Projects allow you to organize all of the tasks related to a specific initiative, goal, or big piece of work into a variety of different views including list, board, timeline and Gantt chart.
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Create a project
To create a new project:
- Click the Quick add button
- Select Project
A new screen will present you with 3 options where you can either, create a Blank project, Use a template or Import spreadsheet.
Click on + in the Blank project window to start from scratch.
In organizations, you must belong to a team before you can create a project.
Set up your new project
Once you click on Blank project, you’ll be able to fill in your project details, select your layout, choose a project color and icon, and set your privacy settings.
You can also personalize your project by using custom project icons. Upload a jpg or a png to replace the default project icon. These custom icons will show up in your sidebar, home, portfolios and team pages, making it easier to find your projects.
From the project details screen, you can:
In organizations, the create project button will auto-populate with the team highest in your sidebar. Click the Team field to manually select which team your project will be created in.
Once you have filled out these fields and clicked the Create project button, your new project will load in the main pane and also appear in the sidebar.
Project actions
There are many available actions you can take on your projects in Asana. The actions shown below apply to projects, Search Views and My Tasks will have variations of these.
Click on the drop-down icon to access the following options:
- Edit project details - modify the name or description of your project
- Review project permissions
- Set color & icon - change the color of the project
- Copy project link
- Duplicate
- Save as template
- Add to Portfolio
- Import/Export
- Archive - archive the project
- Delete project
Favorite the project by clicking the star symbol beside the project name, adding it to your sidebar for easy access.
Project name and description
A project's name and description provides context on what the project is and what it is looking to achieve. When you open up a project, the project name is displayed prominently in the header.
To change a project's name and description:
- Click on the drop-down menu
- Select Edit project details
Print a project
To print a project:
- Click the drop-down menu
- Click on Export/Print
- Select the Print option
Your printed copy will include:
- Task names and descriptions
- Subtask names and descriptions
- Section or column names
- Incomplete/complete checkbox
- Custom fields
- Task due dates
The printed version reflects the current view of your project or My tasks. If you want the printed version to be sorted or filtered in any other way, simply change the view and try printing again.
You can also use the print option to save your project as a PDF. Most browsers will offer a "Save as PDF" option in their print dialog. Choose this option to save the print view of the project to your computer.
Duplicate a project
Duplicate a project to use it as a template for common workflows.
To duplicate a project:
- Click the drop-down menu next to the project's title
- Select Duplicate
From here, you are presented with a list of task fields to include in your new project. Check your desired fields and click Create New Project when you're done.
For workflows you use all the time, consider using project templates instead of duplicating projects one by one.
Join our Creating basic workflows in Asana virtual training and learn how to build effective projects. Register now.
Project overview and project views
Overview
Project overview is the team's persistent hub to showcase a birds-eye view of the what, why and how of a project and drives easy understanding of its ongoing context. The overview sets the tone for how you and your team will work together on the project, and also is where the name, description as well as roles of project members are accessible.
Project views
Everyone organizes their work differently; some like lists, others sticky notes that can be moved through different sections. Because everyone works differently, Asana has different project views available. Choose from List, Board, Gantt, Timeline, Workflow, Dashboard, Messages, Files and Calendar. This means you can choose the view that suits your work style and helps you visualize tasks more effectively. Check out this article for more.
Saved views
See what's most relevant for you and your team with saved views for projects. Saved views allows project admins and editors to create up to 12 tabs per project with multiple list, board, calendar, gantt view or timeline tabs.
As a project admin or editor you can also apply filters and sorts to projects, as well as save the view as a tab in your project or reorder, set as default, rename or remove tabs. You can also use emojis as your tab icon, by starting the tab name with the emoji and right click to open the tab actions menu in order customize a view.
Some views you might try:
- Set up multiple calendar views to see the projects schedule by month
- Set up a board view to show the progress for open tasks
- Reorder project views to put the most important or most commonly used view first
- Use the dynamic filter Assignee is Me and save it as a new tab; everyone will see the tasks assigned to themselves
Non-task views (Overview, Workflow, Dashboard, Messages, Files) cannot be duplicated or renamed.
If your organization is currently on an Enterprise, Enterprise+ or Legacy Enterprise plan, it’s possible that the Project Admin updated the project permissions to “Project Admins only”. This means the Project Editor can’t modify tabs in the project.
Move a project to another team
This action is available for both public projects and private projects in organizations.
The caveat being in order to move a private project you would need to be a member of both teams.
You can only move a project to teams that you're a member of.
To move a project to another team:
- Click the drop-down menu
- Select Edit project details
- Type the name of the destination team
Move projects to another workspace or organization
Workspaces and organizations have hard barriers. In order to move a project to another space, you'll need to create a new project in your chosen workspace and organization instead, and copy and paste task lists manually from the existing project to this new project.
There are third party tools that may help you transfer or copy an Asana project to a different workspace, like this one. Asana has no liability or responsibility for third party tools.
Copy a project link
Copy the task URL to easily share with team members
To copy a project link:
- Click the drop-down menu
- Select Copy project link
Project colors
If you have a lot of projects, but only a few are relevant or urgent to you, use the color feature to make those projects more visually distinct.
To change a project's color:
- Click the drop-down menu
- Select Set color & icon
- Check the Set for Everyone box to set the project color for everyone across your workspace or organization
Import a project to Asana
You can import tasks to a project in Asana using CSV.
Select the project header drop-down menu next to your project‘s name, hover over Import then choose CSV.
Follow the instructions that follow, choosing the project to which you'd like to add your CSV file and the organization it lives in.
To import projects or tasks into Asana, you can also duplicate the tasks you’d like to move to Asana as a list, and paste that list into a project. Asana will automatically create a new task after each line break.
Note that our Support team cannot offer assistance with third-party tools as they are not developed by Asana.
Export a project
You can export your project to the text-based file formats JSON or CSV.
Aside from projects, you can also export a Search View or your My Tasks.
To export a project:
- Click the drop-down menu next to the project's title
- Hover over Export/Print
- Select your desired file type
Learn more about exporting projects.
Archive a project
Archiving a project allows you to focus on more active projects. Note that only project admins can archive a project.
To archive a project:
- Click the drop-down menu
- Select Archive
Anyone with a link to the archived project will be able to access the project easily. You can also find it through Search.
Tasks in archived projects that are assigned to you will still show in your My tasks.
Looking to mark a project as complete? We recommend completing a project in project status, as archiving a project will not update its status.
Unarchive a project
You can always restore a project via the project header or via the sidebar.
To unarchive a project:
- Click the drop-down menu
- Select Unarchive
- Or click the restore button in the top right hand corner
Archived projects will never expire and do not get deleted.
Delete a project
Deleting a project deletes it for everyone. Only delete projects that you are sure no one wants to keep. Note that only project admins can delete a project.
Assigned tasks and tasks that are associated with other projects will not get deleted.
To delete a project:
- Click the drop-down menu
- Select Delete project
All project members will receive an email notification of the deletion and the person who deleted it will receive a link to undelete it, if they so choose. This undelete link will expire after 30 days. Project deletion emails won't be sent if the project is less than one day old and has zero tasks in it.
Recommended templates
When you click on Use a template you can choose from a library of general templates.
There are recommended templates for you based on your team type, however if you don’t see any templates you’d like in that function you can easily change the team to see other template options.
Custom templates
It's also possible to see and use custom templates created specifically by your Organization if you'd prefer. These custom templates are organized by team.
To use a custom template:
- Select your organization's name
- Select a custom template you wish to use
Template preview
Once you’ve found the template you’d like to use, preview it to get more information. Select Use template when you’re ready to get started.
When you select Use Template, you’ll be able to rename the template and get started with your new project.
Step 1 requires you to add new project details.
Input details:
- Add project details, name, team and select a privacy option
Step 2 to schedule project dates.
Schedule
- Add a start date and an end date to create project
- Click on the Create project button
Project Permissions
Learn more about project permissions and how to adjust them in the permissions article.
Find & access projects
There are many ways to access a project:
- Search for the project's name
- From the list of projects in Teams
- From the list of projects in the sidebar
Project owner and members
Each project only has one project owner, but can have many project members.
Both project owner and project members can add, remove, and edit tasks in the project.
Both project owner and project members can update the project's status and adjust the project's progress chart as well as receive notifications about the project.
Project owner
One of the project members can become the project owner.
The project owner can be identified as follows:
- Navigate to the Overview section of the project
- You will find the project owner listed under Project roles
By default, the person who creates the project will be set as the project's owner.
Reassign project owner
To change the project owner:
- Navigate to the Project roles section of the project's Overview tab
- Click on the dropdown arrow beside any project member's name and select Set as project owner
You can also click on the dropdown arrow beside the current project owner's name and select Remove as project owner
Project members
Keep yourself and your colleagues in the loop on projects by becoming project members.
Project members will receive a notification (via email or inbox, depending on your notification settings) when:
- The project owner updates the project status
- Someone creates or adds a new task to the project
- A new conversation is posted in the project
You don't necessarily need to be a project member to see a project. Project visibility is determined by the project's permissions.
Add project member
Add a project member
- Click the member profile icon in the project's header
- Enter the person's name or email address
You can add multiple people in the project members field. Once you've entered the person's name or email address, you'll be prompted with an Add Member button
All project members will receive email notifications for project deletions. It is not possible to turn these notifications off.
Deleted project notifications also contain a link to restore the deleted project.
Member notification settings
Access member notification settings
- Click the member profile icon in the project's header
- Select Manage Member Notifications
From your member notification settings, you can:
- Adjust notifications for any project member
In the project notification settings, there are three options to choose from:
- Status Updates - notifications when the project owner updates the status of the project
- Conversations - notifications when somebody posts a project conversation
- Task creations - notifications when tasks are created or added into the project
There are two categories of notifications in projects:
Triggered by project actions
- Task added to a project
- Project owner changed
- Project due date changed
- Project story share - when somebody shares a project with you
Related to a project
- Create a conversation - has its own Asana inbox thread
- Create a status update - has its own Asana inbox thread
- Invite accepted - when somebody accepts your invite
Asana users receive email notifications when comments or @mentions are being made to a task they are collaborating on
Sections
Sections allow you to divide and organize the tasks in your project. Sections can be used to create categories, workflow stages, priorities, and more.
You can create a section on the Desktop version of Asana using the keyboard shortcut
Tab-N.
Create sections
To create a section in your project:
- Click the drop-down menu next to the Add new button
- Click Add section
Move tasks between sections
There are two ways to move a task to a different section:
- Drag and drop the task between sections in the main pane
- Click the section name in the task details pane and select a different section from the drop-down list
View sections
There are two ways to identify what section a task is in:
- From the main pane
- From the task details pane
In order to add a section under a list of subtasks, you must use the keyboard shortcut TAB+N.
Collapsible sections
Sections can be expanded and collapsed as required.
Click on the arrow next to a section and you can expand and collapse the tasks under the section.
How to delete a section
You can delete a section at any time.
To delete a section:
- Click on the three dot icon next to the section header
- Select Delete section
From here, you will be prompted to confirm the deletion.
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Want to learn more? Check out all the features of Asana Projects.