FacileThings

Changelog (January 2024)

AUTHOR: Francisco Sáez
tags Improvements Weekly Review List Management Project Management
Changelog (January 2024)

In the last few weeks we have made some minor changes and fixed some bugs. These are the most relevant changes:

Natural Project Planning

  • We have expanded the functionality of “Natural Project Planning” so you to do this kind of planning at the moment you are creating a project. To do this, use the “Natural Planning” button that you will see in the project creation form:

natural planning while creating a project

  • You can also create a project and plan it naturally when you are clarifying an item that requires it. The “create project” button in the Clarify option allows you to enter the natural planning process. When you finish creating the project, the system will return to the Clarify option so you can continue clarifying the next item.

natural planning while clarifying

To cancel the natural planning process and continue clarifying where you left off, use the “Cancel” button that will appear in the planning assistant:

canceling planning while clarifying

Completing actions

  • When you mark an action as “done”, the current date is assigned as the completion date. If you want to change the date of completion, right-click on the “done” icon before marking it as done and select the date on which you completed the task. Then mark the action as done and it will be saved with the selected date:

changing date of realization

  • Now, when you mark an action that belongs to a project as “done”, the system notifies you if that project has no more actions to execute and gives you the option to update it:

completing action that leaves the project finished

Other improvements

  • In the third step of the Weekly Review, reviewing past events, the list is now displayed divided into two lists for clarity: One with past actions that have not been marked as done (still on the calendar) and another with the already done actions:

reviewing past events in the Weekly Review

  • Lists of most used tags and people are now displayed alphabetically.
  • Done list items (Lists option) now allow access to attachments if the action was completed less than 30 days ago (done action files are physically deleted after 30 days).
  • When you delete a routine, all active occurrences of that routine are deleted to avoid confusion.
  • The background color of the header of PDF reports has been modified to avoid wasting ink if they are printed. Now the background color is white.
  • The payment process with SEPA transfers has been improved. Although these transfers take a few days to be confirmed, the use of the application won’t not affected by this.
  • The password reset process has been modified to be simpler, faster and more secure (encrypted token).

Major bugs fixed

  • In some circumstances, an incorrect number of checkpoints done in an action were displayed (specifically when points were removed and added to an action that already had some marked as done).
  • The overall design of the application was affected by some imported emails whose internal design did not follow the correct best practice guidelines. Design code is now removed from emails that are not properly designed. This may cause you to see them differently than how they appear in your email program.
  • Duplicate items were sometimes created in Google Calendar when these items were clarifying from the mobile app.
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Francisco Sáez
@franciscojsaez

Francisco is the founder and CEO of FacileThings. He is also a Software Engineer who is passionate about personal productivity and the GTD philosophy as a means to a better life.

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14 comments

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Commented 10 months ago Paolo Santucci

That's a lot of quality of life improvements! 👏

I hope to see some of them percolating to the mobile app (I'm thinking about the custom completion date and the pop-up for projects without actions). By the way, any news about the new version?

It's really nice to see the Natural Project Planning function more integrated in the workflow. At the moment I haven't used it, but maybe having the option while clarifying a task will change this.

avatar Paolo Santucci

That's a lot of quality of life improvements! 👏

I hope to see some of them percolating to the mobile app (I'm thinking about the custom completion date and the pop-up for projects without actions). By the way, any news about the new version?

It's really nice to see the Natural Project Planning function more integrated in the workflow. At the moment I haven't used it, but maybe having the option while clarifying a task will change this.

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Commented 10 months ago Julian

Always good to get an update and see how the application is progressing. Some interesting improvements.

My only concern is the UX of right-clicking on the done icon to bring up the date of completion date picker as this is completely unintuitive and not discoverable and (unless I'm missing other similar functionality) is a method of interacting with the application that isn't used in any other context. I just tried it on the Engage screen and can see the functionality is there too, but I'm not sure if that's new or has been around for a long time and just not discovered. Perhaps the UI could be changed to make this option more visible?

avatar Julian

Always good to get an update and see how the application is progressing. Some interesting improvements.

My only concern is the UX of right-clicking on the done icon to bring up the date of completion date picker as this is completely unintuitive and not discoverable and (unless I'm missing other similar functionality) is a method of interacting with the application that isn't used in any other context. I just tried it on the Engage screen and can see the functionality is there too, but I'm not sure if that's new or has been around for a long time and just not discovered. Perhaps the UI could be changed to make this option more visible?

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Commented 10 months ago Scott

Love the ability to change when an item was completed (I have been putting the date complete in the notes recently). I do agree with Julian - might slip by new users as it is the only right-click action (that I am aware of).

avatar Scott

Love the ability to change when an item was completed (I have been putting the date complete in the notes recently). I do agree with Julian - might slip by new users as it is the only right-click action (that I am aware of).

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Commented 10 months ago Emil Jonasson

'Great stuff - the reminder to add another action when a project has run out of Next Actions is worth its weight in gold in my opinion - it will massively decrease the number of projects which stall despite the next action being completed! Other changes also excellent, though I do agree with Julian that it's quite unintuitive to have the past date selection be a right click. This is not a very important feature though (works case it's still marked as done but with today's date) so it's not like people will suffer from not noticing the feature, As long as it's added to the user manual I see no problem with it , though if some kind of drop-down arrow or similar could be added instead it might be better. Keep up the good work! :)

avatar Emil Jonasson

'Great stuff - the reminder to add another action when a project has run out of Next Actions is worth its weight in gold in my opinion - it will massively decrease the number of projects which stall despite the next action being completed! Other changes also excellent, though I do agree with Julian that it's quite unintuitive to have the past date selection be a right click. This is not a very important feature though (works case it's still marked as done but with today's date) so it's not like people will suffer from not noticing the feature, As long as it's added to the user manual I see no problem with it , though if some kind of drop-down arrow or similar could be added instead it might be better. Keep up the good work! :)

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Commented 10 months ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Paolo,

We will be incorporating new features into the mobile application, I hope at greater speed as we have done lately ;)

Thanks for your feedback!

avatar Francisco Sáez

Hi Paolo,

We will be incorporating new features into the mobile application, I hope at greater speed as we have done lately ;)

Thanks for your feedback!

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Commented 10 months ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Julian, Scott & Emil!

I totally agree with the observation made by Julian about the visibility of the new feature to assign completion dates to tasks.

We wanted to do it in a way that didn't interfere at all with the normal use of the "done" button, since we believe that more than 95% of the time an action will be marked as done without needing to change the date.

We are modifying the entire onboarding system to provide new users with a faster and more complete knowledge of the application in less time (with installed projects, explanatory videos, etc.).

However, we will look for a way to make this option more accessible. Suggestions are welcome ;)

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

avatar Francisco Sáez

Hi Julian, Scott & Emil!

I totally agree with the observation made by Julian about the visibility of the new feature to assign completion dates to tasks.

We wanted to do it in a way that didn't interfere at all with the normal use of the "done" button, since we believe that more than 95% of the time an action will be marked as done without needing to change the date.

We are modifying the entire onboarding system to provide new users with a faster and more complete knowledge of the application in less time (with installed projects, explanatory videos, etc.).

However, we will look for a way to make this option more accessible. Suggestions are welcome ;)

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

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Commented 10 months ago Salim Rahemtulla

Some really nice improvements, Francisco - being able to bring in Natural Planning at the processing stage without having to have the app running in another browser tab is a really great one. I look forward to the mobile app getting closer and closer to the web app, so appreciate your continued efforts there.

Separately, Is there a relatively painless way for us to be able to see deleted items in the mobile app? I've accidentally, albeit rarely, deleted items while working in the mobile app that I have to wait to recycle until I'm back at my computer.

Regardless, thanks for the continued and excellent work!

avatar Salim Rahemtulla

Some really nice improvements, Francisco - being able to bring in Natural Planning at the processing stage without having to have the app running in another browser tab is a really great one. I look forward to the mobile app getting closer and closer to the web app, so appreciate your continued efforts there.

Separately, Is there a relatively painless way for us to be able to see deleted items in the mobile app? I've accidentally, albeit rarely, deleted items while working in the mobile app that I have to wait to recycle until I'm back at my computer.

Regardless, thanks for the continued and excellent work!

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Commented 10 months ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Salim,

We'll add the Trash list to the mobile app soon.

Thanks for your feedback! :)

avatar Francisco Sáez

Hi Salim,

We'll add the Trash list to the mobile app soon.

Thanks for your feedback! :)

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Commented 10 months ago Cyrus

Thank you for the great summary of the recent update!

Would it please be possible to not only include the ability to update a project or keep it open until the next Weekly Review, but also close it right there and then? For example, if I finish the last taste on a project and Facile Things says "Your project - Buy a Bike - no longer has any actions. Do you want to add another action, keep it for the next review, or complete it now?" All I have to do is look into my garage, know that I have finished the project, and close it right then and there.

Has there been any more talk about improvements to capturing emails forwarded? Todoist seems to capture emails - the complete email - in a way that allows for inline images without any concerns over email formatting. It would be nice if forwarded emails kept their structure or were processed as an image, captured, added as a PDF, and then attached.

avatar Cyrus

Thank you for the great summary of the recent update!

Would it please be possible to not only include the ability to update a project or keep it open until the next Weekly Review, but also close it right there and then? For example, if I finish the last taste on a project and Facile Things says "Your project - Buy a Bike - no longer has any actions. Do you want to add another action, keep it for the next review, or complete it now?" All I have to do is look into my garage, know that I have finished the project, and close it right then and there.

Has there been any more talk about improvements to capturing emails forwarded? Todoist seems to capture emails - the complete email - in a way that allows for inline images without any concerns over email formatting. It would be nice if forwarded emails kept their structure or were processed as an image, captured, added as a PDF, and then attached.

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Commented 10 months ago Scott

It would be nice to have the new completion date picker available in all locations you can complete an item.

avatar Scott

It would be nice to have the new completion date picker available in all locations you can complete an item.

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Commented 10 months ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Cyrus,

I think that allowing to complete the project in the same notification box is a good idea. I've noted it down to work on it.

We will investigate how to import emails in a more reliable and less intrusive way.

Thanks for your suggestions!

avatar Francisco Sáez

Hi Cyrus,

I think that allowing to complete the project in the same notification box is a good idea. I've noted it down to work on it.

We will investigate how to import emails in a more reliable and less intrusive way.

Thanks for your suggestions!

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Commented 10 months ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Scott,

The completion date picker is available everywhere, but only from the whole list (the "done" button inside the task editor doesn't allow you to change the completion date).

avatar Francisco Sáez

Hi Scott,

The completion date picker is available everywhere, but only from the whole list (the "done" button inside the task editor doesn't allow you to change the completion date).

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Commented 10 months ago Matthew

This is great! I hardly have time to use the old features, nevermind the new ones :)

Regarding Julian's comment that right-clicking to choose a completion date is counterintuitive, here is my suggestion:

1. Each Next Action has two separate icons: the normal checkmark icon which represents that the action was completed today, and a calendar icon which allows you to choose some other completion date.
2. The calendar icon is only visible when you mouseover its Next Action.

This is also not perfect, but maybe you'll like it more than the current design. :)

avatar Matthew

This is great! I hardly have time to use the old features, nevermind the new ones :)

Regarding Julian's comment that right-clicking to choose a completion date is counterintuitive, here is my suggestion:

1. Each Next Action has two separate icons: the normal checkmark icon which represents that the action was completed today, and a calendar icon which allows you to choose some other completion date.
2. The calendar icon is only visible when you mouseover its Next Action.

This is also not perfect, but maybe you'll like it more than the current design. :)

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Commented 10 months ago Francisco Sáez

Hi Matthew,

Thanks for your suggestion! It also has its advantages and disadvantages, but we will take it into account. ;)

avatar Francisco Sáez

Hi Matthew,

Thanks for your suggestion! It also has its advantages and disadvantages, but we will take it into account. ;)

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