6.4 KiB
Task Defaults
Task defaults control how new tasks are created and what default values they receive. These settings help streamline task creation by pre-filling common values and configuring the basic task management workflow.
Folder and File Management
Default Tasks Folder
Setting: tasksFolder
Default: TaskNotes/Tasks
Specifies where new task files are created by default. The folder will be created automatically if it doesn't exist.
Usage Notes:
- Use forward slashes for folder paths
- Relative to your vault root
- Can be overridden per task using the default folder setting below
Task Tag
Setting: taskTag
Default: task
The Obsidian tag that identifies notes as TaskNotes. This tag is automatically added to all tasks.
Important Behaviors:
- Enter without the
#symbol (the plugin adds this automatically) - This tag is always included in task files
- Used by the plugin to identify which notes are tasks
- Changing this will not automatically update existing tasks
Excluded Folders
Setting: excludedFolders
Default: Empty
Comma-separated list of folder paths to exclude from the Notes view. This setting helps performance by skipping folders that don't contain relevant notes.
Format: folder1, folder2/subfolder, folder3
Filename Generation
Filename Format
Setting: taskFilenameFormat
Options: title, zettel, timestamp, custom
Default: zettel
Controls how task filenames are generated:
Title: Uses the task title as the filename (sanitized for filesystem compatibility)
Zettel: Uses YYMMDD format plus base36 seconds since midnight (e.g., 25012715a)
Timestamp: Full timestamp format YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS
Custom: Uses the custom filename template with variable substitution
Custom Filename Template
Setting: customFilenameTemplate
Default: {title}
Template used when filename format is set to "custom". Supports variable substitution:
Available Variables:
{title}: Task title{date}: Current date (YYYY-MM-DD){time}: Current time (HHMMSS){priority}: Task priority{status}: Task status
Example Templates:
{date}-{title}: Date prefix with titleTask-{date}-{time}: Timestamp-based with prefix{priority}-{title}: Priority-based organization
Default Task Properties
Status and Priority
Default Status: defaultTaskStatus
Default: open
Default Priority: defaultTaskPriority
Default: normal
These settings determine the initial status and priority assigned to new tasks. Values must match your configured statuses and priorities.
Default Dates
Default Due Date: defaultDueDate
Options: none, today, tomorrow, next-week
Default: none
Default Scheduled Date: defaultScheduledDate
Options: none, today, tomorrow, next-week
Default: today
Automatically assigns due dates and scheduled dates to new tasks based on the selected option.
Organization Defaults
Default Contexts: defaultContexts
Format: Comma-separated string
Example: @home, @computer, @phone
Default Tags: defaultTags
Format: Comma-separated string
Example: #work, #project-alpha, #urgent
These settings pre-populate the contexts and tags fields when creating new tasks.
Time and Recurrence
Default Time Estimate: defaultTimeEstimate
Default: 0 (no estimate)
Unit: Minutes
Default Recurrence: defaultRecurrence
Options: none, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly
Default: none
Sets default time estimates and recurrence patterns for new tasks.
Template System
Body Template
Use Body Template: useBodyTemplate
Default: false
Body Template Path: bodyTemplate
Default: Empty
When enabled, applies a template file to the body content of new tasks.
Template File Format
Template files can contain both YAML frontmatter and body content:
---
customField: "default value"
projectTag: "project-name"
---
# Task Details
Use this section for additional context and notes.
## Related Links
- [[Project Overview]]
- [[Meeting Notes]]
## Progress Notes
-
Template Variables
Templates support variable substitution in both frontmatter and body content:
Basic Variables:
{{title}}: Task title{{details}}: User-provided details from creation modal{{date}}: Current date (YYYY-MM-DD){{time}}: Current time (HH:MM)
Task Properties:
{{priority}}: Task priority level{{status}}: Task status{{contexts}}: Task contexts (comma-separated){{tags}}: Task tags (comma-separated){{timeEstimate}}: Time estimate in minutes{{dueDate}}: Due date if set{{scheduledDate}}: Scheduled date if set
Context Variables:
{{parentNote}}: Link to the note where task was created (for instant conversion)
Template Processing
Frontmatter Merging: Template frontmatter is merged with default task properties, with template values taking precedence.
Variable Substitution: All template variables are processed during task creation.
Error Handling: If the template file is missing or invalid, task creation continues with default content.
Natural Language Processing
Enable Natural Language Input
Setting: enableNaturalLanguageInput
Default: true
When enabled, shows a smart input field in the task creation modal that can parse natural language descriptions into structured task data.
Default Date Type
Setting: nlpDefaultToScheduled
Default: true
When the natural language parser finds ambiguous dates (like "tomorrow" without "due" or "scheduled"), this setting determines whether they become due dates (false) or scheduled dates (true).
Usage Examples
Project-Based Setup
For project-based task management:
Tasks Folder: Projects/Current/Tasks
Default Contexts: @project
Default Tags: #current-project
Use Body Template: true
Body Template: Templates/Project-Task-Template.md
GTD-Style Setup
For Getting Things Done methodology:
Tasks Folder: GTD/Tasks
Default Contexts: @anywhere
Default Status: open
Default Priority: normal
Filename Format: timestamp
Simple Setup
For basic task management:
Tasks Folder: Tasks
Default Scheduled Date: today
Filename Format: title
Use Body Template: false
These defaults settings provide the foundation for your TaskNotes workflow and can be adjusted as your needs evolve.