Skip to content

using-plugins.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
430 lines (283 loc) · 13.2 KB

using-plugins.md

File metadata and controls

430 lines (283 loc) · 13.2 KB

Using Leantime Plugins

This guide covers how to use Leantime's marketplace plugins after installation. For installation instructions, see Plugin Installation & Configuration.

Before You Start

Plugins must be enabled before use. After installing a plugin:

  1. Go to Settings → Plugins
  2. Find your plugin in the list
  3. Toggle the Enable switch to activate it
  4. The plugin's features and menu items will now appear

Some plugins add sidebar menu items, others add options within existing features. Each section below describes where to find each plugin's interface.

Custom Fields

The Custom Fields plugin lets you add custom data fields to tasks, adapting Leantime to your specific workflow needs.

Accessing Custom Fields

Navigate to Company Settings → Custom Fields to manage your custom field definitions.

Creating a Custom Field

  1. Click Add New Field
  2. Configure the field properties:
Property Description
Field Name Display name shown on tasks
Field Type Text, textarea, dropdown, checkbox, date, number
Required Whether the field must be filled in
Conditions Limit field to specific projects or task types
  1. Click Save

Field Types

Text: Single-line input for short values like reference numbers, codes, or links.

Textarea: Multi-line input for longer content like notes or detailed descriptions.

Dropdown: Predefined list of options. After selecting this type, add your options:

  • Click Add Option
  • Enter the option value
  • Repeat for each choice
  • Drag to reorder options

Checkbox: Yes/No toggle for binary choices like "Approved" or "Billable."

Date: Date picker for tracking deadlines, review dates, or milestones beyond the standard due date.

Number: Numeric input for quantities, scores, or measurements.

Using Conditions

Conditions let you target custom fields to specific contexts rather than applying them globally.

Project-specific fields:

  1. In the field settings, click Add Condition
  2. Select Project as the condition type
  3. Choose which projects should display this field

Task type-specific fields:

  1. Add a condition for Task Type
  2. Select which task types (Bug, Feature, Task, etc.) should include this field

You can combine multiple conditions. For example, a "Severity" dropdown that only appears on Bug tasks within your Development project.

Viewing Custom Field Data

Custom field values appear:

  • On the task detail view
  • In the task table view (if column is enabled)
  • In exports and reports

Strategy Pro

Strategy Pro connects your daily work to organizational goals through strategic planning tools.

Creating a Strategy

  1. Click the project dropdown in the sidebar
  2. Select Start Something New
  3. Choose Create a Strategy
  4. Fill in the strategy details:
    • Title: Name your strategy
    • Visibility: Who can view this strategy
    • Executive Summary: High-level overview
    • Company Purpose: Why your organization exists
    • Strategic Vision: Where you want to be in 1-5 years

Strategy Navigation

Once created, the strategy view includes:

Section Purpose
Strategy Overview Visual summary of goals and progress
Focus Areas Strategic anchors that drive your strategy
Docs Strategy-specific documentation
Strategy Boards Templates for strategic planning

Setting Focus Areas

Focus Areas are the key themes that drive your strategy. Leantime suggests four strategic anchors:

  • Customer: Goals related to customer satisfaction and experience
  • Financial: Revenue, cost, and financial health goals
  • Internal Processing: Operational efficiency and process improvement
  • Learning and Growth: Team development and organizational capability

To switch between focus areas, click the dropdown arrow next to the focus area name.

Creating Strategic Goals

  1. Navigate to a Focus Area
  2. Click Create Goal
  3. Define the goal:
    • Title: Clear, specific goal statement
    • Metric: How you'll measure success (percent, currency, number)
    • Start Value: Current baseline
    • End Value: Target to achieve
    • Start/End Dates: Timeframe
    • Status: On Track, At Risk, or Miss

Linking Goals to Milestones

Goals become actionable when linked to project milestones:

  1. In the goal details, click Link Milestone
  2. Select an existing milestone or create a new one
  3. As milestone tasks complete, goal progress updates automatically

This dual tracking helps you:

  • Identify warning signs: Milestone progress on track but metrics not improving? Adjust your approach.
  • Validate strategy: When milestones correlate with metric improvements, your activities are working.
  • Make decisions: Data-driven resource allocation based on both execution and impact.

Linking Projects to Strategy

To connect a project to your strategy:

  1. Open the project
  2. Click Project Settings (bottom left)
  3. Under Part of Program or Strategy, select your strategy

Or create a new linked project directly from the Strategy Overview by clicking New Project.

Recurring Tasks

The Recurring Tasks plugin automatically creates tasks on a schedule, eliminating repetitive manual task creation.

Creating a Recurring Task

  1. Create a task as normal (this becomes the template)
  2. In the task details, click Make Recurring
  3. Configure the recurrence pattern:
Pattern Use Case
Daily Daily stand-ups, check-ins
Weekly Weekly reports, team meetings
Bi-weekly Sprint planning, payroll tasks
Monthly Monthly reviews, invoicing
Quarterly Quarterly planning, OKR reviews
Yearly Annual reviews, renewals

  1. Set additional options:

    • Start Date: When recurrence begins
    • End Date: Optional end to the recurrence
    • Create X days before due: Lead time for task creation

  2. Click Save

How It Works

  • The original task serves as a template
  • New task instances are created automatically based on your schedule
  • Each instance is independent—completing one doesn't affect others
  • Task details (description, assignee, project) copy from the template

Managing Recurring Tasks

Identify recurring tasks: Tasks with active recurrence show a recurrence indicator icon.

Edit the pattern: Open the task and click the recurrence settings to modify the schedule.

Stop recurrence: Toggle off the recurring setting or set an end date in the task's recurrence options.

Edit template: Changes to the original task affect future instances (not already-created ones).

Common Use Cases

  • Daily stand-ups: Create at 8 AM each workday
  • Weekly status reports: Due every Friday
  • Monthly invoicing: Create on the 25th for month-end processing
  • Quarterly reviews: Appear 2 weeks before quarter end

Whiteboards

The Whiteboards plugin provides a digital canvas for visual brainstorming and strategic planning.

Creating a Whiteboard

  1. In your project, click Whiteboards in the navigation
  2. Click New Whiteboard
  3. Name your whiteboard
  4. Start creating

Canvas Tools

The whiteboard toolbar includes:

Tool Function
Select Move and resize elements
Draw Freehand drawing
Shapes Rectangles, circles, arrows, lines
Text Add text boxes
Sticky Notes Color-coded notes
Connector Link elements with lines

Working with Elements

Move: Click and drag any element.

Resize: Select an element and drag the corner handles.

Color: Select an element and use the color picker.

Layer: Right-click for bring to front/send to back options.

Delete: Select and press Delete or use the trash icon.

Templates

Whiteboards include pre-built templates:

  • Mind Map: Central idea with branching thoughts
  • Flowchart: Process visualization
  • SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats grid
  • Kanban Layout: Visual task board structure
  • Blank Canvas: Start from scratch

Connecting to Projects

Whiteboard elements can link to Leantime items:

  1. Select a shape or sticky note
  2. Click the link icon
  3. Search for a task, milestone, or goal
  4. The element now links to that item

This connects visual planning to actual work execution.

Program Management

The Program Management plugin coordinates multiple related projects under a unified view.

Creating a Program

  1. Click the project dropdown
  2. Select Start Something New
  3. Choose Create a Plan (Program)
  4. Configure:
    • Program Name
    • Description
    • Start/End Dates
    • Program Manager

Adding Projects to a Program

  1. Open an existing project
  2. Go to Project Settings
  3. Under Part of Program or Strategy, select your program

Or create new projects directly within the program view.

Program Overview

The program dashboard shows:

  • Project Status: Health indicators for each project
  • Timeline: Gantt view of all project milestones
  • Resource Allocation: Team capacity across projects
  • Risk Register: Aggregated risks from all projects
  • Documentation: Program-level documents and decisions

Cross-Project Visibility

Program Management enables:

  • Dependency tracking between projects
  • Resource conflicts identification
  • Milestone alignment across the portfolio
  • Consolidated reporting for stakeholders

Notes

The Notes plugin provides a quick-capture system for thoughts and ideas that don't yet belong in formal project documentation.

Accessing Notes

Notes appears in two places:

  • Sidebar menu: Click the Notes icon (sticky note) in the personal section of the sidebar
  • Dashboard widget: Add the Notes widget to your Work Dashboard for quick access

Creating Notes

  1. Click Notes in the sidebar or use the dashboard widget
  2. Click New Note
  3. Type your content
  4. Click outside to save (auto-saves)

Organizing Notes

Color coding: Click the color dot to categorize notes visually.

Pinning: Pin important notes to keep them at the top.

Project linking: Associate notes with specific projects for context.

Search: Use the search bar to find notes by content.

Notes vs. Project Docs

Notes Project Docs
Quick capture Formal documentation
Personal visibility Team shared
Temporary thoughts Permanent records
Unstructured Structured templates

Notes on your Work Dashboard are visible only to you—perfect for personal reminders, quick thoughts, or draft ideas before they're ready to share.

Pomodoro Timer

The Pomodoro plugin helps maintain focus through structured work intervals.

Accessing Pomodoro

The Pomodoro timer is available as a dashboard widget:

  1. Go to your Work Dashboard
  2. Click Add Widget (if not already added)
  3. Select Pomodoro from the available widgets
  4. Position the widget where you want it on your dashboard

Starting a Pomodoro

  1. In the Pomodoro widget, optionally select a task to associate with this session
  2. Click Start
  3. Focus on your work until the timer completes

The Pomodoro Cycle

Phase Duration Purpose
Focus 25 minutes Deep work on your task
Short Break 5 minutes Rest after each focus session
Long Break 15-30 minutes Extended rest after 4 pomodoros

Features

Task Association: Link sessions to specific tasks. Time is automatically logged.

Notifications: Audio/visual alerts when phases end.

Statistics: Track your pomodoro history and patterns.

Customization: Adjust timer durations in settings.

ADHD-Friendly Design

The Pomodoro technique is particularly helpful for:

  • Starting tasks: A defined time box makes beginning less daunting
  • Maintaining focus: Short intervals prevent mental fatigue
  • Taking breaks: Built-in rest prevents burnout
  • Tracking time: Visual progress creates momentum

Tips for Plugin Success

Start Simple

Enable one or two plugins initially. Master them before adding more. Too many features at once can overwhelm rather than help.

Custom Fields Strategy

  • Don't create fields "just in case"—add them when you have a clear use
  • Use conditions to keep tasks clean for projects that don't need certain fields
  • Review periodically and remove unused fields

Goal-Setting Best Practices

  • Make goals specific and measurable
  • Link to milestones for automatic progress tracking
  • Use status indicators honestly—"At Risk" early is better than "Miss" late

Recurring Tasks

  • Start with truly repetitive tasks (reports, meetings, reviews)
  • Set appropriate lead times so tasks appear with enough notice
  • Review recurring patterns quarterly to remove obsolete ones

Getting Help