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FAQ

What is the todo.txt format?

The todo.txt format is defined in the todo.txt project wiki.

How is the todo.txt format useful?

Storing your tasks in a text file that you control gives you tremendous power. You are not locked into a particular system, application, or platform. You can sync the file across devices simply. You can open your task list in any text editor for quick edits, such as pasting in several dozen tasks at once. You can use existing command line tools, such as grep and sort, for searching and sorting.

Due dates and threshold dates aren't part of the todo.txt format spec!

Due date and threshold date are implemented as key:value tags, which are fully compliant with the todo.txt format spec. They both are popular extensions to the todo.txt command line scripts.

How are due dates formatted?

Due dates are formatted as due:yyyy-mm-dd. For example: due:2016-12-31.

What are threshold dates?

A threshold date indicates that a task should not be started until the threshold date. Adding threshold dates is a way to indicate "future tasks". A threshold date is formatted as: t:yyyy-mm-dd.

How are threshold dates formatted?

Threshold dates are formatted as t:yyyy-mm-dd. For example: t:2016-12-31.

Do I have to use the yyyy-mm-dd date format?

Yes. That date format is defined by ISO 8601. It is an internationally accepted way to represent dates. If you don't like typing the date that way, use the due date and threshold date pickers in the task text editor.

File sync (Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, etc.)

Does SwiftoDo Desktop work with file sync programs?

SwiftoDo Desktop works nicely with cloud services, such as Dropbox, that sync your local files to the cloud. It saves immediately after changes are made, and automatically reloads the file when changes from external sources (such as a cloud service updating the local file) are detected.

To be clear, SwiftoDo Desktop does not tie directly into any cloud services. It loads and saves local files only. Those local files may be synced to cloud services via those services' desktop clients.

Note that, since version 2.4.2, SwiftoDo Desktop will not reload your file while a task is in edit mode. This limitation is there because task edits were being canceled by file reloads. It is strongly recommended to not leave tasks in edit modes for extended periods of time (which you would not normally do anyway).

Sorting

How do the sort options work?

Except for "order in file" (which is self-explanatory), the various sort options perform a multi-level sort. The first sort level is the element you choose: priority, project, or context. Then, beneath that first sort level, tasks are sorted based on order of descending priority, as evaluated by priority, due date, threshold date, and completion status, in that order. If a task has no signifier of priority, it is sorted based on the order of the file.

Hardware keyboard shortcuts

What hardware keyboard shortcuts are available?

Working with tasks

• N: new task
• J: move down to next task
• K: move up to previous task
• X: toggle task completion
• D or Backspace: delete task (with confirmation)
• U or Enter: update task
• P: postpone task by X (user-entered) days
• S: set due date
• Option+S: set threshold date
• I: set priority to user-entered value (A-Z)
• T: append text to end of selected tasks
• R: prepend text to beginning of selected tasks (after priority and creation date)
• A: archive completed tasks (archive file done.txt must be set)
• Command+Up: Increase priority
• Command+Down: Decrease priority
• Command+Left or Command+Right: Remove priority
• Command+C: Copy selected tasks to the clipboard
• Command+Shift+C: Copy selected task to the new task text box
• Command+X: Cut selected tasks to the clipboard
• Command+Shift+V: Paste tasks into the task list from the clipboard
• Command+Option+Up: Increase due date by 1 day
• Command+Option+Down: Decrease due date by 1 day
• Command+Option+Left or Command+Option+Right: Remove due date
• Command+Shift+Option+Up: Increase threshold date by 1 day
• Command+Shift+Option+Down: Decrease threshold date by 1 day
• Command+Shift+Option+Left or Command+Shift+Option+Right: Remove threshold date

Undo/redo

• Command+Z: Undo
• Command+Shift+Z: Redo

Working with files

• Command+N: new file
• Command+O: open file
• Command+S: save file (forces the file to save immediately)
• .: reload file
• Option+.: reload all files
• Command+I: view task list metadata (task counts, etc.)
• Command+W: close file
• Command+Option+W: close all files

Sorting the task list

• Command+0: order in file
• Command+1: priority
• Command+2: project
• Command+3: context
• Command+4: due date
• Command+5: creation date
• Command+6: completion date
• Command+7: alphabetical

Filtering the task list

• Command+F: find (moves focus to the search field)
• F: define quick filters
• 1: apply quick filter 1
• 2: apply quick filter 2
• 3: apply quick filter 3
• 4: apply quick filter 4
• 5: apply quick filter 5
• 6: apply quick filter 6
• 7: apply quick filter 7
• 8: apply quick filter 8
• 9: apply quick filter 9
• 0: remove applied filter

Recurring tasks

How do I create a recurring task?

A task with a well-formed Support for recurring tasks with the "rec:" tag. The “rec:” tag value's format is as follows: a number suffixed by d, b, w, m, or y (days, “business days” or weekdays, weeks, months, and years, respectively). To enable strict recurrence, prefix the pattern with a +.

Examples:

• “rec:1d”: one day, normal recurrence
• “rec:+10b”: 10 business days, strict recurrence
• “rec:+2w”: 2 weeks, strict recurrence

When are recurring tasks created?

When tasks with a well-formed "rec:" tag are completed, new tasks will be created with adjusted due dates (and, if they exist, adjusted threshold dates). The adjusted due date will be based on the task’s completion date (normal recurrence) or on the task’s due date (strict recurrence).

Hidden tasks

How do I create a hidden task?

There is a setting for showing or hiding tasks with the "h:1" tag. When that setting is checked, any tasks with a "h:1" tag will be hidden.

Why would I want to create a hidden task?

Hidden tasks can be useful to keep your favorite projects and contexts available in the filter even after you have archived all your read tasks associated with them.

Privacy Policy

SwiftoDo Desktop does not collect any of your information, period. No data within the app or accessed by the app is transmitted to the developer.

Contact

Twitter

Tweet to @SwiftoDoApp

Email

support@swiftodoapp.com