I’m reluctant to total up how much I’ve spent on to do apps from the App Store. But I don’t use any of them on a regular basis. So when I came across Task Pro I wasn’t sure whether to take a look or not.

There is one one particular feature available in Task Pro that made the decision for me. It’s a feature that sets it apart from the majority of other to do apps. Read on, and I’ll explain what it is.

Like the article? Be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed and follow us on Twitter to stay up on recent content.

Getting Started

On first opening you’ll notice that Task Pro isn’t big on “pretty”. It’s common for task/project apps to look attractive. I think that sometimes means there is a lack of features. With Task Pro it certainly is a case of “what you see is what you get” and that’s a good thing:

You’ll notice that there are some sample tasks already in place. Tapping on the task will display the details of the task. And there you have a core feature of this app.

Lists, It’s All About the Lists

It depends how you like to organise your tasks, but I think the killer feature of this app is the ability to use lists. Or, if you prefer, sub tasks. Either way, you are not restricted to keeping a one dimensional list of things to do.

So let’s get to it and create a new list. All you do is the tap the ‘+’ icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen and you will be presented with a new window:

The only thing you have to do here is provide a name for the task. There are plenty of other options though, such as setting the priority, adding tags, and setting a due date/time. Each of the options passes you through to another screen to set the options you wish. Tapping “Done” returns you to the main “add a task window” so that you can set other options.

When you have finished adding options, tap on “Done” at the top right of the window and you will be returned to the main screen. That feels all very easy and well organised. Now we get to the good part.

Making It a List

Tapping on the task you have just created will provide you with a blank main screen. Although a little disconcerting at first, a glance at the title bar shows you what is going on:

We are now inside the task. You’ll notice that the “+” button is available at the top right, so we can go ahead and create a new task.

You will see that we get all the usual options as we had before:

While we are at it, let’s add a note to the task:

This is not anything new in a task management app, but it is nice to have here, especially if like me, you like to keep fairly extensive notes about the tasks you have.

Building the List

As you add more items to the list, the important thing to bear in mind is that tapping an item in the list will move you inside that list.

Each item in your main list can have sub tasks.

Tapping the “View” button lets you see the settings for that particular task.

Other Options

Tapping the export button at the bottom of the screen presents you with a couple of useful options:

You can delete or hide completed tasks, and you can email or print the list. Very useful. The calendar button lets you flip between dates to see what task you have due for that date. Again, this nothing unusual but it is a great feature to have always available.

You can also tap the sort button:

I think there are enough options there even for the most organised task keeper!

Syncing

The app currently has no iCloud or DropBox support. I’m not sure if that is a major issue to be honest, since it is a universal app so your tasks are available via the backup system.

You access this via the settings menu. You will need to create an account first, but after that your backup will takes seconds to complete. When you access the same screen on your iPhone, the backup will be available for you to restore from.

The developers have left a note in the backup screen saying that the service will be removed in favour of iCloud support in a future release. Sounds good to me.

The Web Interface

Task Pro comes with a very nice web interface. It is in beta at the moment, so things could go wrong occasionally (although they didn’t while I was testing).

To access it, you click on the setting icon in the bottom left section of the interface. From there, you choose the “Desktop Editing Server” option. Doing so will produce this screen (after you have switched it on with the toggle button):

Go to the given url in your web browser on your laptop or desktop computer and enter the access code you have been provided with, and you will get a browser version of the app:

You can use it to do all of the main things the app has to offer. I think this is a really nice feature, and has a lot of potential for future versions of the app.

Finally…

If you are looking for a task management app with an inspiring interface Task Pro probably isn’t it. However, if you are looking for a way to keep tasks in organised lists then Task Pro is definitely the app to get.

It amazes me that an app like Things for example, misses out on such an important feature. Especially when there is such a price difference; Task Pro is $1.99 while Things is $19.99. I know that Things uses the GTD concept but even so, being able to manage projects through task lists is far more intuitive in my opinion.

So Task Pro has become my app of choice for managing tasks. The web interface is an especially nice touch, and the fact that it is a universal app makes it really good value for money.