I know you can add an Item Description when an item is already created but how to add one when you are adding it? Ideally I’d like to be able to make it required so I can force users to include a description (seems like an no-brainer)
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If you want to require a description when creating an item within a board:
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Add a Long Text column (name it “Description” or “Request Details”).
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Click the three dots on that column → Settings → Set column as required.
Now when someone clicks + New item, the creation pop-up will appear and they won’t be able to add the item until that field is filled out.
If you’re using WorkForms, you can also:
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Map a Long Text question to that column
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Mark it as Required in the form
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Hi @BrandiLKT
You’re right that Item Description can be added once the item exists, but there isn’t currently a way to require or fill the Item Description field at the moment of item creation directly from the board.
If your goal is to require a description, a couple of workarounds people use:
If items are being created via a Form, you can add a Long Text question and mark it as required. That ensures a description is captured before the item is created.
If items are created directly on the board, you could add a Long Text column called something like “Required Description” and use column validation to make it mandatory. That gives you enforcement at the board level.
Some teams also use an automation to notify the item creator if the description field is empty after creation, though that’s more of a reminder than a hard requirement.
It would definitely be helpful if Item Description itself could be required at creation, but for now using a required Long Text column is usually the cleanest way to enforce it.
If you’d like hands-on help or want us to walk through this live, you can book a 1:1 paid 60-minute strategy session with our team here:
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Hi @BrandiLKT
At the moment, the native Item Description field itself can’t be made required during item creation.
A practical workaround is to create a Long Text column (for example, “Description”) and mark that column as required in your board settings. This way, users will be forced to fill it in when creating or updating the item (depending on how you structure your required field rules).
If you prefer not to make it strictly required, another approach is to use Make automation. You can trigger automation on item creation and automatically populate the description column based on other values (such as item name, form inputs, or predefined templates). This ensures the field is never empty, even if users forget to fill it manually.
This gives you flexibility — either enforce it strictly with required fields or handle it intelligently with automation
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