Create a To Do List

Use iCal to keep a reminder list of things you need to do.

Control-click a To Do item for a contextual menu.

To create a To Do list

1.	Select a calendar in the Calendars list. Note: When you create a To Do item, it is automatically color-coded to match the selected calendar. To switch the To Do item to a different calendar, Control-click on the To Do item, then choose another calendar from the contextual pop-up menu (shown on the left).
2.	Click the To Do button in the bottom-right corner of the iCal window (the pushpin) to open the To Do pane. To resize the pane, drag the tiny dot on the left edge of the panel (circled below).
3.	To create a new To Do, double-click inside the To Do pane. Or Control-click inside the To Do pane and select "New To Do" from the pop-up menu. Or from the File menu choose "New To Do."
4.	To add information to a To Do item, select it in the To Do pane, then open the Info drawer. You can set a priority, set a due date, set an alarm, or swith the task to another calendar.
5.	In the bottom section you can type a description, notes, comments, direction, instructions, or anything you need for the task.

You can set an alarm for a To Do item if it has a due date set.

After a To Do task is completed, click its checkbox in the To Do pane to mark it as completed. Or click its checkbox in the Info drawer.

You can select view options for the To Do list. Click the To Do pane's title bar to open a pop-up menu and select a view option (shown on the left).

To Do list view options.

Choose "Hide items Outside of Calendar View" to hide To Do items that have due dates that are not shown in the current Calendar view.

To Do items that don't have due dates assigned are always shown.

Rate the priority of To Do items

A To Do item's priority is indicated by the number of horizontal bars in the icon next to it.

Click directly on the icon to change the number of bars and the priority rating.

If all three bars are dimmed, a priority has not been assigned.

You can assign priorities to To Do items, rating them as "Very Important," "Important," or "Not Important."

A "Very Important" item is marked with a small icon of three horizontal bars; an "Important" item has two horizontal bars; a "Not Important" item has one horizontal bar. Multiple items with the same priority are listed alphabetically within that priority group.

1.	Click a To Do item to select it.
2.	Click the Show Info button to open the Info drawer (shown on the right).
3.	From the "priority" pop-up menu choose a priority.

The To Do Info drawer

The To Do Info drawer also has several other uses. You can:

• Make editing changes to a task's description.

• Check off a task as "completed." You can also do this in the To Do pane by clicking the checkbox next to a task.

• Set a "due date" that will appear above the task in the To Do pane.

• Switch a selected To Do item to a different calendar (from the "calendar" pop-up menu, choose a different calendar).

  You can also access some of the view options for the To Do pane by Control-clicking inside the pane and choosing "Sort by" from the pop-up menu.

  

• Assign a URL (a web site address) to accompany the To Do item.

• Type a lengthy task description that is too long to show in the To Do pane.

Print a To Do list

When you print a calendar, you can include the To Do list to be printed (see page 364).

Hide or show various To Do lists

To Do items from different calendars all share the same To Do list. They are color-coded to match the calendar to which they belong. When you hide a calendar (uncheck its box in the Calendars list), all of the To Do items associated with that calendar are also hidden. If you have a lot of items in your To Do list, hiding some of them can make finding others easier. But you can always use the powerful search feature described on pages 350351.