ForumsQuestionsIs this search possible?
Is this search possible?
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cabbage |
There is a custom search I would find very useful but I'm not sure if it's possible on Toodledo. First let me explain my setup.
Projects are listed as tasks in the Projects folder. Their names also begin with a +. The actions for each project are subtasks. One action per project (occasionally more) are marked "Next Action". As I'm check off the actions, I usually take the time to choose the next "Next action" but occasionally I miss some. I'd like a search that weeds out the projects for which I haven't assigned a next action but I can't think of a way to do it. Any help is greatly appreciated. |
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Folke X |
I don't think so. I was looking for something similar at some stage, but it seems that all search criteria are on an "isolated" per-task basis.
The only idea that comes up in my mind at the moment is something like this: Use, say, the Goal field for the project name. Do this for all the tasks, both for the project header dummy task and for the real action tasks. Define, say, a Context for Project (project with tasks). Use this context for the dummy headers only. Then you can easily do all kinds of searches, e.g. the one you were refrring to: a search which shows the header tasks and the next action tasks, and you will be able to see in your list if something is missing. |
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Folke X |
Oh, but since you already have marked your "dummy" headers with a + sign, you could skip defining a Context called Project. In your searches you could simply use "Task begins with +" (instead of "Context is Project", which is what I do).
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Salgud |
I think what I'm doing with the many meetings I schedule is the same thing you're looking for, but I'm doing it with tags.
Each meeting I schedule has 2 to 12 tasks, so the meeting is a Project and, therefore, a parent task. I tag each parent task with the tag "Mtg". Each sub-task has the tag "MAct" (Meeting Activity). I have a Saved Search for Tag Contains Mtg or Tag contains MAct. From there, I can scan down the list and see which one's have Next Actions, and which ones don't. I create the projects in one of two ways. If I'm responsible for the all aspects of the meeting, or nearly all, I have a template with all the standard subtasks, from getting a room to providing a projector and overhead. As with any project template, I just clone the parent task, modify the name to have a specific identifier for that project/meeting, the do a custom search for that identifier, expand the parent to expose the subtasks and Multi-edit them to have appropriate folder, context, etc. For smaller projects/meetings, I just create the parent, then add subtasks as needed. When I add the first task, I have to remember to change the tag from Mtg to MAct. After that, when I add tasks, I just clone a subtask instead of creating a subtask so I don't have to fix the tag. I also have a Saved Search to show all Mtgs and all the subtasks for obvious reasons. A little convoluted, but it seems to be working. I can be arranging 6 or more meetings at a time, and I can't possibly remember which ones I've arranged for a conference phone and which ones I haven't just from memory (I'm ADD, one of many fathers who discovered I was while taking one of my sons through all the testing). Part of my daily review is to go to my Meetings Saved Search and check on the status of every meeting to be sure nothing is forgotten. I don't know of any other task manager (maybe Ommifocus?) that can do this as well as TD. Very, very powerful and flexible. |
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JPR |
Not possible with Saved Search. I use a similar method as you starting all projects with a "!" instead of "+". I don't use Sharing, so I've dedicated that view as my projects list. I keep it sorted Alphabetically (projects sort to the top) with subtasks "hidden". When I need to do a general check of Next Action status I change to "Indented" and manually scan each project for next actions.
This message was edited Aug 18, 2011. |
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cabbage |
Oh, some creative ideas here! Thanks everyone for the reply.
If I search for: [Task name starts with +] OR [Status is Next Action] ... I can scan the list and see which projects appear without any visible subtasks. Perfect! I also like the idea of template projects. I can think of some regular projects where that will come in very handy! |
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