Frequently Asked Questions

Index

General

What do I get when I purchase Tasktop?

Purchasing a Tasktop subscription, entitles you to use the software along with 1 year of upgrades. When your subscription expires, Tasktop will continue to work, but you will not have access to new releases until you renew your subscription.

Tasktop uses PayPal™ to complete your purchase and does not require you to have a PayPal account. If you pay with a credit card, you will not be redirected to the download page. When the transaction is complete you will be given the option to print a receipt. After having purchased, you can download the latest version from the download page or validate your current copy:

Open Tasktop
Open the Community and Support Page by going to Help > Tasktop Home and click on the Community and Support link
Enter your Tasktop credentials in the Account section
Press the "Validate..." button

Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact sales@tasktop.com for a full refund.

Upon purchasing a Tasktop subscription, you are free to use at home and at work as long as it is being used solely by you.

What platforms are supported by the Tasktop application?

Tasktop Pro for Eclipse will run on any platform supported by Eclipse. The standalone Tasktop Pro application is currently available for Windows and Linux. A Mac OS version is under development, please see the associated bug (requires login). For those without an account that would like to cast their vote for specific OS or feature integrations, consider completing a quick online survey.

What are the minimal system requirements for running the Tasktop?

The Tasktop can use between 50 and 512MB of memory depending on available system resources and amount of files linked into your Tasktop Navigator. Recommend minimal system requirements are 1GB of system memory and 1GHz processor.
Java™ 5 but Java 6 is recommended (Note that Java 6 is required when running on Vista)
Windows and the .NET Framework 2.0 is required to run the Tasktop application
Eclipse 3.3 or the latest 3.4 build is required to run the Tasktop plug-ins for Eclipse
~50MB free disk space to install the Tasktop application

What are the platform limitations when running the Tasktop plug-ins for Eclipse?

Tasktop does not work with Eclipse 3.5M builds. 3.5M build support will be available soon as an Early Access build.
Mac OS X
- Unable to set as default browser
- Automatic closing of external editors upon task deactivation is not supported
Linux
- Unable to set as default browser
- Internal browser has very limited functionality (Use of Tasktop's Firefox Add-On is recommended)
- Automatic closing of external editors upon task deactivation is not supported (works for Firefox browser tabs)

Does Tasktop Summer 2008 support Mylyn 2.x?

Tasktop supports Mylyn 3.x (Ganymede) and is not available for Mylyn 2.x. For those whose configuration is not supported by Mylyn 3.x (i.e. you must use a Mylyn connector hasn't yet been ported to Mylyn 3.0), please contact us a info@tasktop.com to discuss your options. To date, we are aware of the following connectors have been ported:

Bugzilla
CollabNet's SFEE, IssueTracker, ProjectTracker
JIRA
Mantis (beta only)
Rally
Trac
XPlanner

For more details please see: http://wiki.eclipse.org/index.php/Mylyn/Extensions#Connectors

Why does Tasktop appear to use so much cpu and memory?

The heap status that is reported should be the actual memory usage of the application. Java reserves memory based on the -Xmx argument that is specified in the (512M for Tasktop). This shouldn't impact the performance of Tasktop or other applications as much of this reserved memory is unused. Also, under windows, IE can take up a large chunk of memory and this will also be reported under Tasktop's memory usage. If youï¿½re curious about what background operations Tasktop is running that might be using CPU, use the Home toolbar drop-down and select Window -> Show View -> Otherï¿½ -> General -> Progress.

As a developer, are there any limitations when running the Tasktop application vs. Tasktop Plug-ins for Eclipse?

The Tasktop Application (rcp) isn't distributed with team source control management support (svn, cvs, etc) or development tooling (jdt, cdt, etc). For this reason, Eclipse developers may prefer to install the Tasktop Plug-ins for Eclipse into their existing Eclipse distribution. The Tasktop Plug-ins for Eclipse include all the features of the Tasktop application including Google and Outlook integration and focus support in the Navigator (for linked folders and websites etc).

What is the current Tasktop release schedule?

Release Date

Tasktop Summer 2008 July 23, 2008

Tasktop Autumn 2008 November 12, 2008

Tasktop 1.4 March 16, 2009

Next Release June 24, 2009

How do I connect to a repository?

Please see "How-to: Connect to a Repository" on the Tasktop help site.

How do I create well styled tasks?

Please see "How-to: Create Tasks with Style" on the Tasktop help site.

How do I track tasks with queries instead of email?

Please see "How-to: Track Tasks with Queries, Not Email" on the Tasktop help site.

How do I use tasks to increase my programming productivity?

Please see "How-to: Task-focused Programming" on the Tasktop help site.

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Install and Validation

Once I've upgraded to a more recent version of Tasktop (EA included) can I downgrade?

Due to configuration changes that may occur between Tasktop versions, we are unable to support down-grading. If you have reverted to an older version of Tasktop and are experiencing configuration problems, contact info@tasktop.com.

Why is my upgrade/install of Tasktop failing with "Cannot complete the request" errors?

If you are upgrading/installing within a week of the release and are getting connection exceptions or no repository containing... errors, this is most likely due to Eclipse.org mirror failures. Unfortunately this cannot be helped and will only correct itself with time as the mirrors fully replicate and demand dies down.

Another known cause of this problem is not having your Mylyn update sites enable within the Eclipse p2 update site manager:

Eclipse 3.4 (Ganymede) - Navigate to Help > Software Updates... and select the Available Software tab. Click the Manage Sites... button (right) and in the resulting dialog, ensure that all ...tools/mylyn/... update sites are checked. Proceed to update/install.

Eclipse 3.5 (Galileo) - Navigate to Help > Install New Software... and click on the Available Software Sites link. In the resulting preference page, ensure all Mylyn update sites are enabled. Also ensure the Galileo update site is enabled then try installing/updating again.

Still having problems? Try restartig Eclipse. Eclipse's update mechansim caches update site information and may be stale.

Why is my upgrade/install of Tasktop failing with Unsatisfied dependency and requriedCapability problems?

Quick Solution: Uninstall all Tasktop Features and try installing again. Open Help > Software Updates...., select Installed Software tab. Select all Tasktop Features and click the Uninstall button. Restart as necessary. Open Help > Software Updates...., again and ensure both the Ganymede and Mylyn update sites are enabled: click Manage Sites... button and in the list of sites, ensure all 'http://download.eclipse.org/tools/mylyn' sites are checked. Once complete, select all Tasktop features and click Install... Restart when asked. If this does not resolve the issue, and none of the details below help, please contact Tasktop support.

The Details: The underlying update mechanism in Eclipse (P2) occasionally has difficulties determining the correct upgrade/install path resulting in these errors. If you don't see these errors but functionality is missing upon restart, it is also likely that one of the Tasktop features is missing due to a partial update. Below are potential solutions for two scenarios 1) update won't happen due to dependency errors and 2) upgrade took place but now functionality is missing.

Scenario 1 - Install/update won't happen due to dependency errors (I get an error indicating that a "requiredCapability" is not met and that a Unsatisfied dependency exists.)

We've had report of people unable to update to more recent Tasktop and Mylyn releases due to other plugins having hard dependencies on older versions of Mylyn. As of writing, we've had report that the Mantis connector will cause the update to fail due to strict dependency on Mylyn 3.0.5.

Others have run into problems updating/installing due to the Mylyn and Ganymede update site urls not being enabled within their eclipse Update Manager. Open Help > Software Updates...., and click Manage Sites... button and in the list of sites, ensure all 'http://download.eclipse.org/tools/mylyn' sites are checked and the Ganymede site is also checked. Try installing again.

Scenario 2 - Install/update took place but now functionality is missing

This can happen due to P2 mistakenly disabling features in your cofiguration. This could happen due to required update sites not being enabled (see Scenario 1 above). To get back to working order, Open Help > Software Updates...., select the Installed Software tab and press the Revert Configuration button. Revert to a known good (previous) configuration. Once complete and all is back to working order, ensure the update sites are enabled correctly (Scenario 1) and try installing again.

Note: For those who do not want to upgrade to the latest Eclipse, you can ensure this doesn't happen by disableing (unchecking) the Eclipse Project Updates site in Help > Software Updates..., Available Software tab, Manage Sites, and uncheck the Eclipse Project Updates site.

Why do I get "Cannot find a solution satisfying the following requirements org.eclipse.swt" errors?

The Eclipse P2 update manager sometimes displays this error message when the Ganymede update site is disabled. Please see details and instructions on the Why is my upgrade/install of Tasktop failing with Unsatisfied dependency and requriedCapability problems? FAQ entry.

Why am I getting an Update Site not found error when adding Tasktop update sites to my update manager?

We've seen this before. The solution has been to clear all tasktop.com credentials from the Eclipse secure storage:

1) Shutdown Tasktop/Eclipse

2) Backup then edit <userhome>/.eclipse/org.eclipse.equinox.security/secure_storage

3) Remove all lines that have tasktop.com in them (not that it is encoded so doesn't appear exactly as 'tasktop.com') 4) Start up Eclipse

How do I install Tasktop Pro into MyEclipse / Pulse?

Currently installation of Tasktop Pro into MyEclipse/Pulse requires manually adding the following update sites to your configuration:

Eclipse 3.3 (MyEclipse 6.x)

Note: Tasktop 1.6 and higher does not support Eclipse 3.3.
http://tasktop.com/downloads/ide/Tasktop-1.5.0.v20090623-1400/e3.3/site.xml
http://download.eclipse.org/tools/mylyn/update-archive/3.2.0/v20090617-0100/e3.3/site.xml

Eclipse 3.4 (MyEclipse 7.x)

http://tasktop.com/downloads/update/release/ide

To install Tasktop into MyEclipse, expand the Tasktop update site, select "Tasktop Client", but nothing else, and install.

Eclipse 3.5 (MyEclipse 8.x)

http://tasktop.com/downloads/update/release/ide

To install Tasktop into MyEclipse, expand the Tasktop update site, select "Tasktop Client", but nothing else, and install.

How do I install Tasktop Pro into IBM Rational Application Developer 7.5?

To install Tasktop into IBM Rational Application Developer 7.5, you may need to deselect the following features from the Mylyn Integrations category:

Mylyn Bridge: Eclipse IDE
Mylyn Bridge: Java Development
Mylyn Bridge: Plug-in Development

After installation and restart, there has been a report that these 3 features can then be installed.

Why after updating to Tasktop 1.4 am I experiencing numerous Outlook warning dialogs?

Tasktop Pro standalone now registeres itself with Outlook upon install. You may be expereiencing this problem if you've upgraded from within Tasktop (vs. downloading a new installer). To resolve this problem, navigate to Window > Preferences > Tasktop > Outlook and press "Disable Outlook Security Warnings" button.

After updating Tasktop Pro (standalone), the help feature doesn't appear. Why?

If upon updating Tasktop standalone you are missing the offline help feature you will need to download and run the latest Tasktop installer.

Why am I getting No repository found and Server redirected too many times errors upon updating?

This is a known bug and can result from at least two scenarios. This can result when an incorrect password is entered during an update. Upon updating, the user is never given opportunity to re-enter their correct password. To work around this problem edit the following file:

$HOME/.eclipse/org.eclipse.equinox.security/secure_storage

...where $HOME is your user account home directory, and remove all lines that start with:

org.eclipse.equinox.p2.repository/http://tasktop.com/update/[your user id here]/

Note that the lines will be url encoded so will not appear exactly as above. Once removed, restart Tasktop.

The other scenario that can result in this error is when a proxy server is in use. If you are using a proxy server and see this error, try selecting the "System proxy configuration" option under Window > Preferences > Geneal > Network Connection

What information is sent to Tasktop.com upon subscription validation?

Occasionally Tasktop will validate your subscription. As part of validation the following fields are (securely) transmitted to tasktop.com:

userid - your email address
password - your tasktop.com password
mac - the mac address of one of your network cards
mylyn - version of Mylyn in use
version - version of Tasktop in use
eclipse - version of Eclipse in use
licenseid - the id of your current license

In the upcoming Tasktop Spring 2008 release...

The exact information that will be transmitted from your Tasktop can be reviewed within the Advanced section of the root Tasktop preferences page (Window > Preferences > Tasktop).
You can disable/enable automatic validation from the Tasktop preferences page.

Does Tasktop Spring 2008 work in the final Ganymede (Eclipse 3.4) release?

Tasktop Spring 2008 does not work with the recently released Eclipse 3.4 (Ganymede). Tasktop Summer 2008 will support Eclipse 3.4. For those who have purchased Tasktop and would like to use Tasktop with Eclipse 3.4M6 or higher, you have the option to use an Early Access Tasktop build.

How do I configure proxy settings in Tasktop?

Proxy settings can be configured via the Network Connections preference page accessible via the Tasktop Home drop down menu () > Preferences... > General > Network Connections

Why is my Tasktop failing to validate when I'm behind a proxy?

If your proxy is using NTLM (windows) authentication you will have to specify the domain as part of your proxy credentials (i.e. enter your proxy user id as: domain\userid, Password: ****). Another point to remember is that when filling in your proxy information in the Network Connections preference page is that the address you enter (i.e. for http proxy) should not include the protocol portion of the address ( http://myproxy.com should simply be myproxy.com).

Why are my credentials failing to validate (or Tasktop is not updating)?

Tasktop Spring 2008 has a bug whereby if your user id has capitals in it, the update site that gets automatically created for you under (Help > Software Updates > Find and Install) will be incorrect. The update site url consists of your user id which needs to be all lower case. If you see capitals, simply change these to lower case and subsequent update/validation will succeed.

Why is a Mylyn plugin version error reported upon updating Tasktop?

If you are running with either the Tasktop application or Plug-ins for Eclipse, both of which depend on a specific version of the Mylyn framework. If you are using the weekly Mylyn builds (not major releases) this can lead to update dependency problems due to Tasktop's stringent requirement on a specific Mylyn version. The solution is to either use the version of Mylyn needed by Tasktop, or if you are willing to assume the risk of using early access (non-release) builds of both Mylyn and Tasktop, use a early access build of Tasktop corresponding to the weekly Mylyn build.

How do I get early access Tasktop releases? (advanced)

If you have purchased the Tasktop plug-ins for Eclipse and want to live on the cutting edge, you can switch to the early access builds via your tasktop.com account page. Look for the section on this page titled Early Access and press the enable button. Choose the version of Eclipse you are using and accept the license. A personalized early access update site will be built for you. Copy the provided update site url, open your update manager and edit the Tasktop update site, pasting in the new update site url in place of the regular update site url. Launch an update and accept the early access features you desire. If you are using the stand-alone application version of Tasktop, you can simply download the Early Access version from your account page.

New Early Access releases will be announced on task#266.

How do I reveal the Software Updates menu option in my Tasktop application?

Navigate to Window > Customize Perspective..., select the Commands tab, and under "Available command groups" check off Software Updates

I've lost my password, how do I reset it?

First, if you do know your password and would simply like to change it, you can do so via the Tasktop.com account page. If you do not remember your Tasktop.com password and are unable to log in, you can reset your password by pressing the "Reset My Password" button that is presented upon unsuccessful login. Pressing this button will result in an email being sent to to confirm that you indeed which to reset your password. Pressing the hyperlink in the email will log you into your account with a newly generated password and an email sent to you with your new password. We recommend that you then visit your Tasktop.com account page to change the password to one of your liking.

After changing my password on Tasktop.com, why am I ask for credentials each time I update my Tasktop?

Once you've changed your password on tasktop.com, you need to enter your new credentials on the Tasktop Feature Overview page and press Validate.

Why am I unable to install/upgrade and see errors about Mylyn Bridge: PDE (org.eclipse.pde.ui) missing?

If you are running an Eclipse distribution that doesn't have pde installed such as the Eclipse IDE for Java Developers build or Java EE build, you will see this error upon upgrading Tasktop via the Find and Install... menu option. Simply deselect the Mylyn Bridge plugin under the Integration group and the installation will proceed correctly. To bypass this all together, you can update your Tasktop using the Check for Updates link found under the Configuration section on the Tasktop Feature Overview (accessible by pressing the Tasktop Home button in the toolbar).

Is it possible to install other Mylyn repository connectors into Tasktop? ?

Yes! You can install Mylyn connectors into your Tasktop . Some of the Mylyn connectors available are considered advanced or experimental and are not officially supported by Tasktop Technologies, but we are always willing to answer your questions in the Tasktop forum.

How do I install the Trac connector?

To install the Trac connector into the Tasktop application:

Navigate to Help (menu) > Software Updates > Find and Install...
Select the "Search for new features to install" option and press Next
Add the Mylyn Extras update site via the New Remote Site... button. The Extras update site url is http://download.eclipse.org/tools/mylyn/update/extras
Choose the Trac feature
- Once the Trac feature has been selected, press finish.
- After restarting the Trac connector will be available.

Please note that the Trac connector is available via the open-source Mylyn project. For more information, please refer to the Mylyn project's FAQ entry on Trac.

How do I install the XPlanner connector?

To install the XPlanner connector into the Tasktop application:

Navigate to Help (menu) > Software Updates > Find and Install...
Select the "Search for new features to install" option and press Next
Add the Mylyn Incubator update site via the New Remote Site... button. The Incubator update site url is http://download.eclipse.org/tools/mylyn/update/incubator
Choose the XPlanner feature
- Once the XPlanner feature has been selected, press finish
- After restarting the XPlanner connector will be available

How do I install the Crucible and Bamboo connectors?

To install the Crucible and Bamboo connectors:

Navigate to Help (menu) > Software Updates
On the Available Software tab click "Add Site..."
Add the following update site URL: http://update.atlassian.com/atlassian-eclipse-plugin/e3.4
Select all of the features in the Connector category under the Atlassian Eclipse Connector site and press "Install..."

How do I install the generic web connector? (advanced)

To install the generic web connector, you will need to install it from the Mylyn Incubator update site. To do this, go to the Help menu and select Sofware Updates > Find and Install... For the RCP, this is accessible via the Tasktop Home dropdown . From here, you want to select "Search for new features to install". Next, add a "New Remote Site" and add the Mylyn Incubator update site url:

http://download.eclipse.org/tools/mylyn/update/incubator

Click "Finish". This will run a search for the new features. Once the next dialog has opened, expand all of the entries in the view and select the "Mylyn Connector: Generic Issue Tracker". Click next and complete the install process. After the install is complete, a restart of Tasktop will be required so that the generic web connector is available as a repository type.

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Outlook

Does Tasktop's Outlook integration support 64bit Eclipse?

Currently Tasktop's Outlook integration does not support 64bit. We are looking into what is necessary to make this happen.

How do I get Email in the Navigator (Email in Context)?

This feature is not yet available. In the mean time, you are encouraged to try one of the following solutions:

You can save an Outlook email as a file, which if saved to a linked folder, will become visible in the Tasktop Navigator view.
Alternatively, in your email client, click forward, then copy the resulting forwarded message and paste as a comment in the corresponding task editor.

If you are interested in this feature, please add yourself to the cc and vote for the following enhancement request:
232: Show Outlook folders/emails in Navigator and add selected emails to task context

After moving my workspace and importing my task list, why is my Outlook task data missing?

This is a known bug. The work around for now is to copy the contents of old-workspace-location\.metadata\.mylyn\offline\email.outlook and old-workspace-location\.metadata\.mylyn\offline\tasks.outlook to the similar folders under your new workspace location.

Why upon starting my Tasktop I see warnings about insufficient permissions to register Outlook security manager?

This results when running Tasktop on Vista with User Access Control enabled. Consider disabling this feature on Vista (at your own risk). To disable User Account Control proceed to Start > Control Panel > User Accounts, and click the "Turn User Account Control on or off" hyperlink. In the resulting dialog uncheck the Use User Account Control... option and press OK. You will then need to restart your computer.

Does Tasktop cause Outlook to load?

Yes. If Outlook integration is enabled within Tasktop, upon loading, Tasktop will query the Outlook service for task information. If the Outlook service is not running it will be launched as a result of this query.

How can I disable Tasktop's Outlook integration?

For those who do not have Outlook installed, support has now been added to completely disable Tasktop's Outlook integration. To do so, Navigate to Window > Preferences > Tasktop > Outlook, expand the Advanced section and clear the "Enable Outlook Support" check box.

How do I enable the experimental MS Exchange Support?

Tasktop includes experimental support for MS Exchange folders within Outlook. This added functionality will make your Exchange calendars, email, and task folders available when configuring Tasktop Outlook integration. To enable this experimental support navigate to Window > Preferences > Tasktop > Outlook, expand the Advanced section and check off "Enable Exchange support". Ensure Outlook is connected to Exchange when configuring Tasktop's Outlook integration to ensure the Exchange folders are available.

Why can't I see any of my working folders or tasks when creating an Outlook query in Tasktop?

When Outlook is used in a corporate environment, the data (your email and tasks etc) may be held remotely on an Exchange server. This may reflect your scenario if, when upon creating queries in Tasktop, none of your familiar folders are available to query over. To rectify this, you can enable Exchange support in your Tasktop.

How do I get an attachment from an Outlook Email into Tasktop?

Drag and drop from Outlook is on the road map but is not yet available. There are however a few simple tricks to work with attachments now.

With a task active in Tasktop:

In Outlook, right+click the attachment and save it to a folder previously linked into the Tasktop Navigator
Switch into Tasktop, note that the file has appeared under the folder. You are free to drag it to another folder if you wish.

If you are working without a task active:

Save the file via Outlook into the desired folder
Ensure the folder is linked into Tasktop, then type the filename into the Find box of the Navigator to initiate a search for it

Why do I get a dialog from Microsoft Outlook asking for access?

Tasktop failed to perform a background synchronization of your tasks and calendars with Outlook. This can occur after updating Tasktop or when running Vista with restricted permissions. You can manually initiate the security handshake through the Tasktop preferences page Window (menu) > Preferences > Tasktop > Outlook and press the "Disable Outlook Security Warnings for Tasktop" button to resolve this. Additionally, restarting Tasktop should remedy this problem as well but if this persists please file a bug report detailing any steps to reproduce.

What happened to my Outlook calendar? Why are my Outlook repositories disconnected?

If upon launching your Tasktop you find Outlook functionality is disabled, try restarting. If upon launching Tasktop is unable to connect to Outlook, the Outlook specific features are disabled.

Why upon upgrading Tasktop is Outlook functionality disabled?

If after upgrading, the Tasktop application or Outlook integration doesn't work, use the following steps to ensure a clean install:

Shutdown Tasktop
Uninstall Tasktop using the Uninstall option from the Start menu or Control Panel > Add or Remove Software
Reboot your computer
Install the latest version of Tasktop

How do I set the calendar view for display in Tasktop?

The view of your Outlook calendar can be switched via Outlook. The Tasktop will show the last view used in Outlook before switching out of the Calendar view. An enhancement request has been filed to support switching between the various views of your calendar from within Tasktop.

Why is Tasktop unable to synchronize with Outlook on Vista or Windows 7 with UAC enabled?

The current work around for this is to either disable UAC or to run both Outlook and Tasktop/Eclipse as an administrator (e.g. Find Outlook.exe, right click to open the Properties, go to the Compatibility tab and check off the box that says "Run as Administrator"). If you change the settings to run as an administrator, make sure that both Tasktop and Outlook have the same settings otherwise they may not be able to communicate.

With Office 2007 and higher, you can disable the Outlook warning messages via the "Trust Center". You an access the Trust Center in Outlook via Tools > Trust Center and selecting the "Programatic Access" tab on the left. Select "Never warn me about suspicious activity" or "Warn me about suspicious activity when my antivirus software is inactive or out-of-date" if Outlook detects that you have valid antivirus software installed.

The ugly details: This problem results when incompatible authorization levels are used to execute Tasktop and Outlook. For example, Tasktop is now launched by default with administrative rights (to avoid other UAC related problems such as registering a COM dll for communication with Outlook), Outlook on the other hand is by default launched with the current user account level privileges. When this occurs, Vista blocks Tasktop from communicating with a application of lesser privileges (in this case Outlook). This case happens when Outlook is opened before Tasktop. If Tasktop is opened first and causes the execution of the Outlook.exe process, Outlook will run with the same privileges as Tasktop and therefore will synchronize properly. One negative side effect of this scenario is that if the user subsequently tries to open Outlook (as a regular privileged application) it will fail to launch (even/only with Outlook.exe having already been launched by Tasktop).

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Google Calendar

How do I sync my tasks and retrieve events to/from multiple Google calendars?

Open the Tasktop configuration perspective (Help > Configure Tasktop) and in teh Calendars view, double-click the Goolge Calendar option. In the resulting dialog, select which calendars you want to sync tasks to from the list on the left, and select which calendars you want to retrieve upcoming events from on the right. If the calendars in question aren't available, try pressing the 'Refresh Calendars' button to update the lists.

Where did all my events go from my Agenda?

If all of your Google calendar events disappear from your agenda, this is likely due to missing/lost credentials. Note that this can also happen when upgrading to Tasktop 1.1.0. To recover your events, re-input your credentials and hit the Refresh Calendars button. Tasktop will still remember your calendar synch & display preferences, but you will have to hit the Refresh Events link on the agenda popup to display your events.

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Gmail

Why occasionally do I not see incoming on a Gmail task in my Task List when there is a new message in the Gmail thread online?

There is a bug in the Gmail service whereby new incoming messages on a thread are sometimes not given the label of the containing thread. This results in Tasktop not detecting the presence of a new email. As a work around, you can press the Gmail button within the Task editor to reveal the entire Gmail thread in the web browser. We are taking up this bug with Google.

Why does my Gmail Task Repository not validate?

In order for the Tasktop Gmail integration to work, you must ensure IMAP is enabled on your Gmail account. Log into gmail.com and click Settings in the top right corner of the web page. Click the "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" tab. Under the IMAP Access section, ensure Enable IMAP is selected. Press the "Save Changes" button to apply this change. Retry validating your Gmail Task Repository in Tasktop.

Additionally note that Gmail's IMAP support is currently only available for people who have set the language of their interface to English (US). To update this for your account, log into gmail.com and click Settings in the top right corner of the web page. Select the General tab and under Language, choose English (US).

Why am I unable to attach a file in Gmail using the internal browser on Windows?

In some cases using the Tasktop web browser on Windows, Gmail will allow you to select a file for attachment, but will not attach the file. This problem can be resolved by disabling advanced attachment support.

Open Gmail in the Tasktop web browser
Click on the Settings link in the top right of Gmail
On the General tab near the bottom, select "Basic attachment features" and click "Save Settings"

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Browser

Why can't I open secure web pages with Tasktop's browser on my Mac?

Safari does not recognize the validity of the certificate we use at Tasktop.com and it wants to present a dialog to you in order to proceed. Unfortunately there is a bug in the Safari-based internal browser that prevents it from presenting the dialog, and page loading is stalled. You must download our certificate from here, double-click it to open it in Keychain Access and add it to your keychain. Then in the Keychain Access application you must modify the trust settings on the certificate so that at least the Secure Services Layer (SSL) preference is set to 'Always Trust'.

Why does use of the Tasktop browser's back button seems different?

The Tasktop web browser's back button may not return you to an expected page when navigating to some sites that use AJAX. If after pressing the back button the page is not what you expected, choose the desired page from the history drop down to the right of the back button. Work is ongoing to improve Tasktop's back button.

How do I access my IE and Firefox bookmarks when a task is active? They dissappear!

To access the bookmarks when a task is active (and Navigator view is filtered), simply hold the Alt key down while clicking on the Web node in the Navigator to temporarily expose the elements below. Keep holding the Alt key down while clicking the Bookmarks node to reveal the Firefox and IE bookmark children. If initially the Web node is not visible, you can Alt+Click on white space within the Navigator view to reveal all content.

How does Tasktop's password management work?

When logging into a new website, Tasktop will ask if you would like to save your credentials. On subsequent visits, Tasktop will automatically enter in your previously saved credentials. When multiple accounts exist for the same web site, Tasktop will prompt you to choose which account to use.

Why does Tasktop lock up occasionally when opening a pdf file in the browser?

Our experience suggests that this problem doesn't arise when using Acrobat 8 or greater. Short of upgrading to Acrobat 8 you can configure Acrobat 7 (or less) not to open as an embedded application within the browser. To do this open the Acrobat application (out side of the browser). Go to Edit (menu) > Preferences... > Internet and uncheck the 'display PDF in browser' option. This may launch an installer and ask you to reboot so you should close any open documents before this operation.

When are the pages I visit on the web being recorded?

When browsing the web using your Tasktop, the pages you visit are only recorded when a task is active in the Task List. To view your browsing history, de-activate any active task and look for the History branch under Web in the Navigator view. To browse privately even when a task is active, open an unfocused browsing window: select New Plain Browser Window via the New Browser Tab button in the toolbar. This window will never record your browsing history, task active or not. When browsing using another web browser such as Firefox or Internet Explorer, the pages you visit are not being recorded by Tasktop.

How do working sets affect browsing history?

With a task active, browsing history is collected on a per working set basis. When multiple working sets are selected, each will have the pages you visit in their respective browsing history. When no working set is selected, all working sets get the visited pages in their history. If using an unfocused browsing window, the history is not recorded in any working set.

Why does Tasktop freeze when setting the default browser?

When running with the Tasktop plug-ins for Eclipse on Vista, setting the default browser can cause the workbench to freeze. This is due to Vista's User Account Control mechanism. To circumvent this you can disable UAC ( do so at your own risk). This issue is being tracked on bug#121.

How do I configure Eclipse to use an external browser?

Open the browser preference page via Window (menu) > Preferences > General > Web Browser. Select the "User external Web browser" radio button and choose from the available external web browsers.

MacOS Note: If you are seeing "A copy of Firefox is already open" dialog when opening pages from Tasktop/Eclipse on MAC, select "Use external Web browser" and select "Default system Web browser" to resolve this issue.
If you are unable to set Firefox as your default browser, you can:

In Eclipse, go to Preferences - Web browser
Choose "Use external Web browser"
Click on "New" next to the list of external Web browsers
Pick a name (e.g "Firefox for Tasktop") and enter "/usr/bin/open" under "Location" plus "-a /Applications/Firefox.app %URL%" under "parameters".

How do I set/unset Tasktop as the default browser?

Navigate to Window > Preferences > Tasktop > Windows and place a check in the "Set Tasktop as default browser..." check box to enable. Clear this check box to disable using Tasktop as your default browser. Note that enabling this option will cause Tasktop to act as your default browser only when running. When Tasktop is not running, your former default browser will become the default.

How does Tasktop's browser resolve update site urls?

For Tasktop to automatically open an update site upon clicking a hyperlink, the url must have must have "/update/", "/update-site/", "/updates/", "/updatesite/" in the url and a site.xml in the root of that directory.

Do Java applets work in the Tasktop web browser?

Java applets do not work when viewed with the Tasktop browser. To work around this limitation, open the corresponding page in an external browser via the Send to menu in the Tasktop browser toolbar.

Does Tasktop work with Internet Explorer?

Tasktop embeds the Internet Explorer installed on your system. When you use Tasktop, you are using an embedded instance of Internet Explorer. When you use your Internet Explorer application outside of Tasktop, your activity will not be tracked by Tasktop. Note that you can use FireFox outside of Tasktop and have your activity tracked by installing the Tasktop Firefox Connector.

Is the Tasktop browser slower than Internet Explorer?

On the Windows, there should be absolutely no difference in speed or quality of site rendering, since Tasktop is embedding IE. That said, we have heard reports of IE being slow enough on some people's machines that this alone was a reason for them use Firefox. If you are experiencing these problems, you will benefit Tasktop's Firefox integration scheduled for inclusion in the next version of Tasktop

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Navigator

How do I disable refresh of the Navigator contents?

To disable automatic refresh, open the workspace preference page via Window (menu) > Preferences > General > Workspace, and uncheck the Refresh automatically option. Press Apply to save this change.

Why are newly created files not becoming visible in the Navigator view as they should when a task is active?

To resolve this permanently perform the following steps:

Open the Window > Preferences > General > Workspace
Toggle "Refresh automatically" off and press Apply
Toggle "Refresh automatically" on and press Okay

When I disconnect from a VPN will my linked folders go away?

If your drive gets disconnected while the Tasktop is running, when a refresh of the folder or open of contents happens you will be presented with an error message. You may also be asked if you want to delete the linked folder. This error is not intuitive and we'll look into improving this.

If your drive is disconnected before Tasktop starts, once Tasktop does start, the previously linked drive will be 'closed' and not visible by default in the Navigator. This can be problematic and recovery needs to be improved in future Tasktop releases. In the mean time, you can recover your unlinked network drives by:

from the Navigator's view drop down menu, selecting Customize View...
under the Filters tab, uncheck Closed Projects
under the Content tab select Projects

The closed linked folder will now be visible (with a blue icon) under the Projects node. Right click on it and select "Open Project". The linked folder will be restored to your Folders node in the Navigator.

If a drive becomes disconnected, will my task context be okay?

Task contexts will be fine even if folders and drives become unlinked. Since the folder is unlinked the task context cannot be displayed. However, once the folders or drives are linked back in to the Navigator, the contexts will be visible again.

When I use my external Hard drive will I need to re-link it every time

If your drive always gets the same drive letter upon reconnecting you shouldn't need to relink (as long as you don't unlink from within the Navigator)

What will happen, if I link a windows folder in Tasktop, which contain Eclipse project folders inside?

This won't be a problem, the Tasktop does place a .project file in the folder being linked but this will not cause any negative side effects.

Linking an Eclipse project folder in the Tasktop Navigator will add the Tasktop linked folder nature to the project. Will the Eclipse project get corrupted?

Corruption will not result, the nature simply gets added with no negative side effects.

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MS Office

Why when creating new Office 2007 documents they do not save without renaming?

This is a known problem when creating Office 2007 documents from the Tasktop Navigator's New... menu. We are working to resolve this issue.

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Partner Connectors

Why am I seeing a No Features Found error when installing a partner connector?

During partner connectors you may be asked to select form a list of mirror sites. If you choose the "automatically select mirrors" option and the mirror fails, you may see a No Features Found error. Try installing again, manually selecting an alternate mirror site.

Why am I seeing a configuration error when updating to Tasktop 1.0.1?

The version of Mylyn shipped with Tasktop may conflict with an older Mylyn weekly build. Consider updating to a newer weekly (download.eclipse.org/tools/mylyn/update/weekly/extras) or reinstall via Tasktop Feature Overview, Partner Connectors tab.

Why am I unable to create a query for a particular project or view a card in the task editor in Mingle?

The Mingle Connector requires that basic authentication is enabled on the server, which is off by default. Please follow these instructions to enable basic authentication:

Getting started: turning on Basic Authentication

The Mingle API supports basic authentication. However it is disabled in the default configuration.

To enable basic authentication, you need set the basic_authentication_enabled configuration option to true in the Mingle data directory/config/auth_config.yml file, where Mingle data directory is the path to the mingle data directory on your installation.

E.g. basic_authentication_enabled: true

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Privacy

Is time tracking optional in Tasktop and Mylyn?

All timing in Tasktop and Mylyn is optional. If you do not activate a task, there is no time tracked. Users have to pro-actively opt in to having their tasks timed by activating the task. The only way a task is automatically activated on workbench start is if it was active on workbench close.

How does Tasktop augment Mylyn's time tracking?

Tasktop augments Mylyn's workbench timing with time spent in the OS outside of the workbench. It also adds a "Time Tracking" report that reports all timing data (adjustable by the user). Mylyn displays task times in the Planning section of the task editor, and also provides an example reporting view via the Mylyn Sandbox tools.

Does Tasktop send private information to tasktop.com?

Tasktop does not transmit any information to web services without the user's consent. If you do not set up and use the integrated Google web services (calendar, search, mail) Tasktop will never communicate with Google. If you do not set up a web-based task repository or perform web browsing, Tasktop will not perform any network activity. Tasktop will activate your subscription by contacting tasktop.com, but will only do so if you explicitly agree to the activation dialog. See validation and Tasktop privacy policy.

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Other

Why since upgrading to Tasktop 1.5 I'm getting a reposiotry not supported error upon time submit?

If you experience a problem with time tracking (pushing time to the server) with certain repositories that worked before updating to 1.5, e.g. seeing the warning "Some included repositories do not support submitting time" in the Activity Report, try the following steps:

close Tasktop
start tasktop with the argument -clean

(on windows) right-click the Tasktop shortcut and select Properties
add the following at the end of the Target field after adding a whitespace: -clean (it should look something like this: "C:\Program Files\Tasktop\Tasktop.exe" -clean)
Confirm the properties dialog
start Tasktop

How do I get a list of all Tasktop bugs I've voted on?

Log into the tasktop.com website and browse to the following url for a list of all bugs you've voted on: https://tasktop.com/bugs/votes.cgi?action=show_user

How do I filter completed tasks from my Task List?

At the right of the Task list view tool bar is the view menu button . Press thsi button and select Filter Completed Tasks to filter all completed tasks from the Task List view.

How do I change the sorting of my Task List?

When not in "Focus on Workweek" mode, the first and second level sorting of the Task List is customizable. At the right of the Task List view tool bar is the view menu button . Press this button and select "Sort..." to open sorting options.

After selecting "Sort...", you will be presented with the following dialog which will allow you to customize the sorting of the Tasklist based on a limited set of properties on the task (Priority, Summary and Date Created).

If you are in "Focus on Workweek" mode in the Task List, sorting will be disabled as the sorting is automatic. Sorting in "Focus on Workweek" works as follows:

Overdue tasks are always on top, then tasks scheduled for today, then tasks scheduled for this week.
Within those bins, tasks are sorted by priority.

Where is my task list data held and can I easily export it?

Your Tasktop task list data is located in a Tasktop folder within your system default application data folder. On Windows Vista, the default location of this folder is: c:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Tasktop. On Windows XP this folder is located at c:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Tasktop\. Exporting your task list can be achieved via File (menu) > Export... > Mylyn > Task Data.

How do I make the perspective switcher available in the Tasktop application?

The Tasktop toolbar has been updated so that the perspective switcher is no longer needed by default. If you use multiple perspectives, you can re-enable them via Window (menu) > Preferences > Tasktop, under Advanced on this preference page. Note that enabling the perspective switcher will require a restart of Tasktop.

Why does my Tasktop always appear to be refreshing the workspace as reported in the trim of the application window?

If you have a very large file system linked into your Navigator, refresh take a long period of time. We are working on optimizing this. If this has become problematic for you , consider disabling refresh.

Why are my calendar events not being updated?

If the calendar events in the Agenda are not getting updated, remove the tasktop-calendars.xml.zip and calendar-events.xml.zip from your .mylyn data folder and reconfigure your calendars. If using the Tasktop application on Vista this folder is located in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Tasktop\workspace\.metadata\.mylyn . If using Tasktop plug-ins for Eclipse, this folder is located at <workspace location>\.metadata\.mylyn. We are tracking resolution of this on bug#99.

Why are my key binding not working as usual?

When the Tasktop Browser has focus, some key bindings are absorbed by the Browser widget and do not propagate to the workbench. For example, this problem can sometimes be observed when pressing the Alt+LeftArrow action which will sometimes acts on editor tabs, and sometimes within the browser tab itself, depending on where the focus is. The way to work around this limitation of focus going to the Browser widget is to click on the editor tab of the browser to restore focus to the workbench. .

How do I disable User Account Control on Vista?

To disable User Account Control proceed to Start > Control Panel > User Accounts, and click the "Turn User Account Control on or off" hyperlink. In the resulting dialog uncheck the Use User Account Control... option and press OK. You will then need to restart your computer. .

How can I change the default editor associations in my Tasktop?

>Open the File Associations preference page via Window > Preferences > General > Editors > File Associations. Select the file type you wish to change. If the extension you wish to associate is not available, press the Add... button to add a new extension. Once the file type is selected, pick from the Associated editors or choose Add... to select an editor. The Editor Selection dialog allows you to choose from either internally support editors (Internal Editors) or external programs to open the associated file type with (External Programs). If an External program is chosen the application will be launched externally (not embedded) within the Tasktop.

How do I change the font in the Task Editor?

Open the Colors and Fonts preference page, Window (menu) > Preferences... > General > Appearance > Colors and Fonts. Expand the Tasks node, select "Task Editor - Notes and Comments", and press the Change.. button to choose an alternate font.

How can I send my error log to Tasktop via email?

Open the Error Log, navigate to Help (menu) > Show Error Log. Within the Error Log view, press the left most loolbar button, "Export Log", saving the file to a known location. Attach this file to your email. If you are unable to locate the Error log view or Tasktop is failing to start correctly, the log can be found within the Tasktop application folder. On Windows Vista, the default location of this file is: c:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Tasktop\workspace\.metadata\.log. On Windows XP this folder is located at c:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Tasktop\workspace\.metadata\.log.

How can I send my configuration log to Tasktop via email?

Navigate to Help (menu) > About > Configuration Details. Copy the contents to clipboard and paste into email editor.

How do I search for open Tasktop bugs?

To search for Tasktop bugs without creating a query in your Task List, navigate to Search > Search... and select the Task Search tab. Choose Tasktop Repository from the repository selection drop down. Choose the criteria to suit your query and press Search. Once your query finishes, a search view will open presenting the resulting hits.

How can I explicitly set which version of Java to use for launching Tasktop?

Locate the Tasktop.ini file in the Tasktop application installation folder ( c:\Program Files\Tasktop). Open Tasktop.ini in your favourite text editor and add a "-vm <path to java>" line before the -vmargs option to explicitly run with a different Java VM.

How do I use Tasktop with my non-Eclipse IDE?

We recommend using the standalone Tasktop application in parallel with your IDE. Although you will not have the focused ui for your code artifacts, you will get many of the benefits of Tasktop including rich task editor with offline support, accurate task timing, and all the calendar and email integration.

How do I open the Preferences page when using the Tasktop standalone (RCP)?

The Preferences page accessible via Window > Preferences is also accessible via the toolbars Tasktop Home dropdown button > Preferences...

Why does Tasktop seem to use so much memory?

The heap status that is reported in Eclipse should be the actual memory usage of the application. Java reserves memory based on the -Xmx argument that is specified (512M is specified for Tasktop via the Tasktop.ini in the program directory). This shouldn't impact the performance of Tasktop or other applications since much of this reserved memory is unused. Also, under windows, Internet Explorer can take up a large amount of memory and this will also be reported under Tasktop's memory usage.

Why will my IMAP server not validate when accessing it over SSL?

Java has its own local keystore for certificates and will require manually adding yours to the certificate store. TO import your ca cert so that you can connect to your repository, execute the following:

<path_to_jre>/bin/keytool -import -trustcacerts -keystore <path_to_jre>/lib/security/cacerts -file /<path_to_my_cert>/my_ca.cer -alias myca

Note that if you haven't changed the keystore password the default password should be: changeit.

How do I copy a task?

If you want to create a copy of a task, right click on the task you wish to copy and select New > Clone Task..., choose in which repository you wish to create the new task, and press Finish. The details of the original will be appended to the new task for you and you can then submit it to the repository.

How do I uninstall Tasktop?

Instructions for uninstalling both the Tasktop application and Tasktop Plug-ins for Eclipse can be found in the Tasktop user guide.

How can I best maximize screen real estate when using Tasktop on a small monitor?

There are a number of techniques to maximize screen real estate:

Maximize views as necessary by clicking within the view or editor you whish to maximize and pressing Ctrl+M. Pressing Ctrl+M again will un-maximize the view. You can also click in the top right corner of any view to maximize it.
Turn the Navigator into a fast view. Fast view's collapse to the edge of the screen when you are not using them. To make the Navigator a fast view, Right+Click on the Navigator Tab and from the popup choose Fast View. The Navigator view will fold away down into a icon at the bottom left of the Tasktop window. Pressing this button/icon will cause the Navigator to re-reappear temporarily. Once you click out of the Navigator, the view will collapse again. To restore the Navigator to regular function (non-fast view) Right+Click on the fast view icon and uncheck Fast View or Right+Click on the Navigator tab again and uncheck Fast View.

If the views in your Tasktop are not positioned correctly and you would like to reset the layout to the defaults:
- Open the Tasktop Home page (by clicking the house button in the top left corner of Tasktop)
- Under the Configuration section click "Restore Default Views"
If having a browser full screen works best for you, you can create a new Tasktop browser window and Alt+Tab between windows. To create a new Tasktop browser window, click the globe drop down button in the toolbar (next to the home button) and select "New Focused Browser Window". Choosing "New Plain Browser Window" will create a window that does not monitor your browsing (task active or not). You can now Alt+Tab between the the main Tasktop window and the Tasktop browser window. See the user guide for more details.

How to create a stack trace on Windows

Instructions for creating a batch file to dump stack traces on windows:

Make a bat file called dumpStack.bat and add the following:

@echo off

set outfile=%1/stack.txt

@echo eclipse.exe > %outfile%

FOR /F "tokens=2" %%i IN ('tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq eclipse.exe" /NH') DO @jstack.exe %%i >> %outfile%

@echo tasktop.exe >> %outfile% FOR /F "tokens=2" %%i IN ('tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq tasktop.exe" /NH') DO @jstack.exe %%i >> %outfile%

@echo javaw.exe >> %outfile% FOR /F "tokens=2" %%i IN ('tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq javaw.exe" /NH') DO @jstack.exe %%i >> %outfile%

@echo on

Put this file in your jdk bin dir e.g. C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_07\bin In this folder, you should also have an exe called jstack, if not, you may have to make sure you have the jdk and not the jre. create a shortcut to this file on your desktop and edit the properties to add your desktop (or some other folder) as a parameter.

Target should look like : "C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_07\bin\dumpStack.bat" "C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Desktop"

Start in should look like: "C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_07\bin"

If you run the shortcut, it should look up all tasktop.exe eclipse.exe and javaw.exe processes and dump their current stacks to a file called stack.txt

Why is Tasktop crashing during startup?

When this happens, it typically signifies a bug in the Java implementation that Tasktop is using. Most likely the quickest way to resolve this problem is to install the latest Sun or JRockit JVM. Once installed, you can ensure Tasktop uses the JRockit jvm by editing the Tasktop.ini file in the Tasktop install directory (default C:\Program Files\Tasktop). In this file, before -vmargs, add: -vm C:\<path to JRockit>\bin. After this, your Tasktop.ini file should look similar to (option, new line, value, option, new line....):

-keyring
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Tasktop\tasktop.keyring

-vm
C:\Program Files\Java\jrockit-R27.5.0-jre1.6.0_03\bin

-vmargs

-Xmx512M

-Xms50M

-XX:MaxPermSize=128M

Why do the characters output not match what I've typed at the keyboard?

If you discover that typing at your keyboard isn't resulting in the characters you expect on screen, this could be related to incorrect operating system wide regional settings. We have had report of this happening frequently in Canada where the keyboard is intended to be English but OS regional setting is French. If this is the case, on Vista this can be resolvged by navigating to:

Start Menu > Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options
Keyboards and Languages -> Change Keyboards...
Remove the French Canadian keyboard or change its hotkey under Advanced Key Settings

Why do I get an error in the charts when I am looking at my Personal Time Tracking?

There are 2 possible causes of this problem, you are running Windows 2000 or you are running Eclipse 3.4.2.

If you are running Eclipse 3.4.2, there is a known problem with rendering the graphs for time reports. Please add yourself to the CC of Bug 566 to be notified when the fix is available.

If you are running on Windows 2000, this is caused by the lack of the GDI+ graphics library. To resolve this issue:

Download the GDI+ library from Microsoft
Extract the files from the downloaded archive
Copy the gdiplus.dll file to your Windows/system32 directory
Restart Tasktop

Why do I get a "Failed to initialize platform time tracking integration" on Linux?

Accurate time tracking requires the X11 screen saver extensions (libxss) to be present. On Debian/Ubuntu, this library is called "libxss1" and can be installed using APT.

Is Tasktop Starter still available?

Tasktop Starter will be discontinued as of the October 26, 2009 release of Tasktop 1.6. Many users found it confusing that only a small subset of Tasktop Pro's benefits were provided by Tasktop Starter. We've now extended the trial period for Tasktop Pro to 60 days to allow a more thorough evaluation before purchasing.

How do I disable the starred and working set trim?

Both the starred list trim (left) and the working set trim (right) can be closed by right clicking on an element within either and selecting "Close" from the popup. To re-enable the working set trim, do so via the option on the Tasktop preference page. To enable the starred list trim, do so via the Tasktop > Web Browsing preference page.

How can I use Tasktop with multiple workspaces or multiple instances of Eclipse?

One Task List

Tasktop simplifies developers' workday by bringing all of their tasks into one Task List, which allows them to prioritize and organize across their multi-project workload. In the snapshot of an actual Task List, above, the user has seamlessly prioritized and scheduled tasks from three different repositories. Unfortunately, as projects grow larger, some developers are forced to work in multiple workspaces, potentially excluding them from the advantages of a single Task List. To accommodate these users Tasktop can be configured to use a single Tasktop data directory and, with one caveat, it retains the benefits of a single Task List.

Workspaces vs. Working Sets

Before following the steps below to share your Task List across all workspaces consider using working sets instead of multiple workspaces. In many cases there may not be a significant advantage to either approach. In these cases we recommend using working sets over multiple workspaces because there is some risk of data loss when using multiple workspaces (see Caveat below). However, we also realize that in some cases multiple workspaces are the only reasonable option, such as when working with many branches of a system or different configurations. In these scenarios we recommend configuring Tasktop as described in ``Step by Step''.
Caveat: Do not open two workspaces at once or you may overwrite Task List data.

Step by Step

In order to share the same Task List in all of your workspaces on a single machine (or on two machines that have access to a shared drive) you�ll need to configure both workspaces to use a single data directory. To configure each workspace follow the steps below:

Install

Only users that already have a Task List setup in your workspace should complete these two steps.

Create a new directory that is not contained in either workspace (e.g. My Documents/Tasktop).
Copy the contents of /.mylyn into the new directory.

All users should complete these four steps:

Open the Task List Preferences (preference page shown above).
Expand the Advanced options (shown expanded in above screenshot).
Change the ``Data directory'' to a directory not contained in either workspace (e.g. My Documents/Tasktop).
Restart Eclipse.

Repeat these steps for each workspace that you want to share the Task List. Then, simply continue working as you had previously and you'll notice that the Task List is now shared across all workspaces. However, be aware of that you should not open two of the shared workspaces at a time or else you will likely lose some data to overwriting.

Back to Work

One major advantage of working with Tasktop is that it provides developers with a single Task List. In this short article we've shown how to configure Tasktop to retain this advantage even in more complex working situations. We've found that this setup works well for many users as long as they are mindful of running only a single workspace at a time.

Installing Tasktop Plugins

You need to have a url for the update site to install Tasktop plug-ins for Eclipse. Upon accepting the license agreement presented when you trial or buy Tasktop Pro, your personal update site url is presented in the subsequent web page. Copy this url to the clipboard and execute the steps as outlined in the section for the Eclipse version you have installed.
Eclipse 3.5 Galileo | Eclipse 3.4 Ganymede | Eclipse 3.3 Europa
Installing Tasktop into Eclipse 3.5 Galileo

Selection Help > Install New Software....

Add your Tasktop update site url

Select the added site from the drop down. If not immediately available in the list, cancel and re-open Help > Install New Software....

Note: Click the Available Update Sites link in this dialog and ensure all Mylyn and the Galileo update site is enabled.

Select and install the Tasktop Subscription feature (before restarting see step 5)

After stepping through installation of the Tasktop Subscription, you will be presented with the following dialog. Press the Apply button.

After applying changes for the Tasktop Subscription re-open Help > Install New Software... and from the drop down a new option will be available: http://tasktop.com/downloads/ide/Tasktop-... Select this update site.

From the available options, just select the Tasktop Pro feature bundle

After installation completes, you are presented once again with a choice of applying the changes or restarting. At this point you must restart, press the Yes button.

Having difficulties installing? Please see the Tasktop Installation FAQ.

Installing Tasktop into Eclipse 3.4 Ganymede

Open Help > Software Updates....

Add your Tasktop update site url

Your Tasktop.com credentials may be subsequently requested

Select and install the following feature selection

After installation completes, you are presented with a choice of applying the changes or restarting. At this point you must restart - press the Yes button.

Having difficulties installing? Click Manage Sites... in the Software Updates dialog and ensure Ganymede and Mylyn update sites are enabled. Please see the Tasktop Installation FAQ for more trouble shooting tips.

Installing Tasktop into Eclipse Eclipse 3.3 Europa

Navigate to Help (menu) > Software Updates > Find and Install, select the "Search for new features to install" option and press Next

Press the New Remote Site button, enter a title (i.e., Tasktop), paste your personal update site url copied earlier from tasktop.com and press Okay.

With the update site added and checked off, press the Finish button to execute installation of the Tasktop plug-ins.

Enter your Tasktop username (the same user name that you created when you purchased Tasktop) and password in the subsequent authentication dialog.

From the resulting search results, select all available features: Tasktop, Tasktop Features, Mylyn and press Finish.

After accepting the subsequent license agreements and choosing to install all plug-ins, restart Eclipse when prompted to complete installation of your Tasktop plug-ins.

Release	Date
Tasktop Summer 2008	July 23, 2008
Tasktop Autumn 2008	November 12, 2008
Tasktop 1.4	March 16, 2009
Next Release	June 24, 2009