Announcing Custom Fields for your tasks
Published Sep 23 2020 05:45 PM 45.2K Views

You can now personalize your tasks with custom fields in Project for the web! Select the “New field” button under the Add column menu to get started.

 

Create up to ten new fields to help you keep track of important information specific to your projects and workflows. Choose from four types:

  • Track important deadlines with Date fields
  • Use Yes/No fields to flag tasks that need follow up
  • Use Number fields to manage details such as quantities
  • Take short notes about status with Text fields (tip: hold the Windows key and tap semi-colon to open the emoji picker to add the colored circles)

Filter tasks using the contents of fields. If you have limited screen real estate, manage the fields in the task details pane. Give them a try, and let us know what you think in our UserVoice forum.

2020-09-23 17_44_10-Marketing Plan - Demo Tenant - Microsoft​ Edge.png

 

How to create custom fields

2020-09-17 11_36_01-Untitled project - Work - Microsoft​ Edge.jpg

 

Select the “Add column” button to see the “New field” option. This button will open the menu to create a new custom field.

 

2020-09-17 11_38_34-Untitled project - Work - Microsoft​ Edge.jpg

From here, select the type of custom field you would like to create.

 

2020-09-17 11_43_19-Untitled project - Work - Microsoft​ Edge.jpg

Give your field a name select ‘Create’ to create your new custom field.

 

2020-09-17 12_03_00-Untitled project - Work - Microsoft​ Edge.png

  Your new custom field will appear in your project and you can start using it.

 

2020-09-17 12_03_41-Untitled project - Work - Microsoft​ Edge.png

 

Like any other field, custom fields can be hidden from the Grid view. You can also use the column header to reach the edit pane where you can edit your fields.

 

2020-09-17 12_04_55-Untitled project - Work - Microsoft​ Edge.png

The Edit field dialog box allows you to rename or delete that field.

 

2020-09-17 12_07_33-Untitled project - Work - Microsoft​ Edge.png

 

Custom fields also have their own section in the task details pane. This is a great view if you have limited space on your screen.

 

Frequently asked questions

Q: How can I create the same custom fields on all my projects?

A: If you want to use the same set of custom fields in all your projects, you can create a template project, and then copy it. All your fields and values will be copied over. Take a look at our article on copying projects.

Q:  Can I create formulas in Project for the web?

A: Not today. We’d love to learn more about what kinds of things you’d use formulas for. Provide your feedback in our User Voice forum.

Q: Can I include these fields in PowerBI reports or in PowerApps built on Project for the web?

No. These fields are local to your projects.

Q: How many custom fields can I create in one project?

A: Each project can support up to 10 custom fields

 

Feedback!

Microsoft Project loves your feedback!

 

We monitor the comments on all blog posts, so please let us know what you think about this feature in the comments section below. Additionally, the feedback you provide through the “Feedback” button in the product plays a vital role in our product decisions. Please let us know what you think. We read every submission and try to respond as needed; be sure to provide an email address so we can reach out for further information.

 

The feedback you provide through UserVoice for Project for the web gives us new ideas on how to improve your experience with Project. Join an ongoing discussion, or start your own conversation. We love to read  what people think on making Project even better.

25 Comments
Brass Contributor

Hi @Alexander Lahuerta 

 

Great new feature! I have a question - the pictures above show RAG colour dots and other icons. Could you please let us know how this can this be achieved? I've had a play around with the new fields and can't figure it out. 

 

Thanks!

Kathleen

Copper Contributor

Hi @Alexander Lahuerta 

Very nice option!

Let's try it as soon as I can see on my version.

Copper Contributor

@ksheahan 

Those are HTML Emojis. You can just copy an emoji here (copy the icon directly, not de code) and paste it into a text column like so : 

vnormand_1-1600949471478.png

 

Copper Contributor

It's a real shame that these are only Local Custom Fields, to that end I just voted for the following User Voice item:

https://microsoftproject.uservoice.com/forums/914203-project-for-the-web/suggestions/40321114-enterp...

Its great to see people trying these out!

@ksheahan, in Windows 10, pressing Win+, (comma) brings up the emoji picker. I use that to add the RAG icons.

@MLaukkanen1810 , thank you for voting on User Voice! It is an important source of feedback for us and every vote matters.

 

Brass Contributor

Such a pity these are not CDS fields that we can report on and use to trigger flows.

Kinda makes a mockery of the 'Project for the Web is built on the Power Platform' line. 

Iron Contributor

Custom fields which are not visible to PBI or Flow are very limited in its usefulness. Big disappointment.

Brass Contributor

This could have been great for P4TW users if these field at least rollup (to sum up costs or quantities), AND available in Power BI thru CDS. what a disapointment ! A feature is not a feature if there is no user case behind. 

Copper Contributor

Oh good grief Microsoft, did you forget how to data model? Make project task custom fields available in CDS and Power BI! 

Brass Contributor

Definite need the ability to query custom fields via Power BI or Flow CDS query..... Hopefully that is coming soon :)

Copper Contributor

Hi @Alexander Lahuerta

How did you add Status field to the project Grid view as you have it displayed on your project?  I don't see that field as an option to add or add as new custom field.  

Hi @bnafa , I used a text field and the emoji picker in Windows to quickly fill in values. Press win+; (semicolon) to quickly bring up emojis that you can add to your text.

Copper Contributor

Hi @Alexander Lahuerta,  

 

How did you create nested task groups in your example above?  I can't see how to do this in Project for the web...

Hi @grovum , you create sub tasks using the ellipsis menu on the tasks:

subtasks.png

Copper Contributor

Thanks @Paul Mather!  Unfortunately I don't seem to have those options in my ellipsis menu:

grovum_0-1611827206073.png

 

 

@grovum click on the task below and try.

Paul

Copper Contributor

Never mind - found it!

grovum_0-1611832449432.png

 

Copper Contributor

Hi @Alexander Lahuerta ,

I also like the Status field with RAG and tried to do it.  

I can not figure out how to create a drop-down menu in the text field, so do you have to copy/paste the emoji and write the status in each row separately? .

 

Regards Ingrid

Copper Contributor

Hi, great feature, only I am seeing a persistent error.

 

I can create a New Field but when I try to add data, in this case text, I get the follow message "Couldn't update task "task name". Please try again. Correlation ID: 59984c84-b32f-4ffe-86de-be28b23e4259."

 

I have tried in this on the Web and within Teams and it only affects Fields I add. All other normal fields work fine. Any suggestions?

@D_Spooner , thanks for the feedback. Can you try deleting the new fields and trying again? Let me know if you still have issues

Copper Contributor

@Alexander Lahuerta Thanks for the reply, I managed to solve it.

 

I tried deleting the fields and re-adding, this didnt work.

 

I was adding the fields to a Project added into a Teams Tab. If I opened the Project in SharePoint using the "globe" icon, added the fields there, it worked in both scenarios from there on in.

 

Seems to be the route back to Project Online in Sharepoint doesnt work if you add fields in a Teams tab.

Copper Contributor

Is this feature available on Planner online? 

 

I've not heard of Projects as a 365 application.

Copper Contributor

Hi,  I'm late to the party here but I agree with many of the other comments re having these fields in the dataverse/automation triggers. 

 

Implementing custom fields on a per project basis is a big let down.  I need my project managers recording important information consistently across all projects.  This is a breeze in PWA/Project Online which MS seems very keen for us to move away from.

 

Any response from Microsoft? @Alexander Lahuerta 

@JamesMX - Thanks for sharing your feedback on the need of consistent custom fields across all the projects.

We will share more updates on this ask in our public roadmap and blogs when we start working on this feature.

Copper Contributor

It is one thing to be able to add custom fields. But if I want to add a Budget Health as a choice, I would also like to be able to Group my data in the reports with that field. Will that be possible in the new Planner version?

Version history
Last update:
‎Sep 24 2020 02:31 PM
Updated by: