Keyboard Shortcuts for Main ToDo Window

← →
tab
Use the left and right arrows to move back and forth between the Categories and Things To Do lists. Use tab to toggle between the two lists. (The currently active list is the one whose selection is more prominently highlighted.)
↑ ↓ Use the up and down arrows to scroll up and down through the currently active list. Hold down the shift key at the same time to select a contiguous group of rows.
⌘↑
⌘↓
Use ⌘↑ or ⌘↓ to jump to the preceding or following selected row in the currently active list. Useful for browsing the to-do items selected by a search. See ⌘return, below.
home
end
Use the home and end keys to jump to the top and bottom of the currently active list. Control-↑ and control-↓ also work, unless reserved for switching Spaces.
⌘1…⌘9 Use ⌘1 through ⌘9 to set the priority of the selected to-do items without having to open them for editing.
⌘0 Use ⌘0 as an alternative to clicking the Done (✔) button to check-off the selected to-do items. Option-⌘0 checks off with an X.
⌘+
⌘-
Use ⌘+ or ⌘- as an alternative to clicking the Priority Up (▲) or Priority Down (▼) button.
⌘N Use ⌘N to create a new to-do item, as an alternative to choosing New Item from the Edit menu or clicking the (+) button.
⇧⌘N Use shift-⌘N to create a new category, as an alternative to choosing New Category from the Edit menu or clicking the (+) button.
⌘W
⌘Q
Optionally, when you close the main ToDo window using the standard ⌘W keyboard shortcut (or by clicking its close button) the application will quit. ⌘Q achieves the same effect more conventionally.
delete
del
Use the delete or del (⌦) key as an alternative to clicking the Delete () button for the currently active list. Hold down the option key to delete without confirmation.
return
enter
Use the return or enter key as an alternative to clicking the Edit () button for the currently active list. Double-clicking on the thing you want to edit is another alternative.
⌘return
⌘enter
Use ⌘return or ⌘enter to open the most recently selected row in the currently active list for editing, without perturbing the selection. Useful in conjunction with ⌘↑ and ⌘↓.
other
keys
Type any string of ordinary text to search the Things To Do list. Every item that contains the string anywhere in its name or notes will be selected. If the search finds a single item, you can then hit return to edit that item. Your current search string is discarded if you pause in typing for more than a second or so.
⌘G Use ⌘G to repeat the previous search. You can amend the recalled search string by backspacing or typing additional characters.

 

Keyboard Shortcuts for Editing ToDo Items

⌘0…⌘9 Use ⌘0 through ⌘9 to set the item’s priority without clicking the radio buttons.
⌘+
⌘-
Use ⌘+ or ⌘- to increase or decrease the item’s priority.
⌘/ Use ⌘/ to append a timestamp to the notes.
esc Use the escape key as an alternative to clicking the Cancel button.
enter Use the enter key as an alternative to clicking the OK button.
⇧tab Use shift-tab to jump back and forth between the item name and notes.

 

Effects of Modifier Keys

control Control-dragging a to-do item to a different category creates a link or alias of the item, rather than moving it.
control Control-clicking (or right-clicking) on categories or to-do items in the main window brings up a context menu.
shift If the shift key is down, techniques that normally launch a file URL will instead reveal the target in the Finder.
shift Holding down the shift key while dragging a to-do item to a different category allows you to follow it to its new home.
Holding down the command key while selecting a to-do item from the dock or status menu will check-off the item.
Holding down the command key while launching a URL will cause it to be launched in the background.
Holding down the command key while double-clicking a selected category or to-do item will open it for editing without perturbing the selection.
option Buttons at the bottom of the main window have alternate functions when the option key is down. Their tooltips and keyboard shortcuts change accordingly.
option The categories to which the currently selected to-do items belong are highlighted when the option key is down.
option If the option key is down, techniques that normally open a category or to-do item for editing will instead launch any links contained in its name or notes.
option Option-dragging a to-do item to a different category creates a copy of the item, rather than moving it.
option The Reset button in the Preferences panel becomes Reset All when the option key is down, offering a more comprehensive reset that requires confirmation.
option A “Reset These Colors Only” button appears in the Preferences panel when the option key is down.
option Individual font Reset buttons are available in the Preferences panel when the option key is down.
option In the Preferences and Print panels you can check or uncheck an entire set of checkboxes by option-clicking on any one of them.
option The option key reveals a build version and date in the About panel.
option When the option key is down, the Prefix menu item becomes Rename and offers a more general renaming operation that uses regular expressions.
option Hold down the option key while selecting ToDo Help to display help in your web browser instead of in Help Viewer.
option Hold down the option key to click on a link in an Edit window without launching it.
option When timestamping the notes, you can hold down the option key to use an alternate timestamp format if configured as described in the FAQ.
option You can choose the default category for the Make New ToDo Item service by using the option key as described in the FAQ.