This article explains how to assign an Action (a task or activity within Assure assigned to an individual or group for completion, tracking, and follow-up) to a Category and/or Subcategory using picklist values configured in the Picklist Data Dictionary (the area within Assure Settings where dropdown field values are created and managed). Category and Subcategory values must be configured by an Admin user before they are available for selection on the Action page. Once configured, Actions can be filtered by Category and Subcategory within the Action Manager (the central feature within Assure that provides a unified interface for creating, viewing, editing, assigning, filtering, and managing Actions).
Prerequisites
| An active Assure user account. |
| Admin user access to Settings > Picklist Data Dictionary is required to configure Category and Subcategory values. |
| Non-admin users may create Actions with categories once values have been configured by an Admin. |
Overview
When creating an Action in Assure, the Action page includes Category and Subcategory drop-down fields. These drop-down fields are populated with values that your organisation defines. The values are configured in Settings > Picklist Data Dictionary and must be set up by an Admin user before they are available for selection.
| Note: If you want to use both the Category and the Subcategory fields, you must populate the Category values first. The Category values provide the parent options that are then available to assign to Subcategory values. |
Part One: Configure Action Category Values in the Picklist Data Dictionary
Follow these steps to add values to the Action Category drop-down:
Navigate to Settings > Picklist Data Dictionary.
| Note: You may not be able to access this area if you do not have Admin user permissions. |
In the search field, search for Action Category.
Open the Cog-Wheel menu and click Manage next to the Action Category entry.
If you are looking to create a new Category, click + New to add a new picklist value.
If you are looking to configure an existing Category, open the Cog-Wheel menu and click Edit next to the chosen Category.
Do one of the following:
To add a single value: type the required value into the Text box and click Save & Close.
To add multiple values at once: click Bulk Mode and enter all required values, then click Save & Close.
| Note: To learn about setting priorities for picklist values, refer to the knowledge base article on How to Configure Status Rating. |
Part 3: Configure Action Subcategory Values
Configuring Action Subcategories is a similar process to configuring Action Categories. Once again, navigate to the Picklist Data Dictionary (following the same directions shown previous).
Locate the Action Subcategory entry.
| Note: The exact entry name in the dictionary may vary per Assure instance; however the steps remain the same each time. |
Open the Cog-Wheel menu and click Manage next to the Action Subcategory entry.
If you are looking to create a new Subcategory, click + New to add a new picklist value.
If you are looking to configure an existing Subcategory, open the Cog-Wheel menu and click Edit next to the chosen Subcategory.
When configuring Subcategory values, you can select a parent Action Category so that specific Subcategory options display only when the corresponding parent Category is selected on the Action page.
Once you have filled out the necessary information and paired the Subcategory to the appropriate Action Category click Save and Close to finalise your changes.
Part 3: Assign a Category and Subcategory to an Action
Once Category and Subcategory values have been configured in the Picklist Data Dictionary, they become available on the Action page. To open or create an Action in Assure, follow these steps:
Navigate to the relevant module record.
- If you are wanting to VIEW a record's Actions, click the Three Dots Icon at the top right of the Module Record and select Detail; this will open the Detail View for the selected Module Record.
- If you are wanting to CONFIGURE a record's Actions, click the Three Dots Icon at the top right of the Module Record and select Edit; this will open the record and give you the ability to edit its contents.
Locate and open the Module Record's Actions page.
To create a new Action, click the New Record Action button.
To edit an existing Action, open the Three Dots Icon menu on the chosen action and click Edit.
Locate the Action Category drop-down field and select the appropriate value.
If Subcategory values have been configured, the Subcategory drop-down field will display the available options linked to the selected Category. Select the appropriate Subcategory.
Fill in the rest of the Action form and click Save & Close.
| Note: Category values must be configured before Subcategory values, as Categories serve as parent options for Subcategories. |
Filtering by Action Category and Subcategory
Once Category and/or Subcategory values have been assigned to Actions, you can filter the Action list by these fields within the Action Manager.
To access the Action Manager open the Tasks Menu.
Under Task Management, click Action Manager.
From within the Action Manager you can filter Actions by clicking the Filter Button.
Once the Filter Menu is open, locate the appropriate Category filter in the drop-down field.
If no such filter is present, you may need to Create a new filter that matches the desired conditions. To create this specific filter, click the Configure Icon next to the drop-down field.
| Note: You can find more information about creating filters in the Creating a filter article. |
Once in the Manage Filters page, click New Record.
Once in the Filter Creation Page, enter a title and select whether this filter should be Private with the Is Private checkbox.
To add the necessary conditions for this filter, click the Add button in the Conditions Section.
Select Action Category in the Field drop-down field.
Then within the Condition field drop-down menu, select the desired condition for this filter.
| For Example: Selecting Equal to will mean that when this filter is applied, the Filter will only show Actions that are within in the category you enter into the Value field. |
Once the filter is created, it will appear as an option when attempting to filter Actions in the Action Manager. Once applied, only Actions that meet the conditions of the chosen Filter will appear. You may return to the normal view of the Action Manager by clicking Clear Filters.
AI Metadata
- Product Area: Assure, Task Management, Action Management, Picklist Configuration, Settings
- User Role: Admin User (for Picklist Data Dictionary configuration); all Assure users (for assigning categories when creating Actions)
- Tags: Action Category, Action Subcategory, Picklist Data Dictionary, Action Manager, Action, Categorise Action, Drop-down, Picklist, Settings, Bulk Mode, Admin
- Version/Region: All Assure versions, all regions
- Important synonyms: Action Category = category field on Action page; Picklist Data Dictionary = picklist settings; Subcategory = Action Subcategory; Manage = manage picklist values; Bulk Mode = bulk add picklist values; Action Manager = Task Management Action Manager
- Suggested embedding keywords: categorise action Assure, action category, action subcategory, picklist data dictionary, add picklist values, action drop-down, category drop-down action, configure action category, filter by action category, bulk mode picklist, action category setup
- Relevant modules and cross-module implications: This article is primarily within the Task Management module (Actions). The Picklist Data Dictionary is a system-wide configuration area within Settings that supplies drop-down values across multiple modules. Action Category and Subcategory values configured here appear on Actions created from any Assure module (for example, Incident Record, Risk Assessment, Audit). Filtering by Action Category and Subcategory is available in the Action Manager, which aggregates Actions from all modules.