Relationship Fields & Connections

Relationship fields are the most powerful field type in PrimeTask. They let you link entities to each other - tasks to contacts, projects to companies, tasks to other tasks, projects to projects - with optional bidirectional sync that maintains backlinks automatically. Combined with rollup aggregations (covered separately), they enable cross-entity calculations like "sum the cost of all linked contractors" or "count linked open deals".

For the broader system, see Custom Fields Overview. For rollups and financial aggregations on relationship fields, see Rollups & Financial Tracking.

Requires Pro

Relationship fields and Connections are part of the Pro tier. Manage your license from License Settings.

What you can do

Create relationship fields

that link to one or more entity types (any, task, project, contact, company)

Choose single or multi-link

single picker for "one and only one" or multi picker for "any number"

Choose directional or bidirectional

bidirectional automatically maintains backlinks

Pick entities via a search picker

with status dots, avatars, and entity names

See linked entities

as badges on the source entity

See the Connections zone

with outgoing links (this entity's relationships) and incoming backlinks (other entities pointing here)

Add rollup aggregations

to compute sums, averages, counts on linked entities - see Rollups & Financial Tracking

Configure 16 supported link directions

any entity type to any other

Configuration options

When you create a relationship field, four things define its behaviour:

Option	Choices	What it controls
Target type	`any`, `task`, `project`, `contact`, `company`	Restricts which entity types can be picked
Allow multiple	true / false	Single-link vs multi-link
Direction	`directional` (default) / `bidirectional`	One-way vs two-way with backlinks
Rollup config	optional	Aggregate a target field - see Rollups

Target type

The target type restricts the relationship picker to specific entity types:

any - pick any entity (task, project, contact, or company)
task - only tasks
project - only projects
contact - only CRM contacts
company - only CRM companies

Use any when the relationship doesn't care about entity type (e.g., "Linked Items"). Use specific targets when the relationship has a meaning that fits one type only (e.g., "Client Company" should only target companies).

Choose a specific target when possible

A focused target type makes the picker easier to use and keeps relationships clearer later.

Allow multiple - single vs multi-link

Single-link (single-link mode) - pick exactly one entity (or none); the picker enforces single selection
Multi-link (multi-link mode) - pick any number of entities

Use single-link when there's a 1-to-1 relationship (e.g., "Account Manager" - one contact). Use multi-link when there's a 1-to-many (e.g., "Linked Tasks" - many tasks).

Single and multi-link fields answer different questions

Use single-link for one owner, client, or source. Use multi-link for supporting work, contributors, dependencies, or related records.

Direction - directional vs bidirectional

Directional (default) - A links to B, but B has no way to know about A from the field system
Bidirectional - A links to B, and B's Connections zone automatically shows A as an incoming backlink

Bidirectional relationships are powered by a separate backlinks system that maintains the reverse links transparently. When you delete the field or unlink the relationship, the backlinks are cleaned up automatically.

When to use which:

Directional - when only the source side needs to know (e.g., "Notes" relationship pointing to other entities - the notes are referenced from the source but the targets don't need to know)
Bidirectional - when both sides should see the relationship (e.g., "Project ↔ Client Company" - both project and company benefit from seeing the link)

The 16 supported link directions

A relationship field can connect any pair of entity types - there are 16 possible combinations (4 source types × 4 target types):

From	To Task	To Project	To Contact	To Company
Task	Task ↔ Task	Task ↔ Project	Task ↔ Contact	Task ↔ Company
Project	Project ↔ Task	Project ↔ Project	Project ↔ Contact	Project ↔ Company
Contact	Contact ↔ Task	Contact ↔ Project	Contact ↔ Contact	Contact ↔ Company
Company	Company ↔ Task	Company ↔ Project	Company ↔ Contact	Company ↔ Company

In bidirectional mode, the entity scope must include both sides - e.g., a Project↔Contact bidirectional relationship needs both Project and Contact in its Entity Scope scope.

Bidirectional fields need both sides in scope

If either entity type is missing from the field scope, backlinks cannot appear where users expect them.

Common link patterns

Task → Contact - tasks linked to clients ("Client" field on tasks)
Project → Company - projects linked to clients ("Client Company" field)
Task → Task - task dependencies, related work
Contact → Company - contact's employer ("Company" field on contacts)
Project → Contact - project stakeholders ("Stakeholders" field, multi-link)
Company → Project - projects associated with a company (typically a backlink from Project → Company)

Bidirectional sync - backlinks

When you set a relationship field to bidirectional, PrimeTask maintains a backlinks system automatically:

Linking - When task A links to project B via a bidirectional field, project B's Connections zone shows task A as an incoming link
Unlinking - Removing the link from A also removes the backlink on B
Field deletion - Deleting the relationship field clears all related backlinks across both sides
Entity deletion - Deleting an entity cascades cleanup to backlinks pointing to it

Backlinks aren't a separate field you have to create on the other side - they're computed automatically by the system. The Connections zone reads them at render time.

Backlinks are managed through the source field

To remove a backlink, edit the relationship that created it.

The Connections zone

The Connections zone appears on task detail pages and project Fields tabs (when the project has any incoming or outgoing relationships). It has two sections:

Outgoing links

Lists all relationship fields on the entity, grouped by field name. For each field, shows the linked entities with their:

Name
Avatar / logo
Status dot (for tasks)
Project badge (when applicable)

Each linked entity is clickable - opens that entity's detail page.

Backlinks (incoming)

Lists entities that point to the current entity via bidirectional relationship fields. Grouped by source entity type and field name. For each, shows:

Source entity name and avatar/logo
The field name through which the link exists
Click-through to the source entity

The backlinks section only shows when there are incoming links - an entity with no backlinks doesn't see this section.

Linked entity field values

For relationship fields, the Connections zone offers an expandable section showing inline values of fields on the linked entities. Useful for quickly seeing related entity status without opening each one. For example, on a Project with linked Contractors, you can expand to see each contractor's hourly rate and contact info inline.

How to create a relationship field

Step 1

Open Settings → Category Management → Fields tab (or the in-project Fields tab)

Step 2

Click Add Field

Step 3

Choose Relationship as the type

Step 4

Enter the field name (e.g., "Linked Contractors")

Step 5

Configure: - Target type - pick the entity type the field links to - Allow multiple - toggle for multi-link - Direction - toggle bidirectional if you want backlinks - Rollup config (optional) - see Rollups & Financial Tracking

Set Entity Scope

which entity types can have this field

Step 7

Save

The field appears immediately on every entity in scope. Click the field to open the entity picker and select the linked entities.

Add rollups after links are meaningful

Rollups are most useful when the relationship field represents a real group of linked work or records.

The entity picker

Clicking a relationship field opens a search picker with:

Search bar - type to filter entities by name
Type tabs (when target is any) - switch between Tasks, Projects, Contacts, Companies
Result list - shows entity name, type, avatar/logo, status dot
Selection - single click for single-link; checkboxes for multi-link
Confirm/Cancel - apply your selection or close without saving

For multi-link fields, you can also clear all selections or remove individual links from the field display itself.

CRM cross-cutting

Relationship fields connect tasks, projects, AND CRM entities seamlessly. This unifies your data:

A Task with a "Client" field linking to a CRM Contact appears on the contact's detail page (via backlinks)
A Project with a "Client Company" field can roll up that company's industry, revenue, etc.
A Contact with a "Related Projects" field shows all projects they're involved in

For the CRM-side experience, see CRM Connections & Backlinks and CRM & Custom Fields.

Things worth knowing

Bidirectional fields require both entity types in scope

For a bidirectional Project ↔ Contact field, the Entity Scope setting must include both projects and contacts. Otherwise the backlink can't display on the other side. The Field Editor warns you when this combination isn't valid.

Backlinks aren't a separate field

You don't create a "reverse" field manually. Bidirectional just means PrimeTask tracks the reverse direction internally and shows it in the Connections zone. There's only one field definition.

Single-link doesn't enforce uniqueness

A single-link field can link to one entity at a time, but the same target entity can be referenced from multiple sources. Two tasks can both link to the same Account Manager contact via separate single-link fields.

Self-references are blocked for non-relationship fields

A Severity field for tasks doesn't get the tasks scope inherited from its target - it just applies to tasks. For relationship fields, the entity-scope rules are slightly different so backlinks work properly.

Deleting a relationship field clears its backlinks

When you delete a bidirectional relationship field, PrimeTask cleans up all related backlinks across all entities. There's no orphaned data.

Deleting an entity cascades cleanup

Deleting a task removes any backlinks pointing to it. Deleting a contact removes backlinks pointing to that contact. Cleanup is automatic.

Relationship fields don't appear in standard sort/filter

You can filter by "is set / is not set" but not by individual linked entities (use the Connections zone or the picker for that). Sorting by a relationship field isn't supported because there's no clear ordering (which linked entity sorts first?).

Rollup aggregations let you derive numbers from linked entities

A relationship field with a rollup config can aggregate a numeric or currency field from all linked entities. For example, "Linked Contractors" with a rollup on contractor's "Hourly Rate" (sum) gives you total hourly rate across all contractors. See Rollups & Financial Tracking.

Entity picker is searchable

For Spaces with many entities, use the search bar in the picker to find entities fast. Search is case-insensitive across name, email, and other indexed fields.

Common questions

"How do I link a task to a contact?"

Create a relationship field with Target type: contact, Allow multiple: false (single-link). Apply it to tasks. Click the field on any task to open the picker and select a contact. See Task Custom Fields.

"What's the difference between directional and bidirectional?"

A directional field is one-way - A links to B, but B has no automatic awareness of A. A bidirectional field maintains a reverse link automatically - B's Connections zone shows A as an incoming link. Use bidirectional when both sides should see the relationship.

"Can I see all the projects a contact is linked to?"

Yes - open the contact's detail page in CRM. The Connections section shows incoming backlinks from any bidirectional relationship fields pointing to the contact. See CRM Connections & Backlinks.

"Can a relationship field link to multiple entity types at once?"

Yes - set Target type to any and the picker lets you choose tasks, projects, contacts, or companies. Each selected entity stores its type and ID.

"How many entities can a multi-link field hold?"

There's no hard cap - practically, 100+ links per field stays performant. For very large lists (thousands), consider using a separate filterable entity (a tag or a dedicated entity collection) instead.

"What happens if I change a directional field to bidirectional?"

PrimeTask retroactively creates backlinks for all existing links. The reverse side's Connections zone immediately shows the incoming references. No data migration needed.

"Can I sort tasks by their linked entities?"

Not directly via the relationship field. To sort, use a rollup that derives a sortable number (e.g., "Linked Tasks count" - Count rollup), then sort by that rollup. See Rollups & Financial Tracking.

"Why don't I see backlinks on a contact I linked to a task?"

Two checks:

"Can I roll up text from linked entities?"

No - only numeric types support rollups (number, currency, rating, progress). Checkbox supports a count rollup. Text fields can't be aggregated. To see related text values, expand the Linked entity field values section in the Connections zone.

Where to go next

If you want to…	Read this
Set up rollup aggregations on relationship fields	Rollups & Financial Tracking
Browse the 14 field types	Field Types
Control where relationship fields show up	Field Visibility & Tabs
See the task-side Connections zone in detail	Task Custom Fields
See the project Fields tab Connections zone	Project Fields Tab
Set up CRM relationship fields	CRM & Custom Fields
Understand CRM-side connections and backlinks	CRM Connections & Backlinks
Return to the Custom Fields hub	Custom Fields Overview