Task Type Builder

Every part of the screen you use to build a task type.

The task type builder is where you design the screens field workers see and fill in on the field app. You add pages, place components, set their properties and check the result on a simulated phone, all on one screen.

Required permission:

• View flow
• Edit flow

Open Workflow › Task Type and pick a task type. Without Edit flow you can open and view a task type, but the app refuses to save changes.

Builder layout

1. Task type picker: the task type that is open. Pick another one to switch. The pencil next to it opens the Task Type Manager.
2. Pages / Configuration tabs: Pages is where you build the screens. Configuration connects the task type to the task list, routing, task times and the API. See Configuration.
3. History: every saved version of the task type, with what changed. See Version History.
4. Page list: the Initial page at the top, then the field app pages. Each page lists its components; click one to edit it. See Pages.
5. Add page: add a field app page at the end of the list.
6. Component properties: the settings of the page or component you clicked. When nothing is selected it says Select a component to edit it.
7. Mobile app preview: the open page as it looks on the field app. It updates as you edit. The phone button at the top right hides or shows it. See Mobile App Preview.
8. Discard changes / Save: Save stores every change; Discard changes goes back to the last saved version. Both are disabled until you change something. The text on the left says Unsaved changes or All changes saved.

If you leave the page or pick another task type with unsaved changes, the app asks whether to discard them.

Pages

A task type is made of pages, and each page is one screen on the field app.

• Initial page: always at the top and cannot be deleted, renamed or moved. It is shown when a task is created, on the web app and on the field app, and holds what the person creating the task already knows, such as the customer’s name and address.
• Field app pages (Page 1, Page 2, …): the screens the field worker goes through while doing the task. Add as many as you need with Add page, rename them, and drag them into order.

See Pages for the full reference.

Components

Components are the building blocks of a page. Click Add component at the bottom of a page, pick the type, then set it up in the properties panel.

The list only offers the components that the page can hold. On the Initial page that is Input, Select, View, List, Photo, Signature, Bill and Subpage. Field app pages also offer Timer, Voice, Capture, Subflow and Video. When the task type reaches its plan’s component limit, Add component says so instead.

Click a component in the page list to open its properties:

1. Selected component: highlighted in the page list. Drag its handle, or use the arrow keys on it, to move it within the page.
2. Basic settings: Component Type, its type (here Type of Input), Title, Default Value, and the Visible and Required switches. Every component type has its own set; see Components.
3. Type-specific settings: settings that only this type has, such as filling a coordinate from an address.
4. Configuration: Show As puts the component’s value on the task list, and Route As sends it to routing. You can set the same from the Configuration tab.

Each component’s Title also gives it an ID, which is used in imports, exports, automations and the API. Changing the title of a saved component changes its ID; the app tells you the old and the new ID.

The ⋯ button on a component row opens its actions:

• Move to Page …: move the component to another page. A component that only field app pages can hold, such as a Timer, cannot be moved to the Initial page; the app tells you if a move is not allowed.
• Delete component: remove it when you save.

The table below lists every component:

Component	What it does	Initial page	Field app pages
Input	Captures typed data: text, number, date, time, phone number, link, currency, address or coordinate.	Yes	Yes
Select	A dropdown, checkboxes or a group of buttons.	Yes	Yes
View	Shows information, often a value from the Initial page.	Yes	Yes
List	Items with a quantity.	Yes	Yes
Photo	Takes photos.	Yes	Yes
Signature	A hand-drawn signature.	Yes	Yes
Bill	Billable items with quantity, price, costs, discounts and a total.	Yes	Yes
Subpage	A group of fields filled in more than once.	Yes	Yes
Timer	Measures how long a step takes.	No	Yes
Voice Note	Records audio.	No	Yes
Capture	Stamps the date and time of a step.	No	Yes
Subflow	Creates a linked task of another task type.	No	Yes
Video	Records a short video.	No	Yes

Before you save

When you click Save, the app checks the task type. A page with a problem shows a warning icon (Please re-check the components on this page before saving the task type), and the component that needs fixing is marked.

Two settings get a reminder if they are empty, because tasks still work without them but look incomplete:

• Task Title Mapping Not Configured: no component is set as the task list Title, so task titles may be blank.
• Routing Address Mapping Not Configured: no component is set as the route Address, so routing visits will have no address.

Each reminder links to the part of the Configuration tab to fix, or lets you save anyway.

Related

• Pages
• Mobile App Preview
• Configuration
• Version History