Archive vs repeating tasks ("repeat every" tasks shouldn't be sticky)
Hi all! I'm using RTM since January, 2007 and now I have about 9600 tasks (500 incomplete and 9100 completed tasks). Obviously, even just loading this big bunch of tasks (~27Mb of uncompressed XML) in a browser is very slow.
Once a week I make a cleanup: I move oldest chunk of completed tasks in separate list and archive it. Now I have about 8000 archived completed tasks and 1600 non-archived tasks (both completed and incomplete).
I have a special smart-list for archiving with this criteria: (list:list1 or list:list2 ... or list:listX) and status:completed and (not completedWithin:"4 weeks of tod") and isRepeating:false. So, to make a cleanup I have to unarchive my 'archive list' and 'smart-list', select all tasks in 'smart-list', move tasks to 'archive list' and archive 'smart-list' and 'archive list'. Very simple, except one thing: repeating tasks.
There are two types of repeating tasks: "repeat every ..." and "repeat after ...". The first type tasks is sticky: if you have a task repeating every day (for example), and you actually complete it every day - you have a bunch of completed task, and you cannot archive directly. If you select any instance of it and try to move it to another list - it moves, but with whole other instances of this task (even with it's incompleted instance). In opposition to "repeat every" tasks "repeat after" tasks is not sticky. You can move single instances of every "repeat after" tasks any way you want. Moreover "repeat every" and "repeat after" cannot be divided with a search - there is no criteria for it.
So, now I have a very complicated procedure to actually archive this two types of repeating tasks. It takes too much time.
Emily, please, make "repeat every" tasks NOT sticky (like "repeat after")!
Once a week I make a cleanup: I move oldest chunk of completed tasks in separate list and archive it. Now I have about 8000 archived completed tasks and 1600 non-archived tasks (both completed and incomplete).
I have a special smart-list for archiving with this criteria: (list:list1 or list:list2 ... or list:listX) and status:completed and (not completedWithin:"4 weeks of tod") and isRepeating:false. So, to make a cleanup I have to unarchive my 'archive list' and 'smart-list', select all tasks in 'smart-list', move tasks to 'archive list' and archive 'smart-list' and 'archive list'. Very simple, except one thing: repeating tasks.
There are two types of repeating tasks: "repeat every ..." and "repeat after ...". The first type tasks is sticky: if you have a task repeating every day (for example), and you actually complete it every day - you have a bunch of completed task, and you cannot archive directly. If you select any instance of it and try to move it to another list - it moves, but with whole other instances of this task (even with it's incompleted instance). In opposition to "repeat every" tasks "repeat after" tasks is not sticky. You can move single instances of every "repeat after" tasks any way you want. Moreover "repeat every" and "repeat after" cannot be divided with a search - there is no criteria for it.
So, now I have a very complicated procedure to actually archive this two types of repeating tasks. It takes too much time.
Emily, please, make "repeat every" tasks NOT sticky (like "repeat after")!
emily (Remember The Milk) says:
blacksir, thanks for your feedback!
Unfortunately it's not possible to split up the tasks in an "every" repeat as they're part of a series (an "after" repeat isn't actually treated as a series of tasks -- you can change an "after" task and it won't affect the previous task it was generated from).
We'll see if we can add support for searching separately for repeating every and after tasks.
Unfortunately it's not possible to split up the tasks in an "every" repeat as they're part of a series (an "after" repeat isn't actually treated as a series of tasks -- you can change an "after" task and it won't affect the previous task it was generated from).
We'll see if we can add support for searching separately for repeating every and after tasks.
Hi Emily!
Frankly, I don't see a strong reason why "every"-tasks should be serialized (while "after"-tasks isn't). I have a vague sense, that year ago "after"-tasks actually was serialized, and it was changed later (correct me, if I'm wrong).
Anyway: search criteria for distiguishing "every"-tasks and "after"-tasks is a good idea. It will make archiving more simple and straightforward.
Actually there is a way to split up "every"-tasks series for completed and incomplete parts: one should select incomplete task of the series, duplicate it, than delete original incomplete task and select "stop repeating". Voila: they are splitted up!
P.S. After all, my problem is: archiving of repeating tasks is difficult. There is the other, more integrated way to deal with this: automate it completely. I described it here.
Frankly, I don't see a strong reason why "every"-tasks should be serialized (while "after"-tasks isn't). I have a vague sense, that year ago "after"-tasks actually was serialized, and it was changed later (correct me, if I'm wrong).
Anyway: search criteria for distiguishing "every"-tasks and "after"-tasks is a good idea. It will make archiving more simple and straightforward.
Actually there is a way to split up "every"-tasks series for completed and incomplete parts: one should select incomplete task of the series, duplicate it, than delete original incomplete task and select "stop repeating". Voila: they are splitted up!
P.S. After all, my problem is: archiving of repeating tasks is difficult. There is the other, more integrated way to deal with this: automate it completely. I described it here.