Task List Sharing Walk-through

In this walk-through, we'll show you how to create a Task List and share it with the other users in your account. We'll then show you how to control which of your account users can see the Task List, and which can work with it. Once you've mastered sharing Task Lists, you should be able to work the sharing system for Diaries, Contact Groups and Email Folders, as they work according to the same principles.


Step 1 - Create a Task List

Run the MyOffice windows client as per normal. If you've got MyOffice configured to show the Tasks window on startup, then you'll already be in the right place. If not, then click the "Tasks" button on the toolbar, or select "Tasks" from the "Window" menu to show the Tasks window.

With the tasks window now showing, create a new Task List. This can be accomplished either by clicking the "New Task List" button on the toolbar (it's the leftmost button), or by right-clicking in the "Task List List" on the left side of the tasks window, and selecting "New List" from the context menu.

The following dialog - the Task List Details dialog - will now appear.

Task List Details dialog

Now enter your preferred name for this Task List in the "Name" field. Before you click "OK", take a look at the text below the "Name" field. This shows that the Task List you are about to create will be shared with all the users in your account, and those users will be able to both "read" from it and "write" to it. For those not familiar with permissions systems, "Read" (or "Read Only") means a user will be able to see the data in the list in question, but will not be able to alter it. "Write" (or "Read\Write") means a user will be able to be both see the data, and also edit it. Now, click "OK".

The Task List you've created will now appear in the "Task List List" on the left of the Tasks window, with a small green tick on the icon. This green tick indicates that you (as in, the user you are currently connected to MyOffice as) are able to write to the Task list.

Because this Task List was set up to allow all users on your account to have read and write access to it, all other users in your account should be able to see this list and work with it. If you want to test this, close MyOffice, and log on as another user in your account. You should see the Task List you created in exactly the same place as you created it. If you want to continue to work with your Tasks List's permissions, close MyOffice and log on with the user you were using initially.

Tip - If you're not sure which user you've connected to MyOffice with, open the "Help" menu and select "Who am I?". This will show you which user (and account, if you have more than one) you are currently connected to MyOffice with.


Step 2 - Setting Task List Access Permissions

Now we've created a Task List, and we've got it shared with all the other members of the account, it's time to restrict which members of the account can work with the Task List.

First, open the Task List for editing. This can be done either by double-clicking on the Task List in the Task List List on the left side of the main Tasks window, or by right-clicking on the Task List in the Task List List on the left side of the main Tasks window, and selecting "Edit" from the contect menu. 

Once the Task List Details dialog is open, select the "Permissions" tab. You'll see a checkbox at the top of the tab page called "Assign security permissions to this Task List". It is currently unchecked. When there is no check in this checkbox, all the users in your account have read and write permission for the Task List in question.

To begin assigning security permissions to this Task List, check this checkbox. This can be accomplished by left clicking the checkbox.

Task List Permissions 

With the checkbox checked, three lists appear on the Permissions tab. These are named "No Access", "Read and Write Access", and "Read Only Access". Users listed in the "No Access" list are unable to see this Task List, those in the "Read and Write Access" list can see the Task List and create, edit and delete Tasks in this Task List, and those in "Read Only Access" can see the Tasks in this Task List, but cannot change them. As we can see, when we first check the "Assign security permissions to this Task List" checkbox, all the users in the account are in the "No Access" list, so if we press "OK" now, no-one will be able to see the Task List.

To change the permissions for a given user, the user in question should be moved to the appropriate list. This can be accomplished either by dragging the user to the desired list (select the desired user, hold down the left mouse button, and move the cursor over the desired list, and let go of the left mouse button), or by selecting the desired user and pressing the arrow button that points towards the desired list.

Task List Permissions 

In the example above, the user called "Admin" (which, in this example, is me) has been moved to the "Read and Write Access" list, and the user called "David Gentry" has been move to the "Read Only Access" list. When "OK" is pressed, this Task List will not be visible to all the users in the "No Access" list, David Gentry will be able to see the Task List and any Tasks therein, but will not be able to alter the Tasks, and the Admin user will be able to see this Task List and create, edit and delete any Tasks in this list.


The Task List Admin window

As we've seen above, it's possible to configure a Task List in such a way as to make it invisible to your own user. If you wish to set your Task Lists up in this manner (there can be very sound business reasons for this), then you obviously won't be able to work with them in your Task List List in the main Tasks window. To work with these lists, open the "Tools" menu in the main Tasks window, and select "Task List Admin".

Task List Admin window  

From this window, you are able to perform Task Admin operations on all of your account's Task Lists, even those which you do not have permission to see.