Hi solid71,
This isn't currently available, but thanks for your feedback! Subtasks will show in your views when the parent tasks do not, e.g. in Today/This Week or a Smart List that wouldn't include the parent tasks.

(This applies to some top-secret things over in the Remember The Milk Pro Tester Program.)

Hi - thanks for the information.

I'm also interested in this. I use RTM for small tasks but also numerous large projects with a lot of small tasks at any given time. Being able to see all the subtasks in chronological order would be great.

Looks like this might be in a future version of RTM?
Is there a way to smartlist all subtasks?

Cheers

Please count me in. It would be great to see one single tree of events that roll up.

Hi jingles_,
You can show a Smart List for subtasks using the search operator isSubtask:true.

I've made this request before as well; seeing the subtasks in relation to the Parent Task is the holy grail for a lot of task management users (okay well, it is for me). Having the subtasks listed separately in the right-side window really defeats the purpose of getting a visual overview of your task list, which in turn hurts your ability to plan. Nearly all other task managers have taken this approach of hiding the subtasks within the parent task, and it's why I'm hoping RTM will do it differently (dare I say, correctly!).

So I totally support solid71, jingles_ and jameyers4's request.

Please please please consider the in-line overview; it's so much more useful for planning.

Thanks for the tip about isSubtask:true - but I've been playing around with it and I can't get a smart list to display both subtasks and top level tasks the way the views do. Is this possible?

I am trying to get a quick view of all things that are high priority or due soon within a certain list, including subtasks that might have different due dates or priorities than the parent - certainly nested displays of subtasks would do the trick, but so would more sortable views OR displaying both subtasks and top level tasks on a smart list.

Thanks!!

Hi erica.nofi,
Any view that includes both tasks and their subtasks will automatically "collect" them together, so only something that would display subtasks on their own (e.g. isSubtask:true) would show the subtasks alongside other tasks.

Thanks for your feedback about what you're looking for!

Looking forward to a better way of working with subtasks and for Android support with subtasks.

Hi Andrewski,
I'm surprised about your statement (or I just missed the point and/or am too dumb to find the solution myself):
What "view" would" collect" tasks and subtasks together?
Can you please give an example.
Thanks Thomas

Hi thomas.ritter,

Any list view (e.g. ,"Today", any Smart List, etc) that includes both tasks and their subtasks would do this.

So, say you have a Smart List with the criteria "priority:1".

If you have a task, "Go to the supermarket", and subtask, "Pick up the milk", and both are priority 1, you'll only see "Go to the supermarket" in the Smart List (and you'll see the "Pick up the milk" subtask when you go to the "Go to the supermarket" task). When both the parent and the subtask belong in a Smart List, the subtask is "collected" together with its parent (so it shows within the context of the parent task).

If you have another task "Bake a cake" (priority 2) and subtask "Buy the ingredients" (priority 1), only "Buy the ingredients" would show in the Smart List.

Hope this helps!

Still looking for that task: subtask list display myself...would very much like to see that especially when sharing tasks/subtasks with others

I add my voice to these subtask functionality requests. I really like a lot about RTM over other offerings, but do miss the ability to easily structure and navigate/review nested tasks/projects in this way (rather than via smart lists).

Concur. It's actually a little frustrating that if a task is due at the end of the week, a subtask will not display with an earlier due date.

I find your subtask handing seriously lacking. i have numerous maintenance tasks on farm equipment that has many small subtasks. I have never been able to handle the subtasks correctly as some equipment has nearly identical operations and no differential exists as to which piece of equipment needs an "oil change" for example. If this can be handled in a straightforward way it escapes me. The software is great in most aspect, however, the handling of subtasks has become the killer. How about some type of user manual?

As an addition to my previous post, I just want stuff to come up that needs to be done and I do it. Simple!!!!!!!!!!!! I am not into setting up views and special searches. I need everything up front for the entire day so i can get on with the business at hand. If I have ten items that need to be done on something, I want to know that those items need to be completed ass close as possible to be more efficient.

What is frustrating about this mode of "collecting" is that in a given smart list, a DUE TODAY sub-task (or sub-task of a sub-task) can get missed. Would really love a way around this.

Add my name to the list of those clamoring for subtasks to be displayed like regular tasks. For example, I have a task with no specific due date, but with numerous subtasks due on various future dates. I view my tasks primarily in the List section (which is delineated by Contexts—Work, Home, Car, etc.)

The original task, a hazy, ongoing project, will appear at the bottom, as it lacks a due date. The subtasks, on the other hand, will not appear at all in that list view. They will only become apparent if I open the task.

The "Today" tab becomes useless to wade through if I have numerous non-Work tasks due today.

A SmartList is useless to use as it will not display both regular Tasks and Subtasks.

Ultimately, to make Subtasks useful for me in RTM, I have to set the due date of the Task to the nearest due date of any of the Subtasks, and then update it to the next Subtask due date it as I complete Subtasks.

I imagine there's a reason, technical or practical, that Subtasks aren't displayed like regular Tasks, but I have a hard time imagining what it is. If I had my druthers, a Subtask would display on any list that its parent Task would display with an un-collapse button that would let you expand it to view the parent Task, and a subsequent un-collapse button that would let you expand it to view the related Subtasks.

@jkosmatka a Smart List can display both regular tasks and Subtaks. You just have to use the right search.

You may want to consider using Start Dates as well as due dates. I have a daily review Smart List that searches for:

due:tod OR startBefore:today

I give all of my "Project" subtasks that I'm working on specific start dates, as well as due dates.

+1 for in-line review: I also prefer to see my sub-tasks hierarchically displayed beneath the list in a parent task.

Just want to add my views to this issue as well.

I've put off using subtasks for a while as they weren't visible in the Android App. Now they are so I'm starting to use them.

I find it VERY frustrating that they do not appear in a standard list view. I accept that they will appear in a smart list or a special view (today etc.) so I shouldn't miss the item appearing for action.

However, I can't see them in my list view so I can't review things coming up soonish and I cannot (emphasis cannot) see them in my list view if I do not action it on or before the due date. Moreover, if the parent task does not have a due date then finding the task requires a search which is a pain.

I think my only practical solution is to duplicate the date in the parent task which is error prone and also should be unnecessary.

A hierarchical view would be fantastic but in the short term surely it would be easy to display them in a list view if they can be displayed in a smart list ? If you're worried about upsetting things for other people who use RTM differently then make it an optional thing. Also, how hard would it be to have a option to also display the parent task text (in a visually differential way) to put the sub task in context?

I'm disappointed that this was first brought up 9 months ago and nothing seems to have happened (I am running on the beta program). I hope I'm not detecting a slightly worrying trend that if someone has a slightly different way of working with RTM that RTM don't get then they don't seem to do anything.

Kicking myself that I've just renewed PRO as given this issue I might have thought twice.

is there a way to inlcude subtask and tasks with special criteria? I don not get it to work.
Attached my query:

tag:na AND location:@work AND NOT dueAfter:"2 weeks from today"

@ aostertag If you are looking to see subtasks of the tasks that show up in your query, you won't see them because they are nested.

You will only see a subtask in a query if the parent task is not visible.

You could do "isSubtask:true" to only show subtasks.

+1 for a hierarchical view of sub-tasks please.

jameyers4 also hit the nail on the head for an issue I'm facing with my new "Work (this-week)" smart list: Sub-tasks with a due date are not being displayed separately (my master project tasks don't always have a due date, but most of the sub-tasks do).

Count me in for a hierarhical view too!

I'm disappointed. I bought pro version to use subtasks.
Subtasks are not visible on the lists: Today, Tomorrow, This weekend .... and smart lists. Smart list with searching by issubtask works only for first level of subtasks.
Is there hope for useful subtasks working like a tasks?

+1 on the option to show subtasks hierarchically on the left pane (instead of just the little blue number following the task description which indicates the number of subtasks)

I was trying RTM as a replacement to google tasks. The only reason why I purchased RTM was for the sub-task feature. I'm really disappointed that you can't view the sub-tasks in a hierarchical fashion in the main list. I feel as though I wasted my money buying the pro version. I'll probably just go back to using google tasks instead or try and find another website that suits my needs better.

I submitted a request to allow group by task. Theres already the ability to sort subtasks by task...seems to me it should be difficult to group by task as well. For me this would pretty much get it there with task as the heading and subtasks inline. For my purpose I'm trying to use tasks as projects. So basically I have a few lists representing areas of focus...tasks as projects in there...subtasks as tasks within the project. It the best way I could come up with to not end up with a huge number of lists across my work and personal life.

I submitted a request to allow group by task. Theres already the ability to sort subtasks by task...seems to me it should be difficult to group by task as well. For me this would pretty much get it there with task as the heading and subtasks inline. For my purpose I'm trying to use tasks as projects. So basically I have a few lists representing areas of focus...tasks as projects in there...subtasks as tasks within the project. It the best way I could come up with to not end up with a huge number of lists across my work and personal life.

Could the subtasks be listed with all the other tasks, but prefixed with its parent task?

For example, if task is "A" and subtasks are "a", "b", "c" and "d", then these subtasks would be shown and handled like any other task, except that it they would be shown as something like:

[A] a
[A] b
[A] c
[A] d

instead of current "A [4]".

+1 to would like to have an easy way of printing tasks & their children in a single smart list.

The problem with having subtasks stand alone without their parents in lists is that they're often written taking for granted that they're a subtask. For instance, I have an ongoing list of people to mail beer to (fix this & I'll put you on the list!), and the task is "Mail beer to" and the subtasks are a bunch of names. So now if the subtask show up on my Today list, it would only say "the nice person from RTM who solved my problem", rather than "Mail beer to the nice person at RTM who solved my problem".

Don't you want me to see the latter & act, rather than the former and be confused?

rzbuffbrew I agree with the thread, but sort of discouraged since the last time this thread heard from Bob's guys was 9 months ago. I am going to tinker with smart lists to make your beer mailing list work for you. When I am done I will have four questions for you.
1. Do you know my address?
2. Can you send a dark beer?
3. Are you the type of person that can extrapolate conclusions from incomplete information?

To add to the cry for a hierarchical view - I was about to GET the pro version when I read these exchanges. Without the hierarchical system being described - subtasks are USELESS to me.

So...I'll continue to use the free version and just write up each subtask independently - to be sure they don't get missed! And I can use the "List" feature to categorize my projects and put the tasks (subtasks, really) - there.

You need to understand that some of us THINK - and manage projects - hierarchically. In "outline" format, if you will. I want to have every subtask to be both UNDER the overarching task AND as a separate task with its own deadlines, etc.

@katewaits 100% agree.

+1 for seeing subtasks independently if desired.
I have a project (task) that started a month ago and subtasks become due during the process. I have a smart list that shows me tasks that have been started, so the main project is there, and shows me tasks due today and tomorrow. I'd like to see the current subtasks with (or under?) the main task w/o having to manually move it to my current list or make it a task by itself.

+1 - Come on BOB....we need this.

+1 - currently a subtask with a due date "today" are not shown in the today view ... so the rtm subtasks are absolutely useless for me. I can´t imagine what the problem is. If a subtask has a due date, show the subtask in today, tomorrow or this week view!

got my subtasks to display individually instead of being "nested" by changing the due date of the parent task/project to "never".

Guess I'll just add another subtask with a due date for the completion of the parent task/project

+1

If this makes sense I have my Today split as several Smart Lists and have the following for subtasks to show with main tasks:
hasSubtasks:false
this will create a smart list with tasks and subtasks under one list

This was the first UI issue my team faced that limited the functionality of RTM. The ability to make a dropdown for subtasks within the main task column would be a great help for managing larger projects.

+1 Using subtasks isn't worth it as specific subtasks with due dates aren't in your face for the daily todo list. It makes it too easy to miss doing something. And having them listed as "Subtask - Task" or vice versa would be so nice. The idea of a task with a hierarchical list was one of the main reasons I went PRO.

+1. RMilk subtasks are sooooo painful to work with right now. The sweeping right-pane is just awful and makes task management very difficult.

Just agreeing with what everyone else has said - I was SO excited to see subtasks implemented, but I don't even use them because I end up missing things. They're horrible for short-term projects - if I have a document due Friday, but I want to draft it Monday, finalize it by Wednesday, and send it for proofreading on Thursday, I'll never see those subtasks on my weekly to-do list - I'll just see that my document is due Friday without any of the helpful breakdown.

On shared task lists especially, people will add subtasks that I will NEVER EVEN SEE because I use a different view then them, and the parent task will be in my view but not theirs. It's messed me up on more than one occasion, so I've just stopped using them altogether. So sad though, because the potential is great!

+1 waiting to see tasks and subtasks in the same list!

On my smart lists I use to track my daily work, I add hasSubtasks:false, which works fine in that then I see the subtasks and I always just name them so I know what task they relate to. But I still have the problem of missing things because once I complete the last subtask the main task doesn't show back up because it still has subtasks, even though they're all completed. This bites me most when I use subtasks for next steps on a bigger project...I'll complete the next step and then not see the bigger project in my list again

+1 on subtasks displaying with their parent tasks. Also, when move tasks by using the pulldown to select overdue tasks, Subtasks with due dates are not included. I assume that would happen at the same time that Subtasks are displayed?

Please, please show subtasks just below their parents if they both match the query! This helps a lot with the visibility of subtasks.

+1!

+1!
I completely agree with a number of posts here. It is frustrating the way Tasks collect their subtasks when they both appear in the same smartlist. The parent task may not have a due date on it, but there may be subtasks with different due dates. These end up getting hidden and missed. Not good.

+1!

I would give pro a try if subtasks were visable under the main task without having to open the main task. This would totally change my workflow and simplify many things for me.

+1

After comparing 10+ TODO-tools I'd immediately choose RTM as my primary organizer tool, IF one could see subtasks together with their parent tasks. Without this feature, I have to choose another tool, unfortunately.

just purchased pro and realized this isn't an option? Really? Thats almost a standard across most task manager/project management apps. Will be getting a refund ASAP as this is a dealbreaker and a huge leap back in progress of features for me, coming from Omnifocus. Was looking forward to the awesome in depth sorting/group feature but I will wave that.

I really frustrated as this subtask is not show, I just subscript, I will want a refund. During trial this subtask was not able to test it out.

It's really important to get this sorted ASAP. I'm one of those people who (a) creates a task with deadline X, but (b) adds subtasks with deadline Y,Z,.... I need to be able to search for tasks and subtasks that match a deadline AND have them all display in some sensible manner. Right now, this isn't possible.

+1 for this. would also love to see this, will not use subtasks until I can achieve this view.

In a smart list, all tasks of any level that satisfy my search criteria should show up on the top level of the list. Everything else is not intuitive.

+1 to display subtasks with tasks. I've very frustrated that I just purchased a pro account, and this functionality is not here. Couldn't even figure out this was lacking until I dropped $40!

Yes - New pro user as of 15 minutes ago, and I'd love to see subtasks without having to open the parent task.

Wow, I came here looking for a solution to this very problem and instead found that there is no solution and a chorus of people with the same problem who are as frustrated as I am with it.

I've missed several important tasks because they happen to be a subtask due today that does not show up on my smart lists due to the fact that their parent tasks (often with a later due date) are also in the smart list results.

My only safe workaround is to not use subtasks, or to set the due date on the parent task to be the earliest due date of the subtasks and then keep changing the parent due date as I work through the subtasks. Both are suboptimal and risky.

I've always loved RTM and mostly still do, but there is a handful of silly things like this that just makes me want to go back to post-it notes...

I just paid for Pro and was also looking for this view and will most likely get a refund because it is not available.

Would love to see hierarchical view (also known as tree view or outline view) for tasks and subtasks.

+1 for the hierarchical view.

+1 also over here!

If it would be possible to automatically put the title of main task between brackets (in grey) after the subtitle task it would also help.

Come on Bob!

+1

I just signed up for Pro and am very upset. What is the matter with RTM staff? Are you not paying attention to your customers? Is it a programming issue? I cannot understand why you are not addressing this issue that SO MANY of your customers, and likely former customers, are having and have been mentioning for OVER 2 YEARS! AT LEAST do something like gerardwijngaarden says, parent task titles in brackets before the subtask titles. There are so many todo apps out there that you should really consider not ignoring us. If this is not addressed soon I will be jumping ship and I recommend readers (not customers yet) NOT consider RTM, and the paying customers that are "begging" RTM for this option to reward RTM for ignoring you by taking your business and money elsewhere!

Agree with all the above. It would be SO much better to see sub tasks nested under the main task, rather than having to open the main task up. It prevents me from seeing a real overview of all my tasks and what they entail at once.
And seeing the sub tasks independently in a smart list is useless if the parent also doesn't show, so that you can see what it relates to. Like others, the only reason I signed up for Pro was for sub tasks, and it's disappointing that they don't work well.

been contemplating the upgrade to pro... and seeing this post about subtasks not showing up as a hierarchical view on my main tasks... just made my decision to defer the upgrade until this is implemented. i can live without all other pro features.... thanks to all of you who kept the discussion alive.

New to pro, bought it partly because I falsely assumed my subtasks would show under the tasks. Since I have not yet made more than a few subtasks, I will make no more and will mess around with tags or two-part names.

I had the same experience as @hartworks. I don't know if I want to continue my pro subscription if this isn't a feature that is offered.

another voice in support of being able to easily show/hide subtasks hierarchically under main tasks

also supporting hierarchical view of subtasks... I frequently miss due dates, because of subtasks being hidden...

2.5 years worth of comments with no feedback or response from RTM, so I doubt my voice will matter either -- but the failure to show tasks and subtasks is a major miss.

Wow, can't believe I just paid for pro without realizing this was not possible. Love the smart lists but the omission of something as basic as nested subtasks is possibly a deal breaker. Thinking about a refund now.

+1. This would be a *huge* help to my workflow. I just purchased pro and am realizing how useless subtasks are without this ability.

Ditto - - critical need to view subtasks under the parent task

+1 on this—I'm finding it difficult to see fully what's happening in my lists without seeing tasks and subtasks on the same list.

In the current workflow, I can only see if a task has subtasks, but I can't tell if those subtasks should also be picked up in my filter.

Viewing subtasks nested beneath a Parent is a must for PRO users!

+1 - Same here, this would definitely bring RTM in front of a lot of other apps - or at least keep up with them :-)

I might add, that a "collecting" view would need to rely on a common indicator to show subtasks and their parents together, like project tags. But hey, I just dumped almost all my project tags in favor of an RTM task being the project and the subtasks beneath being the tasks to be done. So I would need to bring the project tasks back in just to be able to display them in a "collecting view"? Naah, you can't be serious.
So, any way, that this will be implemented soon? Thanks in advance!

I guess I should have read this thread before re-upping to Pro to get sub-task management.

I really need to see my tasks and subtasks in a single view ... and I am afraid of missing tasks since the parent doesn't even get elevated to reflect the soonest-upcoming substask. Or am I missing something>

Any movement on this? The fact that subtasks with due dates can end up being hidden is a real blocker.

Well, guess I should add my voice to this as well. Really was looking forward to that lovely hierarchical view! Gqueues is perfectly capable of doing it for those who consider it essential in this forum by the way. Love many of the RTM features, and this is my only qualm, unfortunately it's a serious one!

I keep checking and hoping they'll be a change that solves the issue with subtasks with due dates being hidden when parents with no due date end up in same list.

Perhaps, RTM do what does now for subtasks with no due dates, but NOT collect any subtasks with due under the parent. I just can't make the move back to RTM until this issue is resolved. Often my project tasks have no due dates, but they may have one or more subtasks with different due dates. I can't afford to miss those because they're hidden. That's my only show stopper with RTM...but I keep checking and hoping!

One other thought...say you have a task with a due date with subtasks that have earlier due dates as well. Perhaps RTM could do what it does not, collecting subtasks under the parent task when they appear in the same smart list, BUT use the earliest due date, whether it be the parent or subtask, to determine the parent tasks position in the list. At least we'd see there was some task associated with the parent that's due soon and we can select the parent to see what needs to be addressed.

So I've switched back to RTM from Todoist and after using it again for awhile, I actually like the way RTM collects the subtasks together under the parent when they appear in the same smartlist with one critical caveat...subtasks with upcoming due dates end up being hidden. I think it would work best if the parent collects the subtasks like it does now, BUT if the any subtask has an earlier due date than the parent or any other subtask it overrides the parent's due date when displaying in a smartlist where a parent has collected it's subtasks. This would ensure proper priority ordering and we could simply crack that parent open to see specifically what the next subtasks due is. There...I think I'm done commenting on this. Can you tell it's a pain point for me?!

Just joined RTM and thought this would be standard and surprised it isn't built-in. Looks like this has been a highly requested feature. Any plans to fix this?

I'm kind of worried how old this is and it still doesn't appear to be fixed. I have a task due on friday and made a subtask due on thursday - which does NOT show on my 'This week' view...anybody planning on fixing this??

Wow, this really sucks. I love everything about RTM, except for this huge design flaw. A hierachrical view is absolutely essential to getting a quick overview of everything. I was just about to sign up for pro until I researched this a bit more and saw this has been an issue for 3 years now. Not a very good sign that the development team is paying attention to it's customers. Not even a response within this thread since 3 years ago. Or maybe I'm missing something and this has actually been fixed or there is some sort of workaround. It doesn't look like it from the basic version. How dissapointing...

Remember the Milk is totally useless without being able to see subtasks under the parent task. In fact, I think it is deceptive to promote the idea that RTM Pro features subtasks *without mentioning* that one won't actually be able to see them under the parent task. Never again will I be suckered by RTM. I'm out!!

Any reply from RTM on this?

I agree with all that's been said for so long. The handling of subtasks is extremely poor. Not only can't I see them in a nested fashion - and therefore they can easily be lost, it seems to me that the basic handling of tasks/subtasks in RTM is very flawed.

As a long time project manager, it's mind boggling to me that:
1. Tasks and Subtasks can't both be repeatable - because in RTM tasks and their subtasks are treated independently! What? I cannot conceive of how that would ever be the case. In the real world, every subtask is always directly related to and connected with its main task. If I complete all of the subtasks associated with a main task, the main task should automatically be completed as well. Not in RTM!
2. In RTM, as we've been discussing here, subtasks cannot be displayed in-line -- or even with, the main task. How can I not lose sight of the necessary subtasks and their due dates with this issue?

To me, these two issues point to a very flawed handling capability of tasks and subtasks that make it very difficult to handle project-like tasks. Further, RTM's failure to respond to so many Pro customers and after so long, indicates that they have no plans to fix it. Without the ability to handle tasks and subtasks properly makes RTM a weak product for even moderately advanced customers. This is a bad business model for those of us who are paying customers and use it for subtasks.

To add to my previous posting: The reason I bought the Pro subscription was to have the use of subtasks. Since I cannot have dependent tasks with their subtasks and I cannot view subtasks as what they are - subtasks of a related and connected tasks, I have started the process of removing all of my subtasks. They are currently useless to me.

I love RTM for everything else, but this appears to be a structural/design issue that RTM isn't interested in fixing.
Without subtasks, why am I paying for a Pro subscription?

I agree with this. this is an 3 years old entry. not customer friendly.
Bad Subtask handling. I need a printed list over all structure levels, because I need task-lists for multi-project management. Only one structure level is not enough for me.
I am pro - but now I will look for another solution like ToDoist or microsoft todo.

This is the 96th posting here within the last 4 years asking to improve the subtasks. RTM team stopped commenting 3 years ago. There is not only a need of combined listing of maintasks and subtasks, but there is also a big problem with the "Subtasks are not shown when maintask is shown" rule. There is no way to consider the due date of a subtask in a smartlist independently of the main task. E.g. I have tasks with and without due dates and with and without subtasks. One Task is a Project due end of may. It has subtasks with different due dates in march and april. There is no way to create a smartlist with ALL tasks ordered by due date. @RTM-Team: Please just add some more search conditions; @otherRTMusers: Any ideas how to deal with it?