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Friday Favorite: Using AppleScript to work with tasks in Things 2
A few weeks ago I purchased Things 2 when it was on sale in the Mac App Store. I've used the demo before and have always enjoyed the simplicity of the Things interface and the power of its tagging system. One difficulty that I faced with Things is its closed environment, which keeps all your tasks inside the app. That's great if you work only with Things, but not so convenient if you want to share your tasks with other apps or other people. You can drag and drop your tasks individually to other apps like OS X Calendar, but the easiest way to export your tasks is to use AppleScript and transfer them in bulk. One script I regularly use is this export Things to text script from Dexter Ang (thepoch) on github. This script exports the Things database to the desktop as Things Backup.txt. You can tweak the script to export certain parts of the Things database like your Today tasks or Next tasks. This is very handy as you can then edit the text file and upload it to Google Docs or any other app that'll import and format a text document. Another one of my favorite scripts is this Reminder export script from NightLion.net. This script lets you export all the tasks in your Today list and import them into the OS X Reminders app. I've been using this script each morning to pull my tasks down into Reminders, which I then use to set flexible notifications for the tasks. The last script that I've adopted is this Mail To Things script posted by marekz on the Cultured Code forums. This script lets you select a message in your OS X Mail inbox and send it quickly to Things. The task will appear in your Things Inbox with the subject as the name of the task and a link to the email in the notes. These are just a few scripts that I have found during my initial weeks with Things. If you have any favorite scripts, please share them in the comments. If you want to create your own scripts, you should check out Cultured Code's PDF guide to using AppleScript with Things as well as our growing list of AppleScripts for OS X.
Things 2 for Mac now on sale for 50% off
Cultured Code has a treat for Mac owners looking for a new task manager. Starting today, Things 2 for Mac is on sale for US$24.99, a 50 percent discount off the app's normal $49 price tag. Things is a fantastic to-do manager that appeals to a wide range of users. With tags, projects and areas of responsibility, it's robust enough for power users looking for a nimble task manager. At the same time, it's not loaded down with lots of extra options, so even beginning users can jump right in and start managing their tasks with minimal effort. This limited-time sale applies only to the Mac version and ends January 31. This is only the second time Cultured Code has discounted Things for the Mac, so grab it while you can.
Things 2 now out, adds long-awaited cloud sync
Cultured Code has released Things 2, an update to its Things task manager, including the very, very long-awaited cloud sync capability. Did we mention that we've been waiting for it for awhile? The best news is that unlike rival The Hit List, cloud support is free on Things 2. Things 2 is a multiplatform release across the Mac, iPad and iPhone; updates to all editions are free from 1.x. In addition to the cloud sync tool, called Things Cloud, other new features include: Things for Mac Daily Review list that pulls up a list of tasks and let you decide if you want to work on them today. Mountain Lion capability, including streamlining with Reminders so Siri can easily be used to enter tasks Retina display updates Things for iOS Daily Review added Design UI tweaked Scrolling date picker Other iOS improvements such as tapping and holding a checkbox to cancel a task, log completed tasks automatically and VoiceOver accessibility Things 2 is a welcome release, and we're looking forward to putting it through its paces. Unfortunately, the delay in adding cloud sync (other productivity systems -- such as OmniFocus -- have had the feature for years) has lost Cultured Code a lot of its goodwill, as apparent by reading the comments on the linked posts above. We're glad to see Things Cloud is finally clear of its beta evolution and ready for prime time. When you sign up for the Things Cloud service on either your Mac or your iOS device, you'll get a confirmation PIN via email. Entering the PIN in your client will confirm your account, and from that point you can log in on all your devices using your email/password combo. (Don't reuse passwords, please.) The first Things instance you connect to the cloud will populate it with data, and subsequent devices (if they have to-dos on them already) will give you the option of merging, replacing local, or replacing the cloud list of tasks. Things' previous Bonjour/WiFi sync scheme has been removed in the 2.0 release, so if you update your Mac copy of Things you'll need to update everywhere in order to sync with the new cloud service. If you need to retain local network syncing for some reason, there is now a "Legacy Sync" version of Things 1.5 for Mac (and a corresponding "Things 1 Mode" toggle in the iOS apps) that maintains Bonjour sync. Things 2 for Mac is $49.95 through the Mac App Store, and a free trial is available from Cultured Code's website. Things 2 for iPad is $19.99 and Things 2 for iPhone is $9.99. Both iOS versions require iOS 5 or later, and the Mac version requires OS X 10.6.6. Thanks, Eric!
