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Projects and Checklists

2Do has three ways to break work into smaller pieces: projects, checklists, and sub-tasks. They look similar in the list and behave quite differently.

Tasks and Sub-Tasks​

A regular task can carry a short list of sub-tasks, children that live entirely inside their parent. Sub-tasks suit children that are tiny and only mean anything in the parent's context: Pack: passport, charger, headphones. They do not appear on their own in your Focus Lists.

If you want a child to behave like a real task, with its own due date, alert, or tag, make the parent a project instead.

Projects​

A project is a parent that holds real tasks. Each child carries its own dates, alerts, tags, location, and action, and each one turns up individually in All, Today, and your searches. Changing or removing the project's own dates reschedules it and sets completed children back to active; see Dates and Durations.

Use a project when:

  • The goal is made of several actions that do not have to happen in order.
  • Individual actions deserve their own dates or alerts.
  • You want each action to appear in Today on its own.

Creating a Project​

  • Tap the floating + button, then choose Project from the type picker beside the title.
  • In Quick Add, open the priority menu and choose Convert... > Project.
  • With a hardware keyboard, press ⌥⌘N.
  • Or convert an existing task: touch and hold it and choose Convert > To a Project.

Checklists​

A checklist holds items that only matter together. Items can be checked off and tagged, but they cannot carry their own dates; they take their scheduling from the checklist. The whole checklist behaves as one item in your Focus Lists.

Use a checklist for:

  • Sequences that only make sense as a whole, such as packing, pre-flight, or onboarding.
  • Templates you expect to duplicate.

Creating a Checklist​

  • Tap the floating + button, then choose Checklist from the type picker beside the title.
  • In Quick Add, open the priority menu and choose Convert... > Checklist.
  • With a hardware keyboard, press ⌃⌘N.
  • Or convert an existing task: touch and hold it and choose Convert > To a Checklist.
tip

Checklists make good templates. Touch and hold one and choose Copy > Duplicate Checklist when you need a fresh copy for the next trip or the next new starter.

Project View​

Tap a project or checklist row in the task list and 2Do opens Project View: the task list is replaced by that project's own contents, with the project pinned in a header above them. It is where you work on one plan without the rest of the list around it.

On iPad, tapping the row opens Project View and opens the project itself in the editor pane, so its notes and dates are in front of you while you work through its children.

Tap the pinned header to open the project's own editor at any time.

With a hardware keyboard, C toggles Project View for the selected project or checklist, and pressing Return on a selected project opens it.

Leaving Project View​

Four ways out, whichever is nearest your thumb:

  • Tap the back chevron at the leading end of the bar above the tasks.
  • Tap the list name beside it. Inside a project, the title acts as Back rather than opening Quick Open.
  • Pull from the leading edge of the task panel. A badge fills as you pull, and releasing past about a third of the panel's width closes the project.
  • Tap the already-selected list in the lists panel.

Adding Tasks Inside a Project or Checklist​

While a project or checklist is open, the floating + button adds children to it. Tap it for the full editor, or touch and hold it for Quick Add and file title after title into the parent without leaving it.

Sorting Inside a Project​

A project or checklist keeps its own sort order, separate from the list it lives in. Open the sort menu on the sort bar while inside one and its heading names Project Sorting or Checklist Sorting, so it is clear what you are changing. Sorting a list does not disturb the order inside its projects, and the other way around.

Collapsing Sections​

Project View groups its children into sections just as a list does. Tap a section header to collapse or expand it, and the state is remembered. If the header is pinned at the top while you scroll, the first tap scrolls back to the header's own place instead.

Converting Between Types​

You are never stuck with the first choice. Touch and hold a task and use Convert:

  • Task to project or checklist.
  • Project to task or checklist.
  • Checklist to task or project.

With a hardware keyboard, ⌥⇧⌘1, ⌥⇧⌘2, and ⌥⇧⌘3 convert to a task, a project, and a checklist. Where a conversion would drop details a child is carrying, 2Do warns you first.

tip

Start with a plain task. Promote it to a project the moment you find yourself wanting per-child dates or alerts, and not before.

Behavior in Focus Lists​

  • Project children appear individually in All, Today, and search results.
  • Checklists appear as a single item; their children do not surface separately.
  • Sub-tasks stay nested under their parent.

Checklist items cannot be dropped on Today or Scheduled while dragging, because their scheduling belongs to the checklist. See Drag and Drop.

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