Helios

How to Use Activities

Overview

The Activities feature is your team's task management board. It allows you to create, assign, track, and manage tasks across your projects and equipment — all in a visual Kanban-style layout.

Navigating to Activities

Click Activities in the left navigation sidebar under the Productivity section. This opens the main Activities board.

Understanding the Board Layout

The board is organised into status columns that tasks move through:

To do — Tasks that have not yet been started
In progress — Tasks currently being worked on
Done — Completed tasks
Pending — Tasks waiting on something before they can proceed
Blocked — Tasks that cannot move forward due to an impediment
Canceled — Tasks that have been cancelled

Each column shows a count of activities it contains. You can collapse any column by clicking the diagonal arrow (↙) icon next to the column header. Click the expand icon (↗) to restore it. You can also add an activity directly into a specific status column by clicking the + button in that column's header.

The left panel lets you filter the board by Projects or Equipments.

Projects tab shows a list of all current projects with the number of activities in each. Clicking a project name filters the board to show only activities linked to that project. An Archived section at the bottom stores old projects that are no longer active.

Equipments tab shows all equipment in your workspace with their activity counts. Clicking on a piece of equipment instantly filters the board to show only activities associated with it.

To view all activities again after filtering, click All Activities at the top of the panel.

Creating a New Activity

Click the + Add Activity button in the top-right corner of the board.
A new activity detail view opens automatically. Fill in the fields described below.
Changes are saved automatically — there is no separate Save button.

You can also add an activity to a specific status column by clicking the + icon in that column's header.

Activity Fields Explained

When you open or create an activity, you'll see the following fields:

Title — The name of the activity. Click the pencil (✏️) icon next to the title to edit it.

Reporter — The person who created the activity (set automatically to you).

Date Created — The timestamp when the activity was created (set automatically).

Equipment — Link the activity to a specific piece of equipment (e.g., Bar Feeder, Bench Grinder). Select from the dropdown or leave as "No equipment."

Project — Assign the activity to a project from the dropdown. This helps organise related tasks together.

Details — A rich-text description field where you can write notes, instructions, or context for the activity. Supports bold, italic, underline, links, bullet lists, and numbered lists. Supports up to 3,000 characters.

Status (right panel) — The current stage of the activity. Options are: To do, In progress, Done, Pending, Blocked, and Canceled.

Priority (right panel) — The urgency level. Options are: Lowest, Low, Medium, High, and Highest.

Assignee (right panel) — The team member responsible for completing the task. Select from the dropdown.

Planned Start Date (right panel) — The date work is expected to begin. Click the calendar icon to pick a date.

Due Date (right panel) — The deadline for the activity. Click the calendar icon to pick a date.

Using the Tabs Inside an Activity

Each activity has four tabs at the bottom for additional information:

Notes

Add collaborative notes, comments, or updates to the activity. Notes are separate from the Details field and are ideal for ongoing communication between team members. All sent and received notes appear here chronologically.

Checklist

Break an activity down into smaller sub-tasks. Click Add an item to create a checklist entry. A percentage progress bar at the top updates automatically as items are checked off. The checklist helps track completion of multi-step tasks.

Files

Attach supporting documents, images, or other files to the activity. You can either click Select file to upload or drag and drop files into the upload area. Files must be no larger than 10 MB each, and up to 20 files can be attached per activity.

History

A full audit log of every change made to the activity — including who changed the title, assignee, status, and when. This is useful for accountability and understanding how a task has evolved over time.

Copying a Direct Link to an Activity

At the top of any open activity, click the chain link (🔗) icon to copy a direct URL to that activity. You can share this link with a teammate and they will be taken straight to that activity.

Moving Activities Between Statuses

To change the status of an activity, open it and update the Status dropdown in the right panel. The activity card will automatically move to the correct column on the board.

Searching Activities

Click the search (🔍) icon in the top-right of the board to open the search panel. You can search by:

Keyword — Find activities containing specific words in their title or description.
Phrase — Search for an exact phrase.
Exclude — Filter out activities matching certain terms.

An AI-powered search option is also coming soon.

Filtering Activities

Click the filter (funnel) icon next to the search button to open the Filters menu. You can filter the board by:

Priority — Show only activities of a specific urgency level.
Reporter — Filter by who created the activity.
Assignee — Filter by who the activity is assigned to.
Created At — Filter by the date the activity was created.
Task Period — Filter by the start or due date range.

Click Reset Filters to clear all active filters.

Managing Projects

In the Projects sidebar tab, you can manage your projects:

Create a project — Click the + button next to the search bar and enter a project title.
Rename a project — Hover over a project name, click the … menu, and select Rename.
Archive a project — Hover over a project name, click the … menu, and select Archive. Archived projects move to the Archived section at the bottom of the sidebar.
Delete a project — Hover over a project name, click the … menu, and select Delete.

Activity Card Quick Actions

On the main board, hovering over any activity card reveals a … menu button. Clicking it gives you two quick options:

View details — Opens the full activity detail view.
Delete — Permanently removes the activity.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Activities

Use Projects to group related tasks (e.g., by department or initiative) and Equipment to link tasks to specific machines for maintenance tracking.
Set Planned Start Dates and Due Dates to keep your team accountable and make overdue tasks easy to spot on the board.
Use the Checklist tab for complex activities that involve multiple steps — the progress percentage gives a quick view of completion.
Use the History tab if you need to understand what changed and when, without having to ask team members directly.
Use Priority levels consistently across your team so the board reflects what truly needs attention first.