Automatic Due Date in function of another

[Rui Fernandes]

Does anyone know how I can set up a rule (using Butler or any other power-up), to automatically set due dates in individual tasks, when a date is added in a custom field?

To briefly explain : in our recruitment process, we set up a date when we want to choose the selected candidates. All others tasks need to be automatically set up (for example 16 working days before final date)?

Here's the link to our board : https://trello.com/b/oEKIC2jm.

[Iain Dooley · Accepted solution]

@Rui Fernandes I think you could do this in Butler by triggering when a custom field is set to a date, set another custom field to the *same* date then move the date in the custom field by X days

[Rui Fernandes]

@Iain Dooley Many thanks for this solution ! So, I was able to set up 5 custom fields, and dates automatically update now depending on when set up date is done on the 1st custom field.

As you can see on the picture, the first custom field, is the one that's more important. Indeed, this is working quite well, I'd like to update not the custom fields, but the individual tasks (on checklists - mentioned with 2 on the picture).

While using Butler, it seems it doesn't allow us to set due dates for tasks on a checklist. Do you know any other way, how we could do it?

[Iain Dooley]

@Rui Fernandes as far as I know, checklist item due dates aren't available in Butler or in the API yet. They're a relatively new feature (also I don't have access to them because I don't have Business Class).

[Rui Fernandes]

Alright, @Iain Dooley ! Many thanks for your help!

[Andrew Fecenko]

Hi @Rui Fernandes,

I'm a member of the Butler engineering team and I've gone ahead and added a new action to Butler that allows you to perform actions on each checklist item in a specific checklist (or in all the checklists on the card if no specific checklist is specified).

The new action is "for each checklist item in a checklist named X" and it can be found here:

For your use case, you can use this new action to update the due date of each checklist item using a command such as:

when custom field "Date To Choose" is set to a date, for each checklist item in a checklist named "Analysis of the need", set the item due on the date in custom field "Date To Choose"

Hope this helps!

[Iain Dooley]

@Andrew Fecenko whoa!! realtime feature additions ... it's a return to the glory days of Butler! I remember making a feature request once on the bus into work and Oscar had replied by the time I arrived that it had been completed :)

[Rui Fernandes]

Yeah @Andrew Fecenko !!

Thanks so much for your help! This is quite useful - indeed, I tried to set up a rule for that, but it seems it doesn't work. I'm not sure if the problem comes from the checklist that isn't (yet) a checklist template, or if there's another reason.

I'd be so much grateful if you could take a look at our board : https://trello.com/b/oEKIC2jm.

Otherwise, we can continue chatting by email or any other tool, so that you can probably help me out to configure this?

[Andrew Fecenko]

@Rui Fernandes 
Is there any chance that you're using the "set due X" action (found in the "Dates" tab) in your command which will set the card's due date instead of the "set the item due X" action which will set the checklist item's due date?

To set the due date on each checklist item you'll need to use the "set the item due X" action which can be found in the "Checklists" tab. 

[Rui Fernandes]

Hi @Andrew Fecenko ! Yes, you're right : I was using "set due X". I have made the change, and it's working perfectly well!

What could be much more efficient for us, is to "set the item due X", by item checklist, individually. Indeed, some tasks in a checklist, are performed before others....

But, it's already so great that it's possible! Anyway, you rock - so, once again MANY THANKS for this live new feature added :)

[Esme Crutchley]

Hi @Rui Fernandes 

I'm sorry to say (I don't say it very often at all because it hardly ever happens!) but @Iain Dooley (in this rare case) is wrong (I'm sorry Iain!), but not completely!

It looks like they're coming/there but they're not 100% yet.

I've had a look at the Butler interface, and checklists are there with the new due dates, but I'm not totally sure how they're going to work because they're not explained properly because it looks like they're only talking about a single checklist item, not the whole checklist and I can't for the life of me see any way to pick a specific item (or the whole checklist for that matter):

It appears that the new checklist capabilities are there - assigning the item and assigning a due date, but by the look of it, they can't be triggered by a custom field to replicate the date of a custom field (that I can see).

You might want to have a look through them and see what you can get to work?

Esme :)

PS - Iain - Sorry again!

[Iain Dooley]

@Esme Crutchley no need to apologise :) I often learn new stuff on here and I'm happy to have others sharing their knowledge so I can stay current.

But yes it doesn't appear as though there is anyway to enumerate the items nor is there a way to move the due date on the item by an offset so you couldn't use the same trick of setting due now and then moving by some offset.

There's def no documentation in the API yet about the ability to interact with due dates or assignments on checklist items, maybe if I upgraded to Business Class I'd find the fields hiding there even though the documentation hasn't caught up :)

[Esme Crutchley]

Hi @Iain Dooley 

Being on BC myself, this is what I see as options with the new Advanced Checklists:

So I think we're getting there, but I don't think we're firing on all cylinders yet. I think with creative variables, we could probably muddle something together, but having only just found it, I haven't had time to have a fiddle!

Esme :)

[Rui Fernandes]

Hi @Esme Crutchley & @Iain Dooley !

Many thanks for your replies. Actually, I've not been able to automatically (I'm on BC as well), update due date of different tasks in all checklists we've got till now.

I think it isn't yet available as a new feature. I've created some rules to update automatically when a due date is set up on a customised field. With these, the due dates are set up like : 16 days before due date of customised field.. It works perfectly well!

I'll make sure to continue getting the new features available, and if there's any new way to make this happen I'll let you know then!