Things
Move and copy things
Moving sends a thing somewhere else. Copying leaves the original behind.
Why you'd care
A thing rarely lands in its final home, because capture is deliberately careless. Moving is the cleanup step, and it is worth knowing that it is lossless.
The shortcuts
| Action | Mac | Windows and Linux |
|---|---|---|
| Move to list | ⌘⇧M | Ctrl+Shift+M |
| Move a copy to list | ⌘⇧⌥M | Ctrl+Shift+Alt+M |
| Duplicate thing | ⌘⌃⌥D | Ctrl+Alt+D |
| Move to Today | ⌘⇧O | Ctrl+Shift+O |
| Move to Tomorrow | ⌘⇧P | Ctrl+Shift+P |
| Copy to Today | ⌘⇧⌥O | Ctrl+Shift+Alt+O |
| Copy to Tomorrow | ⌘⇧⌥P | Ctrl+Shift+Alt+P |
⌘⇧O and ⌘⇧P skip the list picker entirely, which is why they are the two worth memorising.
What travels with it
Everything. Tags, reminders, notes, photos, star, completion state and history all move with the thing. It remains the same thing, not a new one that looks similar.
The one thing that adjusts is indentation, which is re-based so a deeply nested thing does not arrive floating in a flat list.
Going further
Move, copy or clone. Moving relocates. Copying makes an independent second thing that then diverges. Cloning makes a live linked copy that stays in sync in both directions. See clones. Plus
Web, Mac, Windows, and Linux
Dragging is faster than the picker for anything visible. Drop onto a list in the sidebar or a day in the week bar. Hold ⌘ + drag to copy instead of move, or ⌥ + drag to clone.
iPhone, iPad, and Android
Swipe actions can be bound to move, which turns relocating into one gesture. See swipes and the three bars.
It works on a selection. Moving twenty things is the same action as moving one. See select many things at once.
Tips
- Move to Tomorrow is the whole evening routine. Two taps and the day is closed.
- Copy is rarer than people expect. If you want the same thing in two places and want both to stay current, you want a clone.
If it's not working
Move is greyed out. On a shared list you may only have view access.
The reminder did not come with it. It did. What may not have moved is the alert time if it was already overdue. See Settings Calendar & Reminders Carry over reminders.