comment has been removed

• Anonymous
  May 28, 2008
  The post was first written in Jan 2006, now two+ years later in May 2008.  What has been done to address the lack of subtasks?  Care for an update? I thought it might be time to move back using Outlook again; and by doing a search on google and saw this page with more than a handful of negative comments... guess not if there isn't subtasks functionality.

• Anonymous
  May 31, 2008
  Thank you all for your comments. At this time, this blog post is being closed for comments and I am no longer posting updates for the moment. To see what is going now in Outlook, see: http://blogs.msdn.com/outlook. Thank you all and we really do appreciate the feedback, even the negative feedback. -Melissa

• Anonymous
  January 21, 2009
  PingBack from http://www.keyongtech.com/1564881-outlook-tasks-assign-subtasks-or