Quick Entry

A passing thought is the worst thing to lose. Quick Entry is 2Do's system-wide capture window — press a hotkey from anywhere on your Mac and a focused editor appears, ready for a new task. 2Do doesn't even have to be the front app.

Triggering Quick Entry

• Global hotkey — user-configurable in 2Do > Settings > General. There is no preset default; pick a chord that doesn't clash with other apps you use.
• From within 2Do — File > Quick Entry (⇧⌘2).
• From the 2Do Helper menu bar item, where supported.

The 2Do Helper is a small companion app that keeps the global hotkey alive even when the main 2Do window is closed. Enable Launch 2Do Helper on System Startup in 2Do > Settings > General if you want Quick Entry to work after a restart or when 2Do itself is not open.

What's in the Window

Quick Entry uses the same task editor style as the main app, so you can capture much more than a title:

• Title and notes
• List
• Start date, due date, due time, duration
• Priority
• Tags
• Location
• Action
• Alarms
• Recurrence

A short idea can be entered with just a title — but if it's already a fully-formed plan, there's nothing stopping you from filling everything out before you save.

Where the Task Lands

The destination list is configurable per-capture, but you can set a default in Settings > General > Quick Entry default list. Common choices:

• Inbox — recommended for GTD-style workflows where you triage later.
• A specific list — if you tend to capture from one context (e.g. Work).
• The currently selected list in 2Do.

Tips

tip

Keep Quick Entry fast: type the title first, then tab into the date, list, tag, or alert fields only when the task already needs those details.

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Keep the global hotkey on a chord that doesn't conflict with other apps you use. Common picks include ⌃⌥Space, ⌃⌘Space, or any combination that's quick to reach.

Pasting Multiple Tasks at Once

Want to turn a chunk of text from another app — bullet points from an email, a copy-pasted list from a document — into a stack of tasks in one move?

• Copy the text in the source app (⌘C).
• Switch to 2Do.
• ⌘V paste anywhere in the task list.

2Do creates one task per non-empty line. To paste them as sub-tasks of an existing project or checklist, select the parent first, then ⌘V. Quick Entry on the Mac also accepts pasted multi-line text — useful when you want to triage to Inbox before deciding which list each task belongs to.

You can also drag and drop files onto the 2Do Dock icon. Quick Entry opens with the file information already attached to the new task. If the first file is an image, it can be added as the task's picture attachment; other files become secure file links in the notes.

Always Centered Above the Active Window

If you work across multiple monitors, the Quick Entry window can appear centered above the currently focused window — not on whichever monitor 2Do happens to be on. Configure this in 2Do > Settings > General.

With 2Do Helper enabled at startup, the global hotkey works even if 2Do isn't running — including after a system reboot or after you've quit 2Do deliberately. Press the hotkey, the Quick Entry window appears, capture the task, and 2Do quietly takes care of the rest in the background.

Quick Entry can also use the current clipboard text as a note, or the selected text from the frontmost app as task input. These options live in 2Do > Settings > General. macOS may ask for Accessibility access before 2Do can read selected text from another app.

Quick Entry from Other Apps

Beyond the global hotkey, Quick Entry is reachable from:

• Share extension — the 2Do item in the macOS share menu (in Safari, Mail, Notes, etc.) creates a task from the selection or page.
• URL schemes — see URL Schemes for programmatic capture from Shortcuts and external apps.