When creating a new Task in Virtuous you have the ability to select a Task Type to better categorize the various Tasks in your database. While Virtuous already has a selection of standard Tasks Types available, your organization may have a need for more specific Task Type options. Custom Task Types can be created! This article will outline the process of creating a custom Task Type and the best practices associated.
Note: Only Admin users are able to create custom Task Types.
Navigate to Settings > Data Customization > Task Types.
Here, you can review existing Custom Task Types, modify the details, or update the status.
To create a new Task Type, select the "Create a Task Type" option available in the top right corner of the page.
In the pop-out window, enter the appropriate name for your new Task Type.
After you have entered the appropriate details, select "Save Task Type".
This Task Type will now be available as an option in the dropdown menu when creating a new Task.
Active vs Inactive Task Types
The main difference between an "active" and "inactive" Task Type is the ability to be selected when creating a new Task. An Inactive Task Type will not be an available option. Both active and inactive Task Types can be queried for and reported on. Deactivating Task Types that no longer have an active use case allows for a concise set of options in the dropdown.
You will notice that there is no option to delete a Custom Task Type as this would invalidate all of the previous data where this Custom Task Type was used. Deactivating a Custom Task Type allows all previous Tasks that were entered with the specific type to be preserved on a Contact record while no longer being an option for new Tasks.
An example would be having a Custom Task Type specific to an initiative that is finite. Perhaps you offered tours of your facility as it was being built and wanted to set up a follow-up call with everyone that visited. To manage this process, you created a Custom Task Type called "Location ABC Post-Visit Call." You are no longer offering tours, so it doesn't make sense to continue to have that as an option as a Task Type, but you want to be sure to retain the information that you had previously captured. Just deactivate it!