🔁 Repeat Extension plugin

NotePlan has a simple built-in repeat mechanism, which allows for @repeat(1/n). That wasn't flexible enough for my purposes, so I wrote this plugin to allow repeats every x days, weeks, months, quarters or years. It does the work of creating the next task using information from completed tasks that include a @repeat(interval) string and a completed @done(...) date.

Here are some examples:

See below for more details.

Compared with the built-in functionality, it also allows you to easily change the text of a repeated task, which otherwise means visiting all the future notes with repeats.

Configuration

For this feature to work, you need to have the 'Append Completion Date' setting turned on in Preferences > Todo, and not to mind the time portion of the @done(...) tag being removed, as a sign that the line has been processed.

Note: because NotePlan never appends the completion date to completed checklists, this plugin cannot be used to generate repeats from checklists.

There are some settings in the Plugin Settings pane for this plugin:

• 'Delete completed item?', which deletes the completed repeated item (on either done or cancelled tasks).
• Don't look for repeats in Done or Archive note sections? If set, it will not look for repeats in the ## Done or ## Archive sections of notes.

Running it Automatically

The plugin can automatically generate the new repeated task immediately after you complete an existing one. Here's an example where it will repeat 6 weeks after completion:

This works by adding the following trigger line to the frontmatter at the start of every note you wish to automate in this way:

triggers: onEditorWillSave => jgclark.RepeatExtensions.onEditorWillSave

Tip: This is most easily done by using the /add trigger to note command from my Note Helpers plugin. Note: The title: of the note also needs to be in the frontmatter.

Alternatively, the separate Tidy Up plugin has a /Generate @repeats in recent notes command, which when you run it checks all recently-changed notes, generating any new @repeats that are required. It does not require triggers to be in place. If you include this command in a daily Template, then this is as good as a fully automated command. For example, I have this "template tag" in my end-of-day template:

<% await DataStore.invokePluginCommandByName("Generate @repeats in recent notes","np.Tidy",['{"runSilently":true}']) -%>

Running it Manually

On the currently open note, open the command bar and type the /generate repeats command.

• When run on a Project note, it creates the new repeated task straight before the completed task.
• When run on a Calendar note, it creates the new repeated task on the date of the new repeat. This uses the same calendar note type: so a repeat in a weekly note will go to the appropriate weekly note, etc.

Specifiying the Intervals

The time intervals have two parts: number and then a character. The character is one of:

• b or B: business days (ignore weekends, but doesn't ignore public holidays, as they're different for each country)
• d or D: days
• w or W: weeks
• m or M: months
• q or Q: quarters
• y or Y: years

When the number starts with a + (e.g. +1m) it will duplicate the task for 1 month after the date the task was completed. When the number doesn't start with a + (e.g. 1m) it will duplicate the task for 1 month after the date the task was last due. This is found from a >yyyy-mm-dd scheduled date. When there is no scheduled date, then for Calendar notes it will duplicate the task for 1 month after the note date, and for Project notes it will duplicate the task for 1 month after the task was completed.

From v0.6 you can specify scheduled dates to all the other calendar note types supported by NotePlan:

• weekly (e.g. >2023-W28)
• monthly (e.g. >2023-07)
• quarterly (e.g. >2023-Q3)
• yearly (e.g. >2023)

The resulting repeat lines will also be specified using that same note type, and will write to the appropriate new calendar note (unless it came from a project note, in which case it will stay in the same project note).

Support

If you find an issue with this plugin, or would like to suggest new features for it, please raise a Bug or Feature 'Issue' in GitHub.

If you would like to support my late-night work extending NotePlan through writing these plugins, you can through

Thanks!

Changes

Please see the CHANGELOG.