Tasks are the core building block of OrbitalWP. Each task is a WordPress custom post type with its own editor, custom fields, taxonomy support, and permission controls. Tasks can exist on their own or attach to posts and pages in your site.
Use tasks to track work items, content requests, editorial assignments, or any action that needs completion and accountability.
Quick Start
- Navigate to Orbital → Tasks in your WordPress admin
- Click Add New to create your first task
- Enter a title and use the Gutenberg editor to add task details
- Set priority, due date, and assignee in the Orbital sidebar
- Publish the task to make it visible to users with appropriate permissions
How It Works
Tasks behave like WordPress posts with additional structure designed for work management. The Gutenberg editor provides full formatting capabilities, and custom fields capture task-specific data like dates, priority, and completion status.
Task Fields
Every task includes built-in fields that cannot be removed:
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Priority | Low, Normal, High, or Urgent. Determines visual styling and sort order. |
| Start Date | When work should begin. Required for Timeline view display. |
| Due Date | Task deadline. Tasks past this date display with overdue styling in the admin list and trigger overdue email notifications (if enabled). |
| Percent Complete | 0-100 integer tracking progress. Auto-syncs with the Completed field. |
| Completed | Yes/No flag. Setting to Yes forces percent to 100. |
| Assignee | The user responsible for completing this task. |
| Approval Status | Open, Approved, Rejected, or Revision. Controls workflow progression. |
| Closed | Hides the task from the Kanban board. Closed tasks still appear in the admin task list. |
Administrators can add custom fields beyond these defaults for additional data capture.
Hierarchical Structure (Subtasks)
Tasks support parent-child relationships. Any task can have subtasks nested beneath it, and this nesting can continue to any depth.
When you create subtasks, several behaviors activate automatically:
- Progress rolls up – Parent task percent_complete equals the average of all subtask percentages
- Permissions inherit – Users with access to a parent task can access its subtasks
- Completion blocks – A parent cannot be marked complete if any subtask remains incomplete
- Approval chains – A parent cannot be approved until all subtasks reach approved status
The Subtasks metabox on each task’s edit screen shows all nested children with indentation to indicate depth.
Taxonomies
Tasks support two built-in taxonomies for organization:
- Task Categories – Hierarchical classification (like post categories)
- Task Tags – Flat labeling for flexible grouping
Both taxonomies integrate with filtering on the Kanban board and task list views.
Content Relationships
Tasks can attach to posts, pages, or any public post type in your site. This creates a bidirectional relationship:
- The task shows which content it relates to
- The post/page edit screen shows attached tasks in an Orbital sidebar metabox
Use content relationships to track work items for specific articles, product pages, or documentation updates.
Completion Logic
The Completed field and Percent Complete field stay synchronized:
- Setting Percent Complete to 100 automatically marks Completed as Yes
- Setting Completed to Yes forces Percent Complete to 100
- Unchecking Completed restores the previous manual percentage value
When a task has subtasks, attempting to complete the parent triggers a confirmation modal. You can complete just the parent or batch-complete all incomplete subtasks simultaneously.
Important Details
- Frontend viewing – Tasks are not visible on the front end. However we have integrated with Bricks Builder to display Orbital data to logged in users with the appropriate permissions.
- Gutenberg only – The Classic Editor is not supported for task content.
- Assignee access – Assigned users can view their tasks even without broader read permissions.
- Soft delete – Trashing a task hides it but does not remove data. Permanently delete from Trash to fully remove.
- Timeline requirements – Both Start Date AND Due Date must be set for a task to appear on the Timeline view.