filter tasks from kanban boards using Task plugin queries

[ezeeman]

[cross-posted from Obsidian forum, lightly edited and with some new ideas added]

I’d like to create task lists that either omit tasks from kanban boards or only contain tasks from kanban boards, and then apply other Task plugin query criteria.

All kanban boards are notes that contain the kanban-plugin: yaml key in the frontmatter. However, I can’t find a way to select or omit files with this frontmatter key using the Task plugin query language.

dataview queries get partway there. Adding a new tag, such as #kanbanboard, to a kanban board note, a dataqueryjs can be used to pull (or omit) tasks from these files using the query dv.taskList(dv.pages("#kanbanboard").file.tasks). While this works to list all tasks in all kanban boards, all the other filter and query capabilities of the Task plugin would have to be written in the js query, which is pretty inconvenient, especially when trying to omit kanban boards from queries already written using the Task plugin’s query language.

I tried filtering out the kanban tasks using the Task plugin tags filter, such as tags do not include #kanbanboard, but either I don’t understand how to use this filter, the doc is wrong, or there’s a bug in it, as it returns Tasks query: do not understand query error.

```tasks
not done
no due date
tags do not include #kanbanboard
```

I like the ability of the Tasks plugin to gather tasks from all notes without having to do anything explicity. I don't want to explicitly tag all tasks or pages with #task (or some other tag) to include them, though by doing so and omitting this tag from kanban tasks (or perhaps kanban board notes), that would achieve what I'm after. But if I forget to add this tag to a task or note, I won't see the task in any queries. Perhaps if the plugin included a list of tags that, if present, will exclude tasks or notes from being scanned for inclusion, that would help.

[claremacrae]

Filtering tasks in kanban boards

Thanks for the suggestion, @ezeeman. It's very clear.

At the moment, Tasks does not use the front matter at all.

We have had a couple of requests to be able to search the tags from YAML frontmatter:

• filter by YAML tag #232
• Access YAML tags #318

I have just added a new issue, #717, to allow filtering by arbitrary values in note frontmatter.

Tasks query: do not understand query error.

Re your problem Tasks query: do not understand query error., it is definitely a valid query in Tasks 1.6.0, and works for me in my test vault.

So please could you check you really have got Tasks 1.6.0 installed?

Also, I note that the issue template for this project says:

If you encountered the issue after you installed, updated, or reloaded the tasks plugin, please try restarting obsidian before reporting the bug.

So if you hadn't restarted Obsidian since updating Obsidian, please try that.

[ezeeman]

I was using plugin version 1.5.x which I just installed it last week. You released the new tags feature in 1.6 a day or two later. What unfortunate timing.

Using a tag on each individual kanban task works, but it's ugly because the tag needs to go on each kanban task and this really clutters up the kanban board. (That may depend on the style used to render tags.) I've worked around it by using a not too objectionable emoji in kanban task descriptions and then using the description query filter instead.

The suggestion to use headings as the filter basis in #232 isn't feasible. The headings in a kanban note are the names of the kanban column that one is using in a board. Since each column represents a stage in the value chain comprising the workflow, these aren't going to be unique to kanban notes. For example, I might have "staging", "backlog", "wip", "done" stages, which are the headings.

It seems like there are two additional features being asked for by me and others:

• filter queries by tags in the front matter and perhaps anywhere in the body of a note, and not just in each task: Access YAML tags #318

• using keys or values in the front matter Allow filtering by arbitrary values in note frontmatter #717

I've commented on the second feature in that discussion.

[claremacrae]

Hi @ezeeman

I was using plugin version 1.5.x which I just installed it last week. You released the new tags feature in 1.6 a day or two later.

1. I don't understand the concern with the new tags search or the 1.6.0 release. It only adds to existing capability and does not take anything away.

What unfortunate timing.

2. Please understand that this plugin is written by volunteers who give often very significant amounts of their free time to help out other Obsidian users. A bit of kindness in feedback goes a long way.

Using a tag on each individual kanban task works, but it's ugly because the tag needs to go on each kanban task and this really clutters up the kanban board.

3. I agree that using a tag on every task does not work for all users. That's why we are tracking requests for alternatives in other Idea Discussions. It really helps the development team to have only one request per issue or discussion.

(That may depend on the style used to render tags.) I've worked around it by using a not too objectionable emoji in kanban task descriptions and then using the description query filter instead.

4. That's a nice workaround.

The suggestion to use headings as the filter basis in #232 isn't feasible. The headings in a kanban note are the names of the kanban column that one is using in a board.

5. That's a useful point. Thank you. Personally, I only became aware that users might be mixing the Tasks plugin with the Kanban plugin via discussions in this ticket.

It seems like there are two additional features being asked for by me and others:

6. Yes! That's exactly what I was saying in my previous comment, and is why I created the "Allow frontmatter..." Discussion, to capture the actual actionable, general change in your request here.

[ezeeman]

Sorry for not being clearer, @claremacrae, I wasn't ragging on the devs in the first paragraph. It was my unfortunate timing: I installed version 1.5.1, then read the doc a few days later when I was working on this issue without knowing the doc was for the new tags filter released in 1.6. This is the first time I've ever installed something, then tried to use a newly documented feature that wasn't in what I thought was the most recent code. It's a bit funny to me to have been caught out like that, the first time since I started programming five decades ago. There's always something new to trip you up.

Thank you devs for the plugin. 😘 Thank you to everybody else who has contributed their time. 😍

And thank you emojis for the first time they've been useful to me to help solve a problem.

[claremacrae]

@ezeeman Oh wow, thank you for the lovely reply, and I am really very sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion.

This conversation gives me an idea to try to find a way to record in the documentation the release number that features were added. For now, I’ll pop in a new discussion to remind me to think about that.

[claremacrae]

This conversation gives me an idea to try to find a way to record in the documentation the release number that features were added. For now, I’ll pop in a new discussion to remind me to think about that.

See #721