Daily Checklist with Focus Timer

Welcome to Daily Checklist! This guide will help you get started with managing your daily tasks, custom checklists, reminders, and using the focus timer.

Stay organized and boost your productivity with the Daily Checklist application! This Java-based desktop program helps you manage your daily tasks efficiently while incorporating a built-in Focus Timer to keep you on track during focused work sessions.

Features

• Daily Task Management: Add, edit, rename, and remove tasks for your morning and evening routines with flexible scheduling (daily, weekday, or specific days).
• Subtasks: Add subtasks to any daily or custom task. Subtasks appear directly below their parent and are indented. Marking all subtasks as done marks the parent as done, and marking the parent as done marks all subtasks as done. Only one level of subtasks is supported. Reminders that target a subtask will show the subtask's name in the reminder dialog and — when applicable — a small breadcrumb showing the checklist and parent task for context.
• Custom Checklists: Create named checklists for specific projects, habits, or one-off task lists with support for adding multiple tasks at once.
• Today View (Timeline): Visual 24-hour timeline showing all reminders for the current day. Click any reminder block to jump directly to the task or checklist. Hover for details.
• Search Functionality: Quickly find tasks across all checklists with real-time search (Ctrl+F) and jump directly to selected tasks.
• Reminders: Set date/time reminders for any checklist with notifications and visual clock icons.
• Focus Timer: Start a customizable timer for any task to maintain focus and track progress with visual indicators.
• Split-Pane UI: Modern interface with daily tasks on the left and custom checklists on the right.
• Interactive Features: Context menus, drag-and-drop reordering with visual feedback, multi-selection (Ctrl+click), keyboard shortcuts, and intuitive clicking (checkbox toggles completion, text selects items).
• Data Persistence: Tasks saved to XML files, reminders in properties files for fast access.
• Cross-Platform: Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux (requires Java).

Why Pure Java?

Daily Checklist is built as a pure Java application with zero external dependencies, offering several key advantages:

• No Dependencies: Runs on any system with Java installed - no additional libraries, frameworks, or package managers required
• Small Size: Lightweight JAR file (under 100KB) with minimal footprint
• Fast Startup: No dependency loading overhead
• Secure: Uses only built-in Java APIs, reducing potential security vulnerabilities from third-party libraries
• Portable: Single JAR file that works across all platforms
• XML Storage: Leverages Java's built-in XML processing capabilities for data persistence, ensuring compatibility and security

Requirements

• Java: JDK 16 or higher (for compilation and runtime). The codebase uses several language features that require newer Java releases:
  • var (local-variable type inference) and var in lambda parameters require Java 10/11.
  • Pattern matching for instanceof (e.g., if (x instanceof T t)) is used in several places and requires Java 16 or later. Set your build JDK to 16+ to compile and run the project without source-level errors.
• Operating System: Windows, macOS, or Linux.

Installation

1. Clone or Download: Get the project files from the repository.
2. Build the JAR:
   • Run build.bat (Windows) to compile and package the application.
   • This creates target/dailychecklist.jar.
3. Run the Application:
   • Execute java -jar target/dailychecklist.jar to start the app.

No additional dependencies are required for runtime.

Building from Source

Quick Build

Run build.bat (Windows) or build.sh (Unix/Linux/macOS) to compile and package the application. This creates build/dailychecklist.jar.

Running Tests

The project includes a comprehensive test suite covering core functionality:

# Run tests (downloads JUnit/JaCoCo automatically if not present)
run_tests.bat

First Run: The test runner will automatically download required libraries:

• JUnit 4.13.2 (testing framework)
• Hamcrest 1.3 (assertion library)
• JaCoCo 0.8.11 (code coverage - may not support Java 24+)

These libraries are saved to the lib/ directory (git-ignored) and only downloaded once.

Test Suite: Includes tests for:

• Task entity (creation, subtasks, completion states)
• TaskManager (add, update, remove operations)
• XMLTaskRepository (persistence and O(1) optimization verification)
• Checklist entity (basic operations)

Note: Code coverage reports require JaCoCo which may not support the latest Java versions. Tests will still run successfully but coverage reporting may fail on Java 24+.

Project Structure

To build the JAR manually:

1. Ensure Java JDK is installed and javac/jar are in your PATH.
2. Run the build script:
   • Windows: .\build.bat
   • Linux/macOS: ./build.sh
3. The JAR will be generated in the target/ directory.

• Clean Build: Delete the target/ folder and re-run the build script.
• Note: The build process compiles Java sources and includes resources, documentation, and license files.

Usage

Starting the Application

• Double-click dailychecklist.jar or run java -jar dailychecklist.jar.
• The main window appears with a split-pane layout: daily tasks on the left, custom checklists on the right.

Managing Daily Tasks

Subtasks

• To add a subtask, use the "Add Task" dialog and select a parent task (if supported), or right-click a task and choose "Add Subtask" (if available).
• Subtasks are shown directly below their parent and are indented for clarity.
• When all subtasks are marked as done, the parent task is automatically marked as done.
• Marking a parent task as done will also mark all its subtasks as done. Unmarking a parent will unmark all subtasks.
• Subtasks are supported in both daily and custom checklists.

1. Add a New Daily Task

• Click the "Add Task" button (or Ctrl+A).
• Enter the task name in the text field.
• Select the time of day (Morning or Evening).
• Choose the frequency:
  • Daily: Every day.
  • Weekday: Monday to Friday.
  • Specific Day: Choose from Monday to Sunday.
• Click "Add Task" to save it.

2. View and Interact with Daily Tasks

• The left panel shows tasks grouped by Morning/Evening.
• Check "Show weekday tasks" to include weekday-specific tasks.
• Click the checkbox to mark tasks complete/uncomplete instantly.
• Click the task text to select tasks (supports multi-selection with Ctrl+click and range selection with Shift+click).
• Double-click tasks to toggle completion.
• Right-click a task for options:
  • Start Focus Timer: Begin a timed session.
  • Rename: Edit the task name.
  • Remove: Delete the task.
• Drag and drop to reorder tasks (shows visual preview of dragged items).

Managing Custom Checklists

1. Create a Custom Checklist

• In the right panel, enter a name in the text field (name cannot be empty).
• Click "Create Checklist".
• The checklist appears in the list and is automatically selected.

2. Add Tasks to Custom Checklists

• Select a checklist from the list.
• In the "Add Tasks" area below the task list, enter one task per line.
• Click "Add Tasks" to add all entered tasks at once.
• Empty lines are automatically skipped.

3. Manage Checklists and Tasks

• Click the checkbox next to tasks to mark them complete/uncomplete.
• Click task text to select tasks (supports multi-selection with Ctrl+click).
• Double-click tasks to rename them.
• Right-click a checklist name for options:
  • Rename: Change the checklist name.
  • Delete: Remove the checklist and its tasks.
  • Add Reminder: Set a date/time reminder.
  • View/Edit Reminders: Manage existing reminders.
• Right-click tasks within checklists to rename or remove them.
• Drag and drop tasks between checklists or within checklists (shows visual preview).

Using Reminders

1. Add Reminders

• Right-click a checklist and select "Add Reminder".
• Set the date and time.
• The app checks for reminders every minute.

2. Manage Reminders

• Right-click a checklist and select "View/Edit Reminders".
• Edit or delete existing reminders.
• When reminder time arrives, choose to open the checklist or mark as done.

Using the Today View (Timeline)

The "Today" tab provides a visual timeline of all reminders scheduled for the current day.

Viewing Reminders

• Click the "Today" tab to see a 24-hour timeline (00:00 – 23:59).
• Each reminder appears as a colored block at its scheduled time.
• Multiple reminders at the same time appear side by side.

Interacting with Reminders

• Click any reminder block to jump directly to the associated task or checklist.
• Hover over a reminder block to see full details (time, task name, parent task if applicable).
• The view automatically refreshes when reminders are added, removed, or modified.

Using the Focus Timer

• Right-click any task and select "Start Focus Timer."
• Set the timer duration (in minutes) and click "OK."
• The timer window appears:
  • Displays remaining time.
  • Circle panel shows progress (each circle = 5 minutes).
  • Use keyboard shortcuts (Space to pause/resume).
• When time expires, a notification alerts you.

Settings

• Access via the menu bar.
• Configure application preferences.

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Add Task: Ctrl+A
• Refresh Tasks: F5
• Multi-select Tasks: Ctrl+click (hold Ctrl while clicking multiple tasks)
• Range-select Tasks: Shift+click (select range between first and last clicked task)
• Delete Selected Tasks: Delete key (when tasks are selected)
• Timer Controls: Space (pause/resume), Enter (start)

Configuration

• Data Storage: Tasks (including parent/subtask relationships) are stored in dailychecklist-tasks.xml, reminders in dailychecklist-reminders.properties in the user home directory. Automatic backups include the full task XML (so subtasks are included in backups).
• Settings: Managed via the Settings dialog (persisted in user preferences).
• Performance: In-memory caching ensures fast access to frequently used data.

Troubleshooting

• Build Issues: Ensure JDK is installed. Check for compilation errors in the console.
• Runtime Errors: Verify Java version (java -version). Ensure no conflicting JARs.
• Data Loss: Backup XML and properties files regularly.
• Checklists Not Appearing: New checklists appear immediately after creation. If not visible after restart, they may not have tasks.
• Reminders Not Working: Ensure the app is running for notifications. Reminders are checked every minute.
• Performance Issues: The app uses efficient caching; restart if UI becomes unresponsive.

Development

• Project Structure:
  • src/main/java/: Source code.

Project Structure

• Source Code:
  • src/main/java/: Main application source code.
  • src/main/resources/: Resources (e.g., MANIFEST.MF).
• Testing:
  • test/java/: Unit tests for core functionality.
  • run_tests.bat: Test runner with automatic dependency download.
  • lib/: Downloaded test libraries (git-ignored, auto-created).
• Build:
  • build.bat / build.sh: Build scripts.
  • build/: Compiled classes and JAR file.
• Contributing: Fork the repo, make changes, and submit a pull request.

License

This project is licensed under the terms specified in the LICENSE file. See the license for details on usage, distribution, and modifications.

Support

• Issues: Report bugs or request features via the repository's issue tracker.
• Documentation: Refer to this README or inline code comments.
• Contact: Check the About dialog in the app for developer info.

Enjoy staying organized and focused with Daily Checklist!