Ghost Tags
When a subtask is created, it is automatically attached to its parent task. By default, subtasks live in a task, so they are not added directly into their parent’s Folder or Project.
Ghost Tags
Subtasks have “ghost” tags, which looks like faded out Folder/Project tags. A ghost tag is there to provide information: it tells you which Folders/Projects the parent tasks lives in. If the subtask has multiple parent tasks, then it has a ghost tag for each Folder/Project that the parent tasks are in.
Delete Ghost Tags
Ghost tags are purely informational and added automatically, so there’s no way to delete one directly. However, you can change a subtask’s location and detach it from its parent:
- Add the subtask to the current (or another) Folder or Project by clicking on the “+” under the task name and selecting a new location.
- Once the subtask has a location it resides in (apart from the parent task), right-click on the subtask in List View and choose “Detach”.
This subtask is now a standalone task in the Folder you tagged it in.
Convert a Ghost Tag into a Tag
You can convert “ghost” tags into regular tags. When you do this, the subtask is added directly into a certain Folder or Project (so it lives there as well as in its parent task). This allows you to view subtasks under their respective Folders and Project (and lets you see subtasks on the Board View), no matter which filtering criteria you have set.
Directly tagging subtasks in tasks is useful when parent and subtasks have different attributes (e.g. due dates), and adding a certain set of filters results in the parent and subtasks being shown separately.
Convert a ghost tag into a Folder tag:
- Click the “+” near the ghost tag, under the subtask name.
- Start typing in the Folder’s name (the name visible on the ghost tag).
- Select the Folder from the list.
The ghost tag is not grayed out anymore, which means that it has been converted into a regular tag.
Did You Know?
Mass Editing allows you to add Folder tags in bulk with the help of the “Move/Include” option. Check out our Mass Editing article to learn more about this feature.
Folks, please find an updated FAQ for ghost tags here 👍
Lisa Community Team at Wrike Wrike Product Manager Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover
Lisa Wrike Team member Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover
We have just realized that converting ghost tags into regular tags may be a good solution to display subtasks in Board View, along with their parent tasks that may be left in diferent status of the workflow.
Thank you verymuch for the explanation regarding ghost tags and regular tags.
Regards
@Miquel, thanks for commenting! I'm glad to hear this was helpful :)
Is there any way to make a folder tag NOT be inherited by the subtasks? My use case is tagging a Task that will be displayed in a Calendar based on that tag. But if the Task has any sub-tasks, all of those appear in the Calendar too... which I do not want to happen.
@Lee Hi, thanks for reaching out here. Currently, all subtasks get default ghost folder tag from their parent task. But, as Anastasia explains above, you can change a subtask’s location and detach it from its parent. Also, you can convert a ghost tag into a folder tag (please see above). Hope this helps 🙌
Lisa Community Team at Wrike Wrike Product Manager Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover
Lisa Wrike Team member Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover
Does this mean that this is the only way to get Subtasks to show up in My Work?
Has the "detach" feature been removed from the new experience? I can't find it anywhere. I have created many tasks that have these "ghost tags" and can't remove them by following the methods described in the various forum posts.
Hi John Rakoczy,
You should be able to detach a subtask from it's parent task by right-clicking on the subtask on the List view:
If the subtask isn't tagged to another location, then it will go to the "Shared with me" section after you detach it from it's parent.
You can read more in our Help Center article about converting a subtask to a task.
Please give it a try and let us know how it goes! 😊
That worked, thanks @... I'm still a little confused as to how these ghost tags get created but that's ok... I have faith in the cross-referencing and tagging within Wrike that it all works out anyway lol.
I noticed today in a task which had multiple sub-tasks (and I think sub-tasks within sub-tasks) that there were more ghost tags... and an entire sub-task (with all its sub-tasks) was tagged in yet another sub-task in the same main task... so in the list view the same "group" of tasks was repeated 3 times under different "main" tasks... can someone say endless loop?
Again, as confusing as all that looks to me, knowing that if I update any of the sub-tasks/sub-sub-tasks... they all get the same update... I suppose again it's all good. I really don't think sub-tasks should ever be associated with anything but their parent task but that's a judgement call and everyone organizes things differently lol :)
Hi this does not work anymore in the "New Board View"
Hi Thomas Pühringer 131! Subtasks are visible in the New Board View now 🙂 Or did you mean something different? Apologies if I misunderstood.
Lisa Community Team at Wrike Wrike Product Manager Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover
Lisa Wrike Team member Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover
No maybe i was not precise enough.
I want to manage subtasks with seperate cards in the board view. But i am not able to tag the subtask with the same text as the ghost tag.
Thx for your help
Sorry for the late reply here Thomas Pühringer 131! I've asked a Support specialist to contact you about this, please feel free to reply via email 🙂
Lisa Community Team at Wrike Wrike Product Manager Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover
Lisa Wrike Team member Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover
Hello,
did the line with the "Tags" (locations of a subtask) generally disappear in the latest wrike version.
Can i turn it on again somewhere in the settings?
Regards
Thomas Pühringer 131 in the new UI it's called "Location" so it's likely in that right pane somewhere
The Detach option is not populating for me on any Subtask I try. What am I missing?
Hannah Cooper is it possible that you don't have the permission on the parent task to edit it?
Is there a way to automatize that ghost tags are automatically converted into real tags whenever a new subtask is created and/or when a new location is added to the parent task, that also the subtasks inherit this location? In other words, is there a way to automatize that a subtask ALWAYS has the same locations then the parent task, without manual intervention?
I think this can be automatized through rules but as the "Change location" action does not have a value like "location(s) of parent task" but only allows me to do it for each folder specifically, I am currently stuck with creating a rule of each folder individually, and multiple rules: Whenever a subitem is created, deleted, or a location is added or deleted from a parent task?
Is there a way to have only one or two rules and specify in the section "apply rule to Task: Entire Space/ Specific locations" where it should apply? Thanks in advance
Hi Alexis Papadopoulos, I'm not sure this is possible at the moment, but I've asked our Support team to look into this just in case they have a workaround 👍
Lisa Community Team at Wrike Wrike Product Manager Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover
Lisa Wrike Team member Become a Wrike expert with Wrike Discover