-TODO: 4 of 4 tasks shown
In the block above, we can see that item number two is the last entry, but has an x next to the item number. This identifies the completed tasks. Unless you use the -a flag with the do action, you must carefully review the list of entries every time you complete a task.
When deleting tasks from the list, Todo.txt will prompt you for confirmation before deleting the specified task from the list. Unlike the do action, using del doesn’t renumber the remaining items in the list.
To do: Context and priorities
If all you do is add tasks to the list, it’ll be no different than if you were adding them manually into a text file. This is where three of the project’s features come in handy. You can assign each task to a project, using the + operator. The command todo -t add Finish todo.txt tutorial for LXF 235 +writing +LXF will add a new task to the list assigned to two projects: writing and LXF. You can create any number of projects while adding tasks. If the keyword following the + operator exists as a project, the todo.sh script will automatically add the new task to the said project. A project can be large, such as +writing and +LXF above.
To help you narrow down your tasks, you can add a context to the tasks as well. For instance, as this author writes reviews, tutorials and roundups for LinuxFormat, you can use these keywords as context within the +LXF project: $ todo -t add terminal tutorial for LXF 236 +LXF +writing @ tutorial 15 2018-01-29 terminal tutorial for LXF 236 +LXF + writing @tutorial TODO: 15 added. $ todo -t add replication AS vs N case +law +writing @ saketcourt 17 2018-01-29 replication AS vs N case +law +writing @ saketcourt TODO: 17 added.
In the above block, we’ve added multiple entries to our to-do list using different projects and contexts. You can now quickly identify tasks in your to-do list using any of these projects or context: $ todo ls saket 17 2018-01-29 replication AS vs N case +law +writing @ saketcourt -- TODO: 1 of 13 tasks shown $ todo ls +LXF 14 2018-01-29 review for LXF 236 +LXF @review 13 2018-01-29 roundup for LXF 236 +LXF @roundup 16 2018-01-29 terminal tutorial for LXF 236 +LXF +writing @ tutorial -TODO: 3 of 13 tasks shown
In the first line, we only used a part of the word to identify the associated entry in our list, but you can also use the complete project/context name to locate entries in the to-do list like we did by running the todo ls +LXF command in the block above.
The Todo.txt project understands that not all tasks are created equal. Some tasks are more important and pressing than the others. Priorities are rated as A-Z and colour coded accordingly, with A being the highest priority and so on. You can assign priority to task when adding it by specifying the letter in parentheses: todo -t add “(A) Pay electricity bill” . Here, we’ve added a new task to our list, and assigned it the highest priority. Make sure to use “when adding priority to keep BASH happy.
However, if you wish to assign priority to an already existing task, you must use the pri action along with the item number: todo pri 11 C . This command changes the previously unprioritised entry at item 11 to priority C.
The prioritised entries in the todo list are displayed at the top when you run the todo ls command. You can also run todo lsp command to only list the priorities tasks in your list.
Despite being simplistic, Todo.txt is highly useful and addictive and can be an asset for all manners of users. LXF.