Streamline Your Workflows with Tana Commands: Real Use Case in Action

Hello everyone, Marco here and  welcome back to the channel! 

In today’s video, I’m going to  show you how to streamline your  

workflows with Tana custom commands. While Tana doesn’t currently support  

triggers for actions based on field value changes,  custom commands offer an excellent workaround. 

I’ll walk you through exactly how  to set this up, using a real-world  

example to make it crystal clear. Ready to dive in? Let’s get started! 

Imagine this: tracking product  development with predefined stages,  

each unlocking a specific checklist  to keep everything on track. 

To set this up, the first step is  creating our “product” supertag. 

For the fields, we’ll need an “Options” field  called “Stage”, which will represent the various  

phases of product development. Stages will be:  "Idea Stage", "Planning Stage", "Development  

Stage", "Implementation Stage", "Testing Stage",  "Launch Preparation Stage", and "Live Stage". 

Next, to prevent accidental edits, I’ll select all  the stages, open the command line with Cmd + K (or  

Ctrl + K on Windows), and use the “Lock node”  command. This ensures everything stays intact. 

Before moving on, I’ll set the initial  stage for every new product to “Idea Stage”. 

Now, let’s add a “Checklist” field where  we’ll store all the tasks that we unlock  

as we progress through the stages. And finally, let’s create a “task”  

supertag. For simplicity, I will not add any  additional fields to this tag, as they’re not  

necessary for this example. The only thing I  do is to enable the "Show checkbox" option. 

Now, let’s add a few products to get started:  “Product X”, “Product Y”, and “Product Z”. 

Next, we’ll create a search node to collect all  our products in one place. There are multiple ways  

to create search nodes, but here’s the method I'm  going to use: write “Products”, which will serve  

as the name of our search node, open the command  line, and search for “Convert to search node”. 

In the query builder, simply insert the  “product” supertag. This tells the search  

to include all items tagged as products. To organize things visually, I’ll zoom  

into the node, switch the view to “Cards”,  and group the products by the “Stage” field. 

Now for the fun part! Here’s what we’re going  to do: we’ll add a command button next to each  

product’s name. When clicked, this button  will automatically add the tasks needed  

for the current stage of development. For example, in the “Idea Stage” (the  

starting point of our process), we’ll have a  button labeled “Add Idea Checklist”. Clicking  

it will add the relevant checklist for  this stage in the corresponding field,  

and the button will disappear once it’s done. The product will then move to the “Planning  

Stage”, where a new button labeled “Add  Planning Checklist” will appear. Clicking  

it will add the tasks for this stage  and remove the button once completed. 

This process continues for every subsequent stage,  ensuring the workflow remains clear and intuitive. 

So, let’s configure the “product” supertag to  create our commands. Head to the “AI and Commands”  

section, and under “Command palette”,  we’ll start building our first command. 

Add a new command and name  it “Add Idea Checklist”.  

Here I'm going to select the  “Insert Tana Paste” command. 

In the “Prompt” field, list the checklist items  for the "Idea Stage", tagging each one as a task:  

"Brainstorming" and "Researching". Lastly, configure the “Target Node”,  

which determines where the checklist items will  appear. In this case, it’s the “Checklist” field.  

Simply copy and paste the field into this setting. Now, as you can see, we already have the button  

next to our product's name. Let's click on it  right now. You will see your tasks right here.  

However, the button hasn't disappeared. To resolve  this, we need to use some filters. Let's do that! 

First, I want to create a  checkbox field called "Idea". 

Under "Hide field", I will select  "Always" because I don't want to see  

the value of this field; I will use  it only as a filter for my command. 

Let's go back to our command. Before the  "Insert Tana Paste" command, I will add a  

"Node filter" to specify that I want to see this  command only when the "Stage" is set to "Idea  

Stage", and the "Idea" field is not checked. And after the "Insert Tana Paste" command,  

I add a "Set field values" command to  mark the "Idea" field as "checked." 

So, this is what will happen: the command will  check if the "Stage" field is set to "Idea  

Stage" and if the "Idea" field is not checked.  If both conditions are met, the command button  

will be visible. Once you click on it, the  "Insert Tana Paste" command will be triggered,  

and the "Idea" field will be checked. At this point, the first filter is no  

longer satisfied because the "Idea" field will  be checked, causing the button to be hidden. 

Let's test this out! The product is in the "Idea  Stage", and the "Idea" field is not checked,  

so I see the button. I click on it, and  my tasks are added to the "Checklist"  

field. The "Idea" field is now checked,  making the button no longer visible! 

Now we will do the same for the other  stages. Let's create a checkbox field  

for each stage: "Planning", "Development",  "Implementation", "Testing", "Launch", and "Live". 

Scroll down to the "Command Palette" section, and  let's create the "Add Planning Checklist" command. 

Insert the "Node filter" to check if  the "Stage" is "Planning Stage" and  

the "Planning" field is unchecked. Now, add the "Insert Tana Paste"  

command. Write "Outline Drafted" and "Content  Mapped", tagging them as "task", and specify  

that the target node is "Checklist". Add the "Set field values" command  

and mark "Planning" as "checked". Now, "Add Development Checklist".  

Insert the "Node filter" to check if  the "Stage" is "Development Stage" and  

the "Development" field is unchecked. Add the "Insert Tana Paste" command and  

write "Script Writing", "Slide/Asset  Creation", "Recording", and "Editing".  

Remember to tag them as "task"  and specify the target node. 

Add the "Set field values" command  and mark "Development" as "checked". 

Now, let's create the "Add Implementation  Checklist" command. Insert the "Node filter"  

to check if the "Stage" is "Implementation Stage"  and if the "Implementation" field is not checked. 

Then, add the "Insert Tana Paste" command  and write "Uploading" and "Course Design",  

tagging them as "task". Specify the target node. 

Add the "Set field values" command and  mark "Implementation" as "checked". 

Now, let's create the "Add  Testing Checklist" command.  

Insert the "Node filter" to check  if the "Stage" is "Testing Stage"  

and if the "Testing" field is not checked. Then, add the "Insert Tana Paste" command.  

Write the checklist items "Internal Review"  and "Beta Testing", and tag them as "task". 

Insert the target node. Add the "Set field values"  

command and mark "Testing" as "checked". We've almost finished. Let's add the "Add Launch  

Checklist" command. Insert the "Node filter" to  check if the "Stage" is "Launch Preparation Stage"  

and if the "Launch" field is not checked. Add the "Insert Tana Paste" command  

and include the checklist items  "Marketing Ready" and "Pre-Launch". 

Tag them as "task". Insert the target node  

and add the "Set field values"  command. Set "Launch" to "checked". 

Finally, let's create our final command  button: "Add Live Checklist". Insert the  

"Node filter" to check if the "Stage" is "Live  Stage" and the "Live" field is not checked. 

Add the "Insert Tana Paste" command and  include the checklist items: "Launched",  

"Active Monitoring", "Iterating", and "Scaling". Insert the target node,  

add the "Set field values" command,  and mark "Live" as "checked". 

Perfect! Everything is set. I will delete  the products and create a new one. Sometimes,  

adding many commands and node  filters can cause some bugs. 

Ok, let's test this out. I have my "Product  X" in the "Idea Stage". I click on the "Add  

Idea Checklist" button, and I will see  my first tasks in the "Checklist" field. 

Once completed, I move the product to  the "Planning Stage". Here, I have my  

"Add Planning Checklist" button. I click on  it, and my new tasks appear. As you can see,  

the button disappears every time I add the  tasks associated with the current stage! 

Simply continue this way for all the other stages. Pretty cool, right? Once the ability to trigger  

actions based on field value changes  is added, it will open up even more  

possibilities. But as you’ve seen, Tana  already offers a wealth of features to  

help you design workflows tailored to your needs! I hope you enjoyed this video, and if you did give  

it a thumbs up, and make sure to subscribe  to the channel for more videos like this. 

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in the description below! Thank you so much for watching,  

and I'll see you in the next video.  In the meantime...stay productive!