Recent Discussions
"Show on card" previews for attachments (pictures) not showing up
Hi Our planner plans across the company now do not show the preview for a picture, excel sheet, or powerpoint when you select "show on card" under the attachments section. It just gives a generic symbol or image of the program (see attached). If the task is viewed on a mobile device, then the preview shows as expected. Is this more global that is needed to be fixed or are others not having this issue. Thanks
Comments missing in MS Planner Android App
Hello everyone, When opening an individual task in the Android App of Microsoft Planner, I'm no longer able to see the comments history for many of my tasks. It is broken since 5 days. It seems to be a problem limited to the Android app. When opening Microsoft Planner on the web or in the iOS app, I can still see the full comments history as usual. I tried deleting cache and un/reinstalling the Android app on my Galaxy S21FE, but the issue still remains. The strange thing is also that not all tasks are affected. For some tasks, I can still see the full comments history. Also, when posting a new comment on a task in the Android app, I cannot see it after hitting send, but later in the Web/iOS app. I'm wondering if anyone else is facing the same issues? I've created a support ticket in the MS365 Admin Center, but support hasn't gotten back to me yet after 72 hours (it's severity level C).Planner Tasks Blocking My Outlook Calendar - How to Change to “Free”?
I’ve synced my Microsoft Planner tasks with my Outlook calendar, but now they’re showing as “Busy” and blocking my availability. Is there an easy way to change these events to “Free” so they don’t interfere with my work calendar? Thanks!
Planner Integration with Loop Tasks
Need some guidance - We are starting to use Planner to keep track of a large number of tasks. Currently planner is setup with: Approx 10 buckets (in kanban view), and a list of tasks below each. We are using this mainly just for tasks, so the Timeline view isn't needed. We want to connect tasks recorded in Teams meetings, and in Loop to our main Planner. Whats the best work around for this? When using Loop, and we create a task and we connect it to Planner, it will create a new Plan and put the tasks under that. To me, this is dysfunctional, because we want all tasks to be under the main Plan in Planner. I like to use the GRID view of the Plan, which enables me to make subtasks under the main tasks, but others prefer to use the kanban view. However you can't see the subtasks that are under the "main task" like in Grid view. There's lots of videos showing how these parts of Teams work together, but in reality, it doesn't really work that well when it scatters tasks created in different parts to different Planners. Any suggestions would be helpful, and thank you in advance for your help. JimSubtasks - What level is needed?
My company is looking into utilizing our Planner so that multiple people have access to the same plan, but for the team to create subtasks we have to purchase premium plans. What level (1, 3 or 5) is needed to create a subtask? The breakdown found https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/planner/microsoft-planner-plans-and-pricing does not specify subtasks.
Option for %complete of a task to change based on items completed in a checklist
Hi, I want the %complete of a task to change based on items completed in a checklist. Currently it uses a combination of hours and the start/end date, but I would like the %complete to also reflect the number of items that are completed in a checklist. For example, if a checklist of 8 items has 2 items done, the percent complete would be 25%. Is this possible? Or could this feature be added. I know there is a work around to use power automate, however, I encountered issues with pulling planner premium tasks into power automate. Thanks
How to best use Planner to keep our department organized
Hi, If there is already a discussion that outlines this, please feel free to point me to it. (No need to re-create the wheel!) We need to get our department organized and would like to use Planner to do it. We have four "functional groups" that each have projects they're working on that the other functional groups do not need to see. But, there are some cross-functional project that all groups DO need to see and be part of. I have two concerns I would like to avoid, if possible: Project/Plan overwhelm, and Silos I'm curious how other multi-functional groups set up Planner to keep things orderly. (Note: We do not use Microsoft Teams all that much and are simply thinking of using the Planner web application if/when we get it set up properly) One final thought...are there Microsoft Planner consultants out there who could help? I've tried talking to AI about our needs in order to get a recommendation but don't have a lot of confidence it's giving me the right plan of action. It feels like there are heavy users of Planner who could give me a much more solid recommendation if they had a clear picture of what we're trying to do. Thanks!
Issues with Task Details Opening (intermittent issue)
In plans created in Planner Premium I cannot reliably open the Details Card from the task's (circled i) or task sub-menu. When I either click on the (circled i) or make the selection to Open Details. This happens whether I'm opening from Planner in Teams, or the web-based Planner application. This same behavior has been noted by multiple users in my organization. Steps I've takes are Cleared Browser Cashe Cleared Teams Cashe Any idea what the cause is, and how to fix it? Thank you, JoeBucket Templates or Duplicate Buckets
Adding bucket templates or duplicate bucket functionality would save so much time for all of us. We're using Planner to project manage repetitive workflows - but each time we create a new project we need to manually copy and paste all tasks. It would save so much time to add the ability to create a new bucket from a template or duplicate a bucket. Planner feels so under baked because it lacks this functionality, and there are hundreds of threads requesting this exact functionality.Tasks deleted automatically
Hello, I'm using the planner (plan3) since March. I've realized that I haven't the same tasks in the history in every month. Apart from the new ones, there are some old tasks which are deleted automatically. They are not the oldest ones. Is there any rule for this deletion? Is it a bug? Thanks for your help. Ana.
Notifying team members of new planner?
Hi Very new to Planner and the whole Microsoft environment....so learning as I go! I'll give the context of how I intend to use Planner: We are a school who from time to time gets new students and there are various tasks to be peformed by different people to ensure the student is enrolled fully. I have created a 'New Student' Planner which I intend to use as a template ie - whenever a new student arrives, I'll copy the Planner template and rename it to the student's name. I'm assuming this is an OK and most efficient way to do this? Assuming it is - how can I automatically/easily notify the members of the Planner that there is a new student/Planner in place and as such they need to go into Planner and start their part of the enrolment process. The only logical way I can see is to copy the link for the new planner, paste it into an email and then email the relevant people. This does seem a little 'clunky.' Ideally I'd like it that as soon as the Template is duplicated and renamed - the creation of this Planner automatically notifies the members that it exists....but I don't think this can happen? Any help greatly appreciated Mr BStrategic Missing Capabilities in the new Microsoft Planner (Enterprise Perspective)
The Present State of Microsoft Planner’s Vision Enterprises want one coherent work-management layer in Microsoft 365 Microsoft’s ambition is to merge To Do, Planner, and Project for the Web into a single platform with Copilot, Goals, unified List/Board/Timeline views, and templates The direction is sound: reduce fragmentation and tool sprawl, standardize data, and give leaders a clean and solid portfolio picture while teams execute in familiar interfaces. In an environment where all employees have access to the same tool, are already included in the resource pool and integration options are basically unlimited, this is a step, that everyone was looking forward to. Nonetheless, the quip that “Microsoft abandoned MS Project 20 years ago” is a joke, but it reflects a real anxiety: if the new Planner displaces familiar scheduling experiences without enterprise-grade controls, PMOs will feel left alone again and disengage, in presence of abundant alternatives. Planner will not replace Microsoft Project, Primavera, or other detailled scheduling tools; those remain essential for deep dependencies, resource leveling, and baselining. Planner’s highest-value role is the management and aggregation layer above them: align goals, normalize metadata, and expose cross-program status. Simplicity matters, but simplicity cannot mean missing capability. If essential functions are absent, governance, traceability, and portfolio visibility suffer, and organizations turn to external tools. Following is a list of core functionality that is currently missing and was needed about a month ago. Current Structural Gaps Date logic too rigid for management use No independent target/due date field; planning often hinges on Start/Finish + Duration, which limits top-down milestone control Custom fields capped at 10 per plan Insufficient for enterprise metadata models and standardized portfolio reporting Maximum task duration of 1,250 days Constricts representation of multi-year initiatives and capital programs No enterprise-grade audit trail Lacks comprehensive, exportable change logs with retention controls for compliance Flat responsibility model Multiple assignees exist, but no roles such as Owner, Reviewer, Approver; no RACI support Insufficient hierarchy and dependencies for roll-ups Summary/sub-tasks exist, but cross-plan links and robust multi-plan aggregation are weak Group-based permissions only Sharing tied to M365 Groups/Teams; no fine-grained task- or field-level permissions; no simple view-only for externals Custom fields lack hyperlink behavior No URL field type; links in text fields are often not clickable for seamless navigation Inconsistent text capture and formatting Notes lack reliable rich-text structure; long entries are hard to read No page breaks or robust formatting for long descriptions Executive-level narratives and governance documentation become unwieldy Limited standardization across plans No global library for reusable custom fields, bucket structures, or templates at tenant/portfolio level Required Enhancements for Enterprise Readiness Flexible date logic Allow target/due dates independent of Start/Finish; add constraints, buffers, alerts, and escalation rules Expanded metadata framework Raise the custom-field limit; add field types (URL, Person, Multi-select), required fields, validation rules, and global field templates Enterprise auditability Provide full change history with export, retention policies, filters by field/user, and API access Role-aware assignments (RACI) Support roles (Owner, Doer, Reviewer, Approver), secondary ownership, and role-based views in people and reports Portfolio-grade structure Enable cross-plan dependencies, milestone roll-ups, program-level summaries, consolidated capacity and risk views Granular access control Introduce view-only sharing, external access without group membership, and task/field-level ACLs to protect sensitive data Hyperlink-enabled fields Add a URL type and clickable rendering in text fields, with previews and allow-lists for approved domains Robust editor for management communication Paragraphs, lists, headings, tables, code/quote blocks, and clean print/PDF output for formal documentation Reusable enterprise templates Tenant-wide libraries for custom fields, buckets, and workflows; versioning and approval flows for governed rollout Reliable data layer A standardized Power BI dataset, webhooks/events, incremental exports, and stable keys for multi-plan, multi-tenant analytics Scaling for long-horizon work Lift or mitigate the 1,250-day limit for leaf tasks and provide guidance or rules for multi-year programs Bottom line Planner can succeed as the enterprise management layer if it remains simple but gains the capabilities listed above. One does not work without the other. If Microsoft does not deliver these functions, enterprises will continue using Project, Primavera, or other scheduling tools — while adopting third-party platforms for governance and portfolio visibility. This would directly undermine Planner’s goal of becoming the unified standard within Microsoft 365. Please, do us a favor and spare organizations from having to implement yet another third-party tool. (And yes: I am aware of multiple enterprises that are in the process of testing and implementating different tools, presicely because of this missing capability)How to connect MS Project Pro app to MS Planner (plan 5) - instructions on how to do please!
My company recently bought MS Planner (plan 5), which came with MS Project Pro desktop application. My boss wants me to write the schedule in MS Project Pro and then publish it to MS Planner for the team to see the schedule. Sadly, I can find no instructions on how to connect them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.My Tasks in Planner - Assigned to Me. Not Showing in Outlook ToDo Sidebar
Within the new Outlook, I leverage the functionality to drag a task from the ToDo sidebar and place it in my Calendar as a way to block time for completing that task. However, not all tasks show up in the Outlook ToDo sidebar. The category "Assigned to Me" does not show up meaning any task that was assigned to me in a plan I cannot place in my calendar. Struggling to find a uniform way to manage my tasks when there isn't complete visibility and uniformity in Microsoft's tools. And when will there be an updated mobile solution to Planner? The current outdated (and not supported) app does not include any premium plans, just basic.Planner Plan 5 features in Planner (not Project Online) compared to Planner Plan 3
Hi! I have no clarity about the actual difference of using Planner (not Project Onlinr) with a Plan 5 VS a Plan 3. My understanding is that, within Planner only, currently there is difference as these features: Portfolio Analysis and Optimization Demand Management Enterprise Resource Management and Allocation are not yet in Planner. Anybody can be so kind to clarify or confirm? Thanks!
"Show on task" previews suddenly not showing
Hi This has worked fine up until last week. We have several planners with PowerPoint documents attached to the task cards. Up until last week we could see the previews on the task card. Now, none of the previews are showing for any of the users. Just the PPT logo. This is happening both in the Teams app (Mac) and browser. If the task is viewed on a mobile device, then the preview shows as expected. Other image file types such as JPG etc. still work OK. Any ideas? Thanks
Can GUESTS access t Premium Plan in Teams?
I created a Teams Team and want to manage a premium plan project therein. I have the Planner-Plan 1 license. One external supplier is a guest in my Team but he cannot see the Premium plan. Is this by design or is there any wrong setting in my system? I could not find any information on this in the Microsoft documentation. Facts The guest user is part of the teamBetter customizability/themes for planner
There is a big issue with visibility of task boxes on dark theme. The contrast of the box edge with dark background is very low. it very hard to discern the task box edges. There is practically no customizability for how things look in planner. all there is, is an option to change the banner color which is not very helpful. If there was an option to change the default color of boxes that would help immensely on visibility.
Recent Blogs
- We’re excited to announce that the new Planner app in Microsoft Teams (web and desktop) is now available to customers in the Government Community Cloud (GCC) High environment! There’s no migration...Oct 01, 2025
- This month, we introduced the Project Manager Agent in Microsoft Teams meetings and channels and enhanced Planner’s security. These features make collaborating with your team more effective while kee...Sep 30, 2025
