HOWTO: Creating and Editing Custom Lists on Windows PC

Create a list with the New List menu item on the File menu. The New List Wizard will let you choose the type of list you want to create from the list of Templates. Then choose the columns you want and enter a name for your list.

You can use the Quick List feature by using the New List button. Pressing this button will instantly create a simple checklist with only a checkbox and an item column.

Once you’ve created your list, you can edit it at any time by double-clicking its name, or choosing the Properties menu item or button. The List Properties window will open to let you edit your list.

Set up the columns you want to use with this list on the Columns Tab:

The Columns tab allows you to choose which columns will be displayed on the screen for this list. Note that information will remain in a column for any list even if it’s not displayed, though it will be deleted if you explicitly delete the column. You can hide any columns in a list without losing any information in that column.
Check the check box next to each column you would like to be displayed. Columns that are not checked will not appear in the list.
Use the Add button to add a completely new column. You’ll see a popup menu that will let you choose the type of column to add, and the column will be created with a default name (which you can change).
Use the Delete button to delete an existing column. Note that you can only delete columns that you’ve added. The default columns (those with an asterisk next to them: Checkbox, Flag, Priority, Amount, Units, Item, Category, Date, Notes) can’t be deleted.
Use the Modify button to rename a column or change its properties.
Select a column name and use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to change a column’s position in the list. The order the columns appear in this list determines the order they will appear when the list is displayed. Once you’ve created the list, you can also rearrange the list’s columns by dragging a column header to a new position in the List Items pane.

Make sure you check the Flag column’s check box if you want to use the list as a Two-Step, or Shopping List. When you do this, the Flag column appears in the list. You can flag items in this column, then choose the Flag Tool to show a list containing only those flagged items.

Enter basic configuration information for the list on the Settings Tab:
Check Show item number if you want the items in the list to be numbered. The item number will appear in the Item column.
Check Show alert on list completion to display an alert window when you’ve completed all items on the list. This window will also allow you to reset the list.
Check Status count includes subitems if you want indented items to be included in the tabulation of the number checked items, flagged items and totals items that is displayed in the status bar.
Check Auto-check parent items to cause a parent item to be checked automatically when all of its children have been checked. If a child then becomes unchecked, the parent is then unchecked also.
Check Ordered List to retain the list item order when you sort. If this is not checked the list item order will be changed to the new sorted order when you sort. If you check this item, sorting the list will cause the items to be temporarily displayed in sorted order, but the original order of the items will be remembered. You may want to turn this setting on if you’ve checked Show Item Number or if the original item order is important to you.
Check Strikeout checked items to show checked items with a line through them when they have been completed.

Configure the actions taken when this list is reset using the Reset Tab:

Check Flags if the Flag column should be cleared when the list is reset.
Check Yes/No columns if you want all the Yes/No columns you added to be cleared when you reset the list.
Check 3-State columns if you want all the 3-State columns you added to be cleared when you reset the list.
Check Amounts if you want the amounts (Amt) column to be cleared when you reset the list.
Check Highlight if you want the Highlight color to be cleared when you reset the list.
Select Reset all items if the columns checked above should be cleared in all items when you reset the list.
Select Reset only checked items if the columns checked above should only be cleared in items where the predefined Checkbox column is checked.

Set up special colors for displaying items on the Format tab:

The Color For Checked items text box shows the color for an item that has been Checked. You can use the Change button to change this color.
The Color For Flagged items text box shows the color for an item that has been Flagged but not Checked. Use the Change button to change this color.
The Font text box shows the default font set for the list. Use the Change button to change the font.

If both options are selected, items that are both checked and flagged will be the Checked item color.

Set up reminders or alarms for this list on the Alarms Tab:

The name of the column the alarms will be based on is displayed at the top. Alarms are always based on the predefined Date column, so the current name of this column will be displayed (which may be something other than “Date”? if you’ve renamed it).
Check Enable alarms for this list to turn on the alarms function for this list.
Check Time of day to display alarms if your Date column is Date Only and you want the alarm to go off at a certain time of day. Enter the time of day to sound the alarm in the following field. If you don’t check this option, alarms for Date Only columns will go off at 8:00. Note that this setting takes affect only if your Date column is Date Only; with Date and Time columns the alarm will always go off at the time given in the item.

In order for alarms to work in your list, you must also enable alarms for the current File. You can do this by choosing Preferences from the Tools menu and checking Enable alarms for this file on this computer. Using alarms also requires that your predefined Date column be configured as either Date Only or Date and Time. Alarms will not operate if the Date column is Time Only.