✔  Available on Starter, Deliver, Grow, and Scale subscriptions. 1

What
Create Portfolio board triggers to automatically update a project's properties when the project card is moved to a particular column.
Why
  • Save time by automating steps in your workflow. You don't need to remember to update key details as projects move through board columns. Teamwork.com can do that for you!
  • Eliminate the manual work and decrease room for error where possible when updating basic project information.
Who
  • Site admins (in the owner company) can create and manage Portfolio boards, columns, and triggers.
  • Standard users (in any company) with the profile permission:
    • Manage the projects portfolio (allows users to create and manage Portfolio boards, columns, and triggers. Standard users must be project admins to have additional rights to move projects between columns.)
When
Any time there is an action that regularly has to occur and there is a Portfolio trigger that can carry out that action.
What
Create Portfolio board triggers to automatically update a project's properties when the project card is moved to a particular column.
Why
  • Save time by automating steps in your workflow. You don't need to remember to update key details as projects move through board columns. Teamwork.com can do that for you!
  • Eliminate the manual work and decrease room for error where possible when updating basic project information.
Who
  • Site admins (in the owner company) can create and manage Portfolio boards, columns, and triggers.
  • Standard users (in any company) with the profile permission:
    • Manage the projects portfolio (allows users to create and manage Portfolio boards, columns, and triggers. Standard users must be project admins to have additional rights to move projects between columns.)
When
Any time there is an action that regularly has to occur and there is a Portfolio trigger that can carry out that action.

Before you start

You can add multiple triggers to a column. Each trigger type can only be used once per column, though. For example, a column can only have one trigger related to modifying project dates.

Create a Portfolio board column trigger

Create triggers on individual Portfolio board columns from the Portfolio area.

  1. Click ... More in Teamwork.com's main navigation menu.
  2. Select Planning from the pop-out menu. You might find Planning pinned to the main navigation menu.
  3. Switch to the Portfolio tab.


     
  4. Click a Portfolio board's name to view the board and its columns.
  5. Scroll to the relevant column.
  6. Click the ... (ellipsis) to column name's right. This is the column you're adding the trigger to, so when a project is moved here, the trigger action occurs.
  7. Select Column Settings from the dropdown.

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  8. Click + Add Trigger at the top of the column settings panel.

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  9. Click the Choose trigger type field.
  10. Select the trigger type you want to add to the column. This is the event that will occur when a project is moved to this column. We've provided a list of trigger options below on this page.
  11. Set criteria relating to the chosen trigger. The condition options change depending on the trigger you select.
  12. Click Add Trigger to save the trigger to the column.
  13. Next:
    1. Stop there: Click Update to return to the board.
    2. Keep going: Add another trigger to the same column. Psst! You can add multiple triggers to a column. The only condition is each trigger type can only be used once per column.
      1. Click + Add Trigger at the top of the column settings panel and repeat steps 9 to 11, then click Update.

The trigger is applied to the board column and will run each time a project admin or site admin moves a project card to the column.


Supported triggers

📝 You can apply multiple triggers on each column. Each trigger type can only be used once per column, though!

Modify project owner
Add, remove, or replace the project owner when a project is moved to the column.
Modify dates
Apply changes to project start and end dates when projects are moved to the column.
  • Don't change — use this to keep either start or end date the same while modifying the other date.
  • Remove date — remove the project's current start or end date.
  • Select a specific date — set a new start or end date.
  • Push date — push the start or end date by a specific number of days.
  • Relative date - set a new start or end date relative to the current day (ex. current day + 5 days).
💡 Use Skip weekends to prevent the new date falling on a weekend. This option is available when using push or relative date options.
Modify tags
Update a project's tags when it's moved to the column.
  • Replace tags - replace all existing project tags with other tags.
  • Add/remove tags
    • Add specific tags to the project (without removing existing project tags).
    • Remove specific tags from the project.
Archive project
Archive projects when they are moved to the column.
Send custom notification
Send a custom notification to specific people when projects are moved to the column. Select individual users to send the notification to and include a custom message.
📝 Users must be members of a project to receive related notifications.
Modify category
Add, remove, or change a project's category when projects are moved to the column.
Modify project owner
Add, remove, or replace the project owner when a project is moved to the column.
Modify dates
Apply changes to project start and end dates when a project is moved to the column.
  • Don't change — use this to keep either start or end date the same while modifying the other date.
  • Remove date — remove the project's current start or end date.
  • Select a specific date — set a new start or end date.
  • Push date — push the start or end date by a specific number of days.
  • Relative date - set a new start or end date relative to the current day (ex. current day + 5 days).
💡 Use Skip weekends to prevent the new date falling on a weekend. This option is available when using push or relative date options.
Modify tags
Update a project's tags when it's moved to the column.
  • Replace tags - replace all existing project tags with other tags.
  • Add/remove tags
    • Add specific tags to the project (without removing existing project tags).
    • Remove specific tags from the project.
Archive project
Archive projects when they are moved to the column.
Send custom notification
Send a custom notification to specific people when projects are moved to the column. Select individual users to send the notification to and include a custom message.
📝 Users must be members of a project to receive related notifications.
Modify category
Add, remove, or change a project's category when the project is moved to the column.


Manage existing triggers

View and manage a Portfolio board column's active triggers from the column's settings.

💡 You'll see a trigger icon at the bottom columns with existing triggers. Hover over it to see which triggers have been set up. 

  1. Click ... More in Teamwork.com's main navigation menu.
  2. Select Planning from the pop-out menu. You might find Planning pinned to the main navigation menu.
  3. Go to the Portfolio tab.
  4. Click a Portfolio board's name to view the board and its columns.
  5. Click the trigger icon at the bottom of the column to open column settings. You can also click the ... (ellipsis) beside the column's name, then select Column Settings.
     
     
     
  6. Hover over an existing trigger (in the Triggers section at the top of the column settings panel).
    1. Edit - update the trigger's criteria:
      1. Click the pencil icon to open the trigger details window.
      2. Update the criteria associated with the selected trigger type. These differ for each trigger type.
      3. Click Update Trigger. The trigger's new rules go into effect for future projects moved into the column (the change is not retroactive for projects already in the column).
    2. Delete - delete the trigger from the column:
      1. Click the X. The trigger is immediately removed from the list.
         
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  7. Click Update to return to the Portfolio board.

Best practices

  • Group related projects: Create a Portfolio board with columns that cover the major phases that projects move through. Each project manager does not necessarily need their own board.
  • Tell your team: If you're creating a Portfolio board, work as a team to create the columns and make sure each project manager actively moves their projects through the board.
  • Automate: Use triggers to automate aspects of your project management workflow as projects move through Portfolio columns. Create more sophisticated automation by adding multiple triggers to a column. 
    • Need some ideas? Set a Modify dates trigger to push projects' due date by 7 days on your "At Risk" column. Set a Send custom notification trigger to notify key stakeholders when a project is added to the column to inform them of delays.
1. Also available on legacy subscriptions: Pro, Premium, Enterprise.