# Self-Assignment
The **Self-Assignment** feature enables labelers to proactively assign documents to themselves from a pool of **available projects**. It is especially useful for teams that want to give labelers more control over their work and ensure unassigned tasks are quickly picked up.
An **available project** is a project with incomplete assignments, either because some documents remain unassigned or the assignment count has not yet reached the consensus number.
{% hint style="warning" %}
Self-assignment is not available by default for projects created before **Datasaur v6.90.**
{% endhint %}
## Enabling Self-Assignment
Admins can enable the Self-Assignment feature through the workspace settings:
1. Navigate to the **Workspace Settings** via the sidebar menu on the Projects page.
2. Go to the **Assignment** tab and check the option **Allow self-assignment for labelers.**
3. Click **Save Changes** to apply the new setting.
Once the feature is enabled, there will be some differences in the **Projects** page for certain team roles.
* **Admins** and **Supervisors** will be able to see projects with incomplete assignments marked by the **Incomplete assignment** chip.
* **Labelers** will see a new **Unassigned projects** tab. There, they will be able to view projects they are not assigned to, and able to self-assign themselves to those projects.
## Preparing Projects for Self-Assignment
To make a project available for self-assignment, create the project as usual. Then, in the **Assignment** step of the project creation process, assign only **reviewers**.
## How Labelers Can Self-Assign
Once the self-assignment feature is enabled, labelers can self-assign documents from multiple places: the **Unassigned projects** tab, the **Assigned projects** tab, or **directly within the project**.
### Unassigned Projects Tab
Labelers can self-assign to projects they are not currently assigned to by following these steps:
1. Open the **Projects** page.
2. Go to the **Unassigned projects** tab to view available projects and the number of documents that can be assigned to.
3. Click **Assign myself…** on the desired project.
4. Enter the number of documents to assign and click **Assign to me.**
5. When the self-assignment is successful, the project will open immediately, allowing them to begin work.
### Assigned Projects Tab
If Labelers would like to self-assign to additional documents within projects they are already working on, they can do so by following these steps:
1. Open the **Projects** page.
2. Go to the **Assigned projects** tab to view the projects and click on the three-dot icon of the desired project.
3. Enter the number of documents to assign and click **Assign to me.**
4. When the self-assignment is successful, the project will open immediately, allowing them to begin work.
### Within the Project
When labelers have completed the labeling work and marked all the documents they are assigned to as complete, they will be prompted with a dialog asking if they want to self-assign additional documents if the project still has incomplete assignments.
They will be able to choose whether they want to self-assign more documents or simply mark the project as done instead.
{% hint style="info" %}
If multiple labelers attempt to self-assign the same project simultaneously, it is possible that some documents may not be allocated as requested. For example, if you request 5 documents but another labeler has already self-assigned some, you may only receive 3.
{% endhint %}
## How Admins and Supervisors Can Self-Assign as Labelers
Aside from Labelers, Admins and Supervisors can self-assign as well by following these steps:
1. Open the **Projects** page.
2. Click on the three-dot icon of the desired project and select **Assign myself to this project**.
3. Enter the number of documents to assign and click **Assign to me.**
4. When the self-assignment is successful, the project will open immediately, allowing them to begin work.
## Additional Configuration
You can configure various settings to manage how labelers interact with documents. These configurations help control the flow of tasks and ensure that the labeling process remains efficient and manageable.
They can be customized:
1. During project creation in step 5.
2. Or after project creation by updating settings from **Project settings** in the **Administrator** tab.
> **Note:** Changes to the time limit only apply to new assignments. For example, if you update the time limit (enable, increase, decrease, or disable it) after a labeler has already self-assigned a document, that document will still follow the original time limit set at the time it was assigned. New assignments will use the updated time limit.
{% hint style="info" %}
**Notes**
* These settings are applied at the project level, so they will need to be set up again when creating a new project.
* When either setting is enabled, labelers will only be able to self-assign one document at a time in the self-assignment dialog.
{% endhint %}
### Document Limit
The **document limit** applies only to self-assignment actions, preventing team members from assigning themselves more documents once they reach the set limit. This ensures that no labeler takes on more tasks than they can handle at once, which helps to distribute tasks more fairly across the team.
#### When It Should Be Used
Use this setting when you want to manage how many documents a labeler can work in a project. It prevents a single labeler from taking on too many tasks and ensures that other team members can self-assign documents as well.
#### Key Notes
* The minimum document limit is **1 document**, and the maximum is **1000 documents**.
* This setting does not prevent Admins or Supervisors from assigning documents through the project creation or project settings. They can still assign more documents to a labeler, even if the document limit is reached.
#### Example
**If a document limit is set to 3**:
* A labeler can self-assign **up to 3 documents** throughout the project.
* Admins can assign **more than 3 documents** to a labeler, even if the document limit is set to 3.
* If a labeler has already been **assigned 2 documents by an admin**, they can only **self-assign 1 more document** (since the limit is 3). However, admins can still assign additional documents beyond the limit.
### Time Limit
The **time limit** defines how much time a labeler has to complete a document once it has been assigned, either through **self-assignment or by an admin**. This helps ensure that tasks are completed in a timely manner, keeping the project on track.
#### When It Should Be Used
Use this setting when there is a need for time control to maintain consistency in task completion. For example, when there are deadlines or a need to manage the pace of work across multiple labelers.
#### Key Notes
* The minimum time limit is **1 minute**, and the maximum is **480 hours and 59 minutes**.
* **Countdown start**: The countdown begins immediately once a document is assigned. The time left will be displayed in a countdown indicator beside the document name in the top bar and in the List of Files extension.
* **Countdown stop**: The countdown stops when the document is marked as complete. Once marked complete, the document's status cannot be reverted to "In Progress."
* **Expiration**: If the time limit expires before completion, the document will be unassigned and added back to the list of documents available for self-assignment.
