My first Android app, Todo.txt Touch, manages your todo.txt file stored at Dropbox—and it’s now available for beta-testing. Before it hits the Android Market, there are some issues to be ironed out, but in the meantime, you can download an early apk to give it a try on your Android handset.
Todo.txt Touch is a companion app to Todo.txt CLI, a command line task manager that adds, updates, prioritizes and completes items on your todo.txt list in the terminal. It supports task priority, projects, contexts, and an archive of completed items. Once you store your todo.txt file at Dropbox, you can update it at your desk in the terminal, on your Android device using this app, or using any text editor anywhere and all the changes sync to your devices automatically. Eventually we hope to support other cloud sources, like perhaps Simplenote.
Here are some screenshots of Todo.txt Touch in its current state in action. Click any image to enlarge it.
Dropbox integration
When you launch the app, you log into Dropbox, and the app creates a Dropbox/todo/ folder and puts a todo.txt file there. Right now the app doesn’t work without logging into Dropbox first (but we hope to fix that).
Add a new task
Just like the Todo.txt CLI, assign a project or context to a task by using the + and @ sign. For example, the task “Call doctor @phone +Health” associates that task with the @phone project and +Health project. Think of projects and contexts like tags that help you filter your task list down to situations in which you can do them, or projects with which they are associated.
Assign existing projects or contexts
If you’ve already entered a project or context, you can add it to a new task by just choosing it from the Project or Context dropdown. The Priority dropdown lets you assign A, B, or C priority to a task.
Main task list
Once you’ve added a few items to your todo.txt file (or copied your existing one to the Dropbox folder and synced), they will be listed in the main screen of the app. Todo.txt Touch automatically colors priorities, and highlights contexts and projects.
Task actions
Long-press any task in the list to bring up a context menu of possible actions: Complete (mark as done), Prioritize (assign a priority), Update (edit the text of the task), or Delete.
Filter tasks
From the Filter menu item, you go to this screen, which lets you filter tasks by any combination of priority, context, or project. The search tab lets you see only tasks which contain a keyword. (We plan to implement search the more standard Android way—by tapping the Search button your handset—soon.)
Tweak your settings
The Settings area of Todo.txt Touch lets you show hidden-by-default task line numbers, automatically prepend today’s date to new tasks, change the default folder in Dropbox where you store todo.txt, and log out of Dropbox. There’s also more information about the whole project in the About box.
A few gotchas in the beta you should know about: the app doesn’t work if you’re not connected to the network, the search button doesn’t trigger search, and there’s no done.txt file support yet—completed tasks remain in your todo.txt file. If you’re an Android developer, help us close some of those issues.
I’ve been having a ball learning about Android development from my fellow project contributors, and I’m thrilled this little experiment has turned into something usable which I’m already living in on my phone.
Download the latest release of the apk here, or scan this barcode:
Todo.txt Touch beta, version 0.1, release 12, 1/18/2011
Ask questions and report any bugs on the Todo.txt mailing list.
13 Comments
UKStevieB
Thanks for this, giving it a try right now 😀
nabilt
Have you tried the Emacs Org Mode? I heard about it on Floss Weekly. It has all kinds of features like a todo list, notebook, project planning, excel style tables, iphone app, dropbox support and it saves in plain text!
If you use emacs it seems like a great tool, but I like the simplicity of your app. Looking forward to trying it out.
carleton
I don’t seem to be able to get this to work on my Incredible. Adding a task either in my dropbox or on my phone doesn’t seem to do anything. I’m just left with “No tasks to display.”
Pete
I just set it up and I am loving the speed and easy of use it gives in maintaining a ToDo list. I noticed you can assign a task to multiple Projects by typing them in the the + sign, is there (or will there be) any way to select multiple Projects from the Project menu? Thanks for the great app, I look forward to using it and seeing it grow!
Siira
Awsome. I love simple solutions like this. It works great! Keep up the good work!
Kevin Purdy
Note that if you install the Dropbox app on your Android, you’ll also get the ability to make a shortcut to the Dropbox folder that this app creates (“todo” by default).
That’s handy for creating a home screen shortcut to your todo.txt file–for reading *and* editing, whether you’re online or off.
1) Install the Dropbox app. Open it up, sign in, then click to view the todo folder. Press the Home button to exit the app.
2) Long-press on a blank spot on your Android home screen, choose Shortcut, then pick “Dropbox folder.” Your last-opened Dropbox folder–todo–will show, and you can click “Choose folder.”
3) Whenever you click that Dropbox shortcut, you’ll see your todo.txt file. Click on that file, and select Drobox’s build-in file editor, or any other text-editing app on your Android, to edit your to-do list manually. Save your file when you’re done, and Dropbox will upload the file right back to your account–or queue it up for uploading, if you’re offline at the moment.
google.com/profiles/mt…
Interesting app. I’ve been using Google Tasks for a while to simplify my tasks list. But with the introduction of my iPad into my workflow its been a little hard to find a good interface. Plus the web version just sucks.
With your app I can just edit the text file on the iPad and computer and use the Android app on the go. Will try porting all my Google Tasks and give it a month try. Thanks for your effort.
dmccall
Congratulations, Gina!
Michael Olsen
With all the Battlestar Galactica references, how could you not install!
DoorToDoorGeek
Frigging genius!!!
Now does anyone know of a desktop client? I would love to be a part of a small group to work on a Linux client
Gina Trapani
Thanks everyone!
@DoorToDoorGeek: The desktop client is your favorite text editor. 🙂
DoorToDoorGeek
@Gina Trapani
My friends need a gui with pretty colors, let me see if I can throw something together with glade
google.com/accounts/o8…
Gina, that’s super; many thanks.
Of course, success begets ingratitude in others, so, “to gild refined gold, to paint the lily”: when you can, and have time, would you care to add “Allow move to SDCard@Todo.txt-Touch”?