Haha, I was just browsing the forum to look if someone else has posted this already or if I should do it.

+1 for folders. At least for projects.

Don't know what to need them for for contexts

Haha, I just noticed some popular ideas are coming up yet again, and basically I am all for it - but let's be careful:

Project folders already exist in Doit, and they are called Goals. The problem is you cannot do much with them, except assign projects to them and thereby make your left menu tidier. Some additional functionality is needed (e.g. filtering, grouping, consolidated task list), but I see no point in introducing yet another type of "folder"..

Context folders in the sense of an implied hierarchical application of parent contexts does not exist in Doit. I would love it, say be able to tag a task with Mary and then automatically also be able to see this task when I filter for Purchasing ( assuming I have defined Mary "under" Purchasing). A similar effect could also be achieved by having automatic "also-tagging" - not necessarily hierarchical - such that if you apply tag A then Doit also applies tag Q immediately. The two methods have their pros and cons.

Context folders in the sense of managing a wide variety of combination contexts, such as Errands alone, Errands with Children, Errands with Boss etc I think are better dealt with by using Doit's existing Tags feature, but the two features need to be better integrated and harmonized, given that both Contexts and Tags typically represent contextual requirements for being able to do a certain task. It should be possible to specify many such contextual requirements for each task, and still have the option to use a limited subset of these as mutually exclusive list group headings (group by context) and in the left menu, just as the Contexts work today.

(And all such contextual requirements, i.e. Contexts and Tags or whatever they will call them, need to be visible on the task line for convenient double-checking. Otherwise no one will dare to use them, given how easy it is to forget to apply a tag.)

I think the most recent threads this is: http://help.doit.im/topics/3420 (and to some extent http://help.doit.im/topics/3423)

Hi Folke.

The problem i see it is that goals are mostly redundant and not that functional. Simply allowing the user to group projects in folders would be of more use.

Re tags, they are almost a hidden feature. Appearing nowhere on the left bar or in the task list. Being able to add multiple tags is a very powerful feature, but they need to be more obvious, and imho, appear on the left bar

Hi philcuddy,

Re tags, yes indeed, the tags need to be fully visible. I cannot really use them as long as they are invisible. But that should be a relatively simple change for Doit to do. And they need to be integrated with the contexts, too, which should not be too difficult, such that Tags ARE all the real individual contexts, and the Contexts are just those chosen contexts (Tags) that you want to group your lists by. In other words Contexts would need to be just a subset of the Tags.

Re goals, yes someone else said something similar somewhere, but did not point out how they are different. In Doit, a Goal is in fact just a way of grouping projects under an "umbrella". A Folder is also a way of grouping projects under an "umbrella". So what is the difference? Is it just the name you do not like? In both cases you would typically use these "umbrellas" to represent large GTD "groups of areas of responsibility" (such as Private, Non-Profit and Business) and/or for major GTD goals (objectives) such as "establish new business A".

Grouping of projects really serves no other meaningful purpose that I can see, so if they would introduce virtually the same feature all over again but call it Folders or Crates or Something, what would you use the other grouping for?

Personally, I am quite satisfied with the name Goal as such (but I would not die if it were to be renamed). What I am curious about is what it is, beyond the name as such, that you actually object to? I have a long list of feature requests myself concerning these Goals/Folders/Umbrellas/Containers/Crates/Boxes/Things/whatchamacallems, e.g the ability to group and filter by them and also to have a complete task and project list for each one when you click their name in the left menu. As you say, they are quite dysfunctional at the moment. What other features is it that you have in mind for these Folders/Goals/whatever?