ForumsQuestionsDue date field clarification
Due date field clarification
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Andrew |
While using Toodledo for the first time, I noticed that there are several options for due dates. I consulted the help document, but I am still slightly confused.
What is the difference between "due by" and "due after"? What is the difference between "due on" and "optionally on"? The help doc says that "optionally on" will automatically remove the task the following day if not completed, but shouldn't "due on" have the same functionality? And where does it go when it is "removed"? |
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Anders |
Posted by Andrew:
What is the difference between "due by" and "due after"? Due by means it is due until that day, and then it becomes overdue. I have never used due after, but I believe it works basically like a start date. The task will be a future task until the due after date. What is the difference between "due on" and "optionally on"? The help doc says that "optionally on" will automatically remove the task the following day if not completed, but shouldn't "due on" have the same functionality? And where does it go when it is "removed"? Tasks that are due optionally are just that, optional. If you don't complete it, the task will not become overdue as a task with a due on or due by date would. Optional tasks disappear if not completed. If you set up a repeating optional task, it will simply be moved up to the next occurance if not completed. Tasks due on a specific date will become overdue tasks after that date. This message was edited May 01, 2009. |
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Andrew |
So about the "optionally on" option: the task will NOT be hidden, but when the date passes, it will remove itself, correct? That seems like it can apply to a lot of things.
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Anders |
Whether the task is hidden or not before the optional due date depends on your filter/account setting. It will behave just like a task with a due on date up until the due date. The difference is only that, because it is optional, it will disappear rather than becoming overdue. It is a useful feature. I use it mostly with repeat for stuff I would like to do and want to be reminded of. For instance you could have a daily optional exercise task. If you don't do it one day, it will just bump to the next day. Whereas if you use a regular repeating task for this purpose, I believe you would end up with an overdue exercise task, and the new task, after missing a day. Some things like that can never really be overdue.
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Andrew |
Alright, I'm still not really clear on the "due after" part. Does it really function like a start date? I notice that when I apply a start date and apply the "Hide Future Tasks" filter, I do not see any tasks that have start dates in the future. However, if I apply a "date after" and apply the "Hide Future Tasks" filter, it also hides the tasks, but only those that are at least a week into the future. What exactly does the "due after" field do?
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Anders |
Interesting. I thought they worked pretty much the same way. I rarely use due after, so I had not noticed that. Hopefully Toodledo can clear this up.
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Andrew |
I found this behavior described in the iPhone app documentation, so I guess it's not a bug, but I would have expected it to act the same as a start date.
This message was edited May 04, 2009. |
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thpope |
It is confusing. I figured if you use start dates, then due date modifiers are not needed really. The modifiers seem interesting to me. ? (optional) is the one I like the most, but it doesn't quite work the way I expect. I guess I thought it was more like a "soft" due date rather than a hard due date.
I believe you can change the setting for hiding future tasks with no start date. I think the default is 1 week, but you can reduce or extend that. I'm not sure about the iphone app. I guess it would be the same. But if you use start dates, I believe they will override due date modifiers. |
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Jake Toodledo Founder |
Sorry for the confusion. It does appear that our iPhone documentation is not consistent.
The "Hide future tasks" filter on the iPhone works just like it does on our website, which is described here: http://www.toodledo.com/info/help.php?sel=65 |
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Andrew |
I'll just use the start date then, no big deal. But there is just one more small thing I want to mention. While the link provided in the previous post is clear, the same thing I pointed out in the iPhone documentation is present in the website documentation.
From http://www.toodledo.com/info/help.php?sel=42 Sometimes a task cannot be completed until after a specific duedate. You can use the "due after" option (abbreviated by ">") to tell Toodledo the earliest date that this task can be completed. For example ">2008-01-01" means that this task cannot be completed until Jan 1, 2008 has passed. Toodledo will know not to bug you about this task until the specified date arrives.
This message was edited May 04, 2009. |
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Jake Toodledo Founder |
Thanks. We'll fix it.
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