"GUI Drag & Drop Integration between Tasks and Calendar"
I am so happy to see the good work the Thunderbird team is doing. I look forward to the day I can delete Outlook and all things Microsoft and have a complete Linux solution for my desktop computer.
I currently use Linux Mint 21 and Thunderbird 102.4.2 (64 bit)
I have donated to Thunderbird and will continue to do so.
I think the Thunderbird email client is already as good as or better than Outlook, especially with the Mail Merge plugin added.
But there is one thing I have with Outlook that I do not want to lose and until Thunderbird has it, I will (unfortunately) keep Outlook and a Windows OS running.
I will show images below, but as a summary, I will call this suggestion "GUI Drag & Drop Integration between Tasks and Calendar"
The Outlook capability I will describe has been in Outlook since at least Outlook 2010. I will show you images from Outlook 2013, which I currently run on my Windows 7 installation. Yes, Windows 7 and Outlook 2013. I do not want to go to Windows 10 for security and control reasons and I DO want to convert fully to Linux Desktop so am just waiting for this last Thunderbird functionality to do so.
I will offer my services as a alpha/beta/... tester to get this functionality into production. I will spend whatever time is required on Zoom meetings with your developers to help explain the suggestion.
I am also willing to donate extra ($100) if this functionality can be developed in Thunderbird. I know $100 is nowhere near going to cover the development/testing/deployment costs, but I believe many others would like this functionality so hopefully others will chip in as well.
So, here is the suggestion ...
Add the "Daily Task List" pane to the bottom of the Thunderbird Calendar like is in Outlook and match (maybe improve...) the functionality associated with that which lets me integrate, via GUI Drag and Drop, the Tasks and Calendar.
You have part of this functionality now in that I can Drag & Drop a Task directly into a time slot in a Calendar day that is showing on the Calendar display but there are a couple of problems with the way it is done right now:
- If I delete the Event in the Calendar that is now associated with the Task, it deletes the Task. I cannot delete the Event without deleting the Task. This does not work since I may not be able to get to the Task in the time slot scheduled, and I may not (yet) know exactly when I am now going to do the Task, but that does NOT mean the Task is no longer needed. The Task still needs to stay in my ToDo list.
- I may know that I want to do this task (say) next Tuesday, since that is when it looks (now) like I have time to do that Task, but I do not want to set the actual time on Tuesday to reserve for the task. Just have the Task come back to the Taskbar on Tuesday and let me schedule the actual time next Tuesday.
I use Outlook as my weekly/daily activity planner. I enter all the Tasks have to do in the Taskbar (whether due today or in the future). If the task is due today or sometime this week, I can Drag and Drop the Task into a specific time slot on my Weekly Calendar display. I can do this in Thunderbird now - subject to the caveat above about not deleting the Task if I delete the Calendar Event created. If the Task is going to be done at a day in the future but for which I do not yet have a specific time on that day that I plan to do the Task, I drag the task to the "Daily Task List" pane at the bottom of the calendar on the Day I plan to do the task (moving the calendar as needed to add the task to this week, next week, next month, ...). (See below for images). This does NOT put the task into a specific time period on that day, it just sets the Due Date for the task to that day and, if the day is in the future, removing the Task from the Taskbar on the right, which is set to show only Tasks due Today or earlier.
This keeps my Taskbar clean for Today and brings the Task back to the Taskbar (without it being given a specifc time schedule), so I can then Put the task into the actual calendar.
The size of the Daily Task List can be expanded or shrunk, letting you see more of the Tasks for a Day and move them as required.
When I want to actually give the task time in the calendar, I show the week view of the Calendar and Drag the Task to the specific time in the calendar (Today or any other day showing in the Calendar) and that sets not just the Due Date but now the Due Time for the Task.
If I move the Event created by dragging the Task to the Calendar, it changes the Due date/time of the Task
If I delete the Event from the Calendar, it does NOT delete the Task from the Taskbar. I may not have been able to get the task done at the time I wanted to, but the Task is still required, so this just removes the Event from the Calendar, leaving the Due DATE (NOT Due Time) in the Task and leaving the Task in the Taskbar and in the "Daily Task List" at the bottom of the Calendar on the Day it was last set.
I set my Tasks to automatically create a Due Date of Today upon creation so this lets the above setup work for me.
The images attached are:
1-TheDailyTaskList
2-TheDailyTaskListExpanded
3-DragAndDropOptions
