Top Tip - How to fix a messy Task List

The Task List is an electronic diary built into the BMM and its behaviour is totally controlled by Dolphin administrators. 

The Task List is completely configurable and the configuration will vary per user and/or per team. This explains why the Task List looks different from one user to another.

First of all, the Task List can be configured to display as soon as a user logs into the BMM. If a user complains that their Task List takes too long to download its messages and this slows them down, this is a sign that they have a backlog of un-actioned messages.

To solve this issue, a Dolphin administrator needs to follow these instructions:

1. Go to Options > User Security > search for and retrieve the Security dialog for the relevant staff member

2. In the User Setup tab, deselect the Task List Check at Login setting.

This will ensure that the Task List won't display as soon as the user logs into the BMM. Instead, the user will need to select this icon or press F7 on their keyboard to launch the task list.

This is an easy fix, however it will not solve the issue of the backlog of unactioned messages which will keep appearing in the Task List when launched.

There are multiple ways to solve this problem and clear the Task List from unnecessary messages. Below are some suggestions.

My Mail messages

Messages that belong to the My Mail type can be deleted by the user. They need to double click on each My Mail message in the Task List. The folder and the message attached to it will display. The user will need to close both to go back to the Task List to select the check box related to the message in the Sel column and then click on the Delete Sel button. We recommend that the user opens all messages first and then they select all of them to be deleted at once.

Another option is for the Dolphin administrator to retrieve the Task List Profile linked to the affected users, copy the My Mail workflow query and add the Folder Departure Date where clause with a date After and Including today. Once this new query is added to the Task List Profile linked to the user, they will only have displayed My mail messages for folders with a departure date from today onwards. 

My Retrievals messages

This type of message is triggered by the fact that there is a date in the folder Retrieval field: . Users can double click on each message and remove the date from the Retrieval field. As soon as the folder is saved without a retrieval date, the message will be removed from the Task List.

However, if one or more users have lots of messages of this type in their Task List, another option is for the Dolphin administrator to retrieve the Task List Profile linked to the affected users, copy the My Retrievals workflow query and add the Folder Creation Date 'where clause' with a date After and Including today. Once this new query is added to the Task List Profile linked to the user, they will only have displayed My retrievals messages for folders with a departure date from today onwards. 

Other types of messages

Other message types such as reminders of quotes to chase or bookings on option to cancel, are automated. Therefore, a Dolphin administrator will need to retrieve the Task List Profile linked to the affected users, copy the workflow query and add the Folder Creation Date or the Folder Departure Date 'where clause' with a date After and Including today. Once the new query/ies are added to the Task List Profile linked to the affected users, they will only have displayed messages for folders with a creation date or a departure date from today onwards.