Firetask Changelog

What's new in Firetask 4.8.2

Dec 14, 2023
  • Firetask 4.8.2 fixes a problem with collapsed portfolios.

New in Firetask 4.8.1 (Dec 14, 2023)

  • Firetask 4.8.1 fixes a small UI glitch on macOS Sonoma.

New in Firetask 4.8 (Oct 19, 2023)

  • New interactive Focus widget: You can now tick off tasks directly from your home screen (requires macOS 14 Sonoma)
  • Improved Status Kanban board: We dropped the Someday column and instead introduced a new column for "On Hold"
  • Notes field for Quick-Entry: Enter notes directly when quick-entering a task via the global hotkey
  • Confirmation for stopping the Pomodoro timer: No more accidentally stopping a Pomodoro
  • Optional deletion of imported Reminders: Configure this now easily in the Firetask Settings
  • Improved sharing messages and links: Improved text structure as well as share link now include also actions

New in Firetask 4.7 (Sep 6, 2022)

  • Firetask 4.7 integrates Francesco Cirillo's Pomodoro® Technique into our Kanban GTD® task management app:
  • New Pomodoro timer (standard 25 minutes) in Today view
  • Ability to estimate tasks in Pomodoros via new "Effort" field
  • Automatic Pomodoros count for the In Focus list on Today -- so you can use it as your daily Pomodoro to-do list

New in Firetask 4.6.11 (Jul 11, 2022)

  • You can now choose between three font sizes for the overview user interfaces: Large, Default, and Small
  • You can control whether the quick entry window auto-closes when adding a new task
  • Finally, you can configure whether or not to include add-task-links when sharing tasks

New in Firetask 4.6.10 (Mar 28, 2022)

  • Firetask 4.6.10 provides stability improvements and bug fixes.

New in Firetask 4.6.9 (Feb 15, 2022)

  • Firetask 4.6.9 provides usability improvements and bug fixes.

New in Firetask 4.6.8 (Jan 28, 2022)

  • Firetask 4.6.8 provides stability improvements and bug fixes.

New in Firetask 4.6.7 (Jan 28, 2022)

  • More consistent editing of actions in the detail inspector with extended context menu support
  • Additional functions for the task list context men, for instance saving selected tasks as a checklist, or setting a start date
  • New "Move to Top" and "Move to Bottom" functionality for manually ordered task lists such as "Inbox", "Someday", "In Focus", or all project task lists
  • Additionally, we added the ability to create link attachments via command tagging (using the "#URL" format, e.g. "#https://elemental-tools.com"). Please note that due to sandboxing, this approach does not work for file:// URLs.

New in Firetask 4.6.6 (Oct 15, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.6.6 introduces import and export functionality for CSV files. Especially, migrating to Firetask from other task management apps becomes now a lot easier :-).

New in Firetask 4.6.5 (Oct 15, 2021)

  • We retired the "Next" [tasks per project] section in "Upcoming" as it confuses many new users and is basically superseded by the new Kanban views
  • We also switched full text searching to Core Spotlight with improved support for non-latin character languages such as, e.g., Russian

New in Firetask 4.6.4 (Jul 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.6.4 fixes a few small issues.

New in Firetask 4.6.3 (Jul 13, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.6.3 improves overall user interface consistency and fixes a few bugs.

New in Firetask 4.6.2 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.6.2 builds on the user interface improvements introduced with Firetask 4.6, especially our new Kanban views:
  • Kanban cards now show notes and attachments indicators
  • Actions are visualized as open vs. total counts in Kanban views
  • Repeating tasks are now also marked as such in Kanban and Dates views
  • Kanban and Dates view-types are remembered as implicit preferences
  • Project filters are now synchronized across all filterable views including Kanban and Dates views
  • Copy & paste is supported for tasks, external text and links for the first time
  • All tasks lists now provide undo and redo functionality
  • The Start field made its way into the quick-entry panel
  • Finally, we added support for setting start dates via command tagging using the new "#>" syntax
  • Additionally, we did a lot of fine tuning, e.g. completed actions are now visualized in task details using the same grayish strike-through style as in inline action lists.

New in Firetask 4.6.1 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.6.1 fixes a couple of bugs

New in Firetask 4.6 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • IMPORTANT: We made inline editing even more intuitive. ENTER now either concludes editing, or inserts a new task depending on whether you are currently editing a task title. In order to start editing an existing selected task you use ⌘ENTER. Please note that this also means that we had to adjust the keyboard shortcuts for quickly adding notes, actions, or a due date: we suggest that you take a quick look at the changes in the "Tasks" menu :-).
  • Firetask 4.6 is a major update with more than 50 improvements including:
  • Three additional Kanban view types: "Categories", "Due", and "Scheduled"
  • "Priorities" integrated into "Kanban" as a new view-type
  • More intuitive naming: "Next" becomes "Upcoming", "Backlog" changes to "Anytime", "Starred" is now "In Focus"
  • Improved, more consistent sort order for "Kanban", "Next", "Anytime", and "Waiting For" lists: Tasks that are In Focus come first, additional sorting criteria are Priority, Start, and Due (in this order)
  • Better category colors: Gray turns into Pink and Orange becomes a vivid Yellow (avoiding confusion with our orange tint color)
  • Context-sensitive display of Due or Start date in task lists complete with inline editing
  • Daily reminder hours have been extended until 20:00 / 8pm
  • Key command navigation now includes the "Tasks" view
  • A single keyboard shortcut for toggling "In Focus"
  • ⌘+click navigation now also works for contributors in task lists (the same way as for projects)
  • Attachments indicators are now clickable and directly open the attachments inspector pane
  • We also tweaked many small things and we really put tons of user feedback into this update -- we hope you like it a much as we do.

New in Firetask 4.5.3 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.5.3 fixes a problem that caused checklist items to appear in the Kanban view.

New in Firetask 4.5.2 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.5.2 further improves the overall user experience on macOS 11 Big Sur -- especially when using Dark Mode. The new update is also our first version that runs natively on Apple Silicon Macs such as the new MacBook Air.
  • Additionally, we made the Archive much faster and more scalable. The only downside is that you cannot inline edit task titles and notes directly in the Archive anymore, but this should be a small price to pay.

New in Firetask 4.5.1 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.5.1 fixes a user interface bug and also allows to switch off the new "In Progress" section on the Today view in case you do not need it.

New in Firetask 4.5 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.5 represents a major update regarding our overall task management workflow -- mainly based on feedback of our current user base:
  • The Kanban view now resembles much more of a classical Kanban board featuring Inbox, Actionable, In-Progress, Completed and Canceled columns
  • We have introduced a new "Start" field that allows you to schedule tasks independent of their Due date
  • The Dates view now switching switching between Due and Scheduled modes allowing you to also easily adjust Start dates
  • Beside the new "Scheduled" sections, the Today view now also features an "In Progress" section that automatically lists all the tasks you are currently actively working on
  • We have added a configurable "Completed" section in General and project task lists for improving motivation (Today always only shows tasks that have been completed today)
  • Last but not least, we have introduced an easy way to clearly view all tasks in the "Manage" area. We simply renamed the "General" view to "Tasks" and thus, allow to switch between "General" and "All" tasks (showing all manageable tasks grouped by project)
  • Additionally, we further improved usability and terminology in a number of areas. We are also making additional use of the new filterable choosers introduced in the previous update.
  • We hope you like these changes as much as we do -- looking forward to your feedback!

New in Firetask 4.3 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.3 introduces completely new, redesigned, filterable choosers for projects, categories, and contributors/contacts that make it especially much easier to work with a large number of projects or contacts.
  • Additionally, the new version now provides detail sidebar editing for multiple tasks -- making it easier then ever to edit multiple tasks at once.
  • The update also includes a number of bug fixes and smaller improvements. Please note that app and brush icons in existing categories may flip after the update, as they were accidentally flipped earlier and this was the only way to correctly fix this issue.

New in Firetask 4.2.2 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.2.2 fixes a number of issues that have been reported by our users and of course comes with all the nice improvements of our latest user interface refresh including support for Dark Mode.
  • Fixed issues include:
  • Repeating tasks now automatically re-open their actions when being rescheduled
  • Completed reminders are no longer imported into Firetask
  • Improved layout of multi-line actions in narrow task lists

New in Firetask 4.2.1 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.2.1 fixes a couple of minor user interface issues

New in Firetask 4.2 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.2 provides a major user interface refresh with support for Dark Mode and much more:
  • Colored, more unique sidebar icons for "Scratchpad", "Kanban", and "Priorities" for improved clarity
  • More logical priority icons and better priority names
  • Streamlined project and category task lists for a more "lightweight" user experience
  • More visible today visualization in the "Dates" view
  • New category icon for "heart"
  • More "straight" category colors that look great in both Light and Dark Mode
  • Last but not least we made a number of other small usability improvements throughout the app -- we hope you like the new version!

New in Firetask 4.1.6 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.1.6 improves the performance of the Contacts integration for very high numbers of contacts (typically 1000 or more).

New in Firetask 4.1.5 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.1.5 now includes a French user interface localization.

New in Firetask 4.1.4 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.1.4 fixes a compatibility issue with macOS 10.12 and macOS 10.13

New in Firetask 4.1.3 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Firetask 4.1.3 fixes a readability issue when running macOS in dark mode

New in Firetask 4.1.2 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • The "Waiting For" view new supports project filtering
  • The quick entry panel includes "Assigned" and "Starred" fields
  • Command tagging is now available for quick-entry and task title editing in the detail sidebar
  • Checklists support an optional category
  • You can now paste tasks from checklists via the context menu
  • The app remembers the shown/hidden state of the info sidebar across app launches
  • The "Documentation" link in the "Help" menu now points to the new "Manual" page on our website

New in Firetask 4.1 (Jun 28, 2021)

  • Reordering of actions is now possible directly within a task list via drag & drop
  • Support for dragging actions between tasks
  • Dragging of actions from the actions detail view into other tasks within any task list
  • A new context menu on actions allows you to easily convert actions to tasks
  • Renamed menu item "Always show task details" now toggles visibility of both notes and actions in task lists
  • The search function now also searches within action titles and shows actions also inline in search results

New in Firetask 4.0.8 (Aug 25, 2018)

  • Provides minor bug fixes and improves overall stability on macOS Sierra.

New in Firetask 4.0.7 (Jun 19, 2018)

  • Provides a number of bug fixes and smaller improvements including:
  • More consistent keyboard shortcuts for quick navigation to Inbox, Someday and Scratchpad
  • New keyboard shortcuts for quick navigating to Kanban, Priorities and Dates views (CMD+7...9)
  • Keyboard shortcut for project chooser now also works for setting an initial project
  • Context menus get also triggered using CTRL+click
  • Contacts are now sorted alphabetically
  • Local file link attachments are correctly handling via secure bookmarks
  • Weekend visualization is now dynamic based on macOS calendar settings
  • Fixes a visual task duplication bug when performing certain drag & drop operations in the Kanban view's Backlog column

New in Firetask 4.0.6 (Mar 27, 2018)

  • Beside various bug fixes, Firetask 4.0.6 improves the visualization of archived tasks:
  • Archived dates are now displayed consistently across devices and in a more logical way via new indicator icons; you can also look up the "Completed", "Canceled", or "Deleted" date on the bottom of the task detail view if a task is archived

New in Firetask 4.0.4 (Nov 25, 2017)

  • Fixes a general drag & drop issue that can surface on macOS High Sierra.

New in Firetask 4.0.3 (Nov 10, 2017)

  • Firetask 4.0.3 now allows to drag links directly into the attachments sidebar tab for creating new link attachments. Additionally, we fixed some minor issues regarding keyboard shortcuts and newly inserted tasks.

New in Firetask 4.0.2 (Sep 8, 2017)

  • Provides additional stability improvements, e.g., improved handling of side effects when the current day changes.

New in Firetask 4.0.1 (Sep 1, 2017)

  • Today, Next, and Kanban views are now correctly updated when the current day changes
  • Due dates are now taken over correctly from checklist tasks
  • Delays when editing project information should be fixed
  • Printing is now enabled

New in Firetask 3.8.5 (Apr 13, 2017)

  • Recommended for all users and contains minor bug fixes and usability improvements.

New in Firetask 3.8.4 (Oct 30, 2016)

  • Our latest update fixes a problem with repeating tasks and improves syncing stability for a few uncommon scenarios.

New in Firetask 3.8.3 (Oct 23, 2016)

  • Upgraded a third party library to fix a problem regarding macOS Sierra compatibility that only surfaces on some systems.

New in Firetask 3.8.1 (May 14, 2016)

  • Fixes an issue with our improved date chooser when “Full Keyboard Access” for “all controls” is selected in the “Keyboard” system settings (tab “Shortcuts”).

New in Firetask 3.8 (May 5, 2016)

  • Many usability improvements — especially regarding inline editing. In addition, we added filtering capabilities for the “In-Tray”. The new update also contains a number of smaller bug fixes.

New in Firetask 3.7.5 (Aug 6, 2015)

  • Fixes a user interface compatibility issue on older Mac OS X versions (prior to 10.10 Yosemite).

New in Firetask 3.7.2 (Jul 14, 2015)

  • Fixes a few minor user interface issues and improves data migration from very old Firetask databases.

New in Firetask 3.7.1 (Jun 27, 2015)

  • Fixes two user interface issues regarding link and email address parsing in notes fields.

New in Firetask 3.7 (Nov 21, 2014)

  • What's New:
  • IMPORTANT: Starting with Version 3.6 Firetask requires Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or newer and a 64-bit Mac. Do not upgrade if you are still running Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), or Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion).
  • Firetask 3.7 is now optimized for Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite including a new, more modern look for the toolbar. In addition, the new version allows to unarchive completed and cancelled projects and improves searching by always issuing prefix-queries.

New in Firetask 3.6.3 (Aug 7, 2014)

  • Provides a number of usability improvements and bug fixes including a more lenient way of entering reminder times. The new version also prevents the background syncing process from overwriting currently inline-edited text in subject and notes fields.

New in Firetask 3.6.2 (Apr 29, 2014)

  • Fixes a number of smaller user interface issues such as a problem with due date visualization and generally improves the usability for inserting and editing tasks in the Organize and Calendar views. The update also includes a new feature: you can now quickly jump to a task's project by holding down the CMD key and clicking on the project choice field below the task subject.
  • In addition, due to user requests we re-included support for older 32-bit Macs.

New in Firetask 3.6.1 (Mar 20, 2014)

  • Fixes a compatibility problem with Mac OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) and Lion (10.7).

New in Firetask 3.6 (Mar 17, 2014)

  • Starting with this version Firetask requires Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) and a 64-bit Mac. Do not upgrade if you are still running Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard).
  • Fixes a problem with today/tomorrow visualization for due tasks that only occurred in certain time zones. The new update also includes a number of minor usability improvements.

New in Firetask 3.5.4 (Jan 21, 2014)

  • Beside some bug-fixes, Firetask 3.5.4 features an Italian translation of the user interface and the ability to inline-edit @assignments directly within task lists.

New in Firetask 3.5.3 (Dec 2, 2013)

  • Firetask 3.5.3 features a number of smaller usability improvements including the ability to directly edit the "Assigned" field in the task info panel while auto-adjusting the category accordingly.

New in Firetask 3.5.2 (Nov 12, 2013)

  • Fixes a number of smaller user interface issues such as a problem with due date visualization and generally improves the usability for inserting and editing tasks in the Organize and Calendar views. The update also includes a new feature: you can now quickly jump to a task's project by holding down the CMD key and clicking on the project choice field below the task subject.
  • In addition, due to user requests we re-included support for older 32-bit Macs.

New in Firetask 3.5.1 (Oct 25, 2013)

  • What's New:
  • Brings back both colored priority icons as well as the different, priority-driven backgrounds of tasks in the organize and calendar views. Based on user feedback we also tuned the background color of the project and category navigators in order to improve the visibility of the active project or category.

New in Firetask 3.5 (Sep 24, 2013)

  • Firetask 3.5 represents a major update to our project-oriented GTD task management app featuring a redesigned, more clear user interface.
  • In addition, the new version also includes a number of great new features including:
  • Search across all tasks from the new "Find" tool
  • A new, often-requested project filter for the "Someday" view
  • An overall simplified user interface by combining all completed, cancelled, and trash views into a single new "Archive" tool

New in Firetask 3.1.1 (Jun 18, 2013)

  • Firetask 3.1.1 improves the overall stability of our task management app and, especially, introduces better error handling for network failures during cloud-syncing. In addition, fixes a problem with date fields and French-Canadian locale settings.

New in Firetask 3.1 (Jun 1, 2013)

  • Improves the user interface and overall usability of our project-oriented task management app by adding a number of practical features including:
  • Clickable links and email addresses for project and task notes fields
  • Consistent handling of international date formats for due dates
  • Convert task to project now takes over due date
  • Improved command parsing allows entering of email addresses in task subjects
  • Drag & drop indicators are now correctly visualized on Retina displays
  • More readable Firetask URLs by using "+"-encoding for spaces
  • Last, but not least: French translation

New in Firetask 3.0.5 (Feb 21, 2013)

  • Now also supports the delete key for deleting task list rows (not just backspace) and adds a "Repository" tab to the "Preferences..." dialog.
  • In addition, a syncing problem related to checklists has been fixed and the general error handling for background syncing has been further improved.
  • Interesting for other developers: we extended the firetask://addTask URL with additional parameters for setting project, category, due date, and priority.

New in Firetask 3.0.3 (Jan 12, 2013)

  • Adds license validation for new types of serial numbers.

New in Firetask 3.0.2 (Dec 7, 2012)

  • Fixes a number of database-oriented issues that can also cause incomplete background syncing, therefore, the update is strongly recommended for all users.

New in Firetask 3.0.1 (Dec 7, 2012)

  • Fixes a number of user interface issues including the "Delete Device" and "Set Primary" buttons in "Preferences", CMD+W now only closes the currently active window, and completed/cancelled dates are again displayed correctly in the "Completed" and "Cancelled" views.

New in Firetask 3.0 (Oct 19, 2012)

  • Firetask 3.0 fully automates cloud syncing and moves all everyday syncing processes completely into the background.
  • In addition, the new major version also provides a number of often requested new features:
  • Checklists: Reuse often needed tasks across projects
  • Priorities: Optionally view tasks by priority
  • Assigned: Group Waiting For tasks by assignee
  • Starred: Limit tasks to starred items only
  • Configurable global quick entry hot key
  • Customizable sidebar
  • More natural consecutive task entry for in-tray

New in Firetask 2.3.3 (Aug 16, 2012)

  • Now completely supports the new MacBook Pro's gorgeous Retina display - all images used in the app have been supplied with redesigned, high resolution versions.

New in Firetask 2.3.2 (Jul 23, 2012)

  • Fixes a number of drag & drop problems in the "Organize" and "Calendar" views that only occurred on Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). The new update also adds Retina versions for most icons used in the app, thus making Firetask look much better on the new Retina MacBook Pro.

New in Firetask 2.3.1 (May 21, 2012)

  • Fixes a number of issues regarding custom repeating tasks as well as a focus management problem when creating new tasks by double-clicking in the Calendar and Organize views.

New in Firetask 2.3 (Apr 24, 2012)

  • Updates the Spanish translation and improves the overall performance of the user interface.
  • Fixes a number of issues including a problem with converting tasks to projects in category task lists as well as wrong badge numbers when dragging in Calendar and Organize views.

New in Firetask 2.2 (Mar 29, 2012)

  • Adds support for the gorgeous retina display of the new iPad.
  • Improves language support for Simplified Chinese, Portuguese, and Russian, the global hot-key was reimplemented to work also on French keyboards and the quick-entry panel design is now showing correctly on Mac OS X 10.7.3.
  • All updates now always use SSL-based secure communication for cloud-syncing.

New in Firetask 2.1 (Mar 6, 2012)

  • Provides a number of performance optimizations for cloud-syncing and increases the request timeout for improved stability of initial uploads of large task databases. The new update also fixes a number of smaller user interface issues.

New in Firetask 2.0 (Jan 25, 2012)

  • A user interface facelift and various improvements to cloud-syncing.
  • Also introduces a number of completely new features including:
  • Drag & drop enabled "Organize" view
  • Totally new filterable "Calendar" view
  • Searching in active task lists (press CMD+F)
  • Custom repeat patterns for scheduled tasks
  • Time-based reminders (requires Growl)
  • Emailing of project and category task lists
  • Completely redesigned graphical date chooser
  • Supports fullscreen mode on Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)
  • Improved drag & drop due to double-click enabled inline-editing
  • More GTD-like tool navigation

New in Firetask 1.5.1 (Sep 1, 2011)

  • Improved naming for choosing existing cloud-syncing users
  • No more bouncing dock icon during auto-sync
  • No more "Merge" initial syncing option, since it was confusing for non-technical users
  • Fixed problem of temporarily vanishing tasks when entering out-of-focus due tasks in
  • category task lists
  • Fixed problem that clearing the repeating task status was not updated in task lists

New in Firetask 1.3 (Feb 7, 2011)

  • Firetask for Mac 1.3 features an optimized syncing protocol as well as a number of new category icons such as, e.g., cloud, car, app or TV. The new update also fixes smaller user interface and printing issues (task list titles) that have been reported recently.
  • IMPORTANT: Since the syncing protocol has been optimized, you will need to update Firetask for iPhone and iPad, too, in order to reenable WiFi syncing.