Best To-Do List Software? 532
JojoLinkyBob writes "Greetings, Council of Slashdot. I am curious what everyone here recommends as their favorite organizational software. Specifically, I am trying to find a simple freeware/open-source todo list manager. In the past, I've dabbled with TreePad,
Shadow Plan, Mantis, and various virtual sticky- note apps ..all with mixed success. Currently, I'm back to my old-school ways of scribbling my todo's on the back of each Daily Dilbert Calendar page, which sadly means today is June 23 :)"
data managers (Score:5, Informative)
If you're looking for a structured way to store your random bits of data, there'
s treeline [bellz.org], a really simple but rea
lly effective little app.
I'm not really a bells & whistles type of guy, i like my apps streamlined and effective
You are so busted. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:You are so busted. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:data managers (Score:4, Informative)
At the risk of starting yet another editor war:
emacs plus:
If not, you can get todo-mode.el from any emacs source location.
A proposal has been made to add some simple fontification to the todo-mode.el. You can find the mail message here [gnu.org] among other places.
I use it because it works with the calendar-mode, diary mode, and since it's emacs it runs everywhere emacs does.
I know, boring, boring, boring. However, when you have the kitchen sink of editors, you might as well turn on the water.
Re:data managers (Score:4, Funny)
A todo list is only as good as the one who uses it.
Palm Desktop worth a look (Score:5, Interesting)
I am trying to find a simple freeware/open-source todo list manager.
Even if you don't have a Palm Pilot, Palm Desktop [palmone.com] under Windows isn't too bad. The price - FREE - is certainly right, too. It may not be the best out there, but it meets the basic requirements for a to-do list manager.
Re:Palm Desktop worth a look (Score:2, Insightful)
free, creates cross-platform, bloat-free files, no bloat in the program itself.. why bother splashing out on some fancy-pants crap that youll find yourself not using within a week.
win+r, "notepad".. wow, that will take all of, what? 3 seconds, ctrl+s, plonk it on your desktop and your done.
and come to think of it, whats wrong with paper and pen too? dont worry about data-corruption, your comp crashing out on you or anything.. jesus.
yunno,
Re:Palm Desktop worth a look (Score:4, Interesting)
I have a file on my desktop called todo.txt
that file has a thing to do on each line.
each line begins with a character denoting the status of the item:
- thing to do
+ thing already done
~ thing in progress
X thing I decided/was told not to do
? thing I need more information to do
Priority goes to the first item with a -in front of it. Hard deadlines are annotated within items themselves.
When a task needs subitems, use tabs to indent.
I also have a clock on top of my monitor, a calendar on my wall, and a paper address book.
When one task gets so complicated it starts cluttering up the list, I start another text file. Since my text editor has a tabbed interface, it's pretty easy to keep a master list and several project-specific lists open at once.
It seems to work pretty well.
Re:Palm Desktop worth a look (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Palm Desktop worth a look (Score:3, Informative)
Agreed. I was actually thinking of mentioning it, when I saw your post. The GUI is simple, ToDo list can be assigned priorities, due dates, alerts, put in appropriate categories, etc, and sorted according to the need.
And if you have an actual palm, you have the added benefit of being able to carry the ToDo list when not in front of a computer. And backup of course: should your palm crash, you have everything backed up on your
It costs $2.00 (Score:3, Funny)
What's wrong with Old School? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:What's wrong with Old School? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What's wrong with Old School? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:What's wrong with Old School? (Score:3, Insightful)
the pencil and paper will not remind you when its time to be somewhere or do something. or tell you your busy when you try to set up another meeting.
What you are describing is a Planner or Calendar, not a to-do list. IMHO, a to-do list is simply a list of stuff that needs to get done without precise temporal constraints. If this guy really wants the features you list, then he didn't ask a very clear Ask Slashdot question. In any event, I think you'll have to agree with me that his question is pretty p
Re:What's wrong with Old School? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What's wrong with Old School? (Score:5, Insightful)
With even a simple textfile solution, I can generate changelogs and (primitive) reports with a a single command.
Re:What's wrong with Old School? (Score:4, Insightful)
unless you got some slav.. coworkers, fiancee or somebody to call and tell to RTFTDL.
Re:What's wrong with Old School? (Score:3, Informative)
For lists over the course of a few days, I personally prefer a much more high-tech approach. I keep tasks in a comma-separated text file, which I can import into any app I need to, report off of with perl, and generally depend on.
Don't name names! (Score:2, Funny)
Low-tech (Score:5, Funny)
=)
Re:Low-tech (Score:5, Funny)
Notepad...sheesh! You people have it easy!
--RJ
Re:Low-tech (Score:4, Informative)
what's awful about notepad? (Score:4, Insightful)
I know notepad is very basic, but what's awful about it? I can say that's the one MS program I've used that has never crashed and I use it a lot.
Re:what's awful about notepad? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Low-tech (Score:5, Funny)
Todo:
Program vertex shader
Fix bug in network code
Fix 8 bugs reported by bug testers, 2 of which affect game
*picture of smiling bunny*
Put bullet in head
You missed the most important steps!! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Low-tech (Score:5, Interesting)
Check out
A summary [craphound.com] or shorter summary [boingboing.net]
Apple's iCal software (Score:5, Interesting)
What I use for my own to-do list is Apple's iCal, which has the ability, thanks to my $99-a-year Mac.com account, to put my list on the web and every Mac I use.
I must say, there is nothing quite so satisfying as checking the tiny "done" box next to an item on my to-do list. Sometimes I'm tempted to put trivial items on it like "take off shoes" or "read Slashdot" just so I'll have the opportunity to check off a done item.
Re:Apple's iCal software (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Apple's iCal software (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Apple's iCal software (Score:4, Informative)
Did I mention it was sloooww?
For free iCal hosting, try icalx.com instead. There exists another free iCal hosting service but I forget the name.
iCal! (Score:2, Informative)
Hardware based approach (Score:5, Funny)
If I don't do something I am supposed to, my wife whacks me on the back of the head. Works great!
-John.
Post-it papers on my monitor! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Post-it papers on my monitor! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Post-it papers on my monitor! (Score:5, Funny)
I set up my dad's office today with a wifi network, and he wrote down the WEP key on a stickey note on his monitor. I stared and said "wow.. I've read about you in a lot of security books"
Re:Post-it papers on my monitor! (Score:3, Insightful)
All that means is your dad cares more about the security of his house than his wifi network. I mean, if they can see the sticky they're either: A-a friend or family. or B-a burglar. If the former, he probably doesn't mind them using his cable modem. If the later, he won't have a computer soon.
Some people really need to put "computer security" into perspective.
Re:Post-it papers on my monitor! (Score:3, Funny)
Found your problem (Score:3, Funny)
Switch to The Far Side [thefarside.com] - their desk calendars are much bigger and can accommodate many more notes. *grin*
stickies (Score:2, Informative)
When your to good for Google (Score:2, Troll)
Bugzilla (Score:2, Funny)
Omni Outliner! (Score:4, Informative)
They also have some teriffic charting software, OmniGraffle [omnigroup.com], that I use to do flowcharts for all of my coding. You guys all do flowcharts, right?
-S
MS Project (Score:5, Funny)
Sincerely,
Duke Nukem Forever - Dev Team
Palm Pilot. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Palm Pilot.- better yet (Score:2)
OR
You could just download the Palm Desktop software - it works too.
KISS (Score:2)
Re:KISS (Score:2)
The system cannot find the file specified.
What an appropriate sig!
Text editor (Score:2)
Sometimes Occam's Razor is a good guide. Simplicity works wonders.
Simple solution (Score:2)
It's really not a technical problem. (Score:5, Insightful)
It really boils down to self-discipline, much more than some specific methodology. I'm a fan of Covey's methodologies, but unless you really, really, really commit to it (or some other one more to your liking), you're no better off with a slick app than you are with to-do lists on the back of a Dilbert calendar page.
Re:It's really not a technical problem. (Score:4, Informative)
I think the future will see more XML and RSS based tools that allow you to integrate all of your systems (calendars, todo lists, issue tracking lists, blogs, etc etc) into one interface without regard for proprietary formats. Those companies that do put their eggs on the proprietary format basket will either be run around by smart filters, or wither on the vine as people see the lack of interoperability and go elsewhere.
That is the space where information management will reach a new plateau, imho.
It's patented! (Score:2, Funny)
You do know that the TODO-list is patented [slashdot.org], don't you?
All your base to do are belong to MS.
freemind (Score:2, Informative)
a little more complex than a traditional to-do list, but you can interconnect tasks and lay out projects in a freewheeling yet ridiculously detailed manner.
Omni (Score:4, Informative)
Mozilla Sunbird (Score:5, Informative)
Booby PHP App (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.nauta.be/booby/
oby provides Web-based management for bookmarks/favorites, contacts, todos, notes, and news, allowing the user to import and export to common standards (Netscape/Opera bookmarks, Opera contacts/vCards, etc.).
The application is fully themeable (by using phpSavant) and has support for multiple users and languages.
Booby is written in PHP and is database independant (sort of) by using the database abstraction layer 'ADOdb'.
Why not create it yourself? (Score:2)
Re:Why not create it yourself? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Why not create it yourself? (Score:2)
Please let me know when you are finished, where I can download the source and how long it took.
http://www.bestpractical.com/rt/ (Score:3, Interesting)
the best to-do list manager is analog (Score:5, Funny)
One caveat, it's not freeware; it could be as expensive as a dollar, but you'll recoup that quickly with the electricity savings.
-- Greg
Re:the best to-do list manager is analog (Score:3, Funny)
Re:the best to-do list manager is analog (Score:3, Informative)
What works best largely depends on what your job function is like.
Franklin planners and Day-Timers excel where you have things to be done on a specific date, or need to keep track of your time / appointments. The pain of carrying over tasks from day-to-day is supposed to make you want to either classify them as "never do" or "do it so I don't have to copy it to another day again". The system does well if your job is
Microsoft has patented that... (Score:2, Redundant)
Action Outline and Ecco Pro (Score:2, Informative)
The best, in my experience, was Ecco. After NetManage bought it and destroyed it, it died. Luckily, they still (ostensibly) offer it via FTP, but I haven't been able to access that link for a long time. Plus, it's the last build, so it's a very stale Win16 app now. Still usable, though, if long in
Ecco URL (Score:5, Informative)
Netmanage essentially abandoned this product although you can still download for free from their ftp site:
ftp://ftp.netmanage.com/support/pub/utilities/EC4
Users manual should be included as well.
This is way more than just a simple outline program. Think unlimited relational outlines connected by user definable columns. All fully integrated with the calendar and address book.
As I contemplate switching to various other platforms this is still the one application I cannot live without. No other outliner/pim comes close to ECCO.
Ecco (Score:2)
Disclaimer: I've used the old version, which is no longer available from normal distribution channels. No idea if this one requires the mouse or not.
Wiki (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Wiki (Score:3, Informative)
TWiki [twiki.org]. Makes for a great Web accessible todo list.
The interface may not be as fast as dedicated todo list software, but it has the benefits of being good for taking notes, colaborative document editing, file upload, definable users lists for reading and editing documents.
Wiki - seconded (Score:3, Interesting)
Sex (Score:3, Informative)
Yay Nullsoft.
http://www.nullsoft.com/free/safesex/
I use ToDoList (Score:5, Informative)
the cutting edge of TODO list technology (Score:5, Insightful)
My TODO list is ~/TODO. I edit it with vim. Sometimes I grep it. When I get things done I dd that line.
I can access it anywhere with ssh.
Re:the cutting edge of TODO list technology (Score:3, Informative)
alias todo='vim + ~/todo'
So there =P You also might want to look at the "+/{pat}" command line option for vim. Then you could search for the '[ ]' which would autoskip to the first task you don't have done.
Sticky Notes! (Score:2)
It comes included with most Linux distros under Gnome. KDE has KNotes.
Not exactly what you are asking for but ... (Score:2)
HNB - hierarchical notebook (Score:2, Informative)
I'm currently using HNB as my calendar and TODO-List. HNB is a text-mode app:
HNB Screenshots [sourceforge.net]
A Wiki? (Score:2)
I currently use Twiki [twiki.org], which is sort of a pain to set up, but has a lot of features. One plugin for it is called the Action Tracker [twiki.org], and it can be used to auto-generate a single to-do list from the action items on various wiki pages.
Sometimes I get lazy about the action lists, and a simple wiki page with a text to-do list works fine.
Palm-OS Syncable Solution (Score:3, Informative)
I know you wanted a PC solution but let's face it - they all mostly suck. I need something super-portable and syncable if it's going to be my to do list for the entire day. That's why I prefer the PalmOS software.
It costs a bit of money but you know, who pays for these things anyway? Well it should be you.
Alternatives (Score:2, Informative)
What I've resorted to now is using Microsoft's OneNote and creating sections for the products I'm working on, with pages for TODO lists, Wish Lists, R&D, code snippets, etc. Easy to use and probably one of the best applications Microsoft has released in years.
PINE - Postpone message (Score:4, Funny)
Here're a couple of screen shots:
PINE 4.58 MESSAGE INDEX Folder: INBOX Message 2,444 of 2,444 ANS
.
.
Continue postponed composition (answering "No" won't erase it)?
Y [Yes]
^C Cancel N No
N 127 Jun 18 xxx xxxx (4422) To Do list
devtodo (Score:3, Informative)
it proved to be so good that even my wife abadoned small sheets of paper and started using it.
JPilot (Score:3, Insightful)
If you just want a free-as-in-beer organizer, the Palm Desktop is free for personal use on Mac or Windows.
What sort of to-do list? (Score:3, Informative)
If there is a great number of tasks with no critical path, for example a call center, then you will want something a little more complicated. You'll need to be able to log a task quickly, give it an urgency, tie it back to a particular caller, be able to assign it, maybe even have a searchable knowledge base. For this area things like OTRS [otrs.org] are great.
Then you could be a developer, where critical paths vary daily and tasks need to be assigned to specific modules and versions. The obvious choice here is bugzilla [bugzilla.org]
Desktop or web-based is also a consideration. You may require access from multiple locations; maybe you are an off-site engineer; so that needs to be taken into consideration too.
Dude! (Score:3, Interesting)
From the description:
JobJar: Because if you need more than Perl, plain text and a command line, you are a heathen and must die.
Lists and Calendars.. (Score:3, Interesting)
On Windows, there is a shareware app called Biromsoft To-Do List [biromsoft.com]. Pretty simple and straightforward.
I recommend it for those who are looking for a listmaker without all the bells and whistles that might otherwise come with aformentioned calendar apps.
Can't do that. It's patented. (Score:3, Funny)
Perhaps you should consider circumventing the patent by making a list of "Stuff I gotta remember not to forget" ?
Oh Yeah! (Score:3, Funny)
Emacs Diary! (Score:4, Interesting)
RequestTracker (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm a big fan of the web-based software RequestTracker, affectionately known as RT.
Homepage [bestpractical.com]It is similar to Bugzilla, except it's not software bug oriented so much as "Stuff To Do" oriented. It has a simple email gateway, it keeps track of absolutely everything, it allows you to add custom fields quite easily, it changes priorities of your events over time, and it allows you to keep track of how much time you've spent on various projects. Around my office, it's pretty key.
-jag
Re:RequestTracker (Score:3, Insightful)
It is similar to Bugzilla, except it's not software bug oriented
We use bugzilla where I work as a kind of task tracker and don't find it at all "bug oriented". With a small amount of planning and the right configuration, Bugzilla works great as a general issue or task tracker. You could seriously do a global search on the source code and replace every instance of "bug" with "task", nobody would be the wiser. It was a little strange at first to be asked how you were doing on a particular "bug" when the "b
*NIX: at (Score:3, Interesting)
I simply use the at scheduler to schedule an email to remind me on specific days. I have a rule set up to automatically flag the messages and to ensure they won't end up in my Junk Mail folder.
Something simple like:
at "6/21/2004 19:00" mail -s "TODO: TAKE OUT THE TRASH" [userid]
Of all the apps on my Mac, the one I'm in the most is Mail.
Free. Simple. Searchable (using my mail program). Not perfect, but it works.
Consider Full-Fledged PIMs like Zoot (Score:3, Informative)
One such piece of software is a cult-hit, Zoot [zootsoftware.com]. See reviews here [theatlantic.com] and here [llrx.com]. Find out more at the Yahoo Group for it [yahoo.com], which also happens to have excellent lists [yahoo.com] of other excellent but often underappreciated PIM software.
Also consider web-based task managers like Yahoo Calendar [yahoo.com]. The advantage is that they are easily accessible from anywhere and there's no need for backups. Yahoo task management also syncs with a lot of other stuff, I think.
In process of building my own (Score:3, Informative)
So my first step was an online note tool called NoteToSelf [sf.net] that I use to keep all those interesting articles, recommendations for movies, homework assignments, job descriptions, consumer ratings, etc. I wrote it in PHP and love it. It's pretty primative as I haven't put any extra work into it since I got it functional. But it's great for me and I use it throughout the day.
My next step is the to-do list. As an interim, I just use a note in NoteToSelf to keep the tasks, but really want something with priorities and reminders. So I've looked at various ones, and I think I'm going to integrate Horde's [horde.org] Kronolith [horde.org] for calendaring and Nag [horde.org] for task lists. They're all PHP and MySQL so I can integrate or tweak as much as I feel like.. With those 3 things I think I have most of my "PIM" needs met and accessible from any internet-connected device around. I've been mulling over a PDA, but only to act as an offline copy of those 3 apps, and not for their own native PDA apps.
OmniOutliner, hnb, vi (Score:4, Informative)
Good simple ones for PalmOS & Linux (Score:3, Insightful)
HandyShopper [freewarepalm.com] is another good one for tracking non-hierarchical things that have costs and quantities associated with them. It does nice things like let you tally up totals, as well as maybe schedule recurring need-to-do/buy items. It's bizarre that it doesn't really have a desktop equivalent yet :/
For the Linux desktop, you might want to take a look at MrProject [codefactory.se], a nice Project clone that's part of GnomeOffice. I've only played with it a little bit under Mandrake, but it looks fairly competent when you want to add hierarchical schedule and resource loading data to your task list. Sadly, there's little else that I've seen that comes anywhere close, and I've been searching for one fairly recently for a project management class I took last semester. Oddly enough, I don't even like MS Project for doing this kind of thing, it just doesn't give me enough flexibility in rearranging things, scheduling parallel activities, automatically sequencing constrained resources, etc.
Re:It's called a "wife" (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It's called a "wife" (Score:4, Funny)
Some of the EULA's you have conform to as well, I mean sheesh...