Custom fields

Custom fields let you add additional data to tasks in your Asana projects. You can create a field for stage, priority, cost, or anything else that’s important to your workflow, team, and company. This allows individuals to have clarity on work happening across their organization. You can view the custom fields as columns in a project or within the task itself.

There are two types of custom fields you can create in Asana:   

• Local custom fields are specific to a single project or portfolio.
• Global custom fields are added to your organization's field library meaning they can be reused across your organization.

Global vs. local custom fields

Global custom fields are fields that are reusable across your organization. Local custom fields are private to the project or portfolio. 

Creating a global custom field 

To create a global custom field click the Add fields button if you have yet to add fields to the project.

 

From the Add custom field tab you can:

1. Add a field title
2. Select the field type
3. Add a description
4. Add the field to your organization's field library to make it reusable across your organization (global)

Creating a local custom field 

To create a local custom field click the plus icon on the top right corner if you have yet to add fields to the project.

 

From the Add custom field tab you can:

1. Add a field title
2. Select the field type
3. Add a description
4. Do not add the field to your organization's field library, to make it specific to your project (local)
5. Delete the field
6. Save your changes

Only the first level of subtasks will inherit the custom fields of the parent task automatically. 

Edit fields

You can edit a custom field using your toolbar or column header. 

Click on the pencil icon next to the field name to edit the field.

 

You can also edit a custom field using the column header. Click the drop-down arrow next to the custom field and select Edit field.

For global custom fields in your organization, edits made to them will apply globally to all the projects you use the field in.

How to delete a field permanently

To permanently delete a field:

1. Click the pencil icon next to the field name
2. Click Delete field
3. Enter the field name
4. Click Delete

Edit custom field values

When editing a custom field value, you can:

1. Edit the color of the value
2. Remove a value from the field
3. Add a new value to the field
4. Delete the field entirely

Rearrange custom field values

If you remove a custom field value from your field's value options, tasks that use that value will retain the deleted value. The field can then be changed to another value, but you are not able to change a field back to a deleted item.

Edit number fields

When editing a number field, you can:

• Modify the field by currency, number, percentage, custom label or unformatted.
• Modify the number of decimal places being displayed
• Delete the field entirely

Reducing your field's decimal places will retain all current values, but they will be rounded up/down. Increase your field's decimal places and the original value will appear again.

Remove custom fields from a project

Remove your field from a project if it is no longer needed or applicable.

Removing a field only removes it from the current project, it does not delete the field entirely. Other projects in your organization with the same field will retain it and the field could still be added to other projects in your organization.

Retained values

Removing a field from your project does not delete your field's values from your project's tasks.

If your field is populated, the custom field and its value will still appear in the right pane of your task's details.

If your field is empty, the custom field will also disappear from the right pane of your task's details.

Custom field notifications

You can turn on custom field notifications at any time for both new and existing drop-down fields.

Check the Notifications box when creating a new drop-down field to notify task collaborators when this field's value has been changed.

 

To turn on notifications for an existing field:

1. Click the Customize file
2. Click the Fields tab
3. Click the pencil icon to edit the field settings and check the Notifications box

Custom field notifications are only available for drop-down fields.

Once you are a task collaborator, you will receive an inbox notification every time a field value is changed.

Who will receive custom field notifications?

If a custom field is public to your organization or team and someone checks the notifications box, anyone using that field at the time will receive notifications every time that field's value has been changed. If you want to be notified when a field's value has been changed for a specific task, you need to be a task collaborator.

Project members will only receive custom field notifications if they are following the task where the field value has been changed.