How to create a Dynamic Task Summary via Task Workflow Plugin

Form.com allows to set default task summary using piping references that will be substituted with the information from the task response. The summary will also be dynamically updated in case the responses to the questions change.

This ability is currently missing if you are creating the tasks via Task Workflow plugin – if you add piping references to the Task Summary field in the plugin settings, they will be replaced with the actual values submitted in the initial task and will be passed to the next task as plain text.

This article explains how to keep piping references in the Task Summary when the task is created via Task Workflow plugin so that the system uses new task as a source of data and keeps the summary dynamic.

Set up the form

1. Create a form where the tasks will be created via Task Workflow plugin and attach it to a task definition.

2. Prepare identifiers of the questions that you need to be present in the task summary as piping references. In the sample form it’s Q1 – address, city, state:
   

   

3. Create a system question where the identifiers will be stored as text responses and add them by the means of calculated values. It’s Q2 in the sample form:
   

   

4. Add show/hide logic to the form to hide this system question from form and response:
   

   

Set up Task Workflow plugin

1. On the Plugins page of the form create Task Workflow plugin.

2. Add piping references to the Task Summary field in the following format
   
   [[Qx.Ay]]
   
   where piping references point to the question where you previously stored the identifiers. Enclose the piping reference in additional set of square brackets:
   

   

End result

The task will be created with the dynamic task summary as shown on the screen shot below: