@nikulin
I am sorry that "Waiting" tasks manual sorting is not supported yet.

Here is the current rules for task sorting.
Waiting tasks are sorted by Priority (in descending order) – Deadline (in ascending order) – Forwarding Time(in ascending order) – Update time (in ascending order)

@fangmengjia - this is very interesting - Forwarding Time and Update Time.

Are these two factors also present in the new default placement algorithm for the manually sorted Next list?

My personal preference for all lists (Next, Waiting, Someday) would be that tasks are placed by default by priority with the newest task first, and that the user can adjust this manually for some tasks if he wants to, but does not have to. This would combine the convenience of the "old" automatic sorting with the flexibility of the "new" manual sorting.

Update time: I personally do not want my tasks to jump just because I edit them. I think Update Time could be taken out of the sorting algorithm completely.

Forwarding time: Is this the initial creation date in Doit? Or is it the date on which the task was moved to this box? Or is it something else? I personally would prefer to have the date for "moved/created to this box" clearly visible and also being actively used for a "latest on top" default placement. This date is very useful for many things, for example seeing easily since when I have been Waiting for someone for to finish a delegated task, or for seeing when I actually put something on my Next list and still have not done it. (And ideally, Today should not count as a box in this regard, because we need to be able to star and un-star tasks more freely without thereby tampering with the age of the task.)

@fangmengjia Thank you for your answer! Can you add option to sort it by Adding Time Descending? I need latest tasks at the top.

@nikulin
Hi,

I am sorry that there is no option for sorting now. Do you mean group by? Why do you need the Adding Time?

@wendy_only I know you asked @nikulin, not me, but the "added to this box" date is useful for:

- automatic sorting (or sub-sorting or sub-sub-sorting etc), to have the latest task automatically placed at the top of its "group" (or cluster). This is very useful. Normally we consider the new tasks more important than the old ones that we have already ignored for so long. Plus it is easier to spot the new tasks if they are at the top where we do not have to scroll down so far.

- to see very easily since when I have been having this task in this box and nothing has been done about it. This is useful for helping to decide whether something needs to be changed with the task in order for me to notice it better in the appropriate situations (rewording it more clearly? change priority? different tags? etc), or to determine that this task is simply too old and dead already and should be weeded out.

The main difference between having an "original task creation date" and "added to this box" date is that we can often reuse tasks (nicely worded, projects and tags and comments already defined etc) and just drag it from Next to Waiting etc instead of completing the task and recreating an almost identical one. On such occasions we would need the date to be updated. But alternatively, there could be a "clone and modify" command to create the new task very easily, and then you simply check off the old task - in this case there would be no difference between original creation date and added to box date.

What is the "Forwarding Date" that @fangmengjia mentioned, that Doit already has? Maybe this is the date we are all looking for? So maybe you already have it in Doit? All that is required then is to have it used in the right direction (latest on top) and make it clearly visible.

And the Update date as such I think should be ignored for all sorting purposes. Only if the task is edited in such a way that a sorting parameter is changed, for example new priority or deadline date, then the change should be reflected accordingly in the sorting order, but not if other changes are made, e.g. changes to the task's wording or its subtasks etc.

@Folke
Hi,

Forwarding Time is the time that you sent to the task to your contact. It is also the time that the task go to Waiting in this case. If you do not send the task,just drag and drop the task to Waiting,there is no Forwarding Time.

Best regards,
Doit.im Team

@wendy_only

Thank you. I see.

Then it seems that a generalized version of the Forwarding Time would be the same as the "Adding Time". In practice, what counts is the date (time) on which the other person's duty began to do the task for us. Whether he/she was instructed by us via Doit or via email or via a phone call or in person makes no real difference. It is his/her starting date that matters. This date is the same as the date on which we place the task in Waiting.

It could even be a repeating task, for example if someone has a duty to send us a report after the expiry of each month. The duty to send the February report would then begin on March 1 etc.

Exactly the same kind of logic can be applied to Next and Someday. The "Adding Time" for tasks on the Next list would mean the day we committed ourselves for sure to doing this task sooner or later. On the Someday/Maybe list it would mean the date we committed this task to memory as a mere possibility. In all cases this is a useful date to be able to see.