S3ATASK EXTENDED TO-DO MANAGER V1.3 ------------------------------------ (c) F A Richey and A Waller 1997 Introduction ------------ The Psion has a comprehensive Agenda with To-Do list functions, which is fully adequate for scheduling appointments and keeping lists of to-do items. However, although you can have several To-Do lists in Agenda, adding many related project tasks can make accessing and managing them in a structured manner quite difficult. S3ATASK for the 3a/3c has been designed as an alternative method of recording and managing tasks that have to be accomplished, whether at work, at home, for hobbies or for personal goals. It uses principles of good time management, namely breaking down large projects into tasks of manageable size, categorising and setting priorities for tasks, sorting and ordering them, and being able to see progress, results and accomplishments. It allows sub-prioritisation of tasks, and by categorising on three levels (Groups, Projects and Types), allows you to quickly see lists of outstanding items and organise tasks for optimum management. The inspiration for this program came from a program called TODO, written in 1992 by John Whiting of Lexsoft, for the original Psion S3, to make up for the limitations of the built-in Agenda, and we acknowledge John's hard work in designing the original program. Installation ------------ To install the program simply: 1. put S3ATASK3.APP into any \APP\ directory, 2. If you want to install the optional Help system, put the S3ATASKH.OVL file into the \APP\S3ATASK\ subdirectory. 3. If you want to use the optional printing system, also put the S3ATASKP.OVL file into the \APP\S3ATASK\ subdirectory, and the S3APRINT.DYL into an \OPD\ directory. (Note that this library file is common to all my programs, so if you have more than one of my programs you will need only one copy on the system). 4. install as usual using . The program will create an \S3ATASK\ directory on the internal drive for storage of data files. Configuration (and registration) files will be put into the \OPD\ directory of your default drive under the program name. The unregistered version of this shareware program will allow you just 20 Task Entries/Group, 3 Project and 3 Type categories to see the capabilities of the program. Following registration you will be allowed 60 Tasks/Group and about 40 for each of the 2 Categories. Using the Program ----------------- Working through the Menu commands will show you the capabilities of the program, but to get the best out of it, the following description takes you through the basic functions and explains some of the finer details of operation. 1. Creating Task Groups, Categories and Tasks: As the first major sub-division, any number of Task Group files can be created and used how you wish. Personally I run one for monitoring projects and general tasks at work, one for listing the jobs that need to be done around the home, another for personal goals I want to accomplish, and yet another for keeping track of S3A program testing and revisions. Separate Task Groups will be presented as a list of files under the icon on the system screen. Go into the program at the installed Icon, ideally using to name the first Task Group file, although the default filename TASK is used if you just press . Work through the information on the 'nag' screen by pressing . If you want to skip this screen you will have to register !! You will then be asked for a title for the task group, which is presented bottom left of the main program screen. This title can be renamed at any time using . The File menu provides the usual options for creating New Task Groups, Saving them as different filenames, Opening other Task Groups, or for Deleting a Task Group if you've finished with it. Individual Task Groups can be password protected if required. The first thing to do before trying to enter any tasks is to define a few Project categories using , and Type categories using . This is one of the first major differences from Agenda To-dos, the idea being that categorising tasks at two levels allows you greater visibility and flexibility in their management. Project categories can be anything you like - jobs, projects or clients at work, hobbies or maintenance at home, etc. Type sub-categories more specifically would be the activities involved, for example email, phone, letter, purchase, assigned people's names etc. However, the system is flexible - tailor them to suit your needs. Note that both Project and Type categories can be entered as location 'Global', when they will apply to all Task Groups, or alternatively as 'Group', when they only apply to this particular Task Group. The actual maximum number of entries you can have for each Project and Type set of categories is determined either by a 255 character total for all entries, or a maximum of 20 entries per Global and Group. In the unregistered version only 3 each for Project and Type are allowed. Categories can subsequently be renamed or completely removed using the appropriate Update and Delete options in the Category menu. There is also a Sort Categories option to alphabetically order them. Now you are free to put in some Tasks, either from the menu, or just by pressing . First enter a description for the task, which can be up to 30 characters in length. Then go through the rest of the dialog: enter the Due Date you wish to complete the task by (it defaults to today's date), select the required priority, and choose Project and Type categories from those you have defined. Leave the Dated, Alarm, Repeat and Extended Description options, we'll cover those later. Press when the details are correct. The task will appear in the Group screen with the fields completed. Now go on and enter some more tasks, giving them different Due Dates, priorities, and assigned to different combinations of categories. Up to 60 tasks can be entered per Group, although only 5 entries can be made in the unregistered version. The task you are on and the total number of tasks in the Group is indicated by a counter on the top line of the screen, together with the current date and time. For those tasks that you want to enter just as a reminder to do "sometime", you can make them either undated or unprioritised (or both). For undated tasks set the Dated field to 'No' in the New Entry or Update dialogs. For unprioritised tasks set the Priority to 'None'. They will then show on screen with dashes in the date and/or priority fields, and will sort as low order entries at the end of the task Group. Task entries can be updated if you make a mistake, or to change any of the attributes, by moving the highlight to the description and using from the Edit menu or just the key. Note that the Task Update screen also has an additional field that has recorded the original date of entry of the task. If you have similar tasks to perform, existing entries can be copied using which takes you to a dialog to specify the Task Group to copy to, and the Update dialog to make any necessary changes. Alternatively, will allow you to enter the last task again. Tasks can be completely removed if you don't want them using or the just the key. Note that all records of deleted tasks are lost. Note that there are Backup and Restore options in the Tasks menu. Use these to keep a copy of your data on Psion for safety, and retrieve them if ever necessary. 2. Alarms, Repeats and Linked Information: Tasks can be set with further attributes to aid in their management. By entering Yes to 'Alarm/Repeat' in the New Task or Update Task dialogs you can specify the time and days previous for an alarm to sound as a reminder. The alarm itself will be handled by the standard Psion Time application. An important point to note here, is that if you delete an alarmed task or cancel an alarm before the task time is due, you will need to go to Time to cancel the actual alarm. The 'Alarm/Repeat' dialog also enables you to set a repeat for a task. This makes the task automatically re-install itself when you complete each occurrence. Repeats can be set either daily, weekly, monthly, annually or last day in the month, and with an appropriate interval, will allow the task to schedule for every 3rd day, biweekly, quarterly etc. Tasks with alarms and repeats are identified in the main screen with symbols in the A and R columns respectively. Extra notes or details can also be set for tasks. Entering Yes to 'Extended Description' when entering a new task will take you to another dialog where you can make further notes about the task on 5 lines of up to 60 characters each. Use the cursor arrows to move between lines and the key to save the text. Alternatively, using the or on an existing task allows you to view or edit the extended description, or create a new one. Tasks with Extended Descriptions are identified with a symbol in the X column. In addition, a link can be made to a specified default file in the Word, Data, Agenda and Sheet applications by using the hotkey sequences respectively in the Links menu. This is designed as a shortcut to save you pressing the system button and selecting the files etc. The process will be rejected if the file is already in use, and therefore already accessible by a single press of the appropriate button on the Icon strip. The actual default files to use are defined within the Set Preferences, Program menu. 3. Viewing, Sorting and Scheduling Functions: Moving around the Task Group to view or change Tasks is easily accomplished using the up/down cursor keys. In addition, and will move you to the top or bottom record on screen respectively, while will move you to the top of the file and to the bottom. Finally, will jump to the next due task (except under some sorting regimes where this makes no sense!). Find Entry and Find Next functions are available to search for text in the description fields (and optionally the extended descriptions) of the Task Group. The tasks on screen can be sorted using . This allows heirarchical sorting on up to 3 of the available data fields: Date - in descending order of Due Date with the most current at the top of the screen. Priority - from highest priority at the top to lowest. Project - lists all tasks with the same Project category together. Type - lists all tasks with the same Type category together. Description - in alphabetic order. Entry Time - in 24 hr clock order. For example, selecting 'Date-Priority-Description' as the 3 fields will give a primary sort on Due Date in descending chronological order. Then Tasks having the same date will be secondary sorted in descending priority order, and if any of those are the same, they will be further sorted in alphabetic order of description. Alternatively, Manual sorting can be selected, which allows you to determine your own preferred screen order. Rearrange tasks as you wish by using to move them to a specified index position. Note that Move only works under manual sorting. Thus sorting is extremely flexible, allowing you tailor the method to your needs. In addition, the sorting method can be different for each Task Group. The complete Task list can be filtered using 'Set Filter' from the Categories menu, and selecting the required project and type categories, the priority and date range. These work individually or in combination to give you a display of only those entries matching that filter criteria. The filter(s) set are indicated at the bottom of the screen. Filters can be turned off by using again and setting the fields back to 'All', or more simply by just pressing . Note that as time progresses and tasks becomes due, the Due Date will advance from a date to 'Tomorrow' then 'Today'. It will then change to bold as a strong reminder when the Due Date has passed and the task has become overdue. In addition, if Auto Priority is used, the priority of tasks will automatically increase as the Due Date approaches. toggles the task description to italics. This is typically used to identify tasks "in progress", but can also signify that it has been assigned to someone else, or is waiting for a reply. In addition a bar graph display is available using that shows the task progress graphically as today's position relative to the task entry and due dates. To aid you in doing "what if" scheduling or to update tasks as events unfold, attributes can be easily changed without having to go through the full Task Update dialog screen. 'Single key switching' will allow the following: + increases the Due Date by 1 day - decreases the Due Date by 1 day increases the Due Date by 1 week decreases the Due Date by 1 week T sets the Due Date to 'today' Number 1-9 changes the priority (if numeric priorities are used) Letter A-I changes the priority (if alphabetic priorities are used) H/M/L changes the priority (if Hi-Med-Lo priorities are used) 0 makes the task unprioritised * toggles the alarm setting on/off R toggles a repeat on/off P toggles "task in progress" on/off view, edit or create Extended Description. If you prefer not to use these various forms of 'single key switching', you can selectively turn them off within Set Preferences and then . The screen is re-sorted every time new tasks are entered, are updated, or their attributes are changed, so that tasks are always shown in the required to-do order. 4. Task Completion and Archiving: As you complete tasks in real life, they can be marked as completed in the Task list by striking them through with . Multiple tasks can be operated on by 'tagging' them using Shift-Up or Down Arrow, when they will be marked with a tick. You will be asked to confirm the completion date which defaults to the current date or can be changed if you actually completed the task yesterday for example. If the task had the repeat flag set, the dialog will ask if you want to enable the next scheduled repeat. Struckout tasks will be moved to the top of the screen and separated by a line. If you find that the task is not really completed it can be re-instated by using again, when you will be asked to confirm the new Due Date and priority. When you are ready to remove struckout tasks from the Task Group use to archive them as a permanent record of completed tasks. Note from the dialog that you actually have various options available, but for now use 'Archive Strike Out Entries'. Because this is the first time the option has been used, you will be prompted for an Archive file name. This will not occur in subsequent uses of this option. Now you will be asked to select which Archive to use, although at the moment you only have a choice of one, and whether to append or overwrite. Again, this is a personal decision. Some people are happy to run just one Archive, some people prefer a file for each Task Group. Some like to keep just the last set of records, others like to keep a complete record of everything. Extra Archive files can be created using from the File menu. As an alternative to this separate Strikeout and Archiving method for tasks, if you prefer to remove tasks directly to the archive file on completion without retaining them in the task group as struckout, there is a Preferences option for Completed Tasks to allow you to move tasks directly to the archive file on completion. Again multiple archiving can be performed by 'tagging' the tasks. We can now look at the Archive file using the menu, or the diamond key. This simply displays previous task information with a header giving details of where and when the entries originated. In the Archive screen, you still have the Set Filter available in the Special menu, and full search facilities are available under the Search menu (but only if the Filter is turned 'off'). The Tasks menu gives options to allow you to 'unarchive' tasks back to a Task Group if you want to re-use them again, as well as viewing the Extended Descriptions (Note that you can apparently make changes to the Extended Description. In fact, these will not be saved when you quit). If you do run multiple Archive files, then the File menu gives you the appropriate options you will need. If the file gets too large, it can be truncated by using Reset Start Date or . Return to the main Task Group screen is by the menu, or just . 5. Other Functions and Program Preferences: If you have more than one Task Group or Archive file, there are various switching methods. In the case of Task Groups, use to open other existing Groups. In the Archive use to switch between archives. Also in both screens the L/R arrows will also cycle through Groups and Archives. If you install the optional print modules, the Print menu in both the main Task Group and Archive screens has the usual printing options. allows you to print off Task lists as displayed (with or without filters set, and with or without the Extended Descriptions). The program has been designed for extensive user configuration. Many options are available within the Set Preferences sub-menus as follows: a) Program: * Printer Configuration Use this option to specify the type of printer you wish to use. This is actually the same as from the System screen. * Manual Priority System Allows you to define your preferred system of priorities for each Task Group. Either numbers or letters can be used with up to 9 levels, or alternatively the simple Hi-Med-Lo. Note that 1, A and Hi are treated as highest priority. * Auto Priority System Allows you to set how many days previous to the due date, when a low priority task becomes medium priority, and when a medium priority task becomes high priority. Enable this for tasks by setting Priority to 'Auto' in the Enter Task or Update Task dialogs. * Single Key Switching You can individually enable 'single key switching' to use the +/- keys to change Due Dates, toggle alarms with *, change priorities with alphabetic or numeric keys (as appropriate to the priority system defined), enable task repeats with R, or toggle 'task in progress' with P. * Terminology If you don't like the default "Project" and "Type" category titles, you can set your own for each Task Group. * Preference Repeat If you want to stay in the 'Set Preferences' menu while setting up the program, use this switch. b) Tasks * Completed Tasks Allows you to define your preferred action for completed tasks: whether to use the Strikeout method or to Archive them directly. An option also permits struckout tasks to be separated from other due tasks by a line. * Overdue Tasks Overdue tasks are normally presented with the due date in bold characters. You can change this to italic or turn it off completely. Also an underline can be turned on to separate them from other due tasks. * Tasks in Progress Optionally show the descriptions of tasks in progress in either bold, italic or normal text. c) Archive: * Default Archive If you use multiple Archive files, the program default is to display the last used file. Using these options you can change that so it always defaults to a defined file name, or asks you which one you want every time. * Add Header Line If your preference is to archive tasks as they are struck-out (rather than on a periodic basis), the Archive file can become full of the default "Archived From....." lines of text. This option allows you to turn them off. d) External: * Default Database/Agenda/Word/Sheet file Define the filename and disk location for each of the hotkey linked 'Go to..' files in the Links menu. These are now Group specific. e) Display: * Font Decide your preference for either a Roman or Swiss font for the screen displays. * Date Format As various different date formats are used throughout the world, you can choose your preferred option from a range. * Configure Symbols If you don't like the symbols we have chosen to identify alarms, repeats or extended descriptions against tasks, you can specify the ASCII code of any other character (see page 246/7 of Psion 3a User Guide, p370 of 3c User Guide). An option is also available to reset them to the program defaults. * Display Entry Time This toggles on/off an extra column display of the actual system time when tasks were entered. Note that if this is used, the description field will be appropriately curtailed. * Display Second Category This allows you to turn off the second (Type) category from the screen display if you are not using it, or require more space for descriptions. Finally, in the Special menu toggles through two font sizes for the screen display (which are Group specific), and the usual cycle option is available to have a status window permanently on screen. Registration ------------ If you find the program useful and wish to register it, please see the file REGISTER.TXT for up-to-date instructions on how to register. Apart from giving you a 'warm' feeling and encouraging development of other programs for the range of Psions, registering will get rid of the 'nag' screen and allow you the full 60 entries If anyone has any useful suggestions for improvements, we will always consider them for the next version. We can be contacted at the addresses in REGISTER.TXT, or on Compuserve 100023,543 or by E-mail on alanrichey@compuserve.com Also, the WWW Home Page at http://members.aol.com/alanrichey has news of the program, any bugs found, any enhancements planned, and the latest BETA test version for downloading, so please pay a visit. Cheers, Al Richey and Andy Waller