Converting inline and file tasks

A task's first shape is a starting point, not a verdict. When an inline task grows into real work, promote it to a file task. When a file task has done its job, collapse it back to a single line. Operon carries the same task across the change, so its identity and fields come with it. For help choosing a shape in the first place, see Inline vs file tasks.

Promote an inline task to a file task

When a task needs a body for sections, references, or subtasks, run Edit or convert to file task on the inline task. Operon creates a Markdown note in your file-task location, writes the task's fields into frontmatter, and keeps the original operonId so nothing downstream breaks. The note's body becomes the working space the inline line never had. See File tasks.

The filename derived from the description is no longer cut off at 100 characters, including when a numbered suffix is added to avoid an existing filename. Invalid filename characters are still removed, and filesystem filename limits still apply.

You can also start a file task straight from a plain line with Create file task, which seeds the note from that text and leaves a wikilink behind in its place.

Choose what remains in the source note

Settings → Operon → Tasks → File Tasks → File Task Conversion includes an After converting an inline task choice:

  • Keep a link to the File Task replaces the inline task with a wikilink to the new task note. This is the default and preserves the familiar path back to the promoted task.
  • Remove the original inline task removes the source line after the File Task has been created successfully.

This preference applies wherever an inline task is converted, regardless of which source note contains it. It does not change the new File Task's fields or identity. The separate Move checkboxes when converting inline tasks option decides whether the task’s uninterrupted checkbox block moves into the new note. Checkboxes beyond that block, subtasks, and their checklists stay in place. See Plain checkbox lists for the ownership boundary.

Convert an existing note without opening it first

Edit or convert to file task, covered in Edit or convert to file task, only works on the note you already have open, and confirms first with a Convert Current Note? dialog. For a note you have not opened, right-click it instead: Convert to Operon File Task… appears on eligible notes' context menus across the File Explorer, open tabs, Bases, wikilinks, and the editor's own context menu. Choosing it goes straight to the file-task template picker, no confirmation dialog first, and converts the exact note you right-clicked. Operon shows it only on plain Markdown notes that are not already a file task and are not inside an excluded folder, so you will not see it offered twice for the same note.

Bulk convert many notes at once

Converting one note at a time is not the only path. Convert notes, in Settings → Operon → Tasks → File Tasks, adopts many existing notes as file tasks in a single pass, matched by a folder, tag, or frontmatter rule. See Bulk convert a folder into file tasks.

Converted notes normally stay where they are. If Move converted notes to their pipeline location is enabled in Task Router, an eligible converted note moves after about five seconds to its matching pipeline folder, or to the default File Task folder when no pipeline rule matches. Conversion establishes the task; routing decides its later file location. See Task Router.

Collapse a file task back to inline

When the extra note is no longer pulling its weight, run Convert file task to inline task. Operon rebuilds the task as a single inline line, preserving its operonId and fields, and inserts it at your cursor or a target file you pick. It then asks you to confirm, because the original note is moved to trash as part of the conversion. The button is labelled Convert and Move to Trash so the outcome is never a surprise.

Identity is preserved

The reason conversion is safe is the operonId. Both directions keep it, so the task stays the same record before and after: its place in filters, the Calendar, the Kanban, recurrence series, and parent links all survive. This is why you should convert through these commands rather than by hand. Manually retyping a task as the other form would give it a different identity and break those links. See Task identity and operonId.

Cards in Excalidraw Task Cards continue to follow the same task identity after an inline/file conversion. The drawing keeps their placement while the source controls follow the converted task.

What changes, what does not

  • Stays the same: the operonId, and the task's fields (status, priority, dates, parent, recurrence, and the rest).
  • Changes: where the fields are written (inline {{key:: value}} versus frontmatter), whether the task has a note body, and, according to After converting an inline task, whether the old source position keeps a link or is removed. Promoting adds a body; collapsing removes it and trashes the note.

So the conversion is about the task's container, not its meaning.

Leave Operon instead of changing shape

Convert task to plain is a different action. It does not move the same task between inline and file containers. Instead, it removes the operonId and ends the task's Operon identity: an inline task becomes a plain checkbox, while a File Task can become a normal note with only the managed properties you select removed.

Use it when you want to keep the Markdown content but stop managing the task in Operon. It has its own confirmation, property picker, and safety checks for relationships, timers, recurrence, and reminders.

FAQ

Will I lose my fields when converting? No. Operon carries the canonical fields across both directions. Only the container changes.

What happens to the old file when I collapse to inline? It is moved to trash after you confirm, so the task is not duplicated.

Can I convert a plain note into a task? Yes. Edit or convert to file task turns the current note into an Operon file task, or right-click any eligible note and choose Convert to Operon File Task… without opening it first.

What is the difference between the two convert-a-note paths? Edit or convert to file task works on the note you already have open and confirms first. Convert to Operon File Task…, from a note's context menu, works on any eligible note without opening it and skips straight to the template picker.