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Nearby and Locations

Tasks live in time and in space. Attach a place to a task and 2Do becomes context-aware: it can plot the task on a map, list it by how far away it is, and tell you when you arrive somewhere with work waiting.

Adding a Location to a Task​

Open a task and tap Locations in the editor's bottom toolbar, or press ⌘G with a hardware keyboard. The panel lists every place you have saved, with Add a New Location... at the top.

Tap a place to attach it to the task, and tap it again to take it off. A task can carry more than one.

The Location Editor​

Add a New Location... opens a map with a name field. There are three ways to place the point:

  • Tap Find Location and search for an address or a place by name.
  • Tap the current location control to drop the pin where you are.
  • Tap the map itself. Until a point is set, the editor prompts you to tap the map to place the location.

Give the place a name and save it. Names have to be unique, and the editor warns you if you reuse one.

Managing Your Locations​

The panel's list is your catalog, shared by every task:

  • Swipe a row for Edit and Delete.
  • Drag rows to reorder them.
  • Editing a place changes it everywhere it is used.

You can also reach the catalog from Settings > Nearby > Manage Locations.

The Nearby Page​

The utility panel's second page is Nearby. On iPhone, swipe the task list toward the utility panel. On iPad, tap Tags at the bottom of the lists panel. Then choose Nearby with the segmented control at the top.

The page has a map above a list, and a segmented control that switches between:

  • Nearby: the places within your maximum distance, sorted by how far away they are.
  • All: every place you have saved.

A caption on the map names the Nearby Range currently in force. Tap a row to see its tasks; touch and hold one for Edit and Delete.

The first time you save a place from this page, 2Do asks whether it should remind you when you are near a location with tasks. Answer Turn On or Not Now. Assigning a location to a task from the editor turns nearby alerts on for you, since asking to be reminded about a place is the point of putting one on a task.

Nearby Alerts​

Open Settings > Nearby. The Nearby Alerts switch alerts you automatically about nearby tasks, taking their start and due dates into account. It starts off, and it needs location access.

Maximum Distance​

Maximum Distance under the Distance section decides how close you have to be, from 250 metres up to 10 kilometres. The choices are shown in your own units.

Location Access​

The Location Access row states where things stand and offers Open Settings when 2Do needs a permission you have not granted:

  • When location access is off: Location access is turned off for 2Do. Open Settings to let 2Do alert you when you're near a task.
  • When precise location is off: Precise Location is turned off for 2Do, so nearby alerts may arrive late or not at all. Open Settings to turn it on.

2Do only asks for location permission when you actually need it: when you add a location, or when you turn Nearby Alerts on.

How Arrival Alerts Work​

  • Alerts fire when you arrive, not when you leave.
  • Only places attached to active tasks are watched. Completed tasks, and tasks hidden by a paused tag, are left out.
  • iOS limits how many places an app may watch at once, so 2Do watches the 18 nearest unique locations to you and keeps that set up to date as you move.
  • Arriving somewhere with several tasks gives you one alert naming the places involved, rather than a burst of separate notifications.

Nearby alerts always arrive as ordinary notifications. They do not ring as alarms, even when Ring alerts as alarms is on.

Smart Lists for Errands​

An errands view is a search away. Useful queries:

  • type: anylocation for everything that has a place attached.
  • locations: home, drycleaners for named places.
  • locations: ? for any location set, and locations: ~ for none.
  • type: anylocation AND visit for tasks that can also give you directions.

Save any of these as a Smart List and the right-now-doable subset of your work is one tap away. See Smart Lists.

Sync​

Locations sync between your devices when your sync method carries them. A place set on your Mac can be used for nearby alerts on your iPhone. See Sync.

Tips​

tip

Tag location-based tasks with @errands. Combined with the Nearby page and an errands Smart List, you never have to wonder whether there was something to pick up while you were out.

tip

For repeating errands such as a Saturday grocery run, put the location on a repeating task. The location carries over to every occurrence.

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