Automation Rules

Automation Rules let NevaPlan do small, repeated jobs for you. Each rule says: When something happens to a task, Then do this. For example: when a task is completed, move it to the Done column on the Kanban board.

Open Automation in the Views group of the sidebar. The page title is Automation Rules.

What you see

1. The Add Rule button at the top right.
2. A Search box and three filter buttons: All, Active and Inactive, each with a count.
3. One card per rule. It shows the rule name, the project it applies to (or All Projects), and a switch labeled Active or Inactive.
4. In the card, a When (Trigger) part and a Then (Actions) part.
5. A pencil icon to edit the rule and a trash icon to delete it.
6. At the bottom of the card, how many times the rule has run, such as "3 runs".

With no rules yet, the page says No automation rules and shows a Create Rule button.

Triggers and actions

A trigger is the event that starts the rule. You can choose one:

• Status Changes
• Task Completed
• Task Created
• Priority Changes
• Kanban Column Move
• Due Date Passed

An action is what the rule does. The action list in the rule window includes:

• Set Status
• Set Priority
• Set Assignee
• Move to Kanban Column
• Send in-app notification, which appears inside NevaPlan, not as an email

How to create a rule

1. Press Add Rule. The window title is New Rule.
2. Type a Rule Name, for example "Auto-complete on Done".
3. Under Project (Optional), pick one project, or leave All Projects to apply the rule everywhere.
4. Under When (Trigger), choose the event.
5. Under Then (Actions), choose an action and its value.
6. To add more steps, press Add Action. To remove one, press the X next to it.
7. Press Create Rule.

The rule is active as soon as you save it.

How to turn a rule off, edit it or delete it

• Turn off or on. Press the switch on the card. The label changes between Active and Inactive. An inactive rule keeps its settings but does nothing.
• Edit. Press the pencil, change the fields and save.
• Delete. Press the trash icon and confirm Delete Rule.

When rules run

The note inside the rule window explains the timing:

• Changes you make to a task trigger matching rules immediately.
• Due Date Passed rules are checked once a day, at 08:00 UTC. A rule runs once per task and due date.
• Actions from automation do not trigger other rules. This stops rules from setting each other off in a loop.

The Unavailable warning

If a card shows Unavailable with a warning icon, the rule uses a trigger or action this version of the app can't run. Such a rule can't be switched on. Edit it to pick a supported trigger and action, or delete it.