Creating A To-Do List In WordPress

When you are running a growing business or managing any kind of project that requires people to work as a group, there are never enough hours in the day to get things done.

There is just so much to do and remember. You have clients to meet, urgent tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, calls and appointments to make, commitments to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never ends.

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with regular content and everything can start to become unmanageable and out of control.

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

A ”tried and true” method 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.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list can help you measure your progress as you complete projects. Your to do list can be minutely detailed and very specific, or serve as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.

Here are just a few of the many benefits of using to-do lists:

Free Your Brain

Creating a to do list means that you don’t have to memorize things or clutter your mind with details. Once things are jotted down on a to do list, your mind is free to process information and you can focus on things that are more important to you.

Strategize

By creating and organizing your to do list, you can see the bigger picture and create a strategy for getting everything completed on time and on budget.

Document Your Work

A to-do list lets you retain documented logs of what work has been done. You can use this to provide evidence of work done to clients or employers, or just as a way of helping you assess your own productivity and efficiency.

Ensures Accountability

Without accountability there’s no commitment to completion, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability can also allow excuses to creep in and take over your work day.

Better Work Delegation

To-do lists help you better assign work to other people. This is also important when collaborating on a team-based project (see further below).

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to do list, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work things systematically and your business productivity and efficiency will improve.

Let’s turn now to using to do lists on your website. More specifically, how to add to do lists to WordPress.

In this detailed tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add to do lists to your WordPress website or blog to help your business grow online  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to do list WordPress plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Download The Plugin

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

Plugin Description

This WordPress plugin lets you easily add a customizable to-do list to a WordPress site.

Features

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

You can configure Cleverness To-Do List to assign private to-do lists for individual users, to have all users share your to-do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

The shared to do list option has a variety of settings available. You can delegate to do items to a specific user (this includes emailing a new to-do item to assigned users) and optionally to have those items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users. There are also settings to show 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 lists can also appear on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as short code to display the to do list items on your site. There are 2 shortcodes for front-end administration of your list. Management of categories is accessed via the back-end admin section.

If you plan to run a multi-author site you can use this plugin to create custom to do lists for your post editors if you also install a copy of the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Plugin Installation

Log into your WordPress admin and in the menu click on Plugins > Add New …

In the Install Plugins screen, type in “cleverness” into the search field and hit Enter …

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List entry in the Search Results section and click Install Now …

Activate the plugin …

Note: You can also activate the plugin in the Plugins screen …

After you have activated the plugin, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the plugin’s ‘Settings’ section by choosing To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ page …

The section below shows you how to go through the plugin setup process …

How To Set Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The plugin’s ‘Settings’ screen is divided into four tabs:

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

Let’s now configure each of these tabs.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

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

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

This allows you to add categories that can help organize your lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

You can create ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your lists.

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

List View

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

• Individual – Selecting this option lets users create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Selecting this option lets all users share one to-do list.
• Master – Choose this option 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 configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

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

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

Show Added By

If this option is enabled, you can display which of your members has added an item to your to-do list.

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

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option displays completion dates for to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), 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 WordPress Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) 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 to-do lists.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you plan to run a collaborative site or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same plugin developer to help make the process of managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …

To learn more about using this WordPress plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Plugin

When you have finished configuring your plugin options, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

After configuring the settings in the To-Do List Settings tab, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab to proceed …

This brings you to the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ area …

This screen lets you customize your To Do lists, assign to-do tasks to users and perform database maintenance tasks.

Let’s take you 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 …

The following options can be configured in this section:

Date Format

Here you can 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, visit the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize your labels for highest, middle (normal) and lowest (low) priority items …

Highest priority items display in red in your lists and lowest priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If enabled (‘Yes’), the items’ IDs show on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled (‘Yes’), the date the to-do list was added will display on your To-Do Items table …

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 section and assign items to other users …

The following settings can be configured in this area:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you 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

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display to-do items only to users who have been specifically assigned those items. Leaving this option disabled will display to-do items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area Contributor displays the type of users that can be assigned to-do 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 you enable this option, WordPress automatically sends an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want emails sent out to users.

Note: If you disable this option, you can skip the 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 in the subject of emails sent to users …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to show categories in the email subject.

If you don’t want categories displayed in the email subject, then leave this option disabled.

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 is a useful option if you have multiple 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 email notifications to users. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Add the email address that you want showing as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add a subject field for the email that will be sent automatically to users when new items have been assigned to your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

Type into this field 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 area allows you to perform database maintenance operations related to plugin data directly from your plugin settings area without having to log into your web server …

This function is useful if, for example, you notice that old todo items are still showing on your site.

You can perform the tasks below:

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

Any database operations performed from this screen cannot be reversed. If you are sure that you want to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then we recommend backing up your database first.

If you don’t want to perform manual backups, then get professional WordPress help services, or use a backup plugin. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that can automate your backup process here:

• Back Up, Duplicate & Keep Your WordPress Website Protected With Backup Creator Plugin For WP

User Permissions

This section lets you configure user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types …

If you are using the Individual List type, the only item applicable in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you are setting up user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you want users to perform for each option …

By 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 using the Master list type non-administrators should only be allowed to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list.

Let’s now review the settings in the User Permissions tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can allow the chosen capability to view to-do items in the dashboard widget and on the To-Do List page under the ‘Tools’ section.

Complete To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to mark items as completed or uncompleted.

Add To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to add new to-do items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This setting enables the selected capability to modify existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to delegate items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to view all tasks even if “Show Each User Only Their Assigned Tasks” is set to ‘Yes’.

Delete To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to delete individual to-do 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 allows 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 copy over 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 area …

Use this section to export or import your list and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

You can export and download your data settings by clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This opens up a window allowing you to view or save your data as plain text to a storage device …

In addition to 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 an 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 an internal or external hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a previously saved to-do list data file, click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Select the previously saved to-do list data file and click ‘Open’ …

Once your data file has been uploaded in your settings area, click on ‘Import Settings’ …

The data from the existing to-do file will be imported.

Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you can start creating and editing to-do 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’ page …

Add New To Do Items To Your List

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 toolbar …

You can also add new to-do items in your 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 already contains many items, as the link is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section down the screen) …

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

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, you may or may not see certain options displayed when new items to your to-do list.

Configure 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 to-do item …

Note: If you have selected 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 make multiple users responsible for the same item (click on ‘x’ to delete users) …

Once After adding a new item, the item will display as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat this process to add new items to your list …

Edit And Delete To Do Items

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 (see previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive email notifications …

Once you have created your to-do list, users can view the list from their WP user dashboard …

When a user assigned with completing an item ticks the item checkbox …

… the item no longer appears in the “To-Do” list …

And gets listed the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ screen …

Additional Information

The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your site using widgets, and insert a list into content inside a post or page using short codes.

Widgets

To add a to-do list to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ page (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the menu location where you would like your list to show …

Configure the settings in the widget and click the ‘Save’ button to update your settings …

The to-do list will appear on your site where the widget was placed (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Plugin Shortcodes

Cleverness To-Do List also lets you add lists on your site by placing short codes into your content.

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

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

Click on the ‘Shortcodes’ tab to access the Shortcode Documentation section …

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

Once you know what type of information you want to display on your site, create or edit a new or existing post or page and either type or paste the short code inside the content area …

After publishing your post or page, you will see the list displayed where you added the shortcode …

Visit the plugin website to learn more about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to create and add a to-do list to your WordPress site or blog.

***

***