Also: Main Menu, FAQ
ToDoList Preferences
General
Preferences on this page could equally have been called 'Miscellaneous' but also include some high level functions which modify how ToDoList behaves as a Windows application.
Keep ToDoList on top when visible
Keeps ToDoList above other windows when it is not minimized. However, to avoid possible confusion ToDoList is made non-topmost whilst it is maximized else it would prevent you accessing any windows beneath it.
Always show ToDoList when it starts up
By default, ToDoList will adopt the state it was last in before it was closed. This option ensures that you will always see ToDoList when it starts up regardless of the state it was last in.
Minimize ToDoList to the System Tray when:
Select this option if you don't want ToDoList cluttering up your taskbar when not in use. You can also choose which of the window buttons (Minimize or Close) is used as the trigger for minimizing.
Toggle visibility on clicking the tray icon
Clicking on ToDoList's tray icon will display ToDoList and bring it to the foreground. With this option, clicking the icon repeatedly will show and hide ToDoList alternately.
Display save confirmation dialog on exit
Prompts you to save changes when ToDoList exits or you manually close a task list. If you do not select this option, your changes will be automatically saved.
Display delete confirmation dialog
Prompts you to confirm a delete decision in case you clicked the toolbar button in error. Take care in disabling this feature because there is currently no undo facility!
Allow multiple instances of ToDoList
By default, ToDoList restricts itself to a single instance and opens new tasklists within that one instance. If you would prefer to have a separate instance of ToDoList per tasklist then select this option. Note though that it is not possible to copy and paste between instances of ToDoList.
Global Hotkey
Allows you to define a key combination that when pressed will bring ToDoList to the foreground whether its behind other windows, minimized or hidden in the system tray.
Enable '.tdl. as a file extension for tasklists
Allows you to open tasklists by double clicking them in Explorer.
Note: This will write a key to the registry.
Note: if you intend to copy your tasklist to your website then be aware that some XML parsers will not recognize your tasklist unless it has a .xml extension.
Enable 'tdl://' as a url protocol
Allows you to reference tasklists and tasks in web pages.
Note: This will write a key to the registry.
Enable delayed loading of tasklists
To speed up the start-up time of ToDoList, you can have ToDoList open the last active tasklist and only open other previously open tasklists when you switch to them.
Keep track of most recently used (MRU) tasklists
By default, ToDoList maintains a list of the last 16 tasklists that you opened and displays these in the File menu. If you don't require this feature then deselect this option.
Clear MRU
If your most recently used list contains old or deleted tasklists then click this button to reset the list.
Automatically check for updates on startup
Updates to ToDoList can be downloaded from the web using the Web Update Wizard. This process can be done manually via the Help menu or once a day automatically.
Note: the Web Update Wizard must be installed before this can work.
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Multi-User Control
If you are using ToDoList at your place of work and anticipate sharing task lists with your colleagues then you may find these features useful.
Check the status of remote tasklists only every 'n' seconds
Continually checking the status of files on slow networks can slow ToDoList down. This option allows you to fine tune how often the checking occurs.
If a tasklist's status changes to writable...
This is useful if your task list resides in a 3rd party source control database (eg. Microsoft Visual SourceSafe) which uses a file's readonly attribute to indicate its checkout status. With this option enabled, ToDoList will monitor the file's status and notify you or reload the file automatically when the file becomes writable.
If a tasklist's timestamp changes...
Likewise, if a co-worker modifies a file across the network and saves it, you can use this option to have ToDoList notify you or reload the file automatically
Enable simple source control
If you don't use a 3rd party source control package but still need to prevent users overwriting each other changes then this option may well give you a sufficient level of control.
Briefly, it works like this: When you check out a file for editing, ToDoList opens the tasklist and writes your computer name into the file and resaves it (but without changing its timestamp - else other users might be prompted to reload it). Anyone else then trying to edit it will not be able to until you check the file in which will remove your computer name.
Only for remote tasklists
This enables source control only for files which do not reside on your local machine.
Attempt check-out when loading a tasklist
This will try to check out the file as soon as you load it.
If a tasklist cannot be checked out, keep re-trying periodically
If you try to check out a file but are unsuccessful then you can have ToDoList monitor the file's checkout status and check it out for you as soon as it becomes available.
Check in tasklists when I close them
To allow others to edit shared tasklists whilst you're not working on them, this option ensures that tasklists are checked in when you close them.
Note: You can also use this option to prevent others from editing your tasklists, whilst still allowing them to view them.
Check in tasklists if no changes have been made for more than 'n' minutes
If you have checked out a tasklist and then get called away to a meeting, this option will allow ToDoList to automatically save any changes and check in the tasklist after a set period of time.
I store my tasklists in a 3rd party source control system
By default, tasklists are saved as a single line of text without carriage returns. However, if you are using a third party source repository in which to store your tasklists this can make difference merging very difficult indeed. Select this option to have ToDoList insert carriage returns after every task.
Note: this will marginally increase the time it takes to save a tasklist, but will probably only be noticable for very large tasklists.
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File Actions
These preferences modify how some of the File menu and Tools menu commands operate.
After Loading a Tasklist
These are common tasks that you might want to carry out whenever a task list is opened.
Notify me if the tasklist is marked as read-only
This will pop up a message box so that you are fully aware that the file is not editable. (Note: the readonly status will also be displayed in the title bar.)
Notify me of all tasks due (and overdue)
This will display a formatted list of all tasks and subtasks that are due on or before a variety of date options.
Archive completed tasks
This will archive completed tasks to a separate task list based on the settings immediately below. Note: you can also manually archive tasks.
Refresh my active 'Find Tasks' search
If you keep the Find Tasks dialog open all the time then ToDoList can update the search results whenever you open a new tasklist.
Expand All Tasks
This will expand all tasks so that every task is visible.
Archiving
Archiving is handy for maintaining a lean task list which only contains incomplete tasks. However, there may also be times when you will not want your archived items to be removed from the tasklist.
Remove archived tasks from the tasklist
This will remove the completed tasks from the tasklist after they have been archived.
Unless they are flagged
This will not remove tasks if they have the flag attribute set.
Only when all the task's subtasks and siblings are also complete
This option will prevent ToDoList from removing completed tasks until all the task's siblings and subtasks have been completed. This is useful when you are calculating a task's completion state based on the completion state of its children.
Display a warning if I attempt to add or delete tasks from an archive
Because the archive represents a record of exactly what tasks were completed you may want to ensure that it is not modified. Unfortunately you can't set the read-only flag else the archiving won't work either. This option will ensure that any accidental edits produce a warning before the change is made.
When Switching Tasklists
This is a handy time for executing less often performed tasks.
Notify me of all tasks due (and overdue)
This will notify you of any due and overdue tasks in the tasklist becoming active. You can control what you see and how you see using the options below.
Due Task Notifications
These are simple popup notification which list all the currently due and overdue tasks.
Display notifications in HTML
Displays the notification in a browser window as an alternative to a text view. This allows more extensive text formatting options.
Using the following stylesheet
By default the HTML is produces by ToDoList's internal HTML engine, but you can optionally specify a stylesheet to be usedd to transform the XML.
Show task titles only
This option cuts out all task attributes except the task title for a much leaner view.
Only display tasks allocated to 'x'
This allows you to specify a person's name so that, for instance, you only get notified about your due and overdue tasks.
Saving
Saving your task list is obviously an essential task which is why you may want to adjust the way in which it is performed.
Auto-save every 'x' minutes
If your machine is a bit 'flaky' or you are nervous about losing your recently edited data then this is the option for you!
Auto-save when switching tasklists
This is useful when you don't have the Auto-Save option cranked up.
Auto-save when the application loses focus
This occurs whenever you switch to another application or when you minimize ToDoList to the system tray.
Automatically export after saving
If you want to allow others regular access to your tasklist, you might want to use this option to export it to a handier format whenever you save your changes.
HTML
By default this uses ToDoList's internal HTML engine.
Using the following stylesheet
Alternatively you can specify a stylesheet with which to transform the XML.
Other
ToDoList also allows you to export to any one of the standard exporters that come with ToDoList.
Note: The exported file always has the same name as the associated tasklist with just the extension changed.
To folder...
By default, exports are saved to the same folder as the task list. Alternatively you can nominate your own export location here but take care to avoid removable drives if you have selected the auto-save option above simple because of the delay that this may introduce into ToDoList's working.
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File Actions [more]
Backup
Backup is a crucial part of any software's operation. ToDoList's backup occurs whenever a tasklist is saved. The name of backups takes the following format: <tasklist name><date and time>.<xml or tdl>
Keep backup copies of tasklists
Select this option to keep backups.
To Folder
By default backups are stored in a folder named 'backup' in the same location as the tasklist. This options allows you to change this, useful if you want to have backups stoed in a central location but your tasklists are in various locations.
Keep 'x' most recent backups
This allows you to control how many backups you want to keep. When this limit is reached ToDoList deletes the oldest backup to make space.
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User Interface > General
This category contains a range of options to control some of the broader UI features.
Only show editing controls for visible columns
Use this option to maximize the space available to the task list by hiding the edit fields for those columns you have chosen to hide.
Only show editing menu commands for visible columns
Use this to trim unwanted menu commands off the menu.
Reposition editing controls during resizing
This option will wrap controls as the width of the application changes during resizing.
Right align attribute labels
Right-Aligns the labels associated with each attribute field bringing them closer to the field.
Move the input focus to the tasklists when the Enter key is pressed
Wherever the focus is, this option will move the focus back to the tasklist when the [Enter] key is pressed.
Note: If the focus is on the comments then pressing return will not shift the focus, simply because return is more often used for paragraph marking.
Show tasklist close button on the menubar
This places an [X] button at the far right of the menubar for closing tasklists.
Note: you can also click the middle mouse button on tasklist tabs to close the tasklist.
Use the following theme
ToDoList comes with some simple themes. Use one of the predefined themes or write one of your own using one of the predefined themes as a template.
Filtering
Filtering is one of ToDoList's most powerful features, allowing you to omit all but a subset of tasks that interest you. This allows you to focus on only the most important tasks.
Allow multi selection in the filter droplists
This turns on the checkbox selection mode in the filter droplists allowing you to select more than one item to filter on.
Restore tasklist filters when restarting ToDoList
This allows you to control whether ToDoList saves and restores the current filters on a tasklist when you close and then re-open it.
Automatically refilter after editing
This can be handy if for instance you are filtering on incomplete tasks and then you complete one of those incomplete tasks. With this option turned on that newly completed tasks is instantly filtered out.
Note: sometimes this feature can work against you especially when using some of the due date filters. This is because as soon as you drop down the due date field the date gets set and this can cause a refilter and remove the task you are editing. At this date there is not solution for this problem.
Sorting
ToDoList allows you to sort tasks against most of the attribute fields.
Always sort completed tasks below other tasks
This is handy if you want to collate all the completed tasks at the bottom of the parent task whilst sorting the rest by whatever field you have selected.
Note: this option does not work if you have 'sorted on 'unsorted'.
Toolbar
The toolbar stores the most often used commands.
'New Task' button places task...
Because there are more than one 'New Task' menu commands this option allows you to control which one the toolbar button refers to.
'New Subtask' button places subtask...
Because there are more than one 'New Subtask' menu commands this option allows you to control which one the toolbar button refers to.
Comments Field
Preferred format
Select which comments format you want to use by default when tasks are created.
Location
Select whether you want the comments field to appear below the tasklist or to the right of the tasklist.
Show always
If you always want the comments field to show even when you've selected 'View | Maximize Tasklists' choose this option.
Update all tasklists when the comments field is resized
Checking this option ensures that the comments field remains the same height or width regardless of which tasklist you change it on.
Tasklist Tab Bar
Hide tab bar when only one tasklist is open
If you prefer a more consistent user interface then deselecting this option will ensure that the tab bar is always visible even when you only have a single task list open.
Stack tab bar items
Choosing this option if you want to be able to see every tab at all times. Without this option Windows provided scrollbuttons to enable you to scroll tabs into view.
Keep tabs ordered by name
As you load tasklists this option will keep them ordered alphabetically.
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User Interface > Task List > Attributes
Column visibility
Check the boxes of those attribute values that you want displayed as columns in the task list (useful if certain attributes are not relevant to your needs).
Dates/Times
Hide 'Start' and 'Due' dates for completed tasks
This is just one of a number of options for reducing clutter and visiually separating complete and incomplete tasks.
Hide 'Due Time', 'Start Time', 'Completed Time' fields
By default ToDoList allows you to specify the time as well as the date for due, start and completed dates. However since not all people require these fields you can optionally hide them.
Hide zero 'Times' and 'Costs'
Again this helps redues visual clutter my not rendering the time or cost when it is zero.
Display dates in ISO format
The ISO date format is non-locale specific format which ensures that no matter where you are, dates will always look identical. Note: ToDoList always stores dates in ISO format when saving them to disk or when exporting.
Include the weekday when displaying dates
This option displays the abbreviated weekday to the last of the date.
Note: Without this option set dates are aligned to the left of the column, with it they are aligned to the right, just to make scanning the dates easier.
Round 'Time Estimate/Spent' to whole numbers
This simplifies the display of task times without changing the actual values recorded. Again juts to make scanning the tasklist easier.
Display 'Time Estimate/Spent' times in HMS format
This displays times in (what I call) HMS format. eg 2.75 days would be displayed as 2d6h.
Note: the length of a week and the length of a day are those specified elsewhere in the preferences.
Show Infotips
Displays detailed information when you move the mouse cursor over a task in the task list.
Limit length of comments shown to 'n' characters
Without this option ToDoList would display the entirety of a task's comments in the infotip which would lead to very large and unwieldy infotips.
Display comments after task title in list
This option renders any additional comments after a task's title text in the task list.
Note: the task list scrollbars will not extend to accomodate this extra text so not all of the comment may be visible.
Display only the first line of comments
This is a useful device that you can use to selectively show and hide the comments that are displayed after the task title. To hide the comments simply make the fist line of the comments blank.
Strike-through completed tasks
This useful for picking out which tasks are completed.
Note If you use a high resolution display you might find that the default struck-through font used for completed tasks is virtually unreadable, in which case simple deselect this option.
Display completion checkbox next to task's title
This option moves the checkbox for marking a task as complete tight up against the task's title text rather than in its own column.
Display Subtask completion in front of task's title
This displays fractionally (number of completed subtasks/total number of subtasks) how many of the task's subtasks are completed.
Show Parent tasks with a folder icon
This helps to pick out parent tasks by assciating a folder icon with them.
Note: If you manually specify an icon then this will override the parent folder icon.
Hide '% Complete' for completed tasks
To help highlight incomplete tasks and to maintain a less cluttered task list you can have ToDoList not display '100%' for completed tasks.
Show '% Complete' as a progress bar
As well as showing a task's completion status as a percentage, you can also display it as a coloured bar (based on its priority).
Hide 'Start' and 'Due' dates for completed tasks.
'Start' and 'Due' dates may have limited relevance once a task has been completed. Select this option to have ToDoList hide such dates when a task has been marked as completed.
Show columns on the right of the task tree
This displays the task title at the left most column and the rest of the columns to the right.
Note: Because of how ToDoList is written internally, any vertical scroll bar will appear between the task title and the rest of the column. There is no workaround for this at this date.
Show non-file links as text
By default ToDoList displays file links by their representative icon. This option allows you to use this field to also store raw text and not have ToDoList try to convert it to a file icon.
Enable full row selection
This option gives the task list a more 'list-like' appearance but at the expense of losing the dotted link lines between tasks and their subtasks.
Display the selected task's path in the list header
In task lists with many tasks, each of which has many subtasks, it is very easy to lose track of just where you are. This option will display the path of the currently selected task in the task list header.
Limit width of columns to 'x' pixels
At this date ToDoList does not allow column widths to be resized, instead it always sizes columns to fit the widest entry. As a result column can become 'too' wide resulting in a difficulty seeing all columns sufficiently. This is a stop-gap solution which will prevent columns exceeding the specified width.
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User Interface > Task List > Fonts and Colours
Task list font
At the end of a long day you might like to increase the font size of your task list to suit your tired eyes.
Use same font for comments field also
Select this option to display the comments field in the same font as that selected for the task list.
Comments font
Likewise for the comments field.
Colour 'Priority' column
By default, the priority column is a grayscale box ranging between very light gray (lowest priority) to black (highest priority). If you would prefer colours then you can specify them here.
Individual
If you find adjacent gradient shades too difficult to tell apart then you can alternatively specify each priority level as a distinct colour.
Gradient
Simply specify the 'low' and 'high' colours and let ToDoList do the rest.
Use HSL to calculated intermediate colours
Without going into a deep explanation of HSL, basically it allows perceptual color relationships to be described more accurately than RGB. From my perspective it also prevents the production of 'grays' when blending between two colours.
Hide 'Priority' number
If you find the addition of the priority number to its colour too distracting then you can turn it off.
Show Gridlines
Gridlines can be helpful when scanning across many columns.
Gridline colour
If you use light gray as your normal window backgound colour then you might find the default gridline colour indistinguishable from the background. Change it here if you need to.
Alternate line colour
Specify a background colour for alternate lines to assit in scanning across many columns.
Task Colouring
These options allow you to colour the task text (or background) in a number of different ways.
Colour task titles by Category
This option allows you to manually enter category names together with an associated colour.
Note: As of this date there is no way to import categories entered elsewhere in the preferences.
Colour task titles by Priority
This option allows you to additionally color a task's title by its corresponding priority colour. This allows you to hide the priority column and also give a task's priority better visibility.
Colour task titles by assigned colours
Use this option to colour tasks by the colours you have manually assigned.
Use a task's colour for its title background
By default, the colour you allocate to a task (whether directly or via its priority) is used to render its title text. Selecting this option will use these colors for the tasks' background colour which will give the colours greater emphasis.
Due task colour
Specify a colour to use for all due and overdue tasks.
Note: this colour will override the task colouring specified above
'Due Today' task colour
Specify a colour to distinguish between tasks that are due 'today' and tasks that are overdue (due yesterday and before)
Completed task colour
Specify a colour to use for completed tasks.
Flagged task colour
Specify a colour to use for tasks with the flag attribute set.
Note: This colour overrides the basic task colouring note above but does not override the 'Due', 'Due Today' or 'Completed' task colours.
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Tasks > Attribute Calculations
Here's where you define how certain attributes will be calculated and displayed in the task list.
Time Tracking
Time tracking is a simple device that lets you start and stop a 'clock' whenever you are working on a task and then have the elapsed time added to the 'Time Spent' attribute.
Continue time-tracking a task even when
the task is not selected
Untick this option if you want time tracking to stop when the tracked task loses its selection.
the tasklist containing the task is not active
Untick this option if you want time tracking to stop when you switch away from the tasklist containing the tracked task.
a screensaver is running or the desktop is locked
Untick this option if you want time tracking to stop when you lock your desktop (Windows Key + L) or when a screensaver is running ie You go to a meeting relating to the tracked task.
the computer is hibernated or in stand-by
Untick this option if you want time tracking to stop when you hibernate your computer or put it into stand-by.
Tracking a new task should stop tracking of tasks in all other open tasklists
This option ensures that there is only ever one task being tracked at any one time.
Log tracked time
For each start/stop sequence this option saves information about the sequence to a .csv file, the idea being that at a later date (weekly or monthly) you can load this into Excel (or Open Office) and generate a report from each entry.
Log each task to a separate file
By default all start/stop sequences for each tasklist are stored in the same .csv file. This option allows each task to be stored separately.
Allow time tracking on parent tasks
By default, a parent task's time spent on is simply the accumulated time spent of all its subtasks. As a result (by default) the attribute field of a parent task is disabled and time tracking is disabled. This option allows time tracking on parent tasks and also (as a side effect) allows manual times to be added to parent tasks.
Time Periods
One day equals 'x' hours
This allows you to specify the length of the working day to be used for display and calculation purposes.
One week equals 'x' days
Likewise, this allows you to specify the length of the working week.
Treat due tasks as having the highest priority
This option allows you to sort due tasks 'high' when sorting by priority.
Treat completed tasks as having the lowest priority/risk
This option allows you to sort completed tasks 'low' when sorting by priority or risk.
Treat tasks whose subtasks are all completed as also being 'Completed'
If your parent tasks are effectively just containers for their subtasks this option will gray out such tasks when their sub tasks are all complete. Furthermore, other actions eg. sorting, will also treat the parent task as completed.
Display a task's '% Completion' as being equal to its 'Time Spent' divided by its 'Time Estimate'
Instead of using the manually entered value this auto-calculates the % completion.
Display a parent task's '% Completion' as being the average of all its subtasks' % completions
Likewise, select this option if you want ToDoList to auto-calculate the priority of a parent task as the average of all its subtask's priorities (no weighting is used). When this option is selected, the priority field in the main interface is disabled for tasks with subtasks (ie parent tasks).
Include completed tasks in this calculation
Use this option is you want completed tasks to part of the calculation. In most cases it is appropriate to have this option ticked.
Weight % completion by number of subtasks
This option ensures that tasks with more subtasks have a greater effect on the calculation.
Weight % completion by time estimate
This option ensures that tasks with higher time estimates have a greater effect on the calculation.
Weight % completion by priority
This option ensures that tasks with higher priorities have a greater effect on the calculation.
Take a task's '% Completion' into account when calculating time estimates
If you select this option, when ToDoList is calculating a parent's accumulated time estimate it will weight a subtasks's time estimate according to what percentage of the subtask is still to be completed.
Display a task's 'Due' date as being the earliest of its due date and all its subtasks' due dates
This option will display a parent task's due date as being the earliest of all its subtasks (and their subtasks) due dates. This allows you to tell at a glance which top level tasks need attention soonest.
Display a parent task's priority/risk as being the highest of its and all its subtasks' priorities/risks
This option allows you to specify that the parent task's priority/risk appears as that of its most deeply located subtask even if that subtask is not visible. This prevents important but deeply nested tasks from being overlooked.
Include completed tasks in this assessment
Typically priorities and risks become less important once a task is completed. This option allows you to include such tasks in the evaluation of the parent task's priority/risk.
Recalculate a tasks's time estimate whenever its start or due dates change
This option allows you to specify that a task's time estimate is equal to it's due date less it's start date. This will take into account the day and week durations specified above.
Automatically adjust a task's start and due dates when it's dependency's completion date changes
This allows you to 'bump' a task's start and due dates when the completion date of a task that it is depending on changes (or is set).
Treat tasks without a due date as being 'Due Today'
In order to prevent recently created tasks from being overlooked simply because a due date has not yet been allocated, this option allows you to treat such tasks as 'Due Today' with respect to task colouring, due date display and filtering.
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Tasks > Default Task Attributes
Default Attributes
Choose the attributes you want tasks to have when they are created.
Attribute Inheritance
Having subtasks inherit attributes from their parent is often useful where the contained subtasks are all of the same category as the parent or allocated to/by the same person.
Have subtasks inherit the following attibutes from their parent when they are created
Select this option if you want a subtask to inherit attributes from its parent task. The options you select will override the defaults you specified above.
Continue to update subtasks as parent changes
Select this option if you want subtasks to continue to inherit the attributes as changes are made to the parent during its life.
Default Categories
This option lets you specify a range of categories that you want all tasklists to have. This avoids having to enter them for each new tasklist, preventing spelling errors of mis-categorization of tasks. To enter a task simply type it in and press [Enter].
Note: if you mis-spell an item and want to delete it, simply:
a) Drop down the list
b) Highlight the item to be deleted using the keyboard
c) Press [Ctrl] + [Del]
Note: You can also use this same method to delete items from the attribute droplists in the main interface.
Default Statuses
Likewise for statuses.
Default Allocated To
Likewise for persons allocated to.
Default Allocated By
Likewise for persons allocated by.
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Importing/Exporting
So that your line managers do not need to have ToDoList on their machines, ToDoList allows you to export to more accessible formats, html and plain text. These options will give you more control over the final output.
Preview results
Select this option to have the results of the export displayed for you to preview. This option is ignored for exports resulting from auto- saved tasklists.
Export attributes in visible columns only
This is useful if certain columns are not relevant to your usage of ToDoList.
Only export title and comments for parent tasks
This is useful where parent tasks are effectively just containers for their subtasks ie. You are not interested in the attributes of the parent tasks.
Provide a space below each task for notes
Useful if you are going to print out your exported tasklists and then add notes eg in a meeting.
Note: this only affects the built-in 'Web Page' and 'Plain Text' exporters.
Html settings
This allows you to control the font and size (in html units).
Note: this only affects the built-in 'Web Page' exporter.
Text settings
Specify the indent you want inserted between a parent and its children. This is especially useful if you have a deep hierachy.
Note: this only affects the built-in 'Plain Text' exporter.
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Tools
This tab lets you configure 3rd party tools to extend ToDoList's functionality. Tools set up here are accessible via the Tools Menu.
Note: To provide the greatest flexibility, this functionality has been written very generically, which may make it appear more complex than it really is. To assist you therefore, some examples are included at the end of this section.
Tools List
This lists the currently configured tools. Tools not having a name or path will not appear in the Tools Menu.
New Tool
Creates a new tool. Enter the name that you want to appear on the Tools Menu.
Path
Browse to the application, batch file, or script that you wish to run.
Arguments
Construct up an argument string that will be passed to the tool defined above. The button attached to this field will pop up a list of placeholder variables which represent items that ToDoList will substitute when you run the tool.
The available placeholders are:
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Menu Item
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Placeholder
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Comments
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ToDoList Pathname
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$(todolist)
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Full path to the ToDoList executable
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Tasklist Pathname
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$(pathname)
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Full path to the active tasklist
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Tasklist Folder
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$(folder)
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Full path to the folder containing the active task list
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Tasklist File Title
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$(filetitle)
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The filename of the active tasklist without the extension
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Tasklist Filename
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$(filename)
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The filename of the active tasklist
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Selected Task ID
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$(selTID)
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ID of the current selected task
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Selected Task Title
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$(selTTitle)
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Title of the current selected task
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Selected Task External ID
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$(selTExtID)
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External ID of the current selected task
|
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Selected Task Comment
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$(selTComments)
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Comments of the current selected task
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User Date
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$(userdate, var_date1, "Date Prompt", default_date)
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(see 'User placeholders' below)
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User Filepath
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$(userfile, var_file1, "File Prompt", default_path)
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(see 'User placeholders' below)
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User Folder
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$(userfolder, var_folder1, "Folder Prompt", default_folder)
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(see 'User placeholders' below)
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User Text
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$(usertext, var_text1, "Text Prompt", default_text)
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(see 'User placeholders' below)
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Today's Date
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$(todaysdate)
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Date in ISO format
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User placeholders
Placeholders prefixed by 'user' will result in the user (you) being prompted to enter information. This is useful where the information is not known in advance or it frequently changes. User placeholders typically take 3 additional arguments:
a unique variable name (eg. var_text1)
a prompt string (eg. "Enter your username")
an optional default string to display (eg. "anonymous")
Icon
This allows you specify an alternative file from which the displayed icon is retrieved.
Run Minimized
Runs the tool as a minimized task. Useful for running batchfiles.
Delete Tool
Deletes the selected tool.
Tooltips for Tools
The current tooltip is the tool name, which can be edited by slow double clicking or F2 to anyhting you like.
Tool Examples
Note: The following examples illustrate possible uses of the tools system and one possible way of solving each example.
1. Displaying the raw active tasklist in your browser
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Set the tool path to point to your default browser
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Enter $(pathname) in the arguments field.
Explanation: All this does is call your browser passing it the full pathname to the active tasklist
2. Rendering the active tasklist to html using an xsl transform
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Create a batch file containing %1 %2 %3 -o %4 on line 1 and %4 on line 2, and set the tool path to point to this file.
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Enter "$(userfile, var_msxsl, "Path to Msxsl.exe")" "$(pathname)" "$(userfile, var_xslfile, "Path to Xsl file")" "$(folder) $(filetitle).html" in the arguments field.
Explanation: The first argument prompts the user to browse to msxsl.exe which is the rendering engine we will be using. The second argument is just the full pathname of the active tasklist which we are going to render. The third parameter prompts the user for the xsl file with which to carry out the transform whilst the last argument is the output file (just the tasklist list pathname with an html extension). The second line in the batch file acts to display the resulting html file in your default browser.
3. Connecting to bugzilla via External ID
Details about his example can be found here
Explanation: This allows you to open bugzilla with the External ID as bugnumber
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Keyboard Shortcuts
Everyone has their own idea of what constitute intuitive keyboard shortcuts so, rather than try to second-guess you all, I decided to make this fully configurable.
Note: if you have picked shortcuts which conflict with the built-in shortcuts used by edit controls then these will not work when an edit field has the focus. (this is by design).
Shortcut List
This is essentially just the menu bar expanded into a list, and shows all the currently assigned keyboard shortcuts. Grayed items indicate submenus which cannot have shortcuts.
Current shortcut key
This displays the active keyboard shortcut for the currently selected menu item.
Type new shortcut key
To change the keyboard shortcut, move the focus to this field and type the shortcut you want. This can be a single alphanumeric key or alternatively an alphanumeric key modified with the , and/or keys.
Note: once you have types a new shortcut ToDoList will show you if the chosen shortcut is already assigned to another menu item. If it is and you proceed to reassign it then the original assignment will be removed.
Assign
Click this button to assign your new shortcut to the menu item. Note: if you make a mistake or decide that you don't want to apply the modified shortcuts, simply cancel out of the preferences dialog.
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