Ubuntu

"Check-list" application suggestions, please

Asked by Ed S

Hi all,

I badly need a check-list application that works like this:
- Define a series of tasks to be carried out for each unit of work (for example, editing a document)
- As I complete each task (spellcheck, formatting, headings, etc) on the checklist, I tick it off as "done".
- When all items are completed, my work on that document is done, and I can send it out.
- I would then like to quickly reset the checklist to an un-checked status (all of the tasks will be marked as "undone")... Or quickly create a copy of a "template" checklist, for the next document.

I've looked for packages, but most of the tasklist/to-do applications I found seem to treat a task as a one-off item with a due date/deadline and once marked as done, I have to individually mark each task as "undone", which is painful.

I'm currently using Google Tasks (built into Gmail) which lets me un-check all tasks (by indenting them all under a dummy parent task, whose checked status I toggle). However, that has problems. If I put a document on hold and switch to another, I need a copy of the checklist, for the new doc. Google Tasks doesn't have any direct way to copy a checklist and the workaround ("print preview", copy into GEdit, copy from GEdit, paste into new Tasks list, manually fix indents, notes etc.) was quite painful. Not to mention that when I add a task to my checklist, I have to remember to update the copies as well -- or face an angry client :-(

Then too, I can't use Google Tasks if I happen to be offline (ISP outage etc.).

So I'm hoping to find an app for Ubuntu (GNOME/GTK, QT/KDE, any other UI toolkits no problem... as long as it does what I need!) :-)

Thanks for your suggestions/recommendations!

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Tom
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Best Tom (tom6) said : 		#1

Hi :)

When you say "I've looked for packages" have you used the search features in Synaptic Package Manager?

System - Administration - Synaptic

That is usually a good place to start looking for functionality as it looks in package descriptions as well as titles.

My first thought was to try using the Excel equivalent, OpenOffice Calc, but i think it would need each box to be unticked in turn unless you saved a blank template & then just loaded in the template each time.

I haven't used templates much myself & tend to find i am a bit clumsy with them. I find it difficult to remember to save each new document as a document and keep over-writing the template which gets really annoying. I am sure that OpenOffice is more sophisticated about using templates than MicroSquish Office tho!

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

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Ed S (edgar-b-dsouza) said : 		#2

Yes, I used Synaptic PM as well as Google to search for such applications, but couldn't find a tasklist/checklist application that did what (I mentioned) I needed - which is why I asked the question here.

Using OOo Calc is way too heavy for the purpose, IMO. Adding form controls in a spreadsheet, and remembering to go modify the template when I wanted to change the checklist... not really high-usability, more of a kludge, I feel. I was hoping for an application dedicated to being a checklist.

Thanks
Ed.

Revision history for this message
Tom (tom6) said : 		#3

hi :)

I am sorry i was unhelpful here. Please can you re-post this question? Launchpad does not deal with questions older than 4 days very well and tehre might be new people at the 'front desk' of the Answers section here now
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+addquestion

Please keep it brief this time tho! Perhaps provide the link into this question to help them with detail and see what we have considered and rejected so far
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/107663

This does appear to be a good question for a much wider linux community so i would recommend also asking at
http://www.linuxquestions.org
Again keep it as short as possible might be less discouraging but again please post the link into this thread so they can get detail too.

Posting in more than 1 forum is good especially if whichever does give a good answer is linked to and all threads marked as solved.
Many thanks, apols and regards from
Tom :)

Revision history for this message
Ed S (edgar-b-dsouza) said : 		#4

Thanks for the advice, Tom - I'll post a new question. I tend to get overly verbose sometimes :-( so will keep the new one short and sweet.

Thanks,
Ed.

Revision history for this message
Ed S (edgar-b-dsouza) said : 		#5

Thanks Tom, that solved my question.

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Tom (tom6) said : 		#6

Hi :)

I am not sure how the problem has been solved but hopefully you did manage to find something.

I think it's an usual question & people don't really know what you are asking for as it's outside of most people's experience. It could be worth asking in these other 2 forums too
http://www.ubuntuforums.com
http://www.linuxquestions.org
the latter one is a more general linux forum and a lot of people work in 2 or 3 of these forums to broaden their knowledge.

Getting answers from people with "completely different" version of gnu&linux can be really useful and it's interesting to see just how similar they all are. Try to stick to packages for the Gnome desktop if people ask. Anything for the KDE usually starts with a "K" or a "Qt" anyway so it's usually fairly obvious. If you do find you need a KDE app don't worry because when it installs it will just bring in a LOT of packages it depends on to function properly. Usually it's best to try to keep an install fairly light but sometimes that's not always possible.

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)

Revision history for this message
Ed S (edgar-b-dsouza) said : 		#7

No solution in sight yet, Tom, so I will post on the forums you mention too, thanks.

Using GNOME, I tend to avoid KDE apps because they launch seemingly half the KDE subsystem to run that one app :-( While disk space doesn't matter so much, memory and CPU are still constraints (till we get quantum computers, I guess :) ).

Thanks,
Ed.

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Tom (tom6) said : 		#8

Hi :)

Cool, yeh. I think i would rather dual-boot with Kubuntu rather than add tons of KDE stuff into a Gnome environment. Makes a lot more sense. I don't like KDE on this machine but luckily i don't need any of their apps :)

Are you dual-booting with Windows or have it installed in a virtual machine to get that 1 bit of functionality you need? I was wondering if there's anything useful in "project management" type stuff that could be subverted a bit? I'm not sure if there is any stuff for project management tbh but i would be amazed if there isn't!

Good luck and happy hunting :)
Regards from
Tom :)

Revision history for this message
Ed S (edgar-b-dsouza) said : 		#9

Not to invite any comparisons between KDE and GNOME (though I've probably already done that) :-) but I personally am a GNOME user, and will probably stay that way. I don't really want to use Kubuntu (dual-boot or VM or otherwise).

I have a dual-boot setup of Vista on my laptop, because I was forced to buy a licensed copy with my Dell :-/ but I haven't booted it for nearly a year (the laptop is a little over a year old). I prefer to do it all in Ubuntu :) and my paying work (copyediting for a Linux mag) is very conducive to that :-) -- no need to use Windows, per se. FOSS stuff (I contribute Python code to the Acire project) is also more fun under Linux. I did have a VM of WinXP some time ago, when I was trying to check if a GIMP-Python script I'd written worked with GIMP under Windows as well... but I couldn't get the GIMP+Python installation working, so I abandoned it. It's not really a huge script or anything, so it didn't really matter.

There are plenty of FOSS project management apps for Linux, but:
a) They too follow the due-date-for-each-task, tasks-not-repeated model, that makes it hard to use them as a checklist.
b) They have so much functionality that it would be like getting an earthmover when what I need is a shovel... :-)

Oh, well... if ubuntuforums and linuxquestions can't help, maybe I'll just buckle down to it in a month or so and subvert one of the existing Python+pygtk apps out there to do what I want :-)

Thanks,
Ed.

Revision history for this message
Tom (tom6) said : 		#10

Hi :)

Superb, sounds like you have slightly imperfect options and a good plan. Also sounds like you know a LOT more about all this than me

Good luck and regards from
Tom :)