Task Sorting & Tools Plugin

NOTE: The functions in this plugin were previously part of the "Task Automations" plugin. @eduardme suggested we break out the sorting functions and move them here.

Latest Updates

See CHANGELOG for latest updates/changes to this plugin.

About This Plugin

Commands for sorting tasks in a note

Major Sorting functions

• Sorting tasks (by various task fields or simply bringing tasks to the top of the note)

Other Task Tools

• Marking a task (or multiple) done and creating a follow-up/related task with a link to the done one
• Marking all tasks complete (or incomplete)
• Copying tags/mentions from previous lines when doing multiple task entry

Understanding Task Type Grouping (Interleaving)

When sorting tasks, the plugin can handle task types in two ways:

Combined Mode (Recommended - Default)

Groups related task types together and sorts them as one unit:

• Open Tasks: * open tasks + + checklist items (sorted together by priority)
• Scheduled Tasks: * [>] scheduled + + [>] scheduled checklist items
• Completed Tasks: * [x] done + + [x] completed checklist items
• Cancelled Tasks: * [-] cancelled + + [-] cancelled checklist items

Result: 4 logical groups that make more sense for daily use

Example output:

### Open Tasks:
* !!! high priority open task
+ !! medium priority checklist item
* ! low priority open task
+ another checklist item

### Completed Tasks:
* [x] completed task @done(2025-11-06)
+ [x] completed checklist @done(2025-11-06)

Separated Mode (Traditional)

Keeps all 8 task types completely separate:

1. Open tasks (*)
2. Checklist items (+)
3. Scheduled tasks (* [>])
4. Scheduled checklists (+ [>])
5. Done tasks (* [x])
6. Done checklists (+ [x])
7. Cancelled tasks (* [-])
8. Cancelled checklists (+ [-])

Result: 8 separate sections (can be verbose for notes with mixed task types)

How to Control Task Grouping

• Interactive (/ts): Will prompt you to choose each time
• Quick Commands (/tsd, /tsm, /tst, /tsc): Set in Plugin Preferences → "Combine Related Task Types?"
• Via x-callback-url: Pass true or false as arg4 (interleaveTaskTypes parameter)
• Default: Combined mode (interleaving enabled)

Customization Options

Localize or Rename Task Type Headings

You can customize the text used for each task type heading in Plugin Preferences:

Headings used when COMBINING task types (recommended mode):

• Open Tasks → includes both * tasks and + checklist items (e.g., "Tareas Abiertas" in Spanish)
• Scheduled Tasks → includes both * [>] and + [>] items (e.g., "Tâches Planifiées" in French)
• Completed Tasks → includes both * [x] and + [x] items (e.g., "已完成" in Chinese)
• Cancelled Tasks → includes both * [-] and + [-] items

Additional headings used ONLY in traditional mode (8 separate sections):

• Checklist Items → for + items only (e.g., "Lista de Verificación")
• Scheduled Checklist Items → for + [>] items only
• Completed Checklist Items → for + [x] items only
• Cancelled Checklist Items → for + [-] items only

To customize:

1. Open Plugin Preferences for Task Sorting
2. Scroll to "Task Type Heading Customization" section
3. Change any heading text as desired
4. Leave blank to use default English headings

Control Empty Category Headings

Set "Show Empty Task Category Headings?" in Plugin Preferences:

• Unchecked (recommended): Only show headings for categories that have tasks
• Checked: Show all category headings even when empty

Sorting Tasks

/ts - Tasks Sort (Interactively choose sort order and headings style)

This plugin will sort your tasks in the open note in the Editor interactively so you can choose how you want it to work and output

When you run /ts, it will sort the tasks into task types (open|scheduled|completed|cancelled), and it will ask you how you want to sort within those categories and whether you want the output to have the category type headings or not, e.g.:

Parameters (for x-callback-url calls):

• arg0: withUserInput (true/false) - whether to prompt user interactively
• arg1: sortFields (comma-separated string) - sort order, e.g. "-priority,content"
• arg2: withHeadings (true/false) - whether to output section headings like "Open Tasks"
• arg3: subHeadingCategory (true/false) - whether to output subheadings for each tag/mention
• arg4: interleaveTaskTypes (true/false) - whether to interleave task types together or keep separate
• arg5: sortInHeadings (true/false) - whether to sort within each heading separately or treat entire note as one unit

Examples:

# Sort by priority without headings, treating entire note as one unit (moves all open tasks to top)
noteplan://x-callback-url/runPlugin?pluginID=dwertheimer.TaskSorting&command=Sort%20tasks%20on%20the%20page&arg0=false&arg1=-priority,content&arg2=false&arg3=false&arg4=true&arg5=false

# Sort within each heading separately (default behavior)
noteplan://x-callback-url/runPlugin?pluginID=dwertheimer.TaskSorting&command=Sort%20tasks%20on%20the%20page&arg0=false&arg1=-priority,content&arg2=false&arg3=false&arg4=true&arg5=true

New Feature: Task Type Interleaving (Default Behavior)

• By default, tasks are interleaved: compatible task types are combined and sorted together by priority
• Within each priority level, open tasks appear before checklists
• This allows tasks to be sorted by priority first, then by type (open before checklist)

Sorting Behavior Options:

• sortInHeadings: true (default): Sort tasks within each heading separately. Tasks stay under their original headings but are sorted within each heading.
• sortInHeadings: false: Treat the entire note as one unit. All open tasks move to the top of the page regardless of which heading they were originally under.
• To use traditional grouping (all open tasks together, then all checklists together), set interleaveTaskTypes=false

#### Open Tasks
  - [ ] Open Task
#### Scheduled Tasks
  - [>] Forwarded/Scheduled Task >2030-01-01
#### Completed Tasks
  - [x] Completed Task
#### Cancelled Tasks
  - [-] Cancelled task

/tst - Tasks Sort by Tag

Sort the Tasks in the open note by (the first) #Tag and display with subheadings for each unique tag [If you want more granular control over whether there are or aren't headings, use /ts]

/tsc - Tasks Sort by Due Date

Sort the Tasks by Due Date and then Priority [If you want more granular control over whether there are or aren't headings, use /ts]

/tstm - Tasks Sort by Tag/Mention

Sort the Tasks in the open note by (the first) #tag (and then by @Mention) [If you want more granular control over whether there are or aren't headings, use /ts]

/tsm - Tasks Sort by Mention/Person

Sort the Tasks in the open note by (the first) @Mention and display with subheadings for each unique @mention [If you want more granular control over whether there are or aren't headings, use /ts]

/tsd - Task Sort By Default

Sort tasks in note by user setting primary/secondary sort fields Set the primary and secondary sort order for this default search in plugin preferences

/tt - Tasks to Top

This command brings all the tasks inside of the currently open note to the top of the note. You can choose whether you want headings (e.g. "Open Tasks", "Sheduled Tasks" etc.) or whether you want just the sorted tasks brought to the top. Note: brings only task lines (not indented underneath)

/tsh - Tasks Sort under Heading (choose)

This command will sort the tasks under a heading that you choose. You can pass the heading as a parameter, or you can choose it interactively. You can also pass the sort order as a parameter, e.g. (["-priority", "content"]), or you can choose it interactively. For example, this command will sort all the tasks under the heading "Open Tasks" by priority and then alphabetically by content.

noteplan://x-callback-url/runPlugin?pluginID=dwertheimer.TaskSorting&command=Sort%20tasks%20under%20heading%20%28choose%29&arg0=Open%20Tasks&arg1=%5B%22-priority%22%2C%22content%22%5D

X-Callback URL Examples

Sort tasks with interleaving (default behavior):

noteplan://x-callback-url/runPlugin?pluginID=dwertheimer.TaskSorting&command=Sort%20tasks%20on%20the%20page&arg0=false&arg1=-priority%2Ccontent&arg2=false&arg3=false&arg4=true

Sort tasks with traditional grouping (override default):

noteplan://x-callback-url/runPlugin?pluginID=dwertheimer.TaskSorting&command=Sort%20tasks%20on%20the%20page&arg0=false&arg1=-priority%2Ccontent&arg2=false&arg3=false&arg4=false

Sort tasks under heading with interleaving (default):

noteplan://x-callback-url/runPlugin?pluginID=dwertheimer.TaskSorting&command=Sort%20tasks%20under%20heading%20%28choose%29&arg0=Open%20Tasks&arg1=%5B%22-priority%22%2C%22content%22%5D&arg2=null&arg3=true

Sort tasks under heading with traditional grouping:

noteplan://x-callback-url/runPlugin?pluginID=dwertheimer.TaskSorting&command=Sort%20tasks%20under%20heading%20%28choose%29&arg0=Open%20Tasks&arg1=%5B%22-priority%22%2C%22content%22%5D&arg2=null&arg3=false

Parameters explained:

• arg0: withUserInput (false = no prompts)
• arg1: sortFields (comma-separated: "-priority,content")
• arg2: withHeadings (false = no type headings)
• arg3: subHeadingCategory (false = no subheadings)
• arg4: interleaveTaskTypes (true = interleave by priority, false = traditional grouping by type)

NOTE: If you are calling this command from a plugin or a template and want to sort tasks under a heading in a specific note (or the Editor) you have been working on, you should pass the note as a third parameter to ensure that taskSorting is working on the same Object you have been working on, e.g. ("myHeading",["-priority","content"], Editor). For clarity, Task Sorting plugin works on Editor.note, but if you are using Editor (and not Note) you should pass Editor in as the noteOverride parameter, else the delayed write from Editor will overwrite any task sorting you do.

Task Sorting Notes

• At this time, the plugin will ignore headings that are attached to the tasks (e.g. tasks indented under root-level #headings). I need to understand/think more about this use case and how to deal with it in sorting.
• Lines are sorted line-by-line. Currently, no provision is made for indented text/content underneath tasks or tasks that are indented themselves under other content. If this is your use case and you can describe how you think it should work very clearly, please contact @dwertheimer on Discord and help me understand this usage.

Marking All Tasks

/mat - Mark All Tasks (as completed or open)

This plugin will give you a choice of whether to mark all open tasks as completed or all completed tasks as open.

Copying Tags/Mentions

/cta - Copy all #tags and @mentions from the previous line

/cth - Copy all #tags and @mentions from the heading the task sits under

/ctm - Duplicate line for each @mention but change the order so each mention shows up first on its own line (and therefore will be sorted under that @mention heading when using /ts - task sorter)

/ctt - Duplicate line for each @tag but change the order so each tag shows up first on its own line (and therefore will be sorted under that @mention heading when using /ts - task sorter)

/cnt copy all noteTags from "noteTags" in frontMatter to all task in the current note

Future Features / Todo List

• Sort tasks via template call
• Sort by task due date
• Bring open tasks to top