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Subtasks in Smartsheet represent tasks that must be completed to finish an overall task. In other words, each subtask belongs to a main task. Therefore, creating and completing subtasks is essential to completing your project. Unfortunately, many have struggled with this simple task.
This article addresses the issue with a step-by-step guide to the process on several of the most popular devices. In addition, we will answer some frequently asked questions on the topic.
How to add subtasks in Smartsheet
Tasks are incredibly easy to create—they’re the backbone of Smartsheet’s functionality.
To add subtasks, follow the steps below:
On Mac
- Navigate to the appropriate project. Scroll to the section where you want to create a subtask.
- Control-click (right-click) your trackpad on the row number of the parent task and select insert row below. Alternatively, you can simply press Control and “i” to create a new row.
- Type the title of your subtask in the task column of your new row and click the row number of the subtask.
- Navigate to and click the indent button on one of the top ribbons next to the filter button; It looks like a few lines with an arrow pointing to the right. Alternatively, press “Command” and “]” (right square bracket) to indent the line.
- It is good practice to ensure that you have created the subtask correctly immediately after creating it. To do it:
- Navigate to the main task.
- Press the little minus sign next to it.
- If the subtask disappears, you have successfully created a subtask.
On Windows
- Navigate to the appropriate project. Scroll to the section where you want to create a subtask.
- Right click on the row number of the main task and select insert row below. Alternatively, you can simply press “Insert” on your keyboard.
- Type the title of your subtask in the task column of your new row and click the row number of the subtask.
- Navigate to and click the indent button on one of the top ribbons next to the filter button (the arrow pointing to the right). Alternatively, press “Control” and “]” (right bracket) to indent the line.
- It is good practice to ensure that you have created the subtask correctly immediately after creating it. To do it:
- Navigate to the main task.
- Press the little minus sign next to it.
- If the subtask disappears, you have successfully created a subtask.
On iPhone
- Navigate to the appropriate project.
- Place the sheet in “Grid” view. It’s the button in the top right corner, second from the left. There will be quite a few options with different uses. For the purposes of this tutorial, place your sheet in “Grid” view.
- Scroll to the section where you want to create a subtask and tap the row number of the main task.
- Scroll down to insert and tap “Bottom Row.”
- Tap the task column in the new row you created. Then tap the blue keyboard button in the bottom left corner of your screen.
- Type the task title in the new row. If the main task has subtasks other than the one you just created, then you are done. The application automatically created a subtask because of how it understands the hierarchy.
- Tap the blue check mark button.
- Tap the row number for your subtask. Scroll down to the modify section and tap the indent row button.
- It is good practice to ensure that you have created the subtask correctly immediately after creating it. To check if you have done this, press the little minus button next to the task. If the subtask disappears, you created it successfully.
On Android
- Navigate to the appropriate project.
- Place the sheet in “Grid” view. It’s the button in the top right corner, second from the left. There will be quite a few options with different uses. For the purposes of this tutorial, place your sheet in “Grid” view.
- Scroll to the section where you want to create a subtask and tap the row number of the main task.
- Scroll down to insert and tap “Bottom Row.”
- Tap the task column in the new row you created. Then tap the blue keyboard button in the bottom left corner of your screen.
- Type the task title in the new row. If the main task has subtasks other than the one you just created, then you are done. The application automatically created a subtask because of how it understands the hierarchy.
- Tap the blue check mark button.
- Tap the row number for your subtask. Scroll down to the modify section and tap the indent row button.
- It is good practice to ensure that you have created the subtask correctly immediately after creating it. To check if you have done this, press the little minus button next to the task. If the subtask disappears, you created it successfully.
How to mark a subtask as complete in Smartsheet
After creating a subtask for your project, you should have a comprehensive understanding of how the hierarchy works in Smartsheet and how the hierarchy affects the project workflow. In other words, how the fulfillment of subtasks leads to the fulfillment of tasks. Unfortunately, however, many people don’t know how to mark a subtask as complete.
This is how you do it:
On Mac
- Navigate to the appropriate project and scroll to the subtask you completed.
- Select it and hover over it so that the row is highlighted in blue.
- Carefully move the cursor to the right, across the columns, until you see the outline of a box.
- Click on the box. A blue check mark should appear indicating that you successfully marked the subtask as complete.
On Windows
- Navigate to the appropriate project. Scroll to the subtask you completed.
- Select it and hover over it so that the row is highlighted in blue.
- Carefully move the cursor to the right, across the columns, until you see the outline of a box.
- Click on the box. A blue check mark should appear indicating that you successfully marked the subtask as complete.
On iPhone
- Navigate to the appropriate project.
- Place the sheet in Mobile view. It’s the button in the top right corner, second from the left. There will be quite a few options with different uses. For the purposes of this tutorial, place your sheet in “Mobile” view.
- Scroll to the subtask you want to mark as completed. Check that the subtask name is in bold and that the main task above it is grayed out.
- Tap the white square above the text that says Done to mark the project as complete.
On Android
- Navigate to the appropriate project.
- Place the sheet in Mobile view. It’s the button in the top right corner, second from the left. There will be quite a few options with different uses. For the purposes of this tutorial, place your sheet in Mobile view.
- Scroll to the subtask you want to mark as completed. Check that the subtask name is in bold and that the main task above it is grayed out.
- Tap the white square above the text that says Done to mark the project as complete.
Mark this tutorial as complete
Adding and completing subtasks is vital to successfully completing your project. It makes time management and work assignment a breeze, plus it reduces the number of mistakes your team makes. Successful utilization of this technology allows you to optimize your workflow and complete projects in record time.
Have you ever added a subtask in Smartsheet? Did you use the tips described in the article? Share your experiences in the comments section below.
