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Troubleshooting and FAQ

The questions that come up most, shortest answer first.

People and access​

I added somebody but they cannot open the project​

They were added without an invitation, so they are a placeholder person: assignable, but with no access and no email. Open Project > Collaborators and use Add and invite for them. See People on a project.

I invited somebody and they never got the email​

Check their spam folder first, then check the address on their row is right. You can correct it and send the invitation again from the Collaborators page.

It says the person is already on this project​

One person can only have one membership per project. They are already on the list somewhere - find their existing row rather than adding a second one. They may be a placeholder, which looks like "not added" if you are scanning for accepted collaborators.

It will not let me send an invitation​

There is no email address on that person yet. Fill it in on their row, then invite.

Why can I not edit somebody's name?​

Because they have an account, and they own their own details. You can only edit people who have never signed up.

Values and columns​

Why do I see the same status twice on the board?​

Because the built-in statuses were re-typed into the project's own list, and the two lists are added together rather than replacing each other. Remove the duplicate line under Project > Edit project. Full explanation on Project options.

My Type dropdown is empty​

Type, Milestone and Labels have no built-in values - a project starts with nothing in them. Fill them in under Project options.

Values appeared that I never added​

An import does that. When a BCF file brings in a status or type your project has not seen, the value is added to your list rather than rejected. See Import a BCF file.

Finding things​

My colleague can see issues that I cannot​

Filters are remembered per project in your browser. They are not shared, and they are not part of the project. Look at the chip row above the table - it names every active filter and says how many issues they are hiding - and clear the ones you do not want. See Filters, search and sorting.

I dragged a card and the wrong thing changed​

Dragging changes whatever the board is grouped by. If Group by was set to Assignee, you reassigned the issue rather than changing its status.

I cannot add or rename a custom column​

Only the project owner can change the columns. Everybody on the project can still move cards between them. See Custom columns.

Who moved this card?​

Nobody can tell you. Changing a card's place is deliberately not recorded - not in the issue's history, not in the activity feed, and it sends no email. See Board view and grouping.

Issues​

Why can I not delete this issue?​

You can delete issues you created; the project owner can delete any. Issues that came in through a BCF import have no recorded creator, so only the owner can remove those. See Who may do what.

Why can I not delete this project, or change its settings?​

Those are the project owner's, and only theirs.

I deleted something by mistake​

There is no undo and no trash. If it was an issue, its comments, files and history went with it. Sorry.

Where did my comments go? They used to be the other way round​

Comments now show newest first, so the latest word is at the top. An exported BCF file and the API still list them oldest first, which is what the standard expects.

BCF files​

My import finished but some issues were skipped​

That is the conflict mode doing its job. Keep whichever is newer leaves your copy alone when yours is more recent, and Never change existing topics leaves every existing issue alone. Tick List the topics that get skipped when you import to see exactly what was left and why. See Import a BCF file.

The export is missing something I expected​

Two likely reasons: the filters in the export dialog excluded it, or you unticked one of the four content boxes - Comments, Viewpoint images, Related-topic links or Document references. The one thing that genuinely never travels is the order cards sit in on your board. See What travels, and what does not.

The filters on my board did not apply to the export​

They do not. Only the filters inside the export dialog decide what goes into the file.

Exported files are kept for seven days and then deleted. Run the export again.

An imported issue shows the wrong date and a name I do not know​

Both dates are correct - they answer different questions - and the unfamiliar name is the person who originally raised it, added as a placeholder by the import. Imported issues: dates and authors explains it properly.

Can I export BCF 3.0?​

No. The export writes 2.1, which nearly every tool reads. The API handles both versions.

Email​

I am not getting notifications​

Check, in order: the per-project setting on your Profile; that the issue is actually assigned to you; your spam folder. Note that a BCF import deliberately sends no notifications at all. See When the app emails you.

I did not get reminded about a deadline​

There are no deadline reminders. The field records the date; nothing chases you about it.

I get too much email​

Turn the project off on your Profile. You will still get mentions, because those are somebody asking you directly.

AI assistants​

The assistant says my status value is invalid​

It is checking against your project's list, and the value is not in it. Add it under Project options, or use one of the values it offered.

The assistant cannot see the screenshot on my issue​

It sees images attached to comments, but not ones attached to the issue itself, and a very long thread gets truncated. Paste the picture into the chat as well. See What an AI can and cannot see.

The assistant will not delete an issue​

By design. Deletion is permanent, so it is left to people. Do it in the app.

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