Starting an activity

No special access is needed to create an activity. After you create an activity, click Activity actions to edit the activity, create a copy of the activity, or use the activity to create a template.

About this task

Activities can be created from scratch or from a template. When you start an activity from a template, your new activity is created with the information saved from the template. For example, if the template contains a set of steps, contacts, and resources, your new activity is populated with the same set of steps, contacts, and resources.

Procedure

Navigate to the activities view and click Start an Activity.
If you are using the stand-alone app, click Apps > Activities to get to the activities view. If you are starting an activity within a community, you must add the activities app before you can start an activity. To add the activities app, click Community Actions > Add Apps and select Activities.
Optional: To create an activity from a template, click Pick an Activity Template and select a template.
If you want to seed the member list with the members defined in the template, also select Use members from template.
Enter the activity Name, Tags, and other details. These fields can be changed later by editing the activity.
- The Name is displayed in the subject of the notification sent to added members. If you do not provide a name, the activity is given the name Untitled.
- Separate multiple tags with commas. After the activity is saved, new tags are added to the tag collection.
- When you add members, first select the member type, then the member's role, then enter the name of the person, community, or group to add as a member. An owner can add content, view and edit all entries, and manage the membership of the activity. An author can add and view content and edit their own entries. A reader can view content only.
- Make sure that the activity goal provides enough information help members distinguish among activities with similar names. The goal is searchable and is displayed in the notification message that members receive when they are invited to join the activity.
Optional: To create an activity from a template, click Display > Template Options and select a template.
1. Select a template from the list of available templates.
2. If you want to keep the tags that were used in the template, select Use tags from this template.
3. If you want to keep the members that were used in the template, select Use members from this template.
From the Activities toolbar, click the Start New Activity button.
In the Activity field, type a short name that describes the purpose of the activity, for example, a project name.
The activity name is displayed in the subject of the notification sent to the people you add to the activity as members. This field is the only required one.
Add members to the activity.
You can add one person at a time or all the members of a community at once by choosing Person or Community from the first field.
If you want to add a member to a role other than the default role of Author and you do not see Reader and Owner fields, click Display > Membership Options. The access level options are defined as follows:
- Author. Can view content and add entries.
- Owner. Can add content, view and edit all entries, and manage the membership of the activity. As the activity creator, you are automatically added to it as an owner.
- Reader. Cannot contribute to an activity; access is restricted to only viewing content.
Begin typing the name of the community or the name of the person you want to add into the field. As you type, a list of matching names is displayed. Click a name in the list to add that person or community.
Separate multiple member names with commas.
In the body of the form, add a description of the activity. Provide a sentence or two that summarizes the goal of the activity, its audience, or the type of content that you want members to add to it.
Provide enough information about the goal to help members distinguish among activities with similar names. The information in this field is searchable and is displayed in the notification message that members receive when they are invited to join the activity.

Results

After the activity is created, the server sends an email message or a notification to the Updates tab of the Home page feature to notify the people that you added as members about the activity.

What to do next

You can add content to the activity by creating entries or to-do items or organize the activity with sections. Save this activity as a template for future use or make it easier to find by flagging it as high priority.