To work with items, Colonnes has two complementary modes:
modeselection for selecting, reorganizing, and managing items.
modeedit for writing and editing text directly in visible columns.
Think of modeselection like a file explorer and modeedit like a text editor.
You can always see the current mode in the toolbar at the bottom right of the app.
Selection Mode
In modeselection, you select, reorganize, and manage items.
Create or Edit Items
From modeselection, you can enter modeedit by double-clicking an item, clicking the Edit icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen, or using the keyboard.
Double click to enter edit mode.
Enter edit mode.
Enter
Enter edit mode. (Alternative)
F2
Create a new item below the current selection and enter modeedit:
Create a new item.
ShiftEnter
Create a child of the selected item in the column to the right and enter modeedit:
Create a child item.
CtrlEnter
When starting with an empty file or when no item is selected, pressing creates a new root item and enters modeedit.
Create a new root item.
Enter
Basic Selection
Select an item:
Select an item with a left click.
Navigate with the keyboard:
Select the item above.
↑
Select the item below.
↓
Select the item to the left.
←
Select the item to the right.
→
Select the first item in the column.
Home
Select the last item in the column.
End
Multiple Selection
Add to selection (Ctrl/Cmd + Click):
Use this to select items that are not next to each other. Each click toggles the item in the selection.
Add an item to the selection.
Ctrl
Extend selection:
With mouse:
Creates a range selection from your current selection to the clicked item.
Extend the selection to include an item.
Shift
With keyboard:
Extend the selection upward.
Shift↑
Extend the selection downward.
Shift↓
Select all:
Select all items in a column.
CtrlA
Task Actions
Mark tasks as complete or incomplete with the mouse using the checkbox at the beginning of the line, or with the keyboard.
Change the finished status using the mouse.
Toggle the finished status.
Space
Copy, Cut, and Paste
You can copy, cut, and paste tasks:
Copy the selection.
CtrlC
Cut the selection.
CtrlX
Paste items.
CtrlV
You can also duplicate the selection with the keyboard.
Duplicate the selection.
CtrlD
Moving Items
You can move your selection using keyboard shortcuts.
Move the selection up.
Ctrl↑
Move the selection down.
Ctrl↓
Move the selection to the top of the column.
CtrlHome
Move the selection to the bottom of the column.
CtrlEnd
If you want to change an item’s parent with the keyboard, you can use:
Move selection to a new parent.
CtrlShift←
It is also possible to move items within the hierarchy. This is always done relative to the item above, as in a classic tree view. If you select the first item in a column, you cannot move it. If you select the second item and indent it, it becomes a child of the parent item.
Indent the selection or move it to the next calendar day.
Ctrl→
Unindent the selection or move it to the previous calendar day.
Ctrl←
Edit Mode
In modeedit, you can type directly in tasks, move the caret, and still create or restructure items without leaving text editing.
To return to modeselection, click outside the tasks, click the confirm button in the floating menu, or use the keyboard.
Exit edit mode.
Escape
Editing Text and the Caret
While in modeedit, you can type freely to modify the task’s text. You can move the caret with the mouse to another element without leaving modeedit. You can also use the keyboard.
Move caret to another element.
Move caret up.
↑
Move caret down.
↓
You can also move the caret by going up one level or descending into the hierarchy.
Navigate to parent item.
Alt←
Navigate to first child item.
Alt→
Creating Items from Edit Mode
While editing a task, you can quickly create new items without exiting modeedit.