You can create action templates to easily add subactions, assignees, due dates, and dependencies to your action cards. Action templates can help you quickly update tasks that tend to repeat throughout your projects and keep consistency across the workspace.
Additionally, these templates can also be automatically applied using forms or project settings for more streamlined workflows.
To create an action template:
Go to your main menu (upper right corner)
Click "Settings"
Select "Templates"
Make sure you are in the "Action Card" menu
Click "Create action template"
Name the template and provide a label if desired
Open Subactions to add subactions and their assignees. If you want subactions scheduled automatically, turn on Automatically add due dates, then expand each subaction’s details to set its Day and Duration. You can add further levels of subactions too.
Click Save action template.
You can also create an action template straight from an action card, using the 'Save as template' option underneath the More menu on the right:
Adding an action template to a card
Open a new or existing action card, then select More → Apply template.
Search for and select the template you want to use, then click Apply template(s). If a confirmation appears, click Apply template.
Applying a template to an existing action
When you manually apply a template from an action card’s More → Apply template menu:
The template description is added below the existing description rather than replacing it.
Existing custom-field values are preserved rather than replaced by the template’s values.
A template’s placeholder assignee does not replace an existing assignee. If the action is unassigned, the template’s placeholder is applied.
Applying the same template again can add its description again, resulting in duplicate text. Review the action before reapplying a template.
Setting due dates on action templates
Scheduling is optional. To set subaction dates automatically, enable Automatically add due dates in the template’s Subactions section.
Day 0 uses the main action’s due date, or today if it has no due date. Negative Day values schedule before that reference date; positive values schedule after it.
Duration 1 adds only a due date. For longer durations, Day sets the start date.
For example, suppose your main action is due 15 Jan and every step has Duration 1. With weekends included and no holiday adjustments:
Draft — Day −2: due 13 Jan.
Review — Day −1: due 14 Jan.
Finalize & Post — Day 0: due 15 Jan.
Analyze Post Traffic — Day +6: due 21 Jan.
Weekend and holiday settings can shift dates. If the main action has no due date, negative Day values can put subactions in the past. For multi-day examples, calendar rules, and recalculating dates after a deadline changes, see Action Template — Deadlines.
Adding dependencies to the template
Not only can you automatically add deadlines, you can also set up dependencies. So if one step can't move forward without the completion of another, it can be useful to set one up.
Expand a subaction’s details and click Add dependency. Search for and select the subaction it should wait on. Selecting it adds the dependency, which appears as Waiting on with an option to remove it.
Adding approval rounds to the template
If your action will need an approval process, you can include an approval template within your action template. (Note: you will need to first save the approval template by setting up the approval round and clicking Save as template under the More menu).
In the action template editor, open Approvals, click Add approval, and select your approval template.
Adding multiple action templates to a card
You can now layer multiple action templates on a single action card. To do so:
Apply the first action template to the card.
Select a second action template from the dropdown list.
Apply the second template, then review the resulting action and subactions. The existing-action behavior described above also applies when layering templates.
Applying action template to multiple actions at once
If you want to apply the same template to actions in bulk, you can do it in Table view.
All you have to do is to select actions, right-click and select 'Apply action template'.
Applying action templates through forms
To apply an action template to actions created by a form, configure it in the form editor. Under Submission settings, select Create new action in Submission targets.
In that action’s settings, open Use action template, select the template, and click Apply. Save and publish the form when ready. Submit a test response and check the created action and subactions.
