Items, custom fields, filters, and saved views

Creating items#

+ New item in a list or view toolbar
Mod+Alt+T quick create (desktop, when InventTasks is focused)
Calendar — select a day → New item
Reminders / Short notes — add buttons on system list pages

When creating Spaces, Folders, Lists, or items, choose Start from a saved template or blank.

Opening items#

Settings → Open item:

Open in modal (default) — full InventTasks editor
Open .md in Obsidian editor — raw note for power users

Header (cover, IDs, breadcrumb, favorite, menu) · Title · Core fields (status, priority, type, dates, duration, time estimate/tracked, sprint points, tags, context) · Custom fields · Lists (home + additional) · Parents / Subitems · Relationships (Blocks, Waiting on, Related — mirrored) · Documents · Description · Checklist · Attachments · Recurring · Comments · Activity · timestamps in the footer.

Desktop can switch the modal between a single-column classic layout and a wide two-pane layout. Mobile always uses the single-column layout. Feature settings can hide individual modal sections without deleting their stored data.

Status workflow#

Statuses belong to four groups: Not started, Active, Done, Closed. Closed items are hidden unless Show closed is enabled. List/Table row checkboxes can move items to Done or Closed per view settings.

Subitems, checklists, time#

Subitems are separate Item files. An Item may have more than one parent; tree views render it once under the first visible parent. With nested subitems off, only one child level is allowed. With it on, the tree can contain a root Item, child, and grandchild.
Checklists are Markdown in the item body; auto-progress fields can derive from checklist completion.
Time tracking stores manual minute totals in time_estimate and time_tracked; there is no live timer or per-session time-entry log.

Attachments and cover#

Ordinary Item attachments go to _attachments/<item_id>/main/; attachment-type custom fields use their own cf-<field-id>/ subfolders. Drag-and-drop files into the modal. Choose a cover image from an upload, an existing attachment, a color, or an external URL.

Recurring items#

Patterns: daily, weekly (pick weekdays), monthly, yearly. End: never, on a date, or after N occurrences. Moving a recurring Item into a Done or Closed status reschedules that same Item to the next occurrence and resets its status until the series ends. The Calendar projects future occurrences up to the recurring horizon (1–12 months in settings; default 3).

Close warnings#

Optional prompts when marking done/closed while subitems, checklist items, or Waiting on blockers remain open.

Custom fields and inheritance#

Custom fields are defined at Workspace and overridden at Space, Folder, or List. Each field has a stable ID and type locked after creation to protect existing item data.

Types: Text, Long text, Markdown note, Secret text, Secret long text, Secret Markdown note, Number, Money, Date, Date & time, Time of day, Checkbox, URL, Email, Phone, Location, Dropdown, Labels (multi-select), Rating, Progress (manual), Progress (automatic from subitems or checklist), Relationship (Item IDs), Doc link, and Attachment.

Values are stored in custom_fields in frontmatter. Required fields show * and highlight when empty.

Secret custom fields#

The three Secret field types are encrypted before they are written to Markdown. On first use, set one workspace password of at least eight characters. InventTasks stores authenticated encryption metadata and ciphertext, but never stores the password or plaintext value. You can reveal one field, unlock all fields in an Item modal, or unlock the workspace for the current session, then lock it again from the toolbar.

The password cannot be recovered. Losing it means losing access to the encrypted values, including ciphertext copied through sync or backup. Ordinary views mask secret values while locked. The External API also redacts them unless Full API access, the separate secret-access switch, and the workspace password are all supplied.

Inheritance: Space → Folder → List cascades statuses, priorities, item types, tags palette, context labels, custom fields, view defaults, feature toggles, item behavior, label styles, notification rules, and calendar rules. Lower levels use Inherit / On / Off (workspace uses On/Off). Reset to inherited drops overrides for a section or everything except identity (name, icon, color, default view).

Filters, saved views, and calculations#

Filters#

Build conditions on title, status, priority, type, tags, context, dates, time estimate/tracked, sprint points, and custom fields. Nest groups with AND/OR. Feature toggles hide unavailable fields (e.g. Tags when tags are off).

Group, sort, swimlanes#

Group by creates collapsible sections with counts
Sort by supports multiple keys
Board swimlanes add a second grouping dimension

Saved views#

Save view captures filters, group, sort, visible fields, subitem mode, show-closed state, and view-specific options (calendar period, Gantt zoom, board column field, …). Update to current view refreshes an existing saved view. Set default view per location in configuration (Last selected restores your previous view on return).

Column calculations (List and Table)#

Per-column footer summaries under each group and a grand total row:

Count all, filled, empty, unique values
Sum, average, min, max, range for numbers and dates
Checked count and percent for checkboxes
Regex match count and equals value count for text

Configure from the column header; settings persist per location for both List and Table.