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Quick Open

When you know exactly which task or list you want and just need to get there, Quick Open is the shortest path. Press one shortcut, type a few letters, hit Return, and you're standing on it — in whatever list it lives, with no scrolling and no scope to set first.

The Quick Open overlay showing recent tasks and matched lists

Opening Quick Open​

  • Edit > Quick Open… (⇧⌘O).

A Spotlight-style panel floats over the upper third of the current window with the text field already focused, ready for you to type. It's a transient overlay: pick something and it dismisses, dropping you at your destination.

Starting Empty — Recents​

Open Quick Open without typing anything and it shows you where you've just been:

  • Recently modified tasks — the tasks you last changed.
  • Recently accessed lists — the lists you last opened (the list you're already viewing is left out, since you're there).

That alone makes it a fast "take me back" jump between the handful of things you're actively working on.

Typing — Match Tasks, Then Lists​

Start typing and Quick Open matches against titles, showing tasks first, then lists, each under its own labeled heading. Matching is by title, so a few distinctive letters is usually all it takes to surface what you want.

  • The top result is highlighted automatically. Press Return to open it.
  • Use the up/down arrow keys to move the highlight, or click any row to pick it.
  • Choosing a task jumps to it: if it's already visible in your current view, 2Do simply selects it in place; otherwise it switches to the task's own list and reveals it there.
  • Choosing a list switches straight to it.

If a match is a sub-task of a project or checklist, its row shows a List › Parent breadcrumb so you can tell two similarly-named sub-tasks apart at a glance.

note

Quick Open is unavailable while 2Do is password-locked. Unlock the app first.

How It's Different from Quick Entry and Search​

2Do has several "type something" surfaces that are easy to confuse. Each does a genuinely different job:

  • Quick Open (⇧⌘O) — jumps you to an existing task or list, anywhere in the app, then gets out of the way. It never creates anything.
  • Quick Entry — creates a new task. It has a system-wide hotkey, so it works even when 2Do isn't the front app. Reach for it to capture, not to navigate.
  • Search Bar (⌘F) — filters the current view in place, collapsing the task list to just the matches and staying open while you work on that subset.
  • List Jump Bar (J) — jumps to a list in the sidebar by name, keeping you in the sidebar where you can carry on exploring. Quick Open reaches lists too, along with tasks and sub-tasks; use whichever matches what you're doing.

In short: Quick Entry to add, Search Bar to filter, the List Jump Bar to hop around the sidebar, and Quick Open to go anywhere (tasks or lists) with your recents one keystroke away. There's no wrong pick; 2Do just lets you find things however you like to work.

Tips​

tip

Hop between lists without touching the sidebar: type a couple of letters of the list name into Quick Open and press Return. Prefer staying inside a panel and browsing as you go? The in-place Search and Jump Bars do the same job from within each panel.

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