Gmail Finally Gets A To-Do List | Hacker News Reader

Gmail Finally Gets A To-Do List

techcrunch.com

44 pointsnreece16 comments

I would prefer to-do lists in google calendar instead. Google calendar is available via the iCal standard, and it can handle to-do lists as well.

I agree. I think it is the natural place to have a to-do list. I also don't really like the Remember the Milk add-on. I usually don't think of to-dos as thing that are associated with a particular day. They are just a laundry list of things that need to get done. It would be nice to see the to-dos in the context of what my schedule looks like for the day (i.e. My Google calendar).

It's funny how the author mentions emailing himself as an alternative to setting todos. I do the same thing, especially when i have to remind myself to do something when i get home and i'm at work (where gmail is banned).

On that note, i wonder if there'd be a way of emailing yourself with some sort of prefix in the subject to set a todo externally? That sounds like a good idea, right?

You can get halfway there already. The following addresses are equivalent in gmail:

firstlast@gmail.com

first.last@gmail.com (dots are ignored)

firstlast+work@gmail.com ( http://lifehacker.com/software/top/instant-disposable-gmail-... )

You can use these techniques to create filters that apply labels automatically. So if you already have a label for todo items you can use this if you want to set a todo externally. I would expect that would make its way to filter actions eventually for the new todo tool.

Talk about a bad day for Remember The Milk, who has been courting Google for some time and hoping for a marriage proposal.

At least in the current version I definitely prefer RTM. No chat box, "understands" if I write tomorrow...

On the other hand Sandy is closing shop.

I like one big file of to do items and miscellaneous notes, and Google Docs is good for that, for me. With Google Docs, you can send an email to yourself and it will be converted into a Google document. Here's the link:

http://docs.google.com/DocAction?action=updoc&hl=en

The subject line becomes the filename, and the body of the message goes into the document.

It would be perfect for me if it did one thing differently. If you send two emails with subject "To Do" and different message body, you get two files named "To Do." I want the second message appended to the first document. Maybe they'll offer that sometime.

I'll be more impressed when Gmail supports RFC'd headers like Resent-From and Resent-To. They were in RFC 822 (1982) and are still in RFC 2822 (2001). How can an email client be written that doesn't handle these basic headers? It suggests the RFCs weren't read.

For task and shopping lists, I always recommend emacs Org Mode, but then I find I have to justify using emacs :).

I can update my grocery list for example, and publish it as html which I retrieve from my mobile phone at the store.

finally, a to-do list with sub-tasks...

I'm a bit confused. How do you just get to your to-do list from the gmail homepage view?

I was lost on this one as well. So I made a TODO from an email. Removed that task, modified my list with what I wanted and then just minimized it. It's always in my gmail now, so it's not perfect but atleast I know how to open the window

anyone know if there's a google gadget for the to-do list?

I wonder if google will ever open up the labs for outside contributors (or has google already done that and I have just been clueless for the past few weeks/months)?

There is the “Add any gadget by URL” at the bottom of Labs settings page which goes some way towards this.

For example, Remember the Milk offer: http://www.rememberthemilk.com/services/gmail/gadget/

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