Creating To Do Lists In WordPress
Time is always in short supply, especially if you are a business owner or busy project manager.
There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have clients to meet, urgent tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never seems to stop.
Now … on top of all this, add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with fresh content and things can start to feel unmanageable and out of control.
Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and manage your daily tasks.
A ”tried and true” method that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to regain control is to use “to-do” lists.
Benefits Of Using To Do Lists
A “to do” list can help you measure your progress as you complete projects. Your to do list can be detailed and very specific, or act as a reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.
Here are just some of the benefits of using to-do lists:
Keep Things Organized
A to do list helps you create order, keep things organized and achieve goals sooner.
Strategize
By creating and organizing a to do list, you can view the bigger picture and come up with a strategic plan to get things done effectively.
Document Your Work
A to do list lets you keep documented logs of what has been done. This can be used to provide evidence of work done to clients or employers, or simply as a method of helping you measure your own productivity and efficiency.
Reduce Stress
Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and so little time to do it all in. Creating to do lists let you work on important tasks that need to get done immediately, and reschedule tasks that can be addressed later. This can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and help to take away some of the stress you (and your team) may be feeling.
Feeling Of Accomplishment
Crossing items off to do lists not only helps you feel more productive, motivated and in-control, it also allows you to relax more, as you can objectively see (or show) that the work is being completed and that milestones are being reached.
As you can see, there are many benefits to using to-do lists, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work in a systematic way and efficiency and productivity in your business will increase.
Let’s turn now to using to-do lists on your website. More specifically, how to add a to-do list to WordPress.
In this detailed step-by-step tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add a to do list to your WordPress website or blog to help your team get things done faster and more efficiently using a great little WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.
Cleverness To-Do List
Download URL
http://wordpress.org/plugins/cleverness-to-do-list/
Plugin Description
This plugin provides users with a to do list feature.
Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features
Note: the plugin features listed below will be discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.
You can set up the plugin to assign private to-do lists for individual users, to have all users share a to-do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.
The shared to-do list offers different settings. You can delegate to-do items to specific users (this includes emailing new to do items to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items only seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings to display deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.
A new menu item is added to the backend to help you manage your list and your to-do lists can also appear on a dashboard widget.
A sidebar widget is available as well as shortcode to display the to do list items on your blog. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is restricted to the back-end.
If you plan to set up a multi-author site you can use the to-do lists plugin to create custom to-do lists for your post planners if you also install the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.
How To Install The Plugin
Log into your WordPress admin and select Plugins > Add New …
In the Install Plugins screen, type in “cleverness” into the search field and click the Enter button on your keyboard …
Locate the plugin in the Search Results tab and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
Note: You can also activate the plugin from the Plugins area …
After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …
Note: You can also get to the plugin’s settings section by selecting To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …
This brings you to the ‘Settings’ area …
Let’s set up the plugin …
Setting Up The Plugin
The Settings screen is divided into 4 sections:
- To-Do List Settings – This section is where you specify the main plugin settings.
- Advanced Settings – The options in this tab let you customize your To Do lists, assign tasks to other users and perform database maintenance tasks.
- User Permissions – Here you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types.
- Import/Export – This tab is where you can export and import to-do plugin and list data settings.
Let’s now review each of these tabs.
To-Do List Settings
Categories
Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize your list into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.
Note: If you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item will be added to the To-Do List plugin menu …
This allows you to add categories to your lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …
You can set up ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your lists.
Categories marked ‘private’ will not be visible using the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)
List View
List View allows you to specify how lists are viewed. You can choose three list views:
- Individual – Select this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
- Group – Select this option if you want all users to be able to share the same to-do list.
- Master – Use this option to create one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If using the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you adjust the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).
Sort Order
‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to sort list items.
If you choose ID, Alphabetical, or Category options, items will be sorted first by priority.
Show Added By
If this option is enabled, you can display which users on your site have added an item to the to-do list.
Note: This setting only applies if ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.
Show Date Completed
If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), completion dates will display for to-do items.
Show Deadline
Enabling this option lets you specify deadlines for to-do items …
Show Progress
Enabling this option lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …
Show Admin Bar Menu
If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …
Use WYSIWYG Editor
This menu option lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …
Use Auto Paragraphs
If enabled (‘Yes’), automatic paragraphs are used to display content in your to-do lists.
Integrate with Post Planner
If you plan to run a collaborative website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, developed by the same plugin author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …
Visit this site to learn more about using this plugin: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Multi-Author Publishing Plugin
When you have configured your options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …
Advanced Settings
After configuring the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to proceed …
This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ area …
This screen lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and carry out database maintenance tasks.
Let’s step through how to configure the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …
To-Do List Advanced Settings > Customize The To-Do List
In this section you can customize your To Do List …
You can configure the following options in this section:
Date Format
This section lets you specify how to display dates in your to-do list (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)
Note: To learn more about formatting dates in WordPress, refer to the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:
WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time
Priority Labels
This section lets you customize your labels for prioritizing important, middle and lowest (low) items …
Items given the highest priority are shown in red in the lists and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …
Show To-Do Item ID
Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays the items’ IDs on the to-do list …
Show Date To-Do Was Added
If enabled, the date the to-do list was added will show on the table of items …
To-Do List Advanced Settings > Assign To-Do Items Settings
If you have chosen ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this area and assign items to other users …
You can configure the following options in this area:
Assign To-Do Items to Users
Enable this option to assign tasks to other users …
Note: This setting must be set to ‘Yes’ for the settings below it to work.
Show a User Only the To-Do Items Assigned to Them
If enabled (‘Yes’), you can display tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display to-do items to all users.
User Roles to Show
Check the boxes in this section Author to display the type of users that can be assigned items. If you do not want to assign to-do items to a specific role, then don’t tick its check box.
Email Assigned To-Do Items to User
When you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send users an email with their assigned to-do items …
If you don’t want to send out emails to users, then leave this option disabled.
Note: If you disable this option, you can skip other settings in this section.
Add Category to Subject
If you have enabled categories in your plugin settings and select ‘Yes’ for this option, the to-do category will display on the subject of your emails …
Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to display to-do categories in the subject of your emails.
If you don’t want to-do categories to display the email subject, then leave this option disabled.
Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email
Enable this option to display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, you have several project managers assigning to-do items to users …
From Field for Emails Sent to User
Use this field to customize the “From” field when sending out emails. Add the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …
From Email
Type in the email address that you would like displayed as the “sent from” address …
Subject Field for Emails Sent to User
Add a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent to users when new items have been added in your to-do list …
Text in Emails Sent to User
Enter the body of the email message that will be sent out automatically to users when a new item has been assigned to your to-do list.
To-Do List Advanced Settings > Database Cleanup
This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to carry out database maintenance operations associated with plugin data directly from the plugin settings area itself …
This function is useful if, for example, you notice that todo items you have deleted are still showing up on your site.
You can perform the tasks below in this section:
- Delete Tables – Remove any custom database tables that you are no longer using.
- Delete All To-Do Items – Erase all to-do items.
Any actions that you perform on your database from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then make sure to backup your WP database first.
If you don’t want to back up your files manually, then consider hiring a professional service, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:
User Permissions
Here you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …
If you have selected Individual List, the only item that is applicable for this section is the View To-Do List permission …
If you plan to configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to perform for each option …
By default, general capabilities of each user role are set up as follows:
- Subscribers: Read
- Contributors: Edit Posts
- Authors: Publish Posts
- Editors: Edit Others Posts
- Administrators: Manage Options
Note: When using the Master list type make sure that you only permit non-administrators to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.
Here is a description of the settings for this tab:
View To-Do List
This allows the selected capability to view items in the dashboard widget and on the To-Do List page under the ‘Tools’ section.
Complete To-Do Item Capability
Here you can permit the chosen capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.
Add To-Do Item Capability
Here you can permit the chosen capability to add new to-do items.
Edit To-Do Item Capability
This enables the selected capability to modify existing to-do items.
Assign To-Do Item Capability
This option enables the selected capability to assign to-do items to individual users.
View All Assigned Tasks Capability
Here you can enable the chosen capability to view all tasks even if “Show Each User Only Their Assigned Tasks” is set to ‘Yes’.
Delete To-Do Item Capability
This option enables the chosen capability to delete individual items.
Delete All To-Do Items Capability
Here you can allow the selected capability to purge all the completed to-do items.
Add Categories Capability
This option permits the chosen capability to add new categories.
Import/Export
The ability to import and export to-do list data can be very useful. For example, you may decide to transfer data from an existing list to another website, or export the data for backup or archiving purposes.
To access this function, click on the ‘Import/Export’ tab in your plugin settings area …
Use this section to import and export your to-do list data and plugin settings …
Exporting To-Do List Data
You can export and download your to-do list data settings by clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ …
This will open up a new window allowing you to view or save your data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …
As well as exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress admin menu and selecting Tools > Export …
You can include to-do list data in a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by selecting ‘All content’ (includes everything – pages, posts, etc…), or selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to your storage medium…
Importing To-Do List Data
Importing a previously saved to-do list data file is easy. Just click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …
Locate the previously saved to-do list data file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …
After uploading your data file, click on ‘Import Settings’ …
Your file data will be imported.
Now that you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can begin create and edit your lists.
Plugin Usage
To create a new to-do list, go to your WordPress dashboard menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …
This brings you to the ‘To-Do List’ screen …
Adding New To-Do Items
There are a number of ways to add new to-do items.
For example, you can add new to-do items to your list from your WP dashboard bar …
You can also add new to-do items in the Dashboard by clicking on the ‘Add To-Do item’ link …
You can click on the ‘Add New Item’ link in the ‘To-Do Items’ section (note: only use this option if your To Do list contains many items, as the link will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the page) …
All the above methods will take you to the ‘Add New To-Do Item’ section.
Depending on how you have configured the plugin settings, some options may not display when when you add new to-do items.
Select the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter appropriate information into the relevant fields and click on the ‘Submit To-Do Item’ button to add the item to your list …
Note: If you have chosen a list type that lets you assign items to users, select a user from the drop-down list and assign them the item …
You can also assign multiple users to the same item (click on ‘x’ to remove a user) …
Once After adding a new item, it will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …
Repeat the above process to keep adding items to your list …
Editing And Deleting Items
To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons next to each item under the ‘Action’ column …
Depending on how you have configured your plugin settings (discussed earlier), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …
Once you have created your to-do list, users can view it when logged into their dashboard …
When users responsible for completing an item click on the item check box …
… the item no longer appears in the “To-Do” list …
And appears in the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin page …
Additional Information
The Cleverness To-Do List plugin offers added functionality that lets you display a to-do list on your WordPress website using widgets, and insert a list into any post or page using short codes.
Using The Plugin Widget
To add a to-do list to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ section (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the menu location where you want your list to show …
Configure the settings on the widget and click ’Save’ …
The to-do list will display on your site where you have added the ‘to-do-list’ widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)
To learn more about using widgets in WordPress, see the tutorial below:
Using The Cleverness Plugin Short Codes
You can also create to-do lists to your site by inserting shortcodes into your content.
To access the plugin’s shortcode documentation, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from your WP admin menu …
Click the ‘Help’ tab on the corner of your screen …
Click on the ‘Shortcodes’ tab to access the Shortcode Documentation …
The documentation section explains various ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists and checklists on your pages and posts.
Once you know what type of information you want to add to your site, create a new page or post and either type or paste the short code into the content editor …
After publishing your post or page, you should see the list showing exactly where you entered the short code …
Go here to download this plugin:
Congratulations! Now you can add a to-do list in WordPress.
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