Taskspect^™

Getting Started

When you launch Taskspect™ for the first time, you'll be greeted with a welcome dialog that lets you choose how to begin:

The first-run dialog lets you choose between sample data or a fresh start

• Yes, show me around — Creates sample areas, projects, tasks, and time blocks so you can explore every feature right away
• No, start fresh — Starts with an empty workspace containing only the Inbox project

Overview

Taskspect™ is a task management app with three synchronized views that give you different perspectives on the same data. Changes made in one view are instantly reflected in the others.

Task View

Task View presents your work as columns, one per project. Each task card shows its title, due date, tags, checklist progress, and status at a glance.

Task View with projects as columns and task cards showing metadata

Working with Task Cards

• Click a task card to open the detail panel for editing
• Drag a task card between columns to move it to a different project
• Right-click a task card for quick actions: move to Today, change project, start/complete/delete
• Use the Quick Add input in the Inbox column header to rapidly capture new tasks

Column Management

• Drag column headers to reorder projects
• Drag the column edge to resize; double-click to reset width
• Toggle Inbox visibility with ⌘⇧I or via View > Toggle Inbox

Timeline View

Timeline View displays tasks as horizontal blocks on a calendar grid, organized by project. It provides a Gantt-style overview of your schedule.

Timeline View showing tasks as draggable blocks on a date grid

Interacting with Timeline Blocks

• Click a block to open the detail panel
• Drag the body of a block left or right to reschedule (moves both start and end dates)
• Drag the edges of a block to resize and adjust start/end dates independently
• Press ← or → to nudge a selected task by one day
• Use the Zoom controls (⌘+ / ⌘–) to adjust the time scale

Navigation

• The orange playhead marks today's date
• Scroll horizontally to navigate through time
• Collapse or expand areas and projects by clicking their headers in the label panel
• Drag the label panel edge to resize the project name column

Timebox View

Timebox View is a day planner with 30-minute time slots. Use it to plan your day by scheduling tasks into specific hours.

Timebox View with task list on the left and hourly schedule on the right

Scheduling Tasks

• Drag a task from the left sidebar onto a time slot on the right to schedule it
• Drag a scheduled block to move it to a different time
• Resize a block by dragging its top or bottom edge to adjust duration
• Double-click an empty slot to create a non-task time block (e.g., Lunch, Meeting)
• Click the × button on a block to remove it from the schedule

Time Blocks

Time blocks are schedule entries that aren't tied to a specific task. Use them for recurring activities like lunch breaks, commute time, or meetings. Double-click a time block's title to rename it, and click its color dot to cycle through colors.

Detail Panel

Click any task to open the detail panel at the bottom of the screen. The panel lets you edit all task properties:

Detail panel showing task properties, notes, and checklist

• Title — Click to edit the task name
• Status — Open, In Progress, Paused, Completed, or Cancelled
• When — Schedule for Today, a specific date, or Someday
• Deadline — Set a due date
• Project — Reassign to a different project
• Tags — Add color-coded labels for categorization
• Notes — Add freeform text notes
• Checklist — Add subtasks and track completion

Press Esc to close the detail panel. When a task is completed or cancelled, the panel closes automatically. Press Delete or Backspace to delete the selected task (undoable with ⌘Z).

Task Lifecycle

Every task has a status that tracks its progress. You can change status through the detail panel or the context menu.

Statuses

• Open — The default state for new tasks
• In Progress — Work has started (shown with a colored dot indicator)
• Paused — Temporarily on hold (shown with a pause icon)
• Completed — Done. Moves to the Logbook filter
• Cancelled — Dropped. Also moves to the Logbook

Changing Status

There are three ways to change a task's status:

• Detail panel: Click a task to open it, then use the status dropdown to select a new status
• Context menu: Right-click any task card for quick status actions:
  • Start — Set to In Progress
  • Pause / Resume — Toggle between Paused and In Progress
  • Complete — Mark as done
  • Cancel — Cancel this task
  • Reopen — Set a completed or cancelled task back to Open
• Keyboard shortcuts: When a task is selected, press S (start), P (pause), C (complete), X (cancel), or O (reopen)

Context Menu

Right-click any task card in any view to access quick actions:

• Move to Today / Remove from Today — Schedule or unschedule the task for today
• Status actions — Start, Pause, Complete, Cancel, or Reopen
• Move to Project — Reassign the task to a different project
• Delete — Permanently remove the task

Sidebar & Filters

The left sidebar provides two sections for navigating your tasks:

Focus Filters

Filter tasks across all projects by their scheduling status:

• Today — Tasks scheduled for today
• Upcoming — Tasks with a future date
• Anytime — All open tasks (default view)
• Someday — Tasks deferred to "Someday"
• In Progress — Tasks currently in progress or paused
• Logbook — Completed and cancelled tasks
• Overdue — Tasks past their deadline

Areas & Projects

Below the focus filters, the sidebar lists your areas (e.g., Work, Personal) and their projects. Click a project to filter the view to just that project's tasks. Click it again to clear the filter.

Toggle the sidebar with ⌘\ or via View > Toggle Sidebar.

Drag and Drop

Drag and drop works consistently across all views with orange visual feedback:

• Task View: Drag cards between columns to change projects. Drag column headers to reorder.
• Timeline View: Drag blocks to reschedule. Drag between rows to change projects. Drag edges to resize.
• Timebox View: Drag tasks from the sidebar to schedule. Drag blocks to reschedule. Drag edges to resize.
• Tags: Drag a tag from the sidebar onto a task card to apply it.

Areas & Projects

Tasks are organized in a hierarchy: Areas contain Projects, and Projects contain Tasks.

Areas

Areas represent broad categories of responsibility (e.g., Work, Personal, Health). Create a new area with ⌘⌥N. Each area has a color that tints its project columns.

Projects

Projects are collections of related tasks within an area. Create a new project with ⌘⇧N. Projects appear as columns in Task View and rows in Timeline View.

Inbox

The Inbox is a special project that captures tasks not yet assigned to a project. Use the Quick Add bar in the Inbox column header or ⌘N to quickly capture tasks.

Tags

Tags are color-coded labels you can apply to any task for cross-project categorization. Manage tags through the tag editor in the sidebar (click the gear icon next to Tags).

• Apply a tag: Drag it from the sidebar onto a task card, or add it in the detail panel
• Filter by tag: Click a tag in the sidebar to show only tasks with that tag
• Edit tags: Click the gear icon next to "Tags" in the sidebar to rename, recolor, or delete tags

Search

Press ⌘F or click the search box to filter tasks by name across all projects. The search works in all three views and matches against task titles and tag names. Press Esc to clear the search.

Import & Export

Import CSV

Import tasks from a CSV file via File > Import > Import CSV. The import wizard lets you map CSV columns to task fields, preview the data, and choose a target project. Auto-detection attempts to match common column names.

Export CSV

Export all your data to CSV via File > Export > Export CSV. The export includes all tasks across all projects with their properties, tags, and checklist items.

Settings

Click the gear icon in the top-right corner to open the settings panel. Settings are organized by view:

• Task View: Toggle visibility of due dates, tags, checklists, notes indicators, status labels, and when dates on task cards
• Timeline View: Same display options for timeline blocks
• Timebox View: Configure visible hours (start/end) for the day planner
• Appearance: Toggle between dark and light themes, adjust UI scale
• Inbox Color: Customize the Inbox project color

Keyboard Shortcuts

Press ⌘⇧? to open the keyboard shortcuts reference at any time.

Keyboard shortcuts reference modal

Status Shortcuts

When a task is selected (detail panel open), press these keys to change its status: