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Projectlot User Guide

Navigation

The major navigational component of the app is the left-side drawer. You open it by sliding the left edge of the of app or by touching the menu icon on the top-left corner.

The top-level locations accessible from the drawer are:

Inbox

Capture anything on your mind - things that are incomplete, unresolved, unprocessed, undecided, fuzzy commitments and wishes. When convenient, process your Inbox by clarifying what each item means and decide if it is a Project, Project Action, Standalone Action or something to delete.

Areas

Keep multiple levels of commitments with yourself and others in a hierarchical structure - from top-level Areas, sub-Areas, Projects, down to Actions.

Contexts

Organize Project Actions that require special location or situation and standalone Actions by Context. When you are in a special location or situation, take advantage of the opportunity to take the appropriate Actions.

Reports

Each report (Active Projects, Upcoming Projects etc.) lists all Projects with the particular status from all Areas.

Tip: To navigate inside a container like Project, Area or Context, touch its label. The current location is displayed on the top bar. To navigate back to the previous location, press the Back button of the device.

Working with Areas

Top-level Areas

You start off by selecting Areas from the drawer. Once you are in Areas, you can open an Area by touching its title or see an Area's details by touching its icon. You can create a new Area by using the button on the bottom toolbar. The number on the right side of each Area is the number of active Projects inside it. Top-level Areas can also be rearranged using this generic approach:

Tip: To rearrange items use the following approach - touch and hold an item, drag it to the desired position and drop it.

Inside an Area

When you open an Area its contents are revealed. Each Area can contain Sub-Areas, Projects and Links. The items inside an Area are grouped by categories like Sub-Areas, Active Projects and others. Only the non-empty categories are displayed. You can expand and collapse categories by touching the category title. On the right of the category title, the number of items inside it is displayed.

You can do the same operations with Sub-Areas in Area as when in top-level Areas.

Projects in an Area are grouped in categories based on their Project Status - Active Projects, Upcoming Projects, Incubated Projects and Completed Projects. You add new Projects by touching the red button on the bottom toolbar. You can rearrange Active and Incubated Projects, while Upcoming and Completed projects are sorted automatically.

Links are useful for referencing external resources like Web pages, folders and documents. You can either share a Link from other application (like Google Chrome, Drive etc.) or attach it manually by using the Attach Link command from the menu on the bottom bar. Links can be rearranged.

Working with Projects

Projects reside in Areas. You create a new project in an Area by touching the red button on the bottom bar.

Project status

Each Project has a status based on its dates (Start date and Due date) and completion state.

For Projects that you are sure when to commit to, you set a Start date and possibly a Due date. Such a Project is Active when its Start date has come. If its Start date hasn't come yet, its status is Upcoming.

For projects that you are not sure when or whether to commit to, you set no dates. Such projects are Incubated.

When you are done with a Project, you mark it as complete and its status becomes Completed. Such Projects are assigned a Completion date and are sorted by that date.

In Project lists (in reports and in Areas), each Project status and dates are displayed with icons.

Project details & commands

When creating a new Project you can enter all relevant details. Once Project details are saved you can view current details by touching the (i) icon on the bottom bar when inside a Project or by clicking the Project icon when in a list (inside a report or in Area). On the Project details screen, you can select certain commands on the bottom bar or you can choose to edit the details by touching the icon on the top bar.

Project contents

From a Project list (inside an Area or report), you open a Project by touching its title. Inside a Project its contents are displayed grouped by category - Incomplete Actions, Completed Actions and Links. Only the non-empty categories are displayed. You can expand and collapse categories by touching the category title. On the right of the category title, the number of items inside it is displayed.

You add new Actions by touching the red button on the bottom bar.

Links are useful for referencing external resources like Web pages, folders and documents. You can either share a Link from other application (like Google Chrome, Drive, etc.) or attach it manually by using the Attach Link command from the menu on the bottom bar.

Actions and Links can be rearranged.

Working with Contexts

You start off by selecting Areas from the drawer. Once you are in Contexts, you can open a Context by touching its title or see a Context's details by touching its icon. You can create a new Context by using the button on the bottom toolbar. The number on the right side of each Context is the number of Incomplete Actions inside it. Contexts can be rearranged.

Context contents

When you open a Context its contents are revealed. Each Context can contain Actions from Projects and standalone Actions. The Actions inside a Context are grouped by categories - Incomplete Actions and Completed Actions. Only the non-empty categories are displayed. You can expand and collapse categories by touching the category title. On the right of the category title, the number of Actions inside it is displayed.

From Settings > General > Contexts include actions from, you can control whether Actions form Active Projects or All Projects are included.

You can rearrange Incomplete Actions, but not Completed Actions which are sorted by Completed on date.

Working with Actions

You can add new Actions to Inbox, Context or Project. You toggle the completed status of an Action by touching the square on the left of the title. You can rearrange Incomplete Actions in any location.

Action details & commands

You can see Action details by touching the Action title. On the Action details screen, you can select certain commands on the bottom bar or you can choose to edit the details by touching the icon on the top bar.

Project Actions with Context

An Actions in Project can be assigned a Context. This way it will appear in both the Project and the Context. You can rearrange the Action independently in the Project and in the Context.

Inbox processing

Inbox is meant to be regularly emptied. To do that, you process each Action in it by choosing the appropriate command on the Action details screen. You can:

Assign Context - the Action will be moved to the Context you choose

Assign Project - the Action will be moved to the Project you choose

Convert to Project - the Action will be converted to a Project in the Area you choose; you will be allowed to provide Project details and items

or choose a trivial command like Delete or Mark complete.

Importing from other apps

When you encounter an inspiring or useful web page, you can import it into Projectlot as an Action, Project or Link. To do that, just use the Share command in your web browser and choose Projectlot. An Import as screen will allow you to choose how and where to import it.

You can also import Tasks and other items from B-Folders.