SOLVED

One Team, Multiple Planner Tabs, One "Template" Planner

Copper Contributor

We have a team that works with multiple projects, and we want to be able to appropriately track each. Each project has multiple identical steps. I thought that we could create one "template" planner to use when creating new planner tabs, as that is an option. 

 

For clarity, we have sites that we need to set up across the country, Site A might go to Joe, Site B might go to Bob, both need to have the exact same steps, but Site A may open in June, Site B opens in August, so the steps don't happen at the same time.

 

While we can make copies of the template, completing a task in any of the planners, completes the task in every single other planner as well. Is there something that I am missing? We would rather not have to constantly create task after task when they are identical, especially for the number of these that we need to do.

4 Replies
best response confirmed by RandyD79 (Copper Contributor)
Solution
Hi @RandyD79,

Did you follow the copy procedure here?

https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/copy-a-plan-50401e13-a25f-40df-93c6-b608cc28c3d4?ui=en-US&r...

Microsoft state in the article that it is still perfecting the copying so this may be an inherent limitation or bug to the copy process. I can’t imagine that completing a task in one which triggers a completed task in all others is the desired result.

I would personally recommend that you raise this with Microsoft support as well as a bug on the Microsoft Planner Uservoice here

https://planner.uservoice.com/forums/330525-microsoft-planner-feedback-forum/suggestions/14744172-ab...

There are some big limitations to this copy process at the moment as seen by the uservoice including across groups.

May also want to look at some alternate options including

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/lazyadmin.nl/powershell/duplicate-microsoft-planner-plan/amp/

My feeling here is that the functionality you need will come, and ultimately you will have templates that will be able to be copied across Teams and Channels. Yet it looks like we aren’t there yet and the alternative method above has its own limitations. I think whatever method you choose today will be limited but should hopefully be refined in time. I would vote for the uservoices, try the alternate method, provide feedback to Microsoft and try to see if you can pull it in the right direction.

Hope that answers your question

Best, Chris
Thanks Chris,

What we ended up doing was going into the template, and copying each task individually in order to prevent the issue. The next oddity that I am looking into today is that I can't locate some of the planners that I need to copy to.

I'll be sure to raise this issue with Microsoft.

Thanks again for the great info!

@RandyD79 Perhaps you are confusing multiple tabs with multiple copies of the plan? Tabs in teams are just views into the same planner plan (if the same plan is picked for pinning in multiple tabs). That would explain the behavior you see.

 

FYI. creating new tabs with existing plans do not create copies of the plans.

To create copies, you must use the copy plan mechanism available through the planner web app.

@RandyD79 Perhaps you are confusing multiple tabs with multiple copies of the plan? Tabs in teams are just views into the same planner plan (if the same plan is picked for pinning in multiple tabs). That would explain the behavior you see.

FYI. creating new tabs with existing plans do not create copies of the plans.

To create copies, you must use the copy plan mechanism available through the planner web app.
1 best response

Accepted Solutions
best response confirmed by RandyD79 (Copper Contributor)
Solution
Hi @RandyD79,

Did you follow the copy procedure here?

https://support.office.com/en-gb/article/copy-a-plan-50401e13-a25f-40df-93c6-b608cc28c3d4?ui=en-US&r...

Microsoft state in the article that it is still perfecting the copying so this may be an inherent limitation or bug to the copy process. I can’t imagine that completing a task in one which triggers a completed task in all others is the desired result.

I would personally recommend that you raise this with Microsoft support as well as a bug on the Microsoft Planner Uservoice here

https://planner.uservoice.com/forums/330525-microsoft-planner-feedback-forum/suggestions/14744172-ab...

There are some big limitations to this copy process at the moment as seen by the uservoice including across groups.

May also want to look at some alternate options including

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/lazyadmin.nl/powershell/duplicate-microsoft-planner-plan/amp/

My feeling here is that the functionality you need will come, and ultimately you will have templates that will be able to be copied across Teams and Channels. Yet it looks like we aren’t there yet and the alternative method above has its own limitations. I think whatever method you choose today will be limited but should hopefully be refined in time. I would vote for the uservoices, try the alternate method, provide feedback to Microsoft and try to see if you can pull it in the right direction.

Hope that answers your question

Best, Chris

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