I was thinking of the same thing. It seems like we can statr a new list but that seems overkill. I would like to see this too.

i was thinking of this as well, it was more like "larger task A is not finished/complete until subtask 1, 2, 3... have be completed. i have multiple projects with subtasks that i would like all under my work list.

The subtask idea (also mentioned elsewhere in the forum) is a very good one.
Many people are interested in the "Getting Things Done" principles, which include just working out the next smallest action on any job. The principle is sound, I think, but sometimes it's easy to do better than just working out what the next action is. For example, Christmas cards. For me the tasks are a) design card b) decide recipients c) make cards d) label them e) post them. But (generally) there's no point starting one until the previous one is done, so it'd be nice to define them as chained actions, with the second appearing once the first is done. etc.

Both dependency links between tasks and sub-tasks are indeed on my list of wishes.

Although I am able to work around the lack of sub-tasks by creating a separate list for the larger tasks. Although it's not ideal, it is workable.

The dependencies between tasks are indeed common in many project management tools, which can generate things like Gant charts from them. But it could also serve simply to order the tasks in the list: I'd like to see the tasks on which many others depend at the top of my list.

yes! I second and third this request. The thing keeping me from switching to RTM from LifeBalance is the outlining feature, which creates task dependencies.

I think this is a must; my idea is something on like this :
* Tasks that are Due "3 days after task A is marked as complete" (this should solve dependencies)
* Lists (are they called like that?, whatever, Inbox/Personal/Etc.) Can be a Big Task, and the sub-tasks are the normal remember the milk tasks, with this I think we have the ability to split a complex task into smaller simpler tasks. This assumes that the first point is available.

I hope this functionality is implemented, my ideas are sugestions as I don't have knowledge of the inner workings of RTM.

Regards.

This is a must for me too!

I agree with jmc

I use MyLifeOrganized at work and the cool feature it has is for a given parent task, you can indicate that you want all subtasks completed in order.

Then, when you are looking at your list of next actions, only the next uncompletef item in your list is available. Once you have marked that as complete, the next action appears to be worked on.

In order to implement that in RTM we would need subtasks (already being discussed elsewhere but consider this my vote for it!) and sorting.

What happened to this... 1 plus year on this??

I would love to see this feature as well. It's the one feature that I would make RTM my one stop shop for task management. What a great tool overall though! Thanks.. I look forward to supporting this effort.

Just new to RTM, and linking is really something that would be useful. Any idea if this is being developed or are there too many technical problems implementing this|

Just adding a "me too" to this

1+

Likewise. This is pretty much the only thing I find currently lacking in RTM.

+1

I'll be the one dissenting voice here.

One strong appeal of RTM is the (relative) simplicity of the interface and creation of tasks.

It is also in line with GTD principles to keep things simple and focus on the next action.
-- Create a list / project by doing a "brain dump" of all the steps / actions needed to achieve a single goal that you can think of
-- Mark the next independent actions as priority (eventually add a tag "next action" to those and a tag "For later" to the others)
-- Use smart lists to show only the "next actions" for your projects
-- Every day / other day, check the "for later" actions and change the tags to "next action" where appropriate.
-- If needed, add new items that you had not planned for at the beginning

This might require "churning" your to-do list quite often, but each step take 2 - 3 seconds only, instead of taking time to set-up complex interdependencies.

Don't over-complicate by making RTM a full-blown project management tool... not the goal of the service.

just my 2 cents (in Euros)

s.

In my opinion, giving the option to link tasks, wont over-complicate RTM. The choice to use the option is still in the hands of the user.

Personally, I definately see options for dependencies.

+1 to this addition

In the GTD system this dependency piece would be wonderful. For example, there are items on my @WaitingFor list that are waiting until other items are completed. Though I check the @waitingfor list to see if any are ready to be worked, a dependency option would automatically do it for me. When a task is completed and there exists other task that have been waiting on it, these sub task will instantly become "next actions."

This has been requested for almost 4 years and the continuing response is "We don't want to turn RTM into a Project Management tool". It's kindof understandable but also a little ridiculous.

You CAN have dependent tasks without breaking the simplicity of RTM. It would be an optional feature if you wanted to turn it on... as it is, there's no real way besides creating lists and numbering the tasks to create any sort of order for one group of tasks.

There's also no way to sort tasks or search for the next task on a list... something which would seem simple (search: top 1 from list X)

I'm currently a Pro subscriber (had to for the iPhone app), and I've really liked RTM, but I hope that it continues to evolve rather than staying put or I'm going to have to keep looking as my needs change.

Me too - this strikes me as the single biggest improvement that could be made to the service. Loving it as is, but dependencies & critical paths kind of rock for this kind of thing.

So, let me get this straight, the discussion has been ongoing for 4 years with no definitive outcome? I just came over from Toodledo and the lack of substasks or dependencies is killing me.