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Search and sort completed tasks in smart list

melissa.shea says:
Here's what I'm doing: I have regular lists for tasks I do repetitively (for example, a grocery list), and smart lists that keep those tasks for future re-use. When I mark a task compete, it's stored in the smart list so I can go in and un-complete it without having to re-create the task each time.

This works great, but eventually the smart lists accumulate a large number of completed tasks and it's difficult to find individual items in the smart lists.

The only option for sorting *completed* tasks seems to be by date completed, so the longer ago I last used a task, the farther down in the list it is.

For example, I have bought a lot of grocery items over the years, but I only buy, say, plastic bags once a year or so; scrolling down through everything I have bought since then and trying to find the "plastic bags" item is difficult. This is compounded by the fact that sometimes I get frustrated and just create a new task, so there are in fact several "plastic bags" items in the smart list of completed tasks.

Is there a way to sort completed tasks alphabetically?
Is there an easy way to search within a smart list (as in, without having to create another advanced search? Typing "list:Grocery and status:completed and name:plastic" is cumbersome.)

I'm using the web app for adding/managing these tasks, and the browser's native search-in-page doesn't seem to see items that aren't currently in the viewable window (Firefox, macOS-Sierra). The desktop app keeps forgetting my password, so I gave up on using it. I'm not sure if searching would work better tthere.

I'm contemplating permanently deleting the completed tasks and starting over so the smart lists don't have so much cruft in them, but that doesn't really solve the problem.
Posted at 5:39pm on February 17, 2018
martingchapman says:
I don't know of any way to sort completed tasks other than by completed date.

So why not create a tag called "Buy" and instead of completing/uncompleting your tasks in the lists, add or remove the Buy tag.
When you need to buy plastic bags add the tag Buy to the plastic bag task, once you have bought them remove the Buy tag.
Also, add the tag Buy to your Favourites, then just click on this tag to see what you need to buy. Or include the Buy tag into the parameters of your Smart List of things to buy.
Your shopping tasks will always be incomplete so you can sort them in any order you wish.
Posted 6 years ago
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