Michal Ždanský Few types of applications can be found in the App Store as many different types of homework. Many of them have something in common. Some stand out with their design, some with unique functions, while others are a boring copy of everything we've already seen hundreds of times. However, there are few worksheets that you can find on more than one platform.
Once you narrow it down to those apps that have an iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Mac version, you'll end up with about 7-10 apps. Among them are well-known companies such as Things, OmniFocus, Firetask or Sleep as an Droid. Today, an application has also made its way among this elite 2Do, which arrived on the iPhone back in 2009. And the arsenal with which it intends to compete with its competition is huge.
Application look and feel
Developers from Guided ways they spent more than a year on the application. However, this is not just a port of the iOS application, but an effort programmed from the top. At first glance, the version for OS X does not match the original iOS application very much. 2Do is a purebred Mac application with everything we could expect from it: a rich menu of keyboard shortcuts, an "Aqua" style environment and the integration of native OS X features.
The main window of the application consists classically of two columns, where in the left column you switch between categories and lists, while in the right large column you can find all your tasks, projects and lists. There is also a third optional column with labels (tags), which can be pushed to the far right by pressing a button. After the first launch, you are not just waiting for empty lists, there are several tasks prepared in the application that represent a tutorial and help you with navigation and basic functions of 2Do.
The app itself is one of the jewels in the Mac App Store in terms of design, and it can easily be ranked among such names as Reeder, Tweetbot or Sparrow. Although 2Do does not achieve such minimalist purity as Things, the environment is still very intuitive and most users can find their way around it easily. In addition, the appearance can be partially customized, which is quite unusual by the standards of Mac applications. 2Do offers a total of seven different themes that change the look of the top bar. In addition to the classic gray "Graffiti", we find themes imitating various textiles, from denim to leather.
In addition to the top bar, the background contrast of the application or the font size can also be changed. After all, the preferences contain a large number of options, thanks to which you can customize 2Do to your liking in the smallest details, not only in terms of appearance. The developers thought about the individual needs of the individual, where everyone requires a slightly different behavior of the application, after all, the goal of 2Do, at least according to the creators, has always been to create the most universal application possible, in which everyone finds their own way.
Organization
The cornerstone of any to-do list is the clear organization of your tasks and reminders. In 2Do you will find five basic categories in the section Focus, which display selected tasks according to certain criteria. Offer All will display a list of all the tasks that are in the application. By default, tasks are sorted by date, but this can be changed by clicking on the menu below the top bar, which will reveal a context menu. You can sort by status, priority, list, start date (see below), name, or manually. Tasks are separated in the list under sort separators, but can be turned off.
Proposal Today will show all tasks scheduled for today plus all missed tasks. In Starred you will find all tasks marked with an asterisk. This is especially useful in situations where you want to keep an eye on some important tasks, but the fulfillment of which is not in such a hurry. In addition, asterisks can also be excellently used in filters, which we will talk about later.
[do action=”citation”]2Do is not a pure GTD tool in its essence, however, thanks to its adaptability and number of settings, it can easily fit applications such as Things into your pocket.[/do]
Under Scheduled all tasks that have a start date and time are hidden. This parameter is used to clarify task lists. You don't want to see everything in an overview, instead you can choose that a task or project appears in the given lists only at a certain time when it becomes relevant. In this way, you can hide everything that is not of interest to you at the moment and will become important maybe in a month. Scheduled is the only section where you can see such tasks even before the "start date". Last section Done then it contains already completed tasks.
In addition to the default categories, you can then create your own in the section Lists. The categories serve to clarify your tasks, you can have one for work, home, for payments, ... Clicking on one of the categories will then filter out everything else. You can also set the default category for created tasks in the settings. Thanks to this, you can for example create an "Inbox" where you put all your ideas and thoughts and then sort them.
But the most interesting are the so-called smart lists or not Smart Lists. They work in much the same way as Smart Folders in the Finder. A smart list is actually a kind of search result stored in the left panel for quick filtering. However, their strength lies in their extensive search capabilities. For example, you can search for all tasks with a due date within a limited time range, no due date, or vice versa with any date. You can also search only by specific tags, priorities, or limit the search results to only projects and checklists.
In addition, another filter can be added, which is present in the right panel at the top. The latter can further limit tasks according to a certain time range, include tasks with a star, high priority or missed tasks. By combining a rich search and an additional filter, you can create any smart list you can think of. For example, I made a list this way Focus, which I'm used to from other apps. This consists of overdue tasks, tasks scheduled for today and tomorrow, plus starred tasks. First, I searched for all tasks (star in the search field) and selected in the filter Overdue, Today, Tomorrow a Starred. However, it should be remembered that these smart lists are created in a section All. If you are in one of the colored lists, the smart list will only apply to it.
It is also possible to add a calendar to the left panel, in which you can see which days contain certain tasks and at the same time it can be used to filter by date. Not just by a single day, you can select any range by dragging the mouse to save work in the search context menu.
Creating tasks
There are several ways to create tasks. Right in the application, just double-click on an empty space in the list, press the + button in the top bar, or press the CMD+N keyboard shortcut. In addition, tasks can be added even when the application is not active or even turned on. Functions are used for this Quick Entry, which is a separate window that appears after activating the global keyboard shortcut that you set in Preferences. Thanks to this, you don't have to think about having the application in the foreground, you only need to remember the set keyboard shortcut.
By creating a new task, you will enter the editing mode, which offers the addition of various attributes. The basis is of course the name of the task, tags and date/time of completion. You can switch between these fields by pressing the TAB key. You can also add a start date to the task (see Scheduled above), a notification, attach a picture or sound note or set the task to repeat. If you want 2Do to notify you of a task when it is due, you need to set automatic reminders in the preferences. However, you can add any number of reminders on any date for each task.
Time entry is very well resolved, especially if you prefer the keyboard. In addition to selecting a date in the small calendar window, you can enter the date in the field above it. 2Do is able to handle different input formats, for example "2d1630" means the day after tomorrow at 16.30:2 p.m. We could see a similar way of entering the date in Things, however, the options in XNUMXDo are a bit richer, mainly because it also allows you to select the time.
Another interesting feature is the ability to move documents to notes, where 2Do will create a link to the given file. This is not about adding attachments directly to the task. Only a link will be created, which will lead you to the file when clicked. Despite the restrictions imposed by sandboxing, 2Do can cooperate with other applications, for example this way you can refer to a note in Evernote. 2Do can also work with any text in any application in a useful way. Just highlight the text, right click on it and from the context menu Services a new task can be created where the marked text will be inserted as the name of the task or a note in it.
Advanced task management
In addition to ordinary tasks, it is also possible to create projects and checklists in 2Do. Projects are one of the key elements of the method Getting Things Done (GTD) and 2Do is not far behind here either. A project, like normal tasks, has its own attributes, however it can contain sub-tasks, with different tags, completion dates and notes. On the other hand, checklists serve as classic item lists, where individual sub-tasks do not have a due date, but it is still possible to add notes, tags and even reminders to them. It is suitable, for example, for shopping lists or a holiday to-do list, which can be printed thanks to print support and gradually crossed off with a pencil.
Tasks can be done by method drag & drop freely move between projects and checklists. By moving a task to a task, you automatically create a project, by moving a subtask from the checklist, you create a separate task. If you prefer working with a keyboard, you can use the function anyway cut, copy and paste. Changing a task to a project or checklist and vice versa is also possible from the context menu.
Projects and Checklists have another great feature, they can be displayed next to each list in the left panel by clicking the little triangle. This will give you a quick overview. Clicking on a project in the left panel will not display it separately, as Things can do, but at least it will be marked in the given list. However, at least tags can be used to preview individual projects, see below.
A very beneficial function is the so-called Quick Look, which is very similar to the function of the same name in Finder. Pressing the spacebar will bring up a window in which you can see a clear summary of the given task, project or checklist, while you can scroll through the tasks in the list with the up and down arrows. This is especially useful for more comprehensive notes or a large number of attributes. It's much more elegant and faster than opening tasks in editing mode one by one. Quick Look also has a few nice little things, such as displaying an attached image or a progress bar for projects and checklists, thanks to which you have an overview of the status of completed and uncompleted subtasks.
Working with tags
Another key element of task organization are labels, or tags. Any number can be assigned to each task, while the application will whisper the existing tags to you. Each new tag is then recorded in the tag panel. To display it, use the button in the top bar on the far right. The display of tags can be switched between two modes - All and Used. Viewing all can serve as a reference when creating tasks. If you switch to tags in use, only those included in the tasks in that list will be displayed. Thanks to this, you can easily sort the tags. By clicking the icon to the left of the tag name, the list will be shortened to only tasks containing the selected tag. Of course, you can select more tags and easily filter tasks by type.
In practice, it might look like this: let's say, for example, I want to view the tasks that consist of sending an email and are related to some review that I plan to write. From the list of tags, I first mark "reviews", then "e-mail" and "eureka", leaving only those tasks and projects that I currently need to solve.
Over time, the list of tags can easily swell to dozens, sometimes even items. Therefore, many will welcome the ability to sort labels into groups and manually change their order. For example, I personally created a group Projects, which contain a tag for each active project, which allows me to display exactly the one I want to work with, thus compensating for the absence of a preview of individual projects. It's a minor detour, but on the other hand, it's also a great example of 2Do's customizability, which allows users to work the way they want and not the way the developers intended, which is, for example, the problem with the Things app.
Cloud sync
Compared to other applications, 2Do offers three cloud synchronization solutions - iCloud, Dropbox and Toodledo, each of which has its pros and cons. iCloud uses the same protocol as Reminders, the tasks from 2Do will be synchronized with the native Apple application. Thanks to this, it is possible, for example, to use reminders to display upcoming tasks in the Notification Center, which is otherwise not possible with third-party applications, or to create reminders using Siri. However, iCloud still has its flaws, although I haven't encountered a problem with this method in two months of testing.
Another option is Dropbox. Synchronization through this cloud storage is fast and reliable, but it is necessary to have a Dropbox account, which fortunately is also free. The last option is the Toodledo service. Among other things, it also offers a web application, so you can access your tasks from any computer using an internet browser, however, the basic free account does not support tasks and checklists in the web interface, for example, and it is not possible to use Emoji in tasks via Toodledo, which are otherwise great assistant in visual organization.
However, each of the three services works reliably and you don't have to worry about some tasks being lost or duplicated during synchronization. Although 2Do does not offer its own solution for cloud synchronization like OmniFocus or Things, on the other hand, we do not have to wait two years before such a function becomes available at all, as with the latter application.
other functions
Since the agenda can be a very private thing, 2Do allows you to secure the entire application or just certain lists with a password. The application so when launched similar to 1Password it will only show a lock screen with a field for entering a password, without which it will not let you in, thereby preventing access to your tasks by unauthorized persons.
2Do also protects your tasks in other ways – it regularly and automatically backs up the entire database, similar to how Time Machine backs up your Mac, and in case of any problem or accidental deletion of content, you can always go back. However, the application also offers the option to revert function changes Undo/Redo, up to a hundred steps.
Integration into the Notification Center in OS X 10.8 is a matter of course, for users of older versions of the system, 2Do also offers its own notification solution, which is more sophisticated than Apple's solution and allows, for example, regular repetition of the notification sound until the user turns it off. There is also a Full Screen function.
As mentioned at the beginning, 2Do includes very detailed settings options, for example, you can create an automatic due time to be added to the date to create an alert, for example, specific lists can be excluded from synchronization and display in all reports, creating a folder for drafts . What would such a folder be used for? For example, for lists that repeat at irregular intervals, such as a shopping list, where there are several dozen identical items every time, so you won't have to list them every time. Just use the copy-paste method to copy that project or checklist to any list.
Additional features should appear in a major update already in preparation. For example Events, known to users from the iOS version, support for Apple Script or multitouch gestures for the touchpad.
Summary
2Do is not a pure GTD tool in its essence, however, thanks to its adaptability and number of settings, it easily fits applications such as Things into your pocket. Functionally, it sits somewhere between Reminders and OmniFocus, combining GTD capabilities with a classic reminder. The result of this combination is the most versatile task manager that can be found for Mac, moreover, wrapped in a nice graphic jacket.
Despite the large number of features and options, 2Do remains a very intuitive application that can be as simple or as complex as you need, whether you require a simple task list with a few extra features or a productive tool that covers all aspects of task organization within the GTD method .
2Do has everything the user expects from a quality modern application of this type – clear task management, seamless cloud synchronization and a client for all platforms within the ecosystem (in addition, you can find 2Do for Android as well). Overall, there is not much to complain about the app, maybe only a slightly higher price of €26,99, which is justified by the overall quality, and which is still lower than most competing apps.
If you own 2Do for iOS, the Mac version is almost a must. And if you're still looking for the ideal task manager, 2Do is one of the best candidates you can find in both the App Store and the Mac App Store. A 14-day trial version is also available at developer sites. The application is intended for OS X 10.7 and higher.
[app url=”https://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/2do/id477670270″]
Thanks for the article. I'm currently thinking about getting a GTD tool, so far I've been leaning towards Things, but after reading the article I'm starting to have my doubts. Do I understand correctly that after purchasing the Mac version I have to purchase the iOS version separately? How do the iOS versions of Things and 2Do compare? What is the personal opinion of the author of the article? I should add that I don't yet own any GTD tool, either for Mac or iOS. Thanks ;-)
I'll put it this way: I've been using Things for almost a year, but they had a lot of limitations for me, missing features, and I've been waiting for cloud sync for almost two years. With 2Do, I was able to replicate the complete workflow I learned with Things and get exactly the features I was missing before. For example, reminders for a certain time, even several times for one task, simple organization and a combination of the GTD tool with a task list, so that I finally don't have to use two different applications. Of course, the iOS version must be purchased separately, just like any other application, but the Mac+iPhone+iPad combo will cost you $40, which doesn't even buy the Mac version of Things.
What I appreciate most about 2Do is the versatility, thanks to which I am not forced to use the application in one way, but in the way that suits me. In addition, 2Do has excellent developer support and fairly rapid development. I've spent over two months with 2Do (as a beta tester) and I can't praise it enough, for me it's the best GTD app on the market.
Thanks for advice. I rejected Omnifocus, it's a very complex application with a lot of functions that I won't use at all and I'm probably not even the target group. I like Things, so I'll give 2Do a try and see if I'm as convinced as you are.
I use Omnifocus and according to this excellent review, I think that Omnifocus is definitely not more complex - if something is criticized for it, it is rather simplicity - type one context for the task, no other symptoms other than the flag, etc.
I use Omnifocus and according to this excellent review, I think that Omnifocus is definitely not more complex - if something is criticized for it, it is rather simplicity - type one context for the task, no other symptoms other than the flag, etc.
Hello, I can't set up sync between iphone and mac via dropbox? can you advise 2do applications. Thank you. C
The trial version of the application works for me without any problems, the sharp version purchased from the AppStore cannot be started, or crashes immediately after launch. Has anyone encountered a similar problem?
The second thing - the application does not have an Inbox, which is a crucial thing in GTD. How do you handle it?
The developers are said to be solving it, strangely enough it only affects a few users. I recommend contacting their support to find out where the problem is.
As for the inbox, I normally created an Inbox list and set this list as the default in the preferences. So anything I create via Quick Entry or almost anywhere in the application (if I'm not in another specific list) goes straight to the Inbox.
After communicating with the developers: the error was that I had removed the Gill Sans font from the system. After his return the falling stopped. I appreciate the helpful communication.
Well, I really wouldn't expect that :-D Anyway, the main thing is that it works.
If I already have 2Do for iOS, should I understand this to mean that it will be synchronized with this OS X application via iCloud in the same way as e.g. contacts or calendar are synchronized?
I also want to ask how to proceed during the first synchronization so that I don't accidentally lose all the tasks and projects in the iPhone. Thanks.
It is exactly as you say. Just set up an iCloud account in the app and it will download all the content on its own. You will definitely not lose the tasks, however, I still recommend making a backup on iOS in Settings.
Hello, the media is powerful. I got carried away by your review and have been struggling with sync for two days now. What's so difficult about that? I write a task and I want to display it both in the iac and in the iphone or ipad. I tried dropbox then iclu and all the data disappeared somewhere. Can you advise how to sync step by step. Thank you. C
Excellent review! For now, I'm using the trial version in which everything works without problems. I also synchronize with the iOS application via Dropbox without any problems, for example, the synchronization of boxes (in the left list) with the iOS app is absolutely great. It looks great and I will probably buy it thanks to this great review. Thank you
Have you tried http://www.moredays.com ? It is completely free and it is also the work of Czech developers. As for 2Do, Things 2 is probably still a better choice for me.
I don't recommend it for myself, sync tripled my sheets and deleted tasks. all the work was wasted. Thumbs down .Waste of money
From my point of view. 2Do is really nice, it looks very intuitive and there was no problem with classic synchronization. I have tried all variants, ie. classic iCloud, ToodleDo and Dropbox and they all worked. Classically, I did not separate User CalDav.
Right to the beginning about the data synchronization. It is necessary to specify which data you take as "primary" during the initial synchronization, if that from the server or that from 2Do. It's a bit confusingly described, because he asks you "where the data should be overwritten" and you have a tendency to choose 2Do and thus he misses it locally, because logically there is nothing on the server yet :). So you need to choose Replace to Server (Overwrite on the server) and then it works as it should. What was a nut, however, is the synchronization between several people. My girlfriend and I need to work on projects together, so we need a joint task list. And here, unfortunately, 2Do still has some programming to do :) I'll take it from behind.
1. Dropbox, the synchronization between multiple users is practically unreal, Dropbox won't even allow you to share it, saying that it is already a shared folder.
2. ToodleDo. It was better there, but it has 2 major snags. Behind a) is ToodleDo's financial policy, because only Pro Users can share files with each other, and this represents an investment of at least $15 per user per year, and each user from whom you share data must be registered on ToodleDo. Which wouldn't be so tragic. It is better for b) because the complete 2Do structure is not transferred to ToodleDo. Unfortunately, when you have List - Project - Task, it recognizes the project as an item and even that it is a "folder", but it does not nest the Tasks, so a lot of confusion starts to arise. At least on the ToodleDo web interface, I didn't want to pay $30 to figure out how to transfer it to the computer.
3. iCloud. Here it had 2 levels. At first, I thought that I would do the sharing by taking List from 2Do, using sync to transfer it to Reminders in the cloud, and then I would share them with my girlfriend, with the fact that we each use our own iCloud. Good idea, bad execution. Like ToodleDo, he just doesn't know the 2Do structure in those Remideres, so again it's just a mess of individual Tasks. So the only thing left to do was to use one account in iCloud for sync, and there the synchronization will take place without any problems, just as it is transferred to the iPhone / iPad. However, this can probably only be implemented at the level of people who can use one Clod, or have access to that one Cloud. So definitely not for companies with different composition of users.
In defense of 2Do, synchro between several users doesn't have any classic GTD software (at least we couldn't find one, so here at least it works somehow, albeit a little unconventionally. When 2Do completes sharing between users (for example, by filtering it through their server), then I don't think they will have competition. As for classic use for a single user, it would probably be the clear choice for me, also because of the financial policy, when you really pay less for the Mac / iPad =iPhone version than for the Mac version of Things.
PS Regarding MoreDays. Nice, but for a) I don't really like web applications, they are slow, one is dependent on the other side. And for b) the design is really nice. But to be honest, I want a classic moderate design for the task book, without all the frills around, because in a while it will annoy you terribly, the non-traditional font, etc.
And wouldn't it be possible to use a different iCloud account for sharing tasks than for everything else? After all, there are several items in the account settings that I want to synchronize, and not all of them have to be selected. Just a thought that I haven't tried to verify...
As it is after a minor change, or Am I used? 2do or Things? What are the pros and cons of each application? I still can't decide what to go for...
Thanks
Hello, I have a question. I want to copy a table to the checklist, and it only copies the data, but not the table. You can set e.g. the font size, insert a table or notes somewhere. Thank you. C