Smart Lists, Smart Filters, and Search

A Smart Filter is anything you can describe in 2Do's search — a keyword, a tag query, a date range, a combination of all of those. A Smart List is a Smart Filter that's been saved as a permanent entry in the navigation drawer, so the perspective is always one tap away and stays up to date as your tasks change.

The same underlying engine powers Search, Search Presets, the Focus Filter, and Smart Lists — so anything you can describe with one of them, you can use with the others.

Reaching Search

Open search by tapping the search icon in the top toolbar, or pull down on the task list.

Two Search Modes — Full Text and Soundex

• Full Text Search — precise word matching with wildcards and capital OR. Reach for it when you want exact control over the results.
• Soundex Search — sound-alike matching. It quietly tolerates common spelling mistakes, missing letters, and pronunciation variants.

If you typed this	Soundex can still find
plumver	plumber
Steven	Stephen
alexnder	Alexander
Catherine	Kathryn

Soundex is on by default. Switch it off in the search options when you want to use exact OR, exclusion, and wildcard searches.

Full Text Search Operators

Pattern	Behaviour	Example
word1 word2	Implicit AND — both words must appear somewhere in the task	new job
word1 OR word2	OR (capital OR) — either word will match	Call OR new
word -word2	Excludes a word	new job -find
word*	Wildcard — matches words starting with the prefix	new* matches new, newer, newest
*	Matches tasks with searchable text	Useful alongside keywords when you want a broad text match plus structured filters
!word	Excludes a word (alternate syntax)	!work

Worked examples, using these sample tasks — Get a haircut one day, Buy a new car some day, Find a new job, Call: Mum, tell about my new job, Call: Tim:

• new job → Find a new job, Call: Mum, tell about my new job
• new job -find → Call: Mum, tell about my new job
• a day → Get a haircut one day, Buy a new car some day
• Call OR new → Buy a new car some day, Find a new job, Call: Mum, tell about my new job, Call: Tim

The Built-In Keywords

The following six reserved keywords turn the search field into a structured filter. They can be combined freely.

type: — Filter by Task Property

type: hiprio
type: (proj OR chck) AND hiprio AND !repeat
type: ((starred OR hiprio) AND due) OR today

Task Structure

Preset	Matches
alltasks	Any task — flat
task	Plain Tasks only
subtasks	Sub-tasks only
proj	Projects
chck	Checklists
emptyproj	Projects with no active sub-tasks
emptychck	Checklists with no active sub-tasks

Actions

Preset	Matches
action	Any Action
call	Call action
sms	Message action
email	Mail action
browse	Browse (URL) action
visit	Visit (Address) action
google	Google (search) action

Attachments / Notes

Preset	Matches
audio	Audio attachment
pict	Picture attachment
note	With notes

Priority

prio, noprio, hiprio, medprio, lowprio.

Status

starred, alarms, repeat, duration, inprogress, paused.

Tags / Locations

anytag, notag, anylocation, nolocation.

Dates

due, nodue, start, nostart, today, duetoday, starttoday, tomorrow, duetomorrow, starttomorrow, thisweek, duethisweek, startthisweek, overdue, tasksoverdue, donetoday, doneyesterday, donethisweek.

tags: — Filter by Tag

tags: home, work             # = tags: home OR work
tags: (home OR work) AND !play
tags: (call OR mail) AND work
tags: ?                      # any tag set
tags: ~                      # no tag set

locations: — Filter by Location

locations: home, drycleaners
locations: (home OR work) AND !playground
locations: ?                 # any location set
locations: ~                 # no location set

groups: — Filter by List Group

groups: projects
groups: home, work
groups: !home

modified: and created: — Filter by Recency

Time units: mins, h, d, w, m, y. Prefix < or > for less / more than.

modified: 2d           # last 2 days
modified: > 2d         # more than 2 days ago
created: 2h            # last 2 hours

Combining Keywords

plumber type: starred tags: builders groups: home

type: overdue tags: home OR school
tags: someday type: anyprio OR starred groups: shopping
tags: !work type: (hiprio AND thisweek) OR starred groups: !work

note

You cannot OR across different keyword types in a single rule. Create two Smart Lists if you need that.

Date Filters

The search field's calendar button opens a date filter alongside any other terms:

• No Due Date — perfect for a Someday Smart List.
• Date Range — fixed From / To dates.
• Dynamic Range — Next N days / weeks / months / years.

The Rule Builder

For complex multi-condition filters, use the visual Search Presets builder in the search options panel. Each clause matches one task property; combine clauses with all (AND) or any (OR), and nest groups for finer expressions.

Saving a Filter as a Smart List

Tap Save in the search bar. The new Smart List joins the navigation drawer. A Smart List filters within whichever list was active when you created it — switch to All first to span every list.

You can also start from scratch — open the drawer → [+] → New Smart List and build the rule directly.

Updating or Editing a Smart List

Long-press the Smart List in the drawer → Edit Smart List. Adjust the rule and save.

Hiding Completed Tasks

Long-press the Smart List → Hide Completed Tasks.

Reusable Smart List Recipes

Smart List	Rule
Someday	search → No Due Date → Save (on All)
Tomorrow	type: duetomorrow
Next 3 Days	Dynamic Range → 3 days
Tasks With Any Tag	type: anytag
Untagged	type: notag
High-priority Today	type: hiprio AND today
Errands Nearby	type: anylocation AND visit

Tips

tip

Build complex rules with Search Presets in the search options panel, then save the result.