New updates to Planner comment notifications and settings
Published Jun 25 2018 03:10 PM 184K Views
Microsoft

We’ve received a lot of great feedback on Planner notifications from our users, and over the last few months we’ve rolled out some updates to address this feedback. Here’s more information about the specific changes: 

 

Improvements on who receives task comment email notifications

Previously, whenever a user posted a task comment, a notification was sent to the inbox of all plan members subscribed to the plan’s group. This meant lots of users received comment notifications on tasks not relevant to them. Due to this behavior, a common refrain we’ve heard from customers is “I’ve started using Planner, but these task comment notification emails are too much!” We’ve recently rolled out an update to Planner’s integration with Groups to directly address this.


This update changes the behavior so that users will no longer receive comment notification emails in their inbox for tasks they have never commented on.  Therefore, if you have never commented on a Planner task, and have no plans to comment on it in the future, you should never receive a comment notification in your inbox for said task.


However, when you do post a comment on a task, you will receive email notifications in your inbox for each subsequent comment made on that task (even for comments made by other users). We believe this behavior better scopes the notification audience to those who are most relevant to the task.


Please note that the above behavior only applies to task comments submitted from within the Planner apps. If you choose to “reply all” to the comment notification email (in Outlook or another email client) to add a task comment, all plan members will receive a comment notification email.


You can still check the group mailbox to see the email notifications for every task comment made in a plan.

 

Adding more context to the comment notifications

The email subject line for comment notifications now includes the task name and clearly notes its contents. (Pro tip: you can now construct email rules to route comment notifications to a specific folder since the subject line should always contain the words “comments on task”).


Within the email notification itself, we’ve included the task and plan associated to the comment, as well as deep links for users to directly open the task in Planner to reply. These links are located at the end of the email. (Pro tip: If you choose to reply to the email notification to add a comment, make sure not to reply all if you don’t want your comment to send a notification to all plan members!)

 

This email notification is sent for the first comment on a task.This email notification is sent for the first comment on a task.
This email notification is sent for each reply to a task comment.This email notification is sent for each reply to a task comment.

 

Improved plan notification settings

Our team has updated our notification settings to more cleary define what each options does and makes it easier to configure your notifications.

 

For each plan, opening the “Plan settings” under the “…” menu will show the group email settings for said plan. This is where a group owner can control whether group email notifications are sent when a task is completed or assigned. We’ve also added some information to help guide users to their “group settings” if they want to stop all group email messages from reaching their inbox. Since the options under “group email settings” apply on a per plan basis, a user must visit Plan settings for each plan they are a member of to adjust them. 


Plan settings screenshotPlan settings screenshot

 

We’ve also added a link to “Planner notification settings” inside Plan settings. This link directs the users to where they can adjust their preferences for the types of notifications which are sent to them across all their plans. 

 

Planner notification settings screenshotPlanner notification settings screenshot

 

 

For more information on how our notifications work, please consult our Planner notifications help article.


Let us know what you think about these updates below, and as always please submit ideas for improving Planner through our UserVoice page.

 

83 Comments
Iron Contributor

Sounds like a great start at making this more usable, @chtran! Please pass along thanks to the team that made this happen. Hoping you'll continue with the other suggestions in uservoice like getting emailed on comments on cards you're assigned to, being able to tag people to cause them to get an email (if they so select in an options menu somewhere to receive emails when tagged in a planner card), opt in and opt out of following conversations on a given card (or all cards in a plan)... in addition to / overriding the opt-in-by-commenting feature!

Bronze Contributor

Love the changes. Agree with @Ian Bruckner - need the ability to @Tag people in the team in the conversation. (i'd prefer all conversation moves to Teams, but I get not all Planner users are Teams users.)

Brass Contributor

I agree with @Ed Hansberry   In general, email notifications are a step backwards from information centralization.  Planner needs a robust in-app notifications center that gathers all activity in the system, so we can catch up right in the app.  We also need the ability to drive Planner notifications into the Teams activity stream.  With those two improvements we will be able to disable email notifications completely.

Is this already implemented? Although I disabled the notification feature for the whole group, it's still sending e-mails to 75 people. Really frustrating and annoying. 

Iron Contributor

@Ed Hansberry & @Bruce Cannon - I agree - it would be neat for the planner notifications to function more like teams conversations. However, I do strongly feel they deserve to be obviously tied to individual cards to keep the conversation relevant to the reason it exists (and so you can refer and find it easily in the future w/in the plan).... pretty close to how "tab conversations" work. I'm not sure I'd agree that email should disappear entirely, though I do think individuals should be able to choose settings for notifications around planner cards quite the same way they can choose their own personal options for teams conversations.

 

Also... seems like they're headed in that direction still. I just dug up the specific user-voice entry and saw this:

 

Based off the feedback we’ve received so far, we have plans to address the following notification asks in the future:

1. Additional notification settings so you can choose how to receive your notifications (email, mobile push, etc.)
2. The ability to follow a task or plan and receive notifications when they change
3. Notifications when you are @mentioned in a task
4. Notifications within Teams

Deleted
Not applicable

Hi everybody, 

 

i need some help! I need to move a trello board into planner, u know how i can move a Json trello board to Planner? easy and free :D

 

Thank U

 

AL

Deleted
Not applicable

Can you please, please incorporate a setting that sends email notification updates to all users who are 'assigned' on a task?

 

This would avoid the following scenario that leaves me frequently banging my head against the desk:

 

  • Colleague A assigns Collague B a task in Planner
  • Colleague B receives email notifying them that task has been assigned to them.
  • Colleague A leaves a comment on the task asking for an update from Colleague B
  • Colleague B doesn't receive an email notification because they haven't yet commented on the task, and is not aware that Colleague A needs an update.
  • Colleague A chases up Colleague B by email asking them to look at the task in Planner.

 

Very simple update and easily accounted for I hope...

 

Bronze Contributor

Is it just me or is there no way to turn off notifications for a specific task? I'd like a link in the email that says "Stop notifiying me about this particular task" when I don't want the task removed from what I am monitoring (I'm usually assigned to) but I don't need the blow by blow commentary.

Iron Contributor

Is the best way to include others into task comments, to simply CC them?  Then if they respond, they will continue seeing comments from that point on?

 

How can I include someone to see the entire task history and comments from the start when they have not been assigned the task?

 

Id prefer not to ask them to have to monitor the group mailbox.

Brass Contributor

As Cameron LUND also mentioned, we really need an option for Assignees to receive notifications when comments are added to Planner. It's almost useless without it as you then have to mention them in Teams or send an email.

Brass Contributor

I agree with @Ian Bruckner If you are assigned to a task you really need to know if there are comments made on your task. Am I’m missing something, why would you not want notifications in that scenario.

Copper Contributor

I would love to be able to have a hard stop on all notifications. I simply don't need them. We have a weekly meeting to update and discuss the status of the projects, so getting additional spam isn't all that useful to me.

Deleted
Not applicable

Totally agree with @Deleted and thought maybe I'd share this uservoice link to start getting votes on it.

https://planner.uservoice.com/forums/330525-microsoft-planner-feedback-forum/suggestions/35447821-for-all-comments-email-notifications-need-to-be-s

 

Copper Contributor

"The email subject line for comment notifications now includes the task name and clearly notes its contents. (Pro tip: you can now construct email rules to route comment notifications to a specific folder since the subject line should always contain the words “comments on task”)."

 

Can someone let me know how to set up a rule in the Group Mailbox? I really want to use the comments function but I don't want it going to the group mailbox. 

Copper Contributor

Hi all,

 

We are looking for solution at this:

 

Currently email disclaimers defined with Exchange transport rules, are appended to the comments on Microsoft Planner of office 365 web version, adding clutter.How we can remove this email disclaimers from Planner? We try to find email sending to verify where sent it the emails from the users when comment tasks.

 

Some pending solution?

 

Regards,

Copper Contributor

It would be WONDERFUL to allow MORE options for notifications. Everyone is different and some like constant reminders and other like just the general reminder. Is there any way you could put something like these options?

 

* Notify me when a task is assigned to me (Email and/or mobile push options)

* Notify me when a task is late (Email and/or mobile push options)

Notify me when a task is due today (Email and/or mobile push options)

* Notify me when a task is due tomorrow (Email and/or mobile push options)

* Notify me when a task is due this week (Email and/or mobile push options)

* Notify me when a task is complete (Email and/or mobile push options)

 

By just adding a few more specific click boxes, people can opt in or out for as much or little that they would like. It would solve a lot of irritations.

Thank you for your consideration and working towards all of the suggestions made! :)

 

Notification Settings2.PNG

Copper Contributor

Any update on notifications? I have to shut off group notifications so everyone does not get notified on a task assignment. Now I do not receive a notification when a task is signed to me. I have the notifications set up to receive alerts.

Deleted
Not applicable
How about implementing @mentions in Planner task comments and making them trigger a (banner/email) notification? Mentioning someone would be a good override of the default setting where user is not notified about task comments until (s)he comments on the task.
Brass Contributor

Personally, I would find it more beneficial if the comments-based email notifications were triggered only the person who has assigned the task to me v/s to everyone in the team. I don't see why the entire team needs to receive an email notification about a task that has been assigned solely to me - even with this new update where email triggers are linked to comments made by anyone on the task.

Copper Contributor

We are trying to use Planner for light task management and had hoped to use the Comment to allow the assignee to provide a quick update once a week on progress. However, the assignees are now getting spammed with their own comments and Planner thinks they are having a conversation with themselves. It would be good to have this feature able to be toggled with the other settings on the Plan for those who want to use it to log work as we do - unless somebody has a more elegant way to do this?

Brass Contributor

@chtran ,

When I receive an email from a task comment, I must use REPLY-ALL when I reply via email for my response to show up as a new comment in the task.  

 

Clicking the button to reply in planner UI is really a pain.  Not efficient.  I would rather just reply to a comment's email, and have that reply show up in the task comments.  In testing this, the only way I can get that to work is to use reply-all.  I don't think this is the best way to do this.

Brass Contributor

Why are guests not notified via email if they have a task??? This is a no brainer in my opinion. Companies often work with people outside of the organization. The email is trusted and added to the Team. There are tasks assigned to the vendor but he never get's a trigger via email??

 

 

Copper Contributor

Why is it not posible to add an external Customer E-mail to the Planner task, for update on the task.

 

The Customer only be notified on changes, not be a part of the Planner task.

Brass Contributor

I need people assigned to a task to get the email notifications for comments. Only getting comments if you comment on a task makes no sense.

Iron Contributor

The new email notifications make no sense to me. The following: "users will no longer receive comment notification emails in their inbox for tasks they have never commented on" is not effective at all. If I want to ask someone a question within a task or If I want to comment something important, people assigned to the task will not see my comment unless they have previously commented on the task. 

 

Iron Contributor

Also, why doesn't Outlook give us desktop notifications when a new item arrives in the Plan/Group?

Brass Contributor

When can you fix this.

We need people assigned to a task to get the email notifications for comments.

Brass Contributor

Still no progress after almost a year?

Iron Contributor

Will this ever get fixed?

Brass Contributor

Many of the notification features/rules that are missing can actually be accomplished with e-mail rules and Microsoft Flow...even though we shouldn’t have to go to all that length. 

Deleted
Not applicable

All my group members are still getting emails notifying them of comments to tasks even if they've never commented on them or have the task assigned to them. It seems to be sending to the <groupname>@<org>.com distribution list. Isn't that contrary to what this update says is supposed to happen?

Brass Contributor
The Planner task comment change is breaking my teams work flow - we had a great process and here we are following our established process but folks are no longer receiving Planner task comments for new tasks they haven't commented on (unlike before). I'm asking for statuses on tasks and no one is receiving them because they haven't previously commented on those tasks in Planner. Ugh - now I have to separately IM, email, call and can no longer capture this in the Planner task comments! Please revert this back and add a setting for users to toggle this if they don't like it instead of breaking it for everyone.
Brass Contributor

@chtranany update on the new features?

Copper Contributor

@Bruce Cannon - I agree. The reason we went to Planner is because of Teams. One of the biggest reason why to use Teams in the first place is to eliminate unnecessary emails in your inbox. I am clueless why we can not receive notifications related to any tasks, task update, task comment, etc. that I am assigned to into my Teams notification feed. That would make sense! Thanks for making Planner better for modern project management needs!

Copper Contributor

hello,

 

Will there be a roll out for security settings, Ie: Anyone can mark,delete,change or in general mess with anything, should have a Read-Only option at the least, has anyone done a flow setting to send notification anytime someone messes with a task? like accidentally marks something or deletes something a manager or admin gets a notification. 

Brass Contributor

Hi @JPRYOR 

 

I have a few simple Team-flows running that might be of use?

 

When a task is completed -> Start an Approval -> Create an item in Sharepoint list - > Post completed message in Teams -> Excel Add row into Table

 

Approval-step catches all completed tasks. 

 

You could start with this Flow-template and add the features that you like

https://emea.flow.microsoft.com/sv-se/galleries/public/templates/073973c0fc8a4096bb1c1ca0e232ac3b/sk...

 

Best Regards / Joakim

Copper Contributor

hi @Joakim Wasseng our company does not let us use teams :( is there a flow w/o teams in it?

 

Copper Contributor
Are there still activities to optimize the notifications in Planner? We have some issues with the notifications of Planner. So if there is a Plannertask was deleted and/or the whole Planner was deleted there are still notifications for uncompleted Tasks , which doesn't make sens, if the task ore the planner was deleted. Interesting Information in this case also would be , why it is not possible to restore a deleted planner , but the tasks still send notifications? It would be great to get a possibility to switch off notifications from deleted uncompleted tasks! There are also notifications for Tasks, which were created by an user, but assigned to an other user. Not in each case the user want's to have a message for such tasks. A switch to stop E-Mail notifications and only get notifications in Teams also would be helpful. There are a lot of space for improvements !
Copper Contributor

Commenting as I too would like to hear an update when incorporate a setting that sends email notification updates to all users who are 'assigned' on a task

Copper Contributor

I want to get notifications when team member comments on tasks

Copper Contributor

Hi @chtran 

my external team members complaining that they didn't received any email notification when a task assigned to them.

any advise?

 

thanks

Copper Contributor

Hi all!

When we create a task we need that everyone involved is updated in the task status. We are trying to implement a process which uses Teams as main tool but, if i have to send emails to each participant on the task to have them updated (because they have not commented yet) it generates us an extra effort instead of simplifying the process. When are you going to change that?

If you prefer to not send the notifications directly with each change or comment on the task, at least enable the option to @mention anybody for then sending him/her a notification automatically.

 

Thx!

 

Iron Contributor

I think we all agree on what Planner notifications should be. It would be nice to have an update on this.

Copper Contributor

@chtran So, a new task is created. "New task has been created comment doesnot show up in the comments" but once I comment something else mannually then new task has been created comment shows up. Why does thread if comes null from graph explorer for the planner task. I am trying to use the thread id of the "the task has been created " comment and send some comment automatically but I do not see the comment before hand. I have hidden the group from the outlook is that why ? Basically I dont see conversationthread id of a planner task that was created, only after I go enter some comments manually

Brass Contributor
Dear Planner Team, I've noticed that the most Liked message on this page (30 Likes so far) is marked as "Deleted, Not applicable": ------- ‎08-03-2018 08:07 AM Can you please, please incorporate a setting that sends email notification updates to all users who are 'assigned' on a task? ------- Could you please let us know the reason for this deletion, and what of the message is 'Not Applicable' ? I, for one, find it quite relevant to Planner Notifications, actually. Kind Regards, Alex
Copper Contributor

Dear Planner Team, it is insane that email notification on task comments is not sent to all users who are assigned on a task? Further more, there is no way to turn that notification on. Do you really mean that every assignee will open each and every his/her task every single day over over and over again just to check if there are new comments on any of his tasks??? This is absolutely absurd. 

Brass Contributor

Hi - As an urgent matter, I need the requirement for all assignee's to a task to get the comments.

 

This should be trivial, and is an obvious use-case.  Basic functionality.

 

Not having it is a show-stopper.  Dealbreaker.

 

People need this basic functionality.

Copper Contributor
Intuitively, it would make sense that anyone assigned to the task would receive the messages sent via the task.  Not everyone involved in the plan rather just the task itself.  Is this a possibility?
 
 
 
 
Copper Contributor

Hi All,

 

Is this rolled out for all? unfortunately we have tested this scenario in our tenant and this is not working as per the article posted.

Currently this working as usual, whenever some one commenting on the post, All of the members are getting notified.

Do we need to change some settings or how is it?

 

Appreciate your response on this!!

 

Thanks,

Siba Kumar

Copper Contributor
Ditto, this does not seem to be implemented. Or it has been removed. Everyone gets every little notification and there is no "Plan Settings" under "..." Microsoft is the worst.
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