Projects and Checklists

Use projects and checklists to break work into smaller steps. Each step is a sub-task. Projects let you schedule the steps separately; checklists keep them on one schedule.

Tasks and Sub-Tasks

A sub-task belongs to a project or checklist. Open the parent to work with its contents. Use a project when its sub-tasks need their own dates, and a checklist when they share one schedule.

Projects

A project holds tasks with their own dates, alerts, tags, location, and action. 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.

Use a checklist for:

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

Moving an Item Out of a Checklist

Moving an item out to its list or into a project ends its use of the checklist's dates. The move does not copy those dates to the item, even if you opened the checklist from Today. Set the item's Due date after moving it if it still needs a deadline.

A task moved out of a project keeps its own dates because those dates belong to the task.

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.

When you open a project from a Smart List or while searching, Project View shows only the sub-tasks that match by default. If a project opens empty or with sub-tasks missing, see Inherit Search in Project View.

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.

To choose the initial order for future projects and checklists, use Settings > Tasks > Default Sorting.

Converting between a project and a checklist keeps its current sorting when the new type supports it. Checklists do not offer To-do List, Start Date, or Due Date sorting. A project using one of these switches to Status in Ascending order when converted to a checklist.

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.

Projects in Sections

A list can be divided into named sections, and a project or checklist can sit in any of them. Its sub-tasks always stay with it in the same section. Sections divide a list, not a project: to arrange the steps inside a project, use its own sort order.

Behavior in Focus Lists

• Project children can appear individually in Today and search results when they match the list or search. This shows the same task in another view; it does not create a copy.
• Checklist items do not match Today's date rules separately. The checklist owns those dates. A starred checklist item can still appear in Starred, or in Today when Include starred items is on.
• In All, without a search or Focus Filter, sub-tasks stay under their parent.

To hide a matching sub-task's separate entry when its parent is also visible, open Settings > Today & Lists > Focus & Smart Lists and turn off Always list matched sub-tasks separately. The item remains inside its project or checklist. See Today & Lists settings.

To find a checklist item by its text, use an All Lists search. See Search Scope for how searching Today differs.

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