Creating A To-Do List In WordPress

When you run a hectic business or manage any kind of project that requires people to work as part of a team, time is always in short supply.

There are just so many things to do and remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, projects to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need ”doing” never seems to end.

Now … add the extra workload of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website updated with new content and everything can suddenly begin feeling unmanageable and out of control.

Whether you are running a business, website, blog, or managing a team, you need to be able to organize and manage your daily tasks.

A simple “tried and true” tool that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to take control is to use a “to-do” list.

Benefits Of Using A To Do List

A “to do” list can help you measure your progress as you to get tasks completed. Your to do list can be minutely detailed and very specific, or act as a reminder of tasks that need to be done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc.

Here are just some of the benefits of using to do lists:

Clear Thinking

Creating a to do list means you don’t have to try and remember stuff or store information inside your head. Once tasks are recorded on a to do list, your mind is free to process other information and you can focus on more important things.

Better Strategic Planning

After creating and organizing a to-do list, you can break your workload into more doable tasks and come up with a strategic plan to get things completed on time and on budget.

Keep Work Logs

To-do lists allow you to keep documented logs of what work has been done. You can use this to provide evidence of work to employers or clients, or simply as a method of helping you measure your own productivity and efficiency.

Relieve Stress

Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the fact that there are so many things to do and so very little time to do it all in. Using to do lists let you prioritize urgent things that need to be completed immediately, and reschedule items that can be addressed at a later time. This can help reduce stress.

Sense Of Accomplishment

Crossing items off to do lists gives you a feeling of accomplishment and allows you to stress less, as you can objectively see (or show) that the work is getting done and that things are moving forward.

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to-do list, both in business and in your personal life. Creating to-do lists, then prioritizing tasks and working in a focused way increases your business productivity and efficiency.

Let’s turn now to using a to-do list on your website or blog. More specifically, how to add to do lists to WordPress.

In this tutorial you are going to learn how to easily create to do lists in WordPress 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 The Plugin

http://wordpress.org/plugins/cleverness-to-do-list/

Description

This WordPress plugin provides users with a to-do list feature.

Features

Note: the features listed below are discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.

You can set up the plugin to have private to-do lists for each user, to have all users share the same to-do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.

The shared to-do list has a variety of settings available. You can assign to-do items to a specific user (this includes emailing a new to-do item to the assigned user) and optionally to have those items only viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings available to enable the display of deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to help you manage your lists and your to-do list is also listed on a dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode to display the to do list items on your site. There are two shortcodes for front-end list administration. Management of categories is restricted to the back-end.

If you plan to set up a multi-author blog you can use this to do lists plugin to create custom to do lists for your post editors if you also own the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Installing The Plugin

Log into your site’s dashboard and click on Plugins > Add New …

In the Install Plugins section, type in “cleverness” into the search field and hit the Enter button on your keyboard …

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List item in the Search Results tab and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin after installing it …

Note: You can also activate this plugin from the Plugins area …

When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The plugin’s settings area can also be accessed by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …

This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ page …

Let’s set up the plugin …

Plugin Configuration

The “To-Do List” plugin ‘Settings’ area is divided into 4 tabs:

• To-Do List Settings – The options in this tab let you specify the plugin’s main settings.
• Advanced Settings – In this section you can customize to-do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform plugin database maintenance tasks.
• User Permissions – This tab is where you can set up user permissions and capabilities for Master and Group List types.
• Import/Export – This area is where you export and import your to-do plugin and list data settings.

Let’s now take you through each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

To-Do List Categories

Choose ‘Enabled’ to organize lists into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

Note: When you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item gets added to the To-Do List menu …

This lets you add categories that you can then use to organize your to-do lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

You can set up ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your to-do lists.

Private categories will not be visible using sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to choose how your lists will be viewed. You can choose from 3 types of to-do list views:

• Individual – Choose this option if you want each user to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option allows users to share the same to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you set the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to order to-do list items.

If you choose Alphabetical, ID or Category, ID, Category or Alphabetical options, items will be sorted first by priority.

Show Added By

If enabled (‘Yes’), you can display which of your users has added an item to the to-do list.

Note: This setting only works if ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.

Show Date Completed

If this option is enabled, completion dates will display for your to-do items.

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled, you can specify deadlines for your to-do items …

Show Progress

Enabling this option lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option displays the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling this option lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

Enable this option to display content in to-do list items using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a collaborative website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same plugin developer that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

To learn more this WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – Editorial Solution Plugin For WordPress

After you have configured your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

After you have configured the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to continue …

This brings up the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

In this tab you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and carry out plugin database maintenance.

Let’s go through how to configure the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Customize The To-Do List

This section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab allows you to customize your To Do List …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates on your todo lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about how to format 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 highest (important), middle and low items …

high priority items display in red in the lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

Enabling this option will show item IDs on the to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled (‘Yes’), the date your to-do list was added will display on your 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 settings in this section and assign items to other users …

The following options can be configured in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to assign to-do items 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 this option is enabled, you can display to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled (‘No’) to display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Check the boxes in this area Editor to display the type of users that can be assigned items. If you don’t 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 this option is enabled (‘Yes’), WordPress automatically sends an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

If you don’t want to send out emails to users, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip other items in this section.

Add Category to Subject

If categories are enabled in your plugin settings and you have selected ‘Yes’ for this option, the to-do category will display in the subject of emails sent to users …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want categories added to the subject of your emails.

If you don’t want categories displayed in the email subject, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, you have a number of 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. Type your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

Add into this field the email address that you want to display as the “sent from” email address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Type into this field a subject field for the email that will be distributed automatically to users whenever new items have been added to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, 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 inside the plugin settings area itself …

This is useful if, for example, you see that old to-do items are still displaying on your site.

You can perform the following tasks:

• Delete Tables – Delete custom database tables that you are no longer using.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Remove all to-do items.

Any database operations performed from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are comfortable to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then make sure to backup your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to back up your files yourself, then consider using professional support services, or use a WordPress backup plugin. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress backups here:

• Backup, Duplicate & Protect Your WP Web Sites With Backup Creator WP Plugin

User Permissions

Here you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …

If you choose the Individual List type, the only configurable item that applies in this section is the View To-Do List option …

If you plan to configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to have access to for each option …

The default general capabilities for each user role are configured as follows:

• Subscribers: Read
• Contributors: Edit Posts
• Authors: Publish Posts
• Editors: Edit Others Posts
• Administrators: Manage Options

Note: When working with the Master list type non-administrators should only be permitted to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s review the settings for this tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can allow 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

This permits the selected capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This enables the chosen capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the chosen capability to assign to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

This allows 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 permits the chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

This option enables the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This setting enables the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

Being able to import and export to-do list data can be very useful. For example, you may want to transfer data from an existing to-do list to another website, or store the data for backup or archiving purposes.

To access this function, click on the ‘Import/Export’ tab in your plugin settings section …

Now you can easily export or import your list 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 download and save the data as plain text to a storage device …

In addition to exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your admin menu and choosing Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by selecting ‘All content’ (includes everything – posts, pages, etc…), or selecting ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and clicking the ‘Download Export File’ button to download your file to your hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a list data file, 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 will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you are ready to begin creating and editing to-do lists.

Plugin Usage

To create a new to-do list, log into your WordPress admin, then go to the menu and click on To-Do List > To-Do List …

This brings up the ‘To-Do List’ screen …

How To Add New To-Do Items To Your List

There are several ways to add new to-do items to your list.

For example, you can add new to-do items to your list from your dashboard toolbar …

You can also add new to-do items inside your Dashboard by clicking on the ‘Add To-Do item’ link …

You can also 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, since the link is only going to send you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the page) …

The above methods will take you to the ‘Add New To-Do Item’ section.

Depending on how you have configured your plugin’s settings, you may or may not see certain options displayed when when you add new to-do items.

Configure the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter appropriate values and information into the relevant fields and click on the ‘Submit To-Do Item’ button to add the to-do item …

Note: If you have chosen a list type that lets you assign tasks to users, select a user from the drop-down list and assign them the item …

You can also assign items to multiple users (click on ‘x’ to delete users) …

After an item has been added, the item will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do Items’ table …

Repeat the above process to continue adding new items to your to-do list …

Editing And Removing Items From Your List

To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons associated with each item under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on how you have set up the plugin (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

After creating your to-do list, users can view it when logged into their dashboard …

When users responsible for completing an item tick the item checkbox …

… the item disappears from the “To-Do” list …

And displays in the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the ’To-Do List’ page …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress site using widgets, and display lists on any page or post using shortcodes.

Plugin Widget

To add to-do lists 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 the to-do list to show …

Configure the settings in the widget and click on the ‘Save’ button …

Your to-do list will display where you have placed the widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

To learn more about using WordPress widgets, see the tutorial below:

• Using s

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Shortcodes

You can also create to-do lists to your site by placing shortcodes into your content.

To access the plugin’s shortcode documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your dashboard menu …

Click the ‘Help’ tab on the top right hand corner of your screen …

Click on the ‘Shortcodes’ menu to access the Shortcode Documentation …

This section explains different ways to configure and use shortcodes for displaying lists and checklists on your pages and posts.

Once you know what type of information you would like to display on your site, create a new post or page and either type or paste the shortcode inside the content editor …

After publishing your page or post, you will see the list displayed in the location where you added the short code …

To download this plugin, visit the plugin website here:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can add to-do lists in WordPress.

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