Things
Anatomy of a thing
A thing is one line of text, plus everything you can attach to that line.
Why you'd care
Almost every question that starts "can I add a…" has the same answer: yes, to the thing itself. There is no separate task object with different fields. Understanding what one thing can hold explains most of the product at once.
What a thing can carry
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Text | The line itself, with bold, italic, underline and links |
| Type | Note, to-do, dash, bullet, number or divider. See thing types |
| Completion | Checked, canceled, or neither |
| Star | A favourite, collected in the Stars view |
| Tags | #hashtags for cross-cutting grouping Plus |
| Reminder | A date and time, optionally repeating |
| Note | A longer body underneath the line. See notes |
| Photos | One or more images |
| Link preview | A rich card for a URL in the text |
| Indent | Its position under the thing above it |
| History | When it was created, completed or canceled |
Going further
Nothing is required. A thing with only text is a complete, normal thing. Every other field is optional, and most things never get one.
It stays the same thing as it changes. Adding a checkbox, moving it to another list, or letting it carry to tomorrow does not create a copy. Its tags, note and history come with it, which is why a to-do you finish three weeks later still records the day you actually finished it.
A thing can become a list. Promoting it to a sublist keeps its text as the name. See sublists.
Tips
- Resist filling in fields. A thing with five attributes is rarely more useful than one with a clear sentence.
- If you find yourself wanting more structure than this, you probably want a list, not a bigger thing.