The Task Editor
The task editor is where every detail of a task lives. This page is a field-by-field reference for the editor on iPhone and iPad.
Opening the Editor
- Tap a task in the task list.
- On iPhone the editor arrives as a card over the list. Drag its grabber up to fill the screen, or pull it down to put it away.
- On iPad the editor mounts in the inspector pane beside your tasks, so the list stays visible while you work. See iPad Features.
Changes are saved as you make them. Tap the close control at the top-left to leave, and use the ⌘W or Escape shortcuts if you have a hardware keyboard.
The Top Bar
Across the top of the editor:
- Close on the left.
- Previous and Next chevrons in the middle. They move to the task above or below in the list you opened from, without closing the editor.
- The More menu on the right.
The More menu holds:
- Open Parent Project or Open Parent Checklist, for a task that lives inside one.
- Mark as Completed or Mark as Incomplete.
- Convert..., which changes the task into a Task, Project, or Checklist.
- Share.
- Email as attachments.
- Delete.
Use the previous and next chevrons to work down a list without closing the editor between tasks. It is the quickest way to triage a long list.
Title and Priority
The top row of the card carries three things: the completion checkmark, the title, and the priority control.
- Tap the checkmark to complete or reopen the task. It draws the same glyph the task row does, so a project shows its folder icon and a checklist its own.
- The title grows onto as many lines as it needs while you type.
- Tap the priority control on the right for None, Low, Medium, and High, plus a Starred switch. See Stars and Priorities.
While you type the title of a new task, Natural Language Input reads details such as tomorrow at 3pm, every Monday, or #errands out of what you wrote, fills in the matching rows, and removes those words from the title when you save. A date on its own is the due date, while a start word in front of it sets the start date, so Work on the report starting tomorrow sets the Start Date and leaves the Due Date unchanged.
The List Banner
Under the title sits a coloured banner naming the list the task lives in, with the parent project or checklist beside it when there is one. Tap it to open the destination picker and move the task somewhere else. See Moving a Task.
When the task carries an action, a second banner sits opposite it saying what tapping the task does. Tap that banner to perform the action; touch and hold it and choose Edit to change it.
Property Rows and the Toolbar
Below the banner the card lists only the properties the task actually carries: start date, due date, duration, alerts, repeat, locations, notes, tags, and a recording. A property with nothing in it takes no room.
To add something the task does not have yet, use the toolbar pinned to the bottom of the editor. Its six buttons open the property panels, in this order: Dates, Alerts, Repeat, Action, Locations, and Attachments.
A small dot under a button means the task already holds something for that property. Tapping a button slides its panel up over the card; pull the panel down, or tap the button again, to put it away. Tapping a property row on the card opens the same panel.
You do not need to fill every field. Start with the title, then add only what matters. The toolbar at the bottom is always there when a task needs more.
Dates and Duration
The Dates panel has three segments: Start, Due, and Duration.
- Start Date is when a task should begin. A task with a future start date is scheduled and stays out of your lists until that day arrives.
- Due Date is when a task must be finished. It appears in Today on its due date and stays there until it is done.
- Duration tells 2Do how long the task takes.
The Start and Due segments each show a month calendar, quick picks for Today, Tomorrow, the day after that (named after its weekday), and Week, plus a Clear control. Under the calendar, the Due segment carries a Time switch and a clock; the Start segment carries its own clock and four quick start times. Each schedule keeps its own set of four quick times, taken from your date shortcuts in Settings > Tasks.
The calendar marks busy days, so you can see where work is already stacking up before you pick a date. Choose the style under Settings > Appearance > Busy Days > Date Pickers: None, Dots, or Heat Map.
Tap and hold any date to see what's already on that day. A short list of that day's tasks appears without changing anything.
The Duration segment offers quick lengths from 5 mins through 6 hours, plus wheels for any number of Mins, Hours, Days, or Weeks.
Learn more about how Start Date, Due Date, and Duration interact in Dates and Durations.
Smart Scheduling
Tasks with a future start date are hidden from your lists until that start date arrives. To see them without changing anything, tap the Scheduled control in the sort bar above your tasks, or open the Scheduled focus list. See Focus Lists.
Due Time and Duration Together
When a task has a due date, a due time, and a duration, the duration tells 2Do when the task starts needing your attention. A task due at 3:00 PM with a 30-minute duration becomes active around 2:30 PM.
Default Due Date and Default Due Time
If most of your tasks share a pattern, set it once under Settings > Tasks: Default Due Date gives every new task a due date, and Default Due Time gives every new dated task a time. You can still override either on any task.
Alerts
The Alerts panel lists every alert the task carries, split into Active Alerts and Inactive Alerts, with Create New Alert... at the top. Swipe an alert to Delete it; tap one to change it.
The alert editor has two forms:
- Presets fire a fixed distance before the task's own time: On Time, 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes before, 1, 2, 6, and 12 hours before, and 1 and 2 days before.
- Custom either counts a number of days before or days after the task's date and fires at a time you set, or pins the alert to an exact date and time of its own.
Play Sound decides whether the alert makes a noise. A line under the controls says what the alert counts from, so an alert on a task with no due time reads This alert counts from the due date. With no due time, that means the start of the day.
Where system alarms are available, a Ring as Alarm switch sits under the list. It decides whether this task's timed alerts ring like a Clock alarm instead of arriving as notifications. See Alerts and Nagging.
Repeat
The Repeat panel opens with what the task repeats by, and when it stops. Under that sit the one-tap rules (Never, Daily, Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly, Yearly) and three custom forms:
- On every given period for every N days, weeks, months, or years.
- On some days of the week.
- On a day of each month.
Repeat from completion date decides whether the next occurrence is counted from the task's due date or from the moment you tick it off. Ends sets whether the rule runs Never, On date, or After a number of repetitions. See Repeating Tasks.
Tags
The tags row is a token field. Type and 2Do suggests matching tags; accept one and it becomes a chip. Tap Pick to open the full Tags panel, where you can search your whole library and use Create New Tag... for one that does not exist yet.
Paused tags are marked as paused in the picker, so you always know a tag will hide the task. See Tags.
Locations
The Locations panel lists every place you have saved, with Add a New Location... at the top. Tap a place to attach it to the task, or tap it again to take it off. Swipe a row for Edit and Delete, and drag rows to reorder your catalog.
The location editor is a map with a name field. Search for an address, drop the pin where you are, or tap the map to place the point yourself. Until a point is set, the editor reads Tap the map to place this location.
Tasks with a location can appear in the Nearby page of the utility panel and can alert you when you arrive. See Nearby and Locations.
Action
The Action panel turns the task itself into something you can do in one tap. Pick one of six:
- Call
- Message
- Visit
- URL
Each asks for what it needs: a number, an email address, a link, an address, or search text. For contact-based actions you can pull a value straight from Contacts with Pick Contact. See Actions.
Attachments
The Attachments panel holds two things:
- Photo: Take Photo, Choose Photo, and Remove Photo. A photo also appears as a banner above the task's title.
- Voice: Record, Stop, Play, Pause, and Remove Audio Note.
Tap the photo to open it full size in the viewer, where you can:
- Pinch to zoom and drag to move around, or double-tap to return to the resting size.
- Pull the picture down to put it away.
- Tap Enlarge to open it outside the panel, filling more of the screen.
- Tap Share to hand it to the system share sheet.
Notes
Tap the notes row to open the notes card. Notes hold whatever helps: context, links, snippets, or a running log. They style Markdown as you type, insert date and time stamps, link to other tasks, and gather every link they find into one menu.
Full details are in Notes, Markdown, and Links, and task links have a page of their own in Linking to Other Tasks.
Sub-Tasks
A regular task can carry an inline checklist of sub-tasks. They live inside the parent and do not surface on their own in focus lists. For children with their own dates, tags, and alerts, convert the task to a Project with Convert... in the More menu. See Projects and Checklists.
Moving a Task
Tap the list banner under the title to open the destination picker. Search for a list, project, or checklist, and tap it to move the task there. If the name you type does not exist yet, tap Create New List... and 2Do makes it and files the task in one step.
Keyboard Shortcuts
With a hardware keyboard connected, the editor answers these:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
⌘/ | Edit Dates |
⇧⌘S | Start Date |
⇧⌘D | Due Date |
⌘' | Alerts |
⌘; | Repeat |
⌘B | Action |
⌘E | Edit Note |
⌘R or ⇧⌘T | Tags |
⌘G or ⇧⌘L | Locations |
⌘L or ⇧⌘M | Move |
⌥⌘0 | Priority None |
⌥⌘1 | Priority Low |
⌥⌘2 | Priority Medium |
⌥⌘3 | Priority High |
⌥⌘S | Toggle Starred |
⌘W or Escape | Close |
While composing a new task, ⌘Return saves it. The full list for the rest of the app is in Keyboard Shortcuts.
While you are adding a task, a Quick Add button sits in the middle of the editor's top bar. It becomes available once you have typed a title, files the task where you are working, and clears the editor so you can type the next one. With a hardware keyboard, pressing ⌘N at that point presses it for you: the task you typed is filed with the same animation, and the editor is ready for the next task without your hands leaving the keys.