Creating A To Do List In WordPress

When you run a fast-paced business or manage any kind of project that involves people working together, time is always in short supply.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, deliveries to make, commitments to keep and so on. The amount of things that need to get done never seems to stop.

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website updated with fresh content and everything suddenly begins to feel unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, you need to be able to organize and manage your daily activities.

One ”tried and true” method that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to gain some control is to use a “to-do” list.

To Do Lists – Benefits

A “to do” list can help you track your progress as you complete tasks. Your to-do list can be detailed and very specific, or act as a concise reminder of what needs to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

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

To-Do Lists Create Order

A to-do list helps you create order, stay organized and reach goals sooner.

Be More Strategic

After creating and organizing your to do list, you can view the bigger picture and formulate a strategic plan to get everything completed efficiently.

Quickly Reorganize Or Reschedule

Using to-do lists let you better deal with events. If a meeting gets cancelled at the last minute or extra time has been made available because something was completed sooner than expected, you can continue working with little to no disruption.

Stress Less

Stress can come from feeling overwhelmed by so much to do and very little time to do it in. Using a to do list lets you work on urgent items that have to get done within the time you have available, and push out non-urgent items that can be addressed at a later time. This can help you stress less.

Better Delegation Of Tasks

Having to-do lists help you better delegate tasks to others. This is also important if you plan to collaborate 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. Creating a to do list, prioritizing tasks and working systematically improves your business productivity and efficiency.

What about using to do lists on your website?

In this detailed step-by-step tutorial we are going to show you how to easily add a to-do list to your WordPress site to help your team get things done  faster and more efficiently using a customizable, multi-featured to do list plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To-Do List

Download The Plugin

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

Plugin Description

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

Plugin Features

Note: the features described 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 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 delegate to do items to a specific user (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to assigned users) and optionally to have assigned items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings available to show deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the admin backend to manage your list and your to do lists can also appear on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is also available as shortcode to display the to do list items on your blog. There are two short codes for front-end administration of the list. Category management is accessible via the back-end.

If you plan to set up a multi-author site you can use this plugin to create custom to do lists for your post planners if you also install the Post Planner plugin for WordPress.

Plugin Installation

Log into your WP admin scroll down the menu click on Plugins > Add New …

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

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

Activate the plugin …

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

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: You can also get to the settings area by selecting To-Do List > Settings from the dashboard menu …

This takes you to the plugin ‘Settings’ screen …

Let’s set up the plugin …

Plugin Configuration

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

• To-Do List Settings – The options in this section let you specify the main plugin settings.
• Advanced Settings – This area is where you can customize your to-do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform database maintenance tasks.
• User Permissions – The options in this tab let you set up user permissions and capabilities for Master and Group List types.
• Import/Export – This section is where you can import and export 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: If you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item will be added to the To-Do List plugin menu …

This lets you add categories to your lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

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

Categories set to ‘private’ are not visible using the sidebar widgets or short codes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

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

• Individual – Selecting this option lets each user create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Use this option if you want all users to be able to share the same to-do list.
• Master – Select this option to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you choose 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-do list items will be sorted.

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

Show Added By

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

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

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays completion dates for your to-do tasks.

Show Deadline

If enabled, you will be able to specify deadlines for to-do tasks …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

If enabled, the ‘To-Do List’ menu will display in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

If this option is enabled, you will be able to 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 lists using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

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

For more details about using this handy plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner – WordPress Editorial Solution Plugin

After configuring your options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button …

Advanced Settings

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

This brings up the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …

This tab lets you customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and carry out database maintenance.

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 area you can customize your To Do List …

The following options 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 formatting dates in WordPress, refer to the date section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

This section lets you customize your labels for prioritizing important, normal and lowest (low) items …

Items given the highest priority are color-coded in red and lowest (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 list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), the date your to-do list was added appears on your To-Do Items table …

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Assign To-Do Items Settings

If you have chosen either ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this section and assign items to other users …

You can configure the following options in this section:

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

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display tasks only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this area Author displays the type of users that can be assigned items. Leave the check box unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If this option is enabled, WordPress automatically sends an email to users with their assigned to-do items …

If you don’t want emails sent out 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 categories in the email subject.

If you don’t want categories to appear 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 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 email notices. Enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …

From Email

Enter 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 automatically sent to users whenever 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 section of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab lets you carry out database maintenance operations associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area …

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

The tasks below can be performed in this section:

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

Any actions that you perform on the 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 perform your own site backups, then consider getting help from a WordPress professional, or use a backup plugin. You can learn more about a WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to completely automate your WordPress file and database backups here:

• Back Up, Clone & Protect Your WordPress Site With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

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

If you have selected Individual List, 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 would like users to be able to perform for each option …

By default, general capabilities for each user role are set 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 allowed to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s go through the settings for this section:

View To-Do List

Here you can allow the selected 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

This setting allows the selected capability to mark items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

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

Edit To-Do Item Capability

This enables the chosen capability to edit existing to-do items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can enable the selected capability to delegate 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 enables the chosen capability to delete individual to-do items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can permit 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 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 import and export your list and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

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

This will open up a window allowing you to view or save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

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

You can include to-do list data in a WordPress export file (in XML format), either by checking ‘All content’ (includes everything – posts, pages, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click 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 …

Locate the previously saved to-do list data file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

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

Your file data will be imported.

Once you have configured all of the plugin settings, you can start create and edit to-do lists.

How To Use The Plugin

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 to your list.

For example, you can add new to-do items from your WP admin bar …

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 take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section at the bottom of the screen) …

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

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

Select 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 item to your list …

Note: If you are using a list type that allows you to assign responsibilities over 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 remove users) …

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

Repeat this process to continue adding items to your to-do list …

Edit And Delete To-Do 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 email notifications …

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

When users assigned with an item complete the task and tick the item check box …

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

And gets added to the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness To-Do List plugin offers additional functions that let you display a to-do list on your site using widgets, and add lists to any post or page using shortcodes.

Using The 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 your list to show …

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

The list will appear wherever you have inserted the widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

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

• How To Use Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Shortcodes

You can also display lists on your site using shortcodes.

To access the documentation on using shortcodes, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your WP admin menu …

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

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

This section explains various ways to configure and use short codes to display lists and checklists on your content.

Once you know what type of information you would like to add to your site, open up a new post or page and either type or paste the short code into the content editor …

Publish your page or post and you should see the list showing in the location where you entered the short code …

Go here for more details about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you know how to create and add to-do lists in WordPress.

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