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Linking to Other Tasks

Link related tasks from their notes so you can open one from another. A link uses the format @{Task Title}. For example, the notes for Website refresh can link to Review the welcome copy and Choose the launch images.

Task links and backlinks are available without 2Do Pro. Links also work in Markdown Preview, which requires Pro or the full-feature trial.

Creating a Link​

  1. Open a task and tap its notes row. If the note opens in a reading view or Markdown Preview, tap the note to edit it.
  2. Type @{. Suggestions appear beside the cursor.
  3. Leave the title empty to see up to five recently modified tasks, or keep typing part of a title to narrow the results.
  4. Tap a suggestion. 2Do inserts the full title and closing brace for you.

In this example, typing @{Review finds Review the welcome copy along with other matching tasks.

Each result shows its list, and a sub-task also names its parent. A typed query offers up to twelve matches. Suggestions leave out completed tasks and the task you are editing.

With a hardware keyboard, use the Up and Down arrow keys to choose a result, Enter to insert it, or Escape to dismiss the suggestions. If a landscape keyboard leaves little room for the note, the toolbars hide and suggestions can appear beside the line. Hide the keyboard to show the toolbars again.

Opening a Linked Task​

Tap a highlighted task link in the note, its reading view, or Markdown Preview. 2Do switches to the task's list or parent project when needed and opens its editor. On a wide tablet layout, the task opens in the editor beside the list.

Edits to an existing task's notes are kept when you follow a link. To return, open Notes in the destination task and use its backlink to the source task.

Finding All Links in a Note​

Tap the globe-shaped Open Links button in the notes editor's top bar. The menu lists task links first, followed by web addresses and other links found in the note. Choose a task title to open its editor, or choose a web address to open it.

The button appears when the note contains links or another task links to it. If the keyboard has hidden the top bar, hide the keyboard first.

Open a task's notes, then tap Open Links. The Linked from section lists other tasks whose notes link to this task. Tap a title to open the task containing the link.

For example, when Website refresh links to Review the welcome copy, the copy task shows Website refresh under Linked from. These incoming links are called backlinks. You do not need to write a return link yourself.

Open Links appears even when the current note is empty if another task links to it. 2Do checks for backlinks when you open Notes. Close and reopen Notes to pick up links added elsewhere.

Each referring task appears once, even if its note repeats the link. Two tasks may link to each other; a task's link to itself is excluded.

Writing a Link by Hand and Using It on Other Devices​

A link stores the task's title as ordinary note text. You can write @{Weekly review} yourself, paste it into a note, or use a suggestion to insert it.

Android, iPhone, iPad, and Mac use the same plain-text format. Sync both the notes and the tasks they refer to so the links can resolve on another device. See the iPhone and iPad or Mac guide for those controls.

If a title contains a brace, double that character when writing the link by hand. For a task named Review {draft}, write @{Review {{draft}}}. Suggestions handle these characters for you.

How Links Match Tasks​

2Do looks up the title when you follow a link. Links and backlinks use the same matching rules:

  • An exact title match takes priority over a title that starts with the linked text.
  • When several tasks match equally well, the most recently modified task wins.
  • Matching ignores case and accents, so @{cafe run} can find Café run.
  • Completed tasks can still be opened through an existing or hand-written link.
  • Tasks in hidden, archived, deleted, or locked lists are excluded, as is the task containing the link.

If nothing matches, 2Do shows a message and keeps the note open. Check the title and whether the destination list is available.

note

Links follow titles rather than fixed task identifiers. Renaming a task can leave a link unresolved or make it match another task. Use distinctive titles for tasks you link to, such as @{Q3 launch review} instead of @{Follow up}.

Examples​

  • Record what must happen first: Waiting for @{Order parts}.
  • Connect a meeting to its follow-up: Discussed in @{Q3 planning meeting}.
  • Keep a project's next steps in its notes: @{Draft copy}, @{Choose screenshots}, @{Submit build}.
  • Refer to a routine: Use @{Weekly review} before planning next week.
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