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    Scott Kingery
    email: techlifeweb@duck.com



    Systems Analyst. Exploring the digital life. #NASASocial alum. Fan: Padres, Seahawks, craft beer. #MoreSignalLessNoise

    Obsidian Tasks Custom Statuses

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    Earlier this evening I was trying to figure out if I could have Obsidian Tasks community plugin https://github.com/obsidian-tasks-group/obsidian-tasks alongside checklists. The Tasks plugin is nice for many reasons. One being that it prompts you with some values to help you set due dates and also automatically records when you complete a task. You can turn off the default stamping of completion dates but I find it handy.

    In my mind, a checklist doesn't really need a date completed. Let's take a Packing List as an example. If I mark the "Shirts" item as done that merely indicates to me that the item is in my bag I have no reason to have a date on there.

    The solution to this is custom statuses in Obsidian Tasks.

    Screenshot of Obsidian Custom Statuses

    In Obsidian Tasks settings you can set all kinds of custom statuses. Here I have set 2 of them. What this allows is for me to create a note and put in the markdown something like:

    - [?] Shirts
- [?] Socks
- [?] Jeans

    When I click on one of the list entries, it fills the check box with 'o'. In other words, lets say I've packed my Shirts and Socks, the list would look like:

    - [o] Shirts
- [o] Socks
- [?] Jeans

    The advantage here is that the way I have these states set up in the settings, neither one is a 'DONE' state to the Tasks Plugin. Thus, we don't get the date stamp. Exactly what I want for this purpose.

    Here's the non-markdown view of the above:

    Screenshot of Obsidian packing list checklist

    Happy list making in Obsidian! Obsidian Notes

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    Posted:

    "Trying to figure a way for Tasks and checklists to coexist in Obsidian. The Tasks plugin is handy because when you mark things complete it adds a date. There are reasons I like this. However, there are times when I might want a check list (e.g., Packing LIst) where I wouldn't care about the completion date just that the item is in my bag. #Obsidian @obsidianmd"

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    Pro tip: When you are done configuring your home router, open the web interface and go through each section. Take screenshots and paste them in to Obsidian or your PKM system of choice. Maybe even go as far as making a note as to why you set something the way you did. You'll thank me later. #Obsidian #pkm