Forums / Tips & Tricks

Hey Mike,

Thanks, this is really interesting! I'm a web developer and if I had time might try to implement some of this stuff, but just don't have the time right now.

But just scanning some of what you've done indicates to me that we could design kind of custom interfaces around RTM to use specific tasking methodologies, like GTD which I'm trying to learn right now. If one could build custom pages and forms so as to create custom fields (like your "locale") based on a special character like '@', this seems like it would be of great advantage as a way to do things more easily rather than having to remember what tags a given task has to contain.

So what about it? Anyone game on producing some more of these customizations, particularly around GTD?

Posted 5 years ago

wcitypoe

Exactly. It's so easy to hack this if you know HTML because all they're using is the POST variable ... so you can essentially set up your own manner of entry to your own preference.

I am most definitely not one of those people who knows HTML and CSS like the back of their hand ... nor do I know Javascript really at all. (I can copy and paste code, mind you!)

So that's why I'm eager to see other people take the ball and run with it on this ... I think that this idea can be done much more beautifully with someone who knows HTML and CSS thoroughly well.

And I know that the JavaScript is imperfect ... but again, I imagine there are JavaScript know-hows amongst the RTM users.

So ... hoping this catches fire a bit ...

Posted 5 years ago

rajjan

I modified the javascript in the Quick Add tool for Firefox. It now takes whatever is selected and puts that into the task name (instead of in the Due Date and the page name as task name).


(Edit the part in the javascript following http to http://'+h+p+'?t='+encodeURIComponent(d) instead of "?d=..." and remove the original &t= part.)

However, I would like to be able to add tags in the javascript, how can I do that?

Interesting link with direct access to Quick Add where I want the "tx" part to add tags. Looking at the html for the Quick Add tool that seems to be the variable to change???

And if it was possible to set location and repeat intervals, that would be perfect!

Posted 5 years ago

wcitypoe

Raijan, tx is indeed the variable what you want to set. You cannot set location or repeat intervals via the Quick Add bookmarklet, even with any "hacking"/rewriting on our part, because there's no variables in that POST form for them.

Posted 5 years ago

rajjan

I will have great news regarding this shortly. Including all variables! Just wait and see ;-)

However, not being a programmer, I'm surprised I can't set tx when it's right there?

Posted 5 years ago

wcitypoe

I'm not sure what you mean regarding not setting tx. I'm able to do it fine with a text field.

Posted 5 years ago

rajjan

Here is the revised Quick Add using the add from the mobile site which allows you to enter all fields at once: www.rememberthemilk.com/forums/tips/3133/

If you use that instead of the addtask you could manipulate all fields if you want ;-)
Link: m.rememberthemilk.com/add

Posted 5 years ago

wcitypoe

Very interesting. Picking this apart, it looks like the form submits to http://m.rememberthemilk.com/add (again via POST), and that its variables are 'name' for the task name, 'list' for the list ID, 'priority' for a 0-3 priority, 'due' for a due date, 'repeat' for its repeat cycle, 'estimate' for a time estimate, 'tags' for tags, 'location' for location, and 'url' for an associated Web address.

(I know, all very hard to guess, huh?)

I shall have to goof around with my template. Very smart idea ... hadn't thought of swiping the mobile's add option.

Posted 5 years ago

wcitypoe

The one thing I learned in adapting Rajjan's technique is that if you use the Mobile Add form, you must provide it with all of the variables in order for your own form to work.

Thus, if you're not going to use a variable -- say, the location variable -- you need to do "hidden" and assign it a null value, such as:

<input type="hidden" name="location" value="">

If you don't, it merely bounces you to the actual Mobile Add page with what you've already filled in on your other form inserted there.

Posted 5 years ago

This exercise is great, but why not just use RTM's iGoogle interface? You can look at all of your lists, complete tasks, and add tasks on the fly without a hitch.

You can link to it directly without using IGoolge homepage. I keep it open all day and it's great.

Using the Prism application from Mozilla, you can have that on your desktop as a standalone app...

Posted 5 years ago

wcitypoe

jjeudymd: If its iGoogle interface does it for you, then no need to go into any of this. But if you're not a stranger to HTML or CSS or Javascript, this is a hint towards how you can create a more personalized, customized interface.

Posted 5 years ago

wcitypoe

And at the moment, Prism's Windows-only; although Webrunner isn't Windows-only, you can't use Greasemonkey scripts to improve a few things.

Posted 5 years ago

jjeudymd, my question to you is if I have to go to a website like iGoogle to do my RTM stuff, why not just go to RTM to begin with? The main advantage I see with this is that it can sit as a button on your browser that is always accessible no matter WHAT website you are visiting, and you can also alter the html so that you don't have to manually create the tags that you normally have to by hand. In other words, you can construct a form field for "context" and have it be a drop down of all your typical contexts.

Posted 5 years ago

Guys.. this isn't to rain on your hacking parade.

I too have played around with the bookmarklet some time ago. I would often highlight an email or random clip from the web and would add to my RTM page. As you guys have now seen, the quick add from the mobile site has all the necessary fields. I had 3 bookmarklets: one to the regular inbox, one which would send items to my @work list; and one to my @one_day list (for future reference).

After a short while, I found that:
1) it was just as simple to forward interesting emails to my RTM with the subject being the task

2) Since I was already using the mobile version as my form, the iGoogle form is identical AND gives me the added ability to add | rearrange | tag | complete tasks without having the full page open. It's just as easy to copy/paste my selection to the form.

Now like lwallach says, I could just have the regular RTM page open, but instead, my iGoogle module (which I use outside of iGoogle, just open & login: https://www.rememberthemilk.com/services/modules/googleig/ )
I keep this open in a small window like a widget which takes up about 1/6th of my screen space. In a way this is a step in between having the regular page open and having a bookmarklet open up a form

Now what WOULD be more enticing with the form that is called with javascript is if you could have it autocomplete tags as you start to type them. Then you wouldn't have to worry about remembering exact tags and still have the quick add type of functionality. One would have to use the API to call up all of your tags as an array. Or you could hard code the list yourself. You would still have to use another way to complete, manage tasks though. That's why I gave up on this.

But hey, let's see what can be put together....

my $0.02

Posted 5 years ago