SimpleTaskList

The todo.txt system was designed as an alternative to overly-complex to-do list applications. It enables you to write your tasks and organize them in plain text files using a simple notation system.

If you’re looking to make things slightly more intuitive, you may be interested in SimpleTaskList. It is a Java-based application designed to help you manage your todo.txt files from an intuitive UI.

While it is not necessary to be familiar with the todo.txt notation system in order to use this utility, it won’t take you more than a few minutes to learn everything you need to know.

Essentially, every line in the document is a separate task, and a few formatting parameters are used to indicate the task’s priority, context, project, due date and status. The to-do list is easily readable and editable with any plain text editor.

The first thing you need to do is open your existing to-do list or create a new one. Adding tasks is a very straightforward process, as you can set their priority, due date, context and project without using the todo.txt notation.

Tasks are displayed in a simple table, and you can filter them based on context, project or due date. However, it does not seem to be possible to customize the default sorting method, and the application does not include a search function.

The to-do list can be saved automatically at regular intervals, and you can use a number of customizable keyboard shortcuts to work more efficiently.

As you can probably tell, the UI was designed to be as straightforward as possible. It doesn’t look all that impressive, and it cannot be customized in any way, but it is very user-friendly.

In short, SimpleTaskList is a great tool for those who use plain text files as to-do lists, as well as users who are looking for a simpler way to manage their tasks. It certainly makes it much easier to edit your todo.txt files, and it offers some useful filtering options.