BusyCal can manage all your tasks (also known as to dos or reminders). Tasks can be displayed in a Task List and/or in the calendar on the date they are due.

Tasks come in three flavors:

• Dated Tasks — Tasks with a due date are displayed in the calendar and optionally on the Task List.
• Timed Task — Tasks with a due date and time can be displayed in the calendar and optionally on the Task List.
• Undated Tasks — To dos without a due date are displayed in the Task List only, although you can hide them there if you prefer.

Task List

To show the Task List, tap Task at the bottom of BusyCal’s main screen.

The Task List can be sorted by Due Date, Priority, Title, Calendar, Tag, or Manually. To change the sort order, tap the current sort order at the top of the screen (such as “By Due Date”), tap Sort By, and then tap the new sort criterion.

You can also set the following options there to filter the Task List:

• Show Items Due — Tap this followed by the the due date range you want to appear on the list: Hide Dated Tasks; or By Today, By Tomorrow, By Next Week, By Next Month, or By Next Year.
• Show Completed — Tap this followed by how far back you want completed tasks to appear on the list, based on the date items were marked as completed: None, Today, Since Yesterday, Since Last Week, Since Last Month, or Since Last Year.
• Show Items With No Due Date — Turn this on or off to show or hide undated tasks.

Tasks in the Calendar

Regardless of your Task List settings, dated tasks and completed tasks can optionally appear in the calendar on the date they are due or completed. If a task is not completed on its due date, it carries forward each day until completed. To control whether or not tasks appear in the calendar, go to Settings > Show Tasks in Calendar and select the settings you prefer.

Creating Tasks

To create a new task, tap the + (plus) icon in the upper-right corner of BusyCal’s calendar (or Task List) view. Then tap Task, and fill in the details. To make it a dated task, turn on Due Date and fill in the date; for a timed task, also turn on Due Time and fill in the time. Then tap Done.

If you have turned on Settings > New Event Defaults > Create with Natural Language, you can also create tasks using Natural Language. If a date is included, BusyCal creates a dated task with a due date. Otherwise, an undated task with no due date is created. For example:

• Call Bob
• Call Bob tomorrow
• Call Bob next Tuesday
• Call Bob Nov 7
• Buy Milk

If you mark a task as completed by tapping the “done” checkbox in the calendar, Task List, or Event Details view, the completed task appears with a checkmark in front of it on the date that it was completed.

Deleting Tasks

To delete a task while in List view or viewing the Task List, swipe leftward on the task, and then tap Delete. In other views, tap the task to display its Event Details, and then tap Delete Task; tap Delete again to confirm.

Task Settings

To customize how tasks are created and displayed, go to Settings > New Event Defaults > New Task Defaults.

The following options are available for customizing tasks:

• Default Calendar — The default calendar new tasks are created in.
• Default Priority — The default priority (None, Low, Medium, or High) for new tasks.
• Default Due Date — Whether new tasks are, by default, Undated or Dated (due on Same Day, Next Day, In 2–6 Days, or In 1 Week).
• Default Due Time — If a default due date has been set above, you may also set a default due time.

Repeating Tasks

You can create tasks that repeat based on the due date (e.g., Pay Rent on the 1st of every month).

Note: BusyCal for Mac can also create tasks that repeat based on the completion date of the previous task (e.g., Oil Change 3 months after completion of the last Oil Change). Although you can’t create these types of repeats in BusyCal for iOS, any such tasks created in BusyCal for Mac sync to your iOS device and display on the proper date.

To create a repeating task, tap Repeat in the Event Details view followed by an interval: None, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly. Then, if you want to set the end point for the task, tap End Repeat followed by Never (never end), On Date followed by the date on which you want it to end, or After followed by the number of times you want the task to repeat.

iCloud and Reminders

To dos in BusyCal sync with the Reminders app in iOS and OS X through iCloud.

iCloud calendars are type-specific. Each iCloud calendar can contain either events or tasks, but not both. BusyCal indicates a task calendar by displaying “(Task Calendar)” next to its name. The task calendars in BusyCal sync with the Reminder Lists in the Reminders app on iOS and OS X through iCloud.

Note: BusyCal does not sync tasks with Google Calendar. You can create tasks only on iCloud calendars, Exchange calendars, and CalDAV servers that support tasks.

Tasks with Location Alarms

The Reminders app on an iOS device with a cellular radio (all iPhones and some iPads) can display location alarms when arriving at or leaving a specified location. For example, you could create a task to “Pick up dry cleaning” that triggers when you leave the office. Although you can create location alarms in BusyCal for Mac or in the Reminders app for iOS or OS X, you can’t do so within BusyCal for iOS. However, BusyCal does sync and display any such alarms you created elsewhere.

Note: BusyCal supports location alarms only on iCloud task calendars.