ToDoList 5.2.8 - A simple but effective way to keep on top of your tasks
By .dan.g..

A hierarchical task manager with native XML support for custom reporting.

Downloads

Latest Update (5.2 Feature Release)

1. If you typically have more than one tasklist open per session then ToDoList can now delay the loading of all but the last active tasklist and only load the other tasklists when you click on their tabs or switch to them using the keyboard.

Note 1: This is implemented via a taskfile format change and will only work on the second reloading of the tasklist after upgrading.

Note 2: A tasklist that has not yet been fully loaded is indicated by a gray dot on its tab.

Note 3: Delayed loadng can be turned off via the preferences.

2. ToDoList now supports tasklist column visibility on a per-tasklist basis. To access this right-click on the tasklist header or pick 'Select Columns' from the 'View' menu.

Note: The column settings are stored in the registry (or ini file).

Related Links
After finally compiling a FAQ of the most relevant questions asked about ToDoList I've moved all resources related to ToDoList to a new page on my website.

Introduction

You know how it is - you start work on one project and halfway through, you find one or two side-projects crop up that have to be solved before you can continue on the original project.

This is one such project with the added twist that it too started its life as a side-project. Here's what happened:

I can only imagine that the planets must have been in (mis-)alignment or something, because at one point a few months ago, I was suddenly fielding emails on four or five separate articles I had previously submitted to CodeProject, some asking for features and others for bug fixes.

Foolishly or otherwise, I largely agreed with all the points raised, and subsequently found myself with fourteen or fifteen separate issues to resolve.

The situation was also made worse because I was trying to use CodeProject to keep track of all the things I had agreed to do, meaning that I had to continuously trawl the comments section of each article to remind myself of what I was supposed to be working on.

It even got to the stage where I was worrying that I'd fail to deliver on something - silly I know, but there you are!

Keeping a list on paper was a definite step in the right direction, but since I do all my coding on the same machine, it seemed somewhat inelegant, and anyway, we all know what happens to crucial bits of paper left lying around on desks and such.

The next step was to hunt around on the web for a tool to meet the following requirements:

  • Simple interface
  • Support for hierarchical data
  • Numbered items/subitems
  • Open file format
  • Freeware

Simple, huh! not!

I will admit that I did not spend weeks searching, but I am still surprised at the general lack of software matching my needs.

On reflection, I think that the reason may be simple: people are so used to commercial software being 'feature-rich' that when they come to design software themselves, they (not unreasonably) think they too need to cram as much in as possible, often leading to software where a lot of essential functionality is hidden away in the menu bar.

So, surprise, surprise, I decided to write something myself.

However, it's fair to say that I did not originally intend to post it on CodeProject and am only really doing so because I had a heap of fun solving some very interesting problems and these are what I think make it worth it.

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License.

Further Work

Whilst this tool was originally intended for my personal use only, it is now a 'community' project, so if you find it useful and want to make suggestions for enhancements or bug fixes, then post below.

Please visit AbstractSpoon to see the current tasklist.

  • 5.1.2 (7 Feb 2007)
    • Fix for -tid commandline option not working
    • Fix for tdl:// link opening further instances of open tasklists
    • Fix for 'less than' not working on Find dialog
    • Fix incorrect placement of 'New task' menu icons
    • Attempted temporary fix of subtask auto-deletion bug under Vista

About .dan.g.


.dan.g. is a former chartered structural engineer from the uk. he's been programming for 20 years since university and has been developing commercial windows software in australia since 1998. he has a shaved head and assorted whiskers should you want to recognize him.

For all his latest freeware visit http://www.abstractspoon.com/

Click here to view .dan.g.'s online profile.



  Version 5.2.7   jfve  7:56 15 Jun '07 

  Req: press Return in editbox should move to next task   [d3m0n]  4:46 15 Jun '07 
  Re: Req: press Return in editbox should move to next task   [d3m0n]  3:57 16 Jun '07 

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