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    Make Tasks Look and Read the Way You Like

    Choose how much of each task you see, show dates as a countdown, pick a theme and icon, and use Tasks comfortably with larger text or VoiceOver.

    By Mustafa Yusuf4 min read
    On this page
    1. Choose how each task looks
    2. Pick a theme, an icon and a badge
    3. Update your name and photo
    4. Make Tasks easier to read and use

    Some people want one tidy line per task. Others want to see the notes and link at a glance. Task settings lets you choose, and a live preview of Plan the team offsite shows the result before you leave the screen.

    Choose how each task looks

    1. Tap the gear at the top left of Home to open Settings.
    2. Under Preferences, tap Task settings.
    3. Use + and − or the menus to change the options below, and watch the Preview card update.
    1. Press ⌘, to open the Settings window.
    2. Choose Task settings in the sidebar.
    3. Change the options below and watch the Preview card update.
    Setting Choices Good for
    Title All lines, or 1 to 5 lines Long titles that should stay readable
    Other text fields None, or 1 to 5 lines Seeing notes under each task without opening it
    Display dates as Date or Countdown Countdown shows how long is left, such as in 23 hours, instead of Tomorrow, 12:00
    Links None, Simple or Rich Simple shows the site name. Rich also shows the page icon and title.

    Your choices apply everywhere tasks appear: lists, boards and widgets.

    Three iPhone screens: Settings for Alex with the Tasks Plus banner and Preferences listing Notification settings, Task settings, App icons and App theme; Task settings with Title on All lines, Other text fields on None, Display dates as Date and Links on Simple, and a Preview of Plan the team offsite due Tomorrow, 12:00 with a thetasks.app link; and Task settings with Other text fields on 2 lines, Countdown dates and Rich links, so the preview shows the note, in 23 hours and a rich link.Open full size in a new tab
    Start from the defaults, then add two lines of notes, countdown dates and rich links. The preview shows the difference straight away.
    The Tasks Settings window on Mac in dark mode with Task settings selected: Title on All lines, Other text fields on 2 lines, Display dates as Countdown and Links on Rich, and a Preview of Plan the team offsite with its note, in 22 hours and a rich link.Open full size in a new tab
    On Mac, Task settings sits in the Settings window sidebar, with the same live preview.

    Pick a theme, an icon and a badge

    In Settings, under Preferences:

    • App theme follows your iPhone with System, or stays Light or Dark.
    • App icons offers a grid of alternate icons in white, black and colourful styles. Tap one to put it on your Home Screen. Alternate icons are part of Tasks Plus.
    • Notification settings chooses what the red badge on the app icon counts. Turn on Today, Late or both, or turn on None for no badge.
    Three iPhone screens: the App theme choices System, Light, Dark and Cancel over Settings; the App icons grid with rainbow, purple, blue, green and orange check marks on white, black and colour backgrounds; and Notification settings for the app icon badge with None off and Today and Late on.Open full size in a new tab
    Pick a theme, choose an icon for your Home Screen, and decide which tasks the badge counts.

    In the Settings window, choose App theme and pick System, Light or Dark. The whole app switches straight away. Alternate app icons are an iPhone feature.

    The Tasks Settings window on Mac in dark mode with App theme selected, showing Change the app theme with System chosen and Light and Dark below.Open full size in a new tab
    System follows your Mac, so Tasks turns dark when macOS does.

    Choose Notification settings to pick what the Dock icon badge counts: Today, Late, or None.

    The Tasks Settings window on Mac in dark mode with Notification settings selected, showing the badge options None unchecked and Today and Late checked.Open full size in a new tab
    With Today and Late checked, the badge counts what is due today plus anything overdue.

    Update your name and photo

    When you are signed in, your name and email sit at the top of Settings. This is what people in shared projects see.

    1. In Settings, tap your name.
    2. Tap the camera to change your photo, and edit your Name and Display Name. Tap the copy button to copy your email.
    3. Tap Save.

    The ⋯ menu at the top right has Logout and Delete account. To delete your account, Tasks asks you to type confirm first. It cannot be undone.

    Two iPhone screens: the Profile screen for Alex with a photo and camera button, Name Alex, Display Name Alex Morgan, the email alex@tasks.app with a copy button and a Save button; and the same screen with the more menu open on Logout and Delete account.Open full size in a new tab
    Your display name is what collaborators see. Logout and Delete account wait in the more menu.

    Click your name at the top of the Settings sidebar, make your changes and click Save. The ⋯ button has Logout and Delete account.

    The Tasks Settings window on Mac in dark mode with Alex selected, showing the profile photo with a camera button, Name Alex, Display Name Alex Morgan, the email alex@tasks.app with a copy button, a more button and Save.Open full size in a new tab
    The profile on Mac has the same fields and the same more menu.

    Make Tasks easier to read and use

    • Larger text. Tasks follows your system text size. On iPhone, go to Settings, Display & Brightness, Text Size, or use Accessibility, Larger Text for even bigger sizes.
    • VoiceOver. Buttons and fields have clear labels, and each task offers a Mark as action for its next status, so you can move work along without dragging.
    • Reduce Motion. When it is on in your system settings, Tasks keeps animations calm.
    • Clear names. Give statuses and tags written names as well as colours, so you never need to remember what a colour means.

    Prefer the keyboard? See Keyboard shortcuts and Mac power features.

    Try Countdown dates for a week. If you like knowing that something is due in 2 days more than on the 28th, keep it.

    Questions, ideas or a setup you'd like us to look at? Email tasks@msquarelabs.com.