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SmartPad 3

An integrated organizer for your iPad that syncs with SmartDay

SmartPad is the only organizer you will need for your iPad. It integrates Appointments, To Do’s, Notes, Projects and Lists  all in one app. Really. These are not just features. They are truly integrated with each other: each module is connected to the other to take advantage of the iPad’s computing power and beautiful graphics so you get more than just a calendar, more than just a list of things to do, more than a just note pad.

Before you connect – read about syncing with the SmartDay Cloud

Here’s what SmartPad does:

  • Integrates Projects, Events, Tasks, and Notes – all together!
  • Integrates Projects directly into your Task List
  • Integrates Tasks directly into today’s Calendar
  • Integrates Notes with any Task or Event – talk about Instant Recall!
  • Interactively manage your working time each day, and which tasks you can do when
  • Record and Report the amount of time you spend on tasks – great for keeping track of your studying or billing your clients!

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What’s New!

New in SmartPad 3

  • LinkNotes – same as all our other SmartDay apps!
  • Link Tasks, Notes, and Events together – same as all our other SmartDay apps!
  • Now you are completely connected to SmartDay on your iPhone, Mac, Web – and soon Android!

New in SmartPad w/Cloud Sync 2.2

  • Sync with mySmartDay.com!
  • Improved performance, stability, layouts, drag/drop response
  • Faster text searching
  • Timer sound on/off
  • Option to reset hints
  • In-app backup
  • Repeating tasks
  • Alerts for repeating events
  • Updated color palette

Other Synchronization improvements:

  • Improved sync stability for iOS5
  • ‘Delete suspected duplicates’ feature
  • Automatic or manual sync
  • One-way sync feature for importing data

New in SmartPad 2.1

  • Automatic background synchronization of Events to iPad Calendar
  • Automatic background synchronization of Tasks to Toodledo (requires internet connection)
  • Choose which Categories to view/hide (both Calendars and Projects)
  • “List” style Projects are hidden from the Task folder
  • Export Note Pages from any Day
  • Export History by Category or by Date
  • Hide notifications badges

New in SmartPad 2.0

  • Projects – view all of your Tasks by Project name
  • Track the progress of your Projects as you complete Tasks
  • GTDo’s automatically places the top Task from each Project, directly into the Tasks folder
  • Pop-up reminders for due Tasks
  • One-tap filters for viewing Tasks: GTDo’s, Starred, Started, and Due
  • Improved Calendar view shows multi-day events, options for week start dates, supports 24-hour clock
  • Supports multiple fonts for Notes
  • Contextual menu’s for all items
  • Simplified interface, more pleasurable user experience

Watch the Video

 

How it Works

Navigation

On the outside, SmartPad is just like your old leather-bound agenda. At the top, all of your tools are organized into tabbed Folders. Tap on Day or Month tab to view different calendars (the Month calendar also morphs into a Week calendar with just one tap). When the Day folder is open, you also have access to an entire productivity powerhouse: Tasks (featuring our patented DayManager), Notes (featuring our innovative HyperNotes), Projects (with GTD-friendly GTDo’s), and History.

On the bottom, use our “bouncing ball” slider to navigate between days or months. Tap on the simple “+” button to create a new Task or Event anywhere, at any time.

That’s pretty much it. The rest of this guide is organized just like the tabbed folders that you see at the top of the screen.

Projects

SmartPad uses a two-level system. Think of the top layer as “Folders”, and the next layer as the “Items” that you put into a folder. The diagram below shows the relationship.

projects-key3

Events are placed into Calendars; Tasks are placed into Projects. Any time you create or import a new Calendar (say, “Work”), SmartPad creates a matching Project that is also called “Work.” That way, you can keep track of both Events and Tasks that belong to the same master Category (and color), “Work.” The only difference between the two is where they are displayed in SmartPad:

Events are displayed only in the Day and Month Calendars. Events can sync with mySmartDay.com (and, from there, to SmartDay on your Mac or iPhone). They can also sync with your iPad Calendar.

  • Note if you wish to synchronize the Events from a Project folder with the iPad Calendar, you must first create that calendar in a third-party app such as iCal or GCal (this is because the iPad calendar does not allow you to create new calendar names, either in the iPad calendar or from SmartPad). For more information on this, go to the Synchronize section.

Tasks are displayed in both the Projects folder, and in the active Task folder. The Projects folder displays tasks by Project name, and the Tasks folder shows all tasks from all projects, together. They can be sorted by priority, due, and filter views according to your needs.

  • Unique feature: Tasks in the Task folder are also automatically shown in the current day’s calendar. SmartPad places them in the open spaces in-between your appointments!

Additionally, you can specify a Project as “List type”. List-type Projects can be seen only in the Projects folder; they do not show up in the Tasks folder. This is handy if you want to maintain static or recurring lists of things such as a shopping list, packing list, or check list – things that you want to remember, but do not want to clutter up your Tasks folder.

Showing and Hiding Projects

You can show and hide Projects from a new button on the main screen. The drop down menu also shows you what kinds of items are in each Category – Events, Tasks, or Notes.

categories


Day Calendar

Tap on the “Day” tab to view the Day calendar.

 

The summary box shows your All Day Events, New Tasks starting on that day, and Due Tasks that are due on that day. If you have a large number, you can view more by tapping on the down arrow.

The Day Calendar shows Events and, if you are viewing the current day, it also shows Tasks. Events are on the left side, and Tasks are on the right side. Events have fixed start and end times. SmartPad automatically places Tasks directly into the free time between your Events. They follow the same order as the Tasks folder. If you change the order in the Task folder, you will see that the order of Tasks in the Day Calendar also changes. Note that Tasks placed in the calendar automatically split in order to fit into smaller spaces of free time.

Quick-Add a New Event

Tap and hold on any time in the calendar’s time-line. The keyboard pops up, and you can write in the name of your Event or Appointment. Tap “Done” on the keyboard when you are finished. That’s it!

Editing an Event

You can change the content of any Event or Task at any time, by selecting it then tapping on the “Edit” (pencil) icon. Note from this menu, you can also Delete or Duplicate the Event, or tap the “Links” icon to create a new Linked Note or other Link. See our separate section on Links.

selected-event

 

You can add and edit the following detail to any Event:

  • Change the duration
  • Make it repeat (daily, weekly, monthly)
  • Assign it to any Calendar/Project
  • Convert it into an All Day Event
  • Create multiple Alerts
  • Add a description
  • Create a new LinkedNote.  Just select the Event, choose the “links” icon, then tap the “New Note” icon. This LinkNote will also appear on your Notes page. Cool!
    selected-event
  • Associate it with any of your Contacts (tap on the blue arrow)
  • Insert an Address for handy reference (manually, or automatically if your Contact has an associated address)
  • Tap on “Task” to convert it into a Task (SmartPad will then place it into your Task list.)

Viewing consecutive days

When you have the “Day” tab selected on the top left, notice that on the right side there are a number of other tabs available: Day, Tasks, Notes, Projects, History. Tap on the “Day” tab to view two consecutive days side by side. This is handy for planning multiple days in detail.

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Month Calendar

Tap on the “Month” tab to view the Month calendar. You can see it in portrait (vertical) or landscape (horizontal), just flip your iPad sideways.

Our Month calendar is full of features. You can tap on any day to see the full detail in a pop-up day calendar. The Pop-up Day Calendar is completely editable: you can scroll up and down, drag Events up and down, select Events to edit them, etc. If you select the current day, you will also see today’s Tasks integrate into the Day Calendar, as shown below.

In the view above, note the triangles on the left side. Tap on any of these to expand that Week (see detail below).

You can also edit any Event on any day in the calendar, just by tapping it to select:

Week Calendars

View the detail for an entire week! Just tap on any triangle on the left margin of the Month Calendar. To go back, tap on the triangle again.

Week Calendars have the exact same function as the Month Calendar; they just show more detail. Additionally, you can drag events up and down to change their times.

week-view-100-300x400

 

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Tasks

When you have the Day Calendar selected, tap on the “Tasks” tab on the top right side. This is your Tasks folder. Tasks that appear in the Tasks folder will also be shown in the Day Calendar, if they can fit into the free time of your current day.

Note: Not all Tasks appear in the Tasks folder, but all Tasks do appear inside their respective Projects in the Projects folder. For example, you may have some Tasks that are “too far in the future” to bother you, or these might include items from a Check list. For more detail, go to the Projects section.

Creating New Tasks

It’s easy to create a new task. Just tap the “Quick Add New Task” field and start typing. That’s it! You can add detail to any Task by tapping on the blue arrow circle.

Task Detail

You can add detail to Tasks at any time – either by tapping on the blue arrow when you first create it, or by editing it later. This next screen shows the options:

  • Add a location if you wish.
  • Quickly estimate how long the Task will take. We offer three quick-tap buttons, or you can adjust the time more exactly by tapping on the “detail” button.
  • Optionally add Start and Due dates for your Task. Quick-Add buttons make this easy, and you can be more specific by tapping on the “detail” button.
  • Tasks that Start on a specific date, will be shown in the Day Summary box of your Day Calendar. If you mark a task to Start at some point in the future, then it will not show up in your Task list if you have the “Active” filter selected (see below).
  • Tasks that are Due on a specific date, will also be shown as Due in the Day Summary box of your Day Calendar. Additionally, they will have a small colored badge indicating whether the Task is not due yet (green), due (yellow), or overdue (red).
  • You can schedule Pop-up Alert Reminders for all Tasks that have a Due date. Now that’s handy!

Prioritizing Tasks

Prioritizing is easy in SmartPad. Instead of assigning numbers to rank, just drag a task up and down with your fingertip.

Editing Tasks

You can edit any Task by selecting it. The options are:

  • Delete
  • Mark “Done”
    Marking a a Task as “Done” moves it to the History folder. You can Undo this action by going to the History folder, locating the Task, and selecting the “Undo” icon.
  • Duplicate
  • Edit Detail

Filtering Tasks

 

Below the Quick-Add bar are several one-tap filters for quickly and efficiently showing only what you want to see. Your options are:

  • AllThis shows all Tasks
  • StarThis shows only the Tasks that you have marked with a Star. To mark a Task with a Star, tap on the right side of that task. The Star will turn yellow. Tap again to deselect.
  • DueThis shows only Tasks that have a Due Date. You can sort these manually.
  • ActiveThis shows only Tasks that have a Start date and where the Start date has already passed. This is useful if you do not want to see Tasks that are scheduled to start in the future.
  • GTDoThis shows only only GTDo tasks. GTDo tasks are the currently active task from each of your Projects. They are indicated by the cute little flag.
    Go to the Projects section to learn more.

The Day Manager

Day Manager is the heart and soul of SmartPad. It features our second generation SmartTime technology to place your active tasks into the open space between your appointments in the Calendar. Day Manager takes that technology to another level by giving you full and immediate control over your day. Move the sliders left or right to adjust your working hours. As you do so, watch as the Day Line moves up and down to indicate which Tasks from the list can fit into your working hours. Those that fit above the Day Line, are highlighted. Those that do not fit – below the Day Line – are faded. In the screen shot below, notice how the highlighted tasks in the Task List on the right, are also shown in the Day Calendar on the left.

 

Productivity Tip:

Sometimes you may want to schedule a task for a specific time. That’s easy. Referring to the above illustration, in the Calendar View just drag any Task to the time slot that you want to do it in. The Task will automatically be converted into an Event. You can disable this feature in Settings.

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Notes

Tap on the “Notes” tab to bring up the Notes page. We call this feature “LinkNotes” because it’s far more than just a notes page.

  • Simply start typing a new Note into the note field.  By default, it will be associated with today.  You can change the date of any note as well.
  • Below the first Note, you will see a summary of other notes. Tap to select for basic editing options, or double-tap to edit the detail.
  • You can Link any note to any other note, task or event. Just tap on the icons.
  • You can also create a new note from any existing task or event.  Just select that item.  The new note will automatically be linked to it.
  • LinkNotes sync via mySmartDay.com to the Notes feature of SmartDay on your iPhone and Mac.

 

 

Spad3_note

Notes also have embedded check-lists. These are handy for creating lists of things to do, or recurring shopping lists, packing lists, etc.

 

Spad3_noteedit

 

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Projects

Our newest feature is the Projects folder. There’s nothing quite like it. The Projects folder allows you to:

  • Organize your tasks by Projectl
  • Quick-add multiple tasks to any Project,
  • Monitor the progress of each Project as you complete tasks,
  • Choose which tasks are shown in your Tasks folder,
  • Automatically display the “top” item from each Project, in your Task list (we call this “GTDo’s”), and
  • Drag and drop tasks from one Project to the other.

 

Projects Key:

 

 

Quick Add multiple Tasks to a Project

Just tap a project to select it, then tap the “++” icon from the pop-up menu…

…then add multiple Tasks, one tap at a time…

GTDo Tasks

You have dozens of Projects and each Project is filled with dozens of tasks. Somehow, you need to focus each day on what you need to get done, without getting overwhelmed by the hundreds of tasks that you have. Our GTDo feature does this for you. It’s all automated – you don’t have to do anything – but here’s how it works to make your day less frenetic, more focused:

  • The top-most task in each of your Projects is flagged as a GTDo task. (We assume that the top-most task is the one that you have to accomplish before any others. That’s kind of how the GTD or “Getting Things Done” philosophy works.)
  • Each flagged GTDo task is automatically placed in the Task folder. You can tell because it has a little red flag.
  • When you mark a GTDo task as “done,” the next task in that Project becomes the GTDo task and will automatically appear in the Task folder.
  • You can mark GTDo tasks (or any tasks, for that matter) as “done” from any view where tasks appear – the Day Calendar, the Tasks folder, or the Projects folder.
  • The Tasks folder has a special filter called “GTDo.” If you select this, it will show only the GTDo’s. If you have 10 different projects, you will always have 10 GTDo’s. Talk about focus!

Projects Folder in Landscape

This is a nifty feature. Flip your iPad sideways when you are in the Project folder. You will notice that it shows the contents of three folders, not just two: Day Calendar, Task list, and Projects. This is an amazing productivity tool because you can see how your tasks flow from your Projects folder into the Tasks folder and on directly into your Calendar. But you’re not just seeing. You are interacting. You are managing your day effectively, with a whole suite of “Smart” productivity tools.

It’s the ultimate console, everything in one view. You now have total control over your day.

 

Recurring Lists

You can also create Projects that are made up of recurring lists, such as a shopping list. Here’s an example:

  1. Set up your list of most-needed groceries. If you really want to be efficient, you can create a different “Project” for each section of your grocery store!
  2. As you run out of items in the kitchen, just tap the “Star” button. In the above example, I have just run out of milk.
  3. Next time you’re at the grocery store, open SmartPad.
  4. As you go through the aisles, mark each item as you drop it into your grocery cart by selecting the “done” icon. When all of the Starred items have been marked “Done”, you can head to check-out.
  5. At the check-out line, you can then “Undo” each item as it comes out of your cart. Or you can wait until you get home and mark them “Undone” as you take each item out of the bag. Be sure to also un-star each item.
  6. Now, your Shopping list is back to “0” but your list is still there, ready for you to Star items as “needed” throughout each day as you run out or run low!

This feature is also helpful if you are packing for a trip. It not only helps you plan what to bring, but it helps you remember what to bring back!

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History

The History folder shows you a summary of completed tasks, by Date. From this folder, you can:

  • View the completion history of individual completed tasks. (For example, if you used the timer to audit your tasks and you paused then resumed the task several times).
  • Export the completion history of individual tasks to Excel (*.csv)
  • Export the completion history of all Tasks. You can export “By Project” or “By Date.”
  • Delete the History and start over (this cannot be undone).

Time Logger

Did you ever wish you had a way to keep track of time you are spending on something? Maybe a phone call, or an exercise routine, or a meeting? And wouldn’t you like to be able to record and log that time, so you have a record? And wouldn’t it be nice if you could export that to a spreadsheet, or email it to someone else? These are all possible with the Time Logger feature of SmartPad.

Select any Task or Event. You will see the Timer button appear in the middle of the top bar:

Tap on the Timer button and you will see the name of the item that you selected, in the section called “Task in queue.” Simply press the Start button:

 

Additional features of the Timer (as shown above):

  • You can time multiple items, and have multiple items in “pause” state as well.
  • Tap the yellow “pause” button to pause the timer, then
  • Tap the green “start” button to resume.
  • Tap the “done” button when you are finished timing or have completed the Task or Event.
  • Once you have completed a Task or Event, you can see it in the History folder. You can also export a detailed summary of the timed Task or Event. SmartPad appends it to an email that you can send to yourself or to a friend or colleague.
  • Note although Events do not normally appear in the History folder, if you Timed an Event (such as a scheduled phone call with a client), then it WILL appear in the History folder. Handy!
  • The Timer icon will remain visible, and animated, on the top bar while it is timing or while any items are in the paused state.
  • If you close SmartPad while the timer is on, the next time you open SmartPad you will be prompted to either treat the Timer as having been PAUSED while SmartPad was closed, or to have been running Continuously. This is handy if you closed the app in a hurry and forgot to turn off the timer for a few days!

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Links

 

LinksIcon2

Links are the easy way to create direct connections between any combination of Tasks, Events, or Notes.  Let’s say you have an Event called “Finance meeting.”   While you are meeting with the financial team, you want to take some notes.  Just select the Event, then tap the “Links” icon on the right side of the menu bar.  You’ll see the “Links” pop-up shown below.

AddNewNoteIcon

In this screen, you can search for existing items to create links to them. Or, you can simply create new items. In this example, just tap on the “new note” button highlighted above.  You’ll then see a new Note, as shown below. Start typing (or dictatating!) and your new Linked Note is created!

LinkedNote

This note will always be linked to “Finance Meeting.”

Now, here’s the really cool think: You might create some follow-up tasks to this meeting.  For example, “Discuss New App Idea.”  You can then link that task to the note AND to the event, so that you always have cross-references.  Just select the Links icon, then in the Links box, type in ‘Bob mentioned’ to find the original note, and you’ve just created a Link to it.

One other cool thing: Links is a feature of all our SmartDay apps. So you can see and reference Links to Notes, Events, and Tasks on mySmartDay.com, and on SmartDay on your iPhone and Mac.

 


Integrated Search

The integrated search bar is a powerful tool because it automatically groups items by type: Note, Event, All Day Event, Task. You can tap on any item to jump directly to that item.


Actions Bar / Settings

Tap on the Action button on the top left of any screen.

 

Settings

This is where you choose your settings for SmartPad.

About

Here you will find this Guide, as well as information about other Apps by Left Coast Logic.

Backup

You can backup your database and send it to yourself in an email. This is handy for restoring your data in case you forgot to backup your iPad to iTunes. It is also helpful as a debugging tool.

Sync Events

Tap on this to sync the Events in your SmartPad Calendars to your iPad Calendar. See Synchronization.

Sync Tasks

Tap on this to sync Tasks in your SmartPad Projects to Toodledo. Note you will need to have a free account with Toodledo in order to sync. For more information, see Synchronization.

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Synchronize with mySmartDay

SmartPad w/Cloud Sync connects directly with our browser-based organizer, mySmartDay.com.  Now you can enjoy the features of SmartPad directly on your browser – on any Mac or PC, at work or at home. Free.

SmartPad syncs all of your tasks, events, and project categories directly with mySmartDay. It even syncs your category colors, and the sort order of your task lists.

To get connected, just go to your SmartPad Settings and create a free mySmartDay account.  (Note: if you already have an account from SmartNotes, there is no need to create a new one. Just sign in with your SmartNotes account.)

After verifying your account, you’re connected. You’ll never have to set anything up again.  No mapping, no fiddling, no choosing calendars.

From the settings menu, you can also select “Auto Sync”. This synchronizes with mySmartDay each and every time you make a change in SmartPad.  With Auto Sync, everything is done for you.  That’s it. No more instructions.  But we’ll be happy to answer a few questions:

Is mySmartDay stable?

It works for us.  But it is still in beta. So to be safe, be sure to back up your SmartPad data frequently. Just tap on the action menu from any view, and select “Backup.” This encrypts, then embeds, your entire database into an email.  Send it to yourself, or keep it somewhere safe. Tap on the link to restore.

Can I sync my notes?

Sure! SmartPad’s notes sync with mySmartDay and, from there, with SmartDay on your Mac or iPhone. You can also view all of your Events, Tasks, and Notes on any web browser (Mac or PC), just go to your free account on mySmartDay.com.

Can I sync with my outside calendars and task lists?

Sure!  Any calendars that you can view in your iPad calendar, you can also import to  SmartPad.  And any tasks or reminders that you can view in Toodledo, you can import to SmartPad. In Settings, just select “Others” then set up your iPad Calendar sync (for events) and your Toodledo sync (for tasks).

Tips for syncing with outside sources

  • We suggest that you simply import your data from outside sources, then set up sync with mySmartDay. You can always perform another sync with those same sources later, to keep those outside sources up to date.
  • To sync with your iPad calendar, you will need to first set up the calendar group “From My Mac” or “On My iPad”. If this does not appear in the “Calendars” list of your iPad Calendar, then please read this blog about working with iOS5 calendars.

More on syncing with outside sources

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