ForumsQuestionsBug Report Syncing Tasks/Subtasks with Appigo's Todo 2.0


Bug Report Syncing Tasks/Subtasks with Appigo's Todo 2.0
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Alan

Posted: Apr 28, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
I've just posted the following in Appigo's Todo forum on Google groups. I'm not certain if the fault lies with Todo or Toodledo, but here you go:

ATTENTION APPIGO: BUGS FOUND - READ DOWN PLEASE!

On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 10:16, Silemuflr <[email protected]> wrote:

n conclusion: you can use toodledo w/o pro, or you can use toodledo w
pro, but be prepared for some work when you switch between the two.


I have a Pro account at Toodledo and performed the following tests:

A) Created a Project with two subtasks on Todo, then synced to Toodledo, as follows (note - all tasks due today):

Project: Test Project Due April 28
- subtask 1: Test subtask 1 Due April 28
- subtask 2: Test subtask 2 Due April 28

Then synced and Toodledo showed the project and subtasks exactly as entered.

B) Added a subtask on Toodledo. On Toodledo, the task/subtasks were then:

Task: Test Project Due April 28
- subtask 1: Test subtask 1 Due April 28
- subtask 2: Test subtask 2 Due April 28
- subtask 3: Test subtask 3 no due date or folder/context info,.

Then synced and Todo showed the proejct and subtasks exactly as amended on Toodledo, so it now looks like:

Project: Test Project Due April 28
- subtask 1: Test subtask 1 Due April 28
- subtask 2: Test subtask 2 Due April 28
- subtask 3: Test subtask 3 no due date or folder/context info.

B) Reordered subtasks on Todo and added a due date of May 1 to subtask 3 (now 1st in the new reordering) so on Todo it now appears as:

Project: Test Project Due April 28
- subtask 3: Test subtask 3 Due April 28 list now showing as "Work" where the Project lies.
- subtask 1: Test subtask 1 Due April 28
- subtask 2: Test subtask 2 Due April 28

This appears to be correct behavior. Because the project due date was April 28, my change to subtask 3's due date was adjusted to match that of the project. **NOTE - I FEEL THIS SHOULD BE ENHANCED SO THE USER IS ADVISED OF THIS CHANGE, AND ASKED IF THEY PREFER IF TODO CHANGES THE SUBTASK DUE DATE TO BE EQUAL TO THE PROJECT OR IF THEY WOULD PREFER TO CHANGE THE PROJECT DUE DATE TO THE SUBTASK DUE DATE.**

When I synced back to Toodledo, this was the result:

Task: Test Project Due April 28
- subtask 3: Test subtask 3 Due April 28 list now showing as "Work" as adjusted by Todo
- subtask 1: Test subtask 1 Due April 28
- subtask 2: Test subtask 2 Due April 28

C) Changed the due-date on Subtask 3 back to May 1 on Toodledo so that it now appears as follows.

Task: Test Project Due April 28
- subtask 1: Test subtask 1 Due April 28
- subtask 2: Test subtask 2 Due April 28
- subtask 3: Test subtask 3 Due May 3

This appears to respect Toodledo's logic in how tasks are sorted/displayed. Syncing back resulted in the following:

Project: Test Project Due April 28
- subtask 1: Test subtask 1 Due April 28
- subtask 2: Test subtask 2 Due April 28
- subtask 3: Test subtask 3 Due May 3

Now, it looks like Todo is respecting what it got from Toodledo and NOT changing the due date of Subtask 3 to April 28, to match the project due date. **THIS RESULTS IN INCONSISTENT BEHAVIOUR DEPENDING ON WHICH WAY YOU SYNC**, however, having said that, when you think about it, Todo is controlling how projects/subtasks are handled and feeding it back to Toodledo, which respects what Todo is sending. Similarly, when Todo is receiving the sync from Toodledo, it is also respecting what the user has done in Toodledo, so perhaps this is the desired behavior.

D) Next, on Todo I took subtask 2 and moved it out of the project, so on Todo it appears as follows:

Project: Test Project Due April 28
- subtask 1: Test subtask 1 Due April 28
- subtask 3: Test subtask 3 Due May 3

Syncing to Toodledo showed the same results in Toodledo:

Task: Test Project Due April 28
- subtask 1: Test subtask 1 Due April 28
- subtask 2: Test subtask 2 Due April 28
- subtask 3: Test subtask 3 Due May 3

**THIS APPEARS TO BE A BUG - Toodledo did not reflect the fact that subtask 2 was no longer under the Test Project. I resynced 3 times, but this did not correct the issue.

E) I then changed to due date on subtask 3 to April 28 and resynced. Toodledo shows:

Task: Test Project Due April 28
- subtask 1: Test subtask 1 Due April 28
- subtask 2: Test subtask 2 Due April 28
- subtask 3: Test subtask 3 Due April 28

Todo now shows:

Project: Test Project Due April 28
- subtask 1: Test subtask 1 Due April 28
- subtask 3: Test subtask 3 Due April 28

...with subtask 2: "Test subtask 2 Due April 28" sitting outside of the project.

**BUG APPEARS TO BE THAT MOVING A TASK OUT OF A PROJECT IN TODO DOES NOT DUPLICATE ON THE SYNC IN TOODLEDO AND ONCE THIS CONNECTION IS BROKEN, IT IS NOT REPAIRED, EVEN THOUGH TOODLEDO CONTINUES TO SHOW THE TASK AS A SUBTASK.


This message was edited Apr 28, 2009.
Anders

Posted: Apr 28, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by Alan:
Now, it looks like Todo is respecting what it got from Toodledo and NOT changing the due date of Subtask 3 to April 28, to match the project due date. **THIS RESULTS IN INCONSISTENT BEHAVIOUR DEPENDING ON WHICH WAY YOU SYNC**, however, having said that, when you think about it, Todo is controlling how projects/subtasks are handled and feeding it back to Toodledo, which respects what Todo is sending. Similarly, when Todo is receiving the sync from Toodledo, it is also respecting what the user has done in Toodledo, so perhaps this is the desired behavior.


I think you hit the heart of the first issue here. I don't think it is so much which way you were syncing as it is which program you were creating the tasks in. If Todo has a rule against subtasks due later than parents, you won't be able to make that change in Todo, but I think it would be worse if Todo changed due dates on syncing with Toodledo to make everything fit their rules.

BUG APPEARS TO BE THAT MOVING A TASK OUT OF A PROJECT IN TODO DOES NOT DUPLICATE ON THE SYNC IN TOODLEDO AND ONCE THIS CONNECTION IS BROKEN, IT IS NOT REPAIRED, EVEN THOUGH TOODLEDO CONTINUES TO SHOW THE TASK AS A SUBTASK.


This does not surprise me. Every 3rd party app developer gives the same explanation for not having subtask yet, that it is very difficult to work out the sync. Todo has been around a while now, and it's good that they finally got subtasks, but I am not exactly shocked that their implementation is buggy.
Alan

Posted: Apr 28, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by Anders:
This does not surprise me. Every 3rd party app developer gives the same explanation for not having subtask yet, that it is very difficult to work out the sync. Todo has been around a while now, and it's good that they finally got subtasks, but I am not exactly shocked that their implementation is buggy.
Actually, I think it's just a bug. They have pretty much nailed the rest of the behaviours and how it syncs. It seems to be mostly related to moving a subtask out from under a project (as a "main task" is referred to in Todo".)Most other changes are respected. I'm sure it will get fixed, but I'm not certain if Toodledo is misreading the data coming from Todo, or the other way around....
Anders

Posted: Apr 28, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
I don't want to overstep my bounds, and I am certainly not a programmer, but I was under the impression that Toodledo just provided the interface, and it was up to 3rd party developers to make it work. Maybe I am wrong though. It certainly makes sense to cover your bases and post in both locations.

I will be interested to see how this develops. I was thinking of giving Todo another try after hearing about the big update, but subtasks are critical for me.
Jake

Toodledo Founder
Posted: Apr 28, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
Anders is correct. We just provide the API and it is the developer's responsibility to use it appropriately. Our API allows subtasks to be moved out of their parent task, so it is possible. We have a good relationship with Appigo and they ask us questions about our API from time to time, but this never came up, so I suspect that this was a scenario that they didn't test. If you let Appigo know about the bug, I am sure that they will fix it.

As for the due-date thing. Toodledo does not require the due-date of subtasks to be before the due-date of its parent. This must be a constraint that Appigo is imposing on subtasks. Since you let them know that the constraint is inconsistent, they may fix this in a future update).
Alan

Posted: Apr 28, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
Thanks - I've reported it, and will link to this thread here for them to read your response.
Anders

Posted: Apr 28, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
@Alan. I just downloaded 2.0. I have not tried to reproduce your bug, but if Appigo needs more convincing, just let me know. I just submitted an unrelated bug of my own.
Alan

Posted: Apr 28, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by Anders:
I was thinking of giving Todo another try after hearing about the big update, but subtasks are critical for me.
Andres, Todo does work really well for subtasks under most circumstances. If you won't be moving subtasks out from under the project (main task) very often, it is still an excellent iPhone app, and I have no doubt that Appigo will fix this very soon. The newest release of the software is quite something. Very well laid out, great features, and very intuitive.
Anders

Posted: Apr 28, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
Alan, I was not clear enough in my last post. I actually downloaded the new version of Todo earlier today. The good buzz I was hearing about 2.0 won me over.

I completely agree about the subtask execution. It is only one less tap to view than in the Toodledo app, but that makes a difference, and the checklist option is brilliant. Sometimes that is exactly what I need, a very simple set of subtasks that don't need individual contexts, due dates, etc. The way Todo did it so that you could have it either way is incredible.

My biggest problem with Todo, and the main reason I am still in the air about which app to stick with for now, is that Todo does not do stars at all, and I have come to rely on them pretty heavily. It is also a little more awkward and complicated to change sorts/filters/views, in Todo than in the official app.

The checklist is really something though. I might suggest that sort of feature to Toodledo (the website or the iPhone app).
Alan

Posted: Apr 29, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
FYI, Appigo has posted a reply to the issue I reported, with an explanation of some of the behaviors we are seeing, along with a promise to fix the bug I found about subtasks getting detached from their main task and not being able to re-establish to connection to the main task when syncing back and forth to Toodledo. They also provided a simple workaround that can be used until the bug is fixed.

Visit the thread on Google Groups at http://groups.google.com/group/appigo-todo/browse_frm/thread/f751ab85c4e443d1?hl=en (you will have to join the group, but of course if you're an Appigo Todo fan, you are already a member, right?)
Anders

Posted: Apr 30, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
It is good to hear they are on top of that. I submitted a bug report at about the same time as yours. It is far less significant, but there has been no response whatsoever. If you have a chance, maybe you could see if it is really a bug or just something about my device. http://groups.google.com/group/appigo-todo/browse_thread/thread/49c213933abb0554#
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