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Multi-Task Actions

Tasks rarely need editing one at a time. Select several, then defer, schedule, tag, move, share, or delete them together with drag-and-drop, menus, and single-key shortcuts.

Selecting Tasks

  • -click to add tasks to the selection one at a time.
  • -click to select a contiguous range.
  • ⌘A to select all visible tasks. Selected tasks highlight together and act as one — every command below applies to the whole selection.

Drag and Drop Targets

Drag the selection onto the part of the window that does what you want:

  • Drop on a list in the Lists Panel to move tasks there. Hold (Option) while dropping to copy instead of move.
  • Drop on the Today Focus List to set the due date to today.
  • Drop on the Scheduled Focus List to schedule a start date.
  • Drop on the Starred Focus List to star tasks.
  • Drop on the Done Focus List to mark tasks complete.
  • Drop on a tag in the Tags panel to apply that tag.
  • Drop on a date in the Mini Calendar to set the due date.
Dragging selected tasks onto the Today Focus List
note

You cannot drag and drop tasks onto a Smart List. Smart Lists are virtual filtered views of real lists — they don't store tasks themselves. To move a task into a list whose perspective is shown by a Smart List, drop it on the underlying real list instead.

If you'd rather use the menu, every multi-task action has a menu equivalent:

ActionMenu
DeferTask > Defer...
ScheduleTask > Schedule...
CopyEdit > Duplicate (⌘D)
MoveTask > Move
ShareTask > Share
TagTask > Edit Tags or Task > Tag...
DeleteEdit > Delete

Move To and Copy To Submenus

Right-click your task selection and 2Do shows two submenus that expand into your full list structure:

  • Move To ▸ — moves the selected tasks to another list.
  • Copy To ▸ — drops a copy of the selected tasks into another list, leaving the originals where they are.

Both submenus show your list groups as headers and each list as a colored-bullet item. Choose a list and the tasks land at that list's root.

When a list already contains projects or checklists, that list becomes a nested submenu. The first item is the list itself (move or copy to the list's root); below a separator, each project and checklist inside it is listed. Pick one to move or copy the selected tasks directly into that project or checklist, as its children.

These submenus are context-menu only — there's no keyboard shortcut. Focus Lists, Smart Lists, and archived lists aren't offered as destinations, and locked or read-only lists appear disabled.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Multi-Task Actions

Most multi-task operations have a single-letter keyboard shortcut — no modifier required when the Task List has focus and one or more tasks are selected. They work the same way on a single task or a multi-selection.

Dates

KeyAction
DDefer... — pick a relative offset (Today / Tomorrow / a named weekday / Next Week / Custom)
KSchedule... — pick a specific date
TDue Today
YDue Tomorrow
⌃TStart Today
EDue Time...
XDuration...
. / ,Add a Day / Subtract a Day to the Start Date
] / [Add a Day / Subtract a Day to the Due Date
⇧. / ⇧,Add a Week / Subtract a Week to the Start Date
⇧] / ⇧[Add a Week / Subtract a Week to the Due Date
⌥,Remove Start Date
⌥[Remove Due Date
⇧⌘[Remove Due Time

Status, Priority and Star

KeyAction
⌘.Mark As Completed
⌥⌘.Mark As Not Completed
SStar
⌃SUnstar
0 / 1 / 2 / 3Priority None / Low / Medium / High
= / -Increase / Decrease Priority

Tag, Move, Convert

KeyAction
LTag...
⌥LUntag...
MMove...
⌥⇧⌘1Convert To a Task
⌥⇧⌘2Convert To a Project
⌥⇧⌘3Convert To a Checklist

Editor Quick-Jumps

When a task is selected, these shortcuts open the editor pre-focused on a specific field — handy when you want to change one thing across many tasks rapidly:

KeyField
⌘EEdit Note
⌘'Edit Alerts
⌘/Edit Dates
⌥⌘0⌥⌘3Set Priority None / Low / Medium / High
⌘REdit Tags
⌘BEdit Action
⌘GEdit Location
⌘;Edit Recurrence
⌘LEdit List (move)
⌃⌥RRemove All Tags

Other Useful

KeyAction
⌘DDuplicate selected tasks
⌘⌫Delete
SpacebarQuick Look (preview without opening the editor)
PPerform Action (call, email, open URL, etc.)
UOpen Links found in notes
FQuick Find (jump to a task by title within the current list)
tip

Three keys do most of the daily work: D (defer), K (schedule), S (star). Combine with multi-select (-click or -click) and you can rip through a long list in seconds.

Batch Schedule and Defer

For finer control over many tasks at once, select the tasks first, then use Task > Defer... (D), Task > Schedule... (K), or Task > Duration.... 2Do opens a batch date dialog for the selection, where you can:

  • Pick a start date and/or due date.
  • Adjust by a relative amount (push everything by 3 days).
  • Reset alarm offsets. Useful for shifting an entire project after a delay, or pushing a backlog of overdue tasks onto next week.
Batch editing due dates for multiple selected tasks

Adjusting Priorities in Bulk

Right-click any selection → Task > Priority > Increase Priority / Decrease Priority, or just press = / - (bare keys) when the Task List has focus. Each step moves all selected tasks one level up or down. Or set a specific level directly: bare 0, 1, 2, 3 for None / Low / Medium / High.

Sharing Tasks

The word sharing here means "send a copy of these tasks to somebody else" — not collaborative editing (2Do doesn't offer real-time co-editing of tasks).

Two routes:

  • Edit > Copy (⌘C) — copies a plain-text representation of the selected tasks to the clipboard. Paste into Mail, Messages, Notes, or anywhere that accepts text.
  • Task > Share — opens the macOS Share menu with the selected tasks pre-bundled. Targets include Mail, AirDrop, Messages, and any app installed that registers a Share extension.

Both work on a single task or a multi-selection. The recipient gets the task content, not a live link, so changes you make to your copy after sharing don't propagate.

Tips

tip

Hover over a single task and click the priority dot — a small menu opens with the four levels; pick one and the task updates in place, no editor required.

tip

At the start of a review, drag a small selection onto Today, Scheduled, Starred, or Done instead of opening each task. Those Focus Lists are useful drop targets, not just views.