Copyright: Copyright © 1998, Dave Lehman. All rights reserved.


To-Do List Professional

Copyright © 1997-98, Dave Lehman.

Introduction

Key Features

Installation

Registration

Using the To-Do List

Hints 'n Tips

Updates & Technical Support

Acknowledgments

Check out the official To-Do List website at: http://members.tripod.com/~todolist/


Introduction

This program was developed out of my need for a simple-to-use utility that would help me organize my to-do list. Just my to-do list. And it had to be small, fast, and easy-to-use. Sounds simple, right?

So I went hunting. What I found was a whole host of scheduling, organizing and calendar utilities that tried to everything at once. Personal Information Managers that would manage your phone lists, keep time in 20 different time zones, organize a list of business contacts, remember the birthdays of everyone you knew, and keep tasks for every minute of the day. Large, overweight programs that just didn't suit my needs. I also found a few to-do list organizers, but none of them really worked the way I wanted.

So I made my own. The To-Do List was developed for my own personal use. Since it had turned out fairly well, I thought I would share my work with others, and released it as freeware.

After people started using the To-Do List, they came up with all kinds of good ideas for new features--things that they really needed to make the program work for them. I decided to work on an enhanced version of  the program that I would release as shareware: To-Do List Pro.

Now, you still have two choices: The original To-Do List is (and always will be) available as freeware. To-Do List Pro builds on the features of the original, and is available for a small registration fee.

You are free to use whichever version suits you best. If you like it, please tell all your friends. If you have ideas for how to make To-Do List better, please let me know!

Dave Lehman


Key Features

To-Do List is a small Windows95 utility that sits in your Windows system tray. It is designed to load quickly and take up a minimum of system resources, but always be at your fingertips for ease-of-use.

To-Do List features include:

•	Prioritization of tasks with color highlighting

•	Stores complete history of completed tasks

•	Auto-sort by date, description, category or priority

•	Minimizes to system tray

•	Free-form "notes" field for each task

•	Display current day on task icon (optional)

•	Preview and print out of current task list

•	Has those cool Explorer-type buttons

To-Do List Pro includes all the above features, but adds:

•	Fully resizeable main form

•	Resizeable columns

•	Enable pop-up reminders for due tasks

•	Define recurring tasks ("daily", "weekly", "monthly", etc.)

•	Share a to-do list between several users over a network

•	Advanced two-level sort

•	Import/export your to-do list

•	Search


Installation

The To-Do List Pro "full package" includes an installation program which copies all the program files to a directory on your computer. The "light package" simply include the .zip file. To install the program, unzip to the directory of your choice, and create a program shortcut pointing to todopro.exe.

Relocating the program

The main to-do list program is a single executable file. This may be moved to wherever you would like to install the program. Your actual to-do list is stored in a data file called "todolist.tdp". Your task history list is stored in a file called "todolog.tdp". If you have a lot of tasks, or are just paranoid, you may want to periodically backup these two data files.

To move the program to a different location, simply copy all the files contained in your To-Do List directory to another location.


To move the program to a different location, simply copy all the files contained in your To-Do List directory to another locatio
Registering To-Do List Pro

To-Do List Pro is a shareware program, but costs only $10 to register. Please note that the unregistered version has all the features enabled, except that your to-do list will not be saved.

Registration enables the automatic saving feature of to-do list to ensure you never lose a task. Also, supporting this program through registration ensures it's continuous support and improvement.

To register, please print out the included "ORDER.TXT" file. Fill it out and mail it, with a cheque or money order for $10 to:

To-Do List Pro Registration

c/o Dave Lehman

Box 2855

Steinbach, MB  R0A 2A0

CANADA

To receive your registration code via e-mail, be sure to include your full e-mail address. Otherwise, I will send your registration code to the mailing address you specify.

Note: Please make cheque or money order payable in Canadian or US currency. If you wish to pay in a foreign currency, please include an extra $5 to cover service charges.

Thank-you for your support!


Using the To-Do List

The basic to-do list unit is called a "task". Tasks can be added to and removed from your to-do list as you wish. Each task includes a description, and many other optional fields such as due date, due time, category,  priority level, and a free-form notes field. You can optionally enable an "alarm" for each task, in which case the program will remind you when that task is due. Each task can also be defined as a "one-time" task, or as a recurring task. Recurring tasks will be automatically perpetuated so that you don't forget that staff meeting you have every Monday morning.

Choose any of the following for specific details on To-Do List functions:

Adding a task

Reviewing completed tasks

Pop-up task reminders

Advanced Sorting


Hints `n Tips
Hints 'n Tips

•	You can resize any column by clicking and dragging column separator bar.

•	Click on any column heading to sort the list on that keyword.

•	For a quick reference calendar, right-click on the To-Do List system tray icon, and choose "Calendar".

•	To easily choose the due date for a new task, click on the pop-up calendar button (  ) in the Add/Edit task window.

•	Right-click on main grid for pop-up menu.

•	Move your mouse cursor over any toolbar button for button hint.

•	The entire text of extra long task descriptions (that exceed the task column width) can be viewed as a fly-over hint by enabling the "Fly-over hints on tasks" option in the Editing Preferences.

•	Don't like all the "confirmation" dialogs popping up when you're logging or deleting tasks? Enable the "Turn off all confirmations" option in the Editing Preferences.

•	Quickly check/uncheck a task by double-clicking in the first column.

•	Customize the task prioritization colors by choosing new ones in the Preferences menu.

•	You can see at a glance whether a task has attached notes by looking for the little musical notes icon in the top right corner of the task description column.

•	All toolbar button options are also available on the menus.

•	To help you identify important tasks, you can assign a priority number to a task. Tasks with a priority of 1, 2 or 3 are highlited to make them stand out.

•	Quickly edit a task just by double-clicking anywhere in that task's row.

•	You can tell what day of the month it is at a glance by using the "display 'day of month' as tray icon" option in the Editing Preferences.

•	In addition to clicking the "+" and "-" buttons, you can also use INS/DEL.

•	Accelerator keys available for each toolbar button: exit (ALT+X), minimize (ALT+M), add (ALT+A), remove (ALT+R), edit (ALT+E), check/uncheck (ALT+C), log completed tasks (ALT+L), view task history (ALT+V), and preferences (ALT+P)

•	Don't remember what you got done last week? Check your task log history (ALT+V) to see a list of all completed tasks.

•	Instead of always shutting down the to-do list, simply click the minimize button to have it sit ready in your system tray

•	To make a backup of your to-do list, use the File > Export function. Save your to-do list in another directory, and if you ever have trouble, just run the File > Import function to restore your list of tasks.

•	Each task includes a free-form notes field which stores any information you want to keep with that task. To see the notes field, click on the "notes" button in the Add/Edit task window.


Updates & Technical Support

Updates

The official To-Do List website is located at:

http://members.tripod.com/~todolist/

You can always download the latest version of the To-Do List and To-Do List Pro here. Also check here occasionally for update information, hints 'n tips, and plans for the future.

As always, I welcome your feedback and comments. It helps to keep To-Do List useful, and enhances it to help you work better. If necessary, you can reach me directly by e-mail at todolist@usa.net. Due to the volume of mail I receive, I cannot guarantee you a personal response. However, I do read all my mail, and I will carefully consider your ideas and suggestions.

Techical Support

If you are having problems running To-Do List Pro, please check the website before you e-mail me. It will contain up-to-date information on known problems, and bugs that have been reported. The F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions) on the website will answer the most common questions and will hopefully solve your problem. If you still can't get it working, then please let me know. I do want to help fix what problems I can, but I can't do that if I have to keep dealing with issues that have already been resolved.

Every effort has been made to ensure the program will work properly. However, problems may crop up, and I won't be held responsible for errors that may occur on your system. Please be sure to fully test the program thoroughly in your computing environment before you put valuable information in it.


Acknowledgments

I would like to thank many people for their part--large or small--in the development of the To-Do List. Thanks to everyone who gave the original To-Do List a try, and came up with all the great suggestions for To-Do List Pro. This program is for you, and I hope you enjoy it.

Special thanks to FractalD for his persistent beta testing, Slicer for his encouragement, and most of all to my wife Jennifer, for putting up with her crazy programming husband.

ø

This program was written using Borland's Delphi 2.0.

One key advantage to developing components in Delphi is that you can benefit greatly from the work of others before you. Quality components saved me countless hours of work in developing this program.

Special thanks to Fierens Bruno for his excellent AdvGrid component. Fierens' work can be found on the TMS software website at:

     http://www.ven.be/freestyle/delphi.htm

I would also like to thank Fabrice Deville for his TExplorerButton freeware component that I have used to implement the coolbar. You can find this Delphi component and other resources by visiting his web site at:

     http://www.tornado.be/~fdev/


Adding a task

To add a task, click the "Add Task" button or press the "INS" key. The add task dialog box will come up and you can enter the details applicable to this task. All fields are optional except the description.

Due on: Specify the due date for the task. Use the pop-up calendar button to easily select the date for future tasks.

Category: This field can be used to organize tasks in any way you wish. Choose a category from the drop-down list, or just type in a custom category. Categories can be added to the drop-down list in program preferences.

Priority: Assigning a priority to a task can help you identify tasks by their importance. Priorities "1", "2", and "3" are automatically colored for easier identification. You can also enter any other priority, but it will not be color-coded. If you wish, you can change the auto-coloring options in program preferences.

Due at: Specify the due time for the task. This is most useful when used in conjunction with the "enable alarm" feature. By specifying a "due time", you can be reminded by a pop-up reminder when a certain task is due.

Type of task: This is useful to define recurring tasks. If you have a task that every week, simply enter the task once, and define is as "weekly". On the due date, a new task will automatically be created for the next week.

Enable alarm for this task: If you wish to be reminded when a task is due, check off the "enable alarm" feature. When the task is due, a reminder message will pop-up.

Notes: The notes field is a free-form text field that you can use to enter any information applicable to that task.

Back to "Using the To-Do List"


Reviewing Completed Tasks

Once a task is complete, check it off by clicking the "check/uncheck" button, or by double-clicking on the first column of that task. A checkmark will appear in the first column, indicating that the task has been completed.

Tasks that are complete (i.e. checked off) can be logged to your task history log. All tasks will be saved until you manually clear the history log. To view your task history log, click on the "task history log" button.

In the history log window, you can sort your tasks just as you could in the main task grid window. If you wish, you can clear your history log, or print-it off for a hard copy.

Back to "Using the To-Do List"


Pop-up Task Reminders

You can enable an "alarm" for any task by clicking the appropriate checkbox in the "Add/Edit Task" window. When the task is due, a pop-up window will appear listing the task description and details. Once the reminder pops up, you have several options:

Snooze: "Snoozing" a task just moves the due time back by the specified amount. For example, snoozing the task by 5 minutes will change the due time to five minutes from the current time. In 5 minutes, you will get another pop-up reminder.

Cancel Alarm: This will leave the task as is, but simply cancel the pop-up reminder.

Remove Task: This completely deletes the task from your to-do list.

Roll-over to next due date: If the task is defined as recurring (i.e. not one-time), you can "roll-over" the task to the next time is would be due. For example, if the task was defined as daily, pressing the roll-over button would simply add 1 day to the "due date".

Back to "Using the To-Do List"


Advanced Sorting

You can sort your task list by clicking on any column heading in the task list grid. However, there are times when you may wish to sort your list using two columns.

For example, you may often sort your task list by priority, so that the most urgent tasks show up at the top. If you simply click on the "priority" column, your tasks will be correctly sorted by priority. But, within the same priority, they will be somewhat randomly ordered.

If you had a lot of tasks with a priority of "1", you may wish to sub-sort those tasks by date, so that the oldest priority 1 tasks show up at the top. This is where advanced sorting comes in.

Open the advanced sort window by clicking on the advanced sort button. In the above example, you would select "priority" as your primary key, and "due date" as your secondary key. Your task list will first be sorted by the primary key (priority). If two or more tasks have an identical primary key, the secondary key (due date) will then be used to help correctly sub-sort the tasks within the same primary key.

Back to "Using the To-Do List"