Michael Linenberger's Blog

Updated Jan 26, 2017 (originally posted Jan 2011)

The AppleScript script that converts e-mails to tasks (Create Task from Message) has had a long and rocky history, but there is a good ending.

Here’s the history: The script came delivered with most of the original Outlook for Mac 2011 installs, back in 2010. Then later it did not come by default and you had to download it and install it—and it would work if you did. Then later, even if you did that, when Mac OS X was updated, the script stopped working. Since then, reports have come in that it sometimes works but usually does not. Scroll down to the older comments on this article to see some of that history.

But good news. As of this writing (January 26, 2017), with the latest version of Outlook for Mac (2016) installed, and with the latest Mac OS X Sierra installed, I have found that once you install the script, it seems to be working. I can’t guarantee it will continue to work with future updates, but let’s cross our fingers.

Here are the steps I used to install and use this script with Outlook for Mac (2016), and with the latest Mac OS X Sierra.

1. You may have to activate the Scripts menu on Mac OS X; these days it is usually not active by default. This article tells you how to do that: http://alvinalexander.com/mac-os-x/how-to-show-applescript-menu-item-mac-osx-menu-bar
2. Open Outlook and, with a message selected, click the Scripts menu (see the blue scroll button in the top-left of image below). Clicking that opens a menu. Look at the bottom of the menu list for the Create Task from Message:
   
3. If you see that script there, great, just use it. If you don’t see it there, continue…
4. At the top of the menu above, click on Open Scripts Folder, and from its submenu click on Open Outlook Scripts Folder. A folder will open named Outlook (that is likely empty). Drag that Finder window to the side of your Mac screen; you’ll need it in a minute.
5.  Go to this url and it will automatically download a zipped bundle file into your downloads folder:
   http://www.michaellinenberger.com/CreateTaskFromMessage.scptd.zip
6. Drag the resulting file (Create Task from Message.scptd) from the downloads folder into the Outlook scripts folder that you opened in step 4.
7. Now repeat step 2 above and it should now work. You may have to restart Outlook first.

From now on the “Create Task from Message” command should be visible in the AppleScript menu within Outlook.

FEB 1, 2019 UPDATE: Drag and Drop Added!

I’ve been meaning to add this information for a while. Starting in late 2017 Microsoft started releasing a new version of Outlook Mac 2016 and Outlook for Office 365 for Mac that enables drag-and-drop conversion of emails to tasks, so the script is no longer needed. This feature is similar to what is available in the Windows version of Outlook, but no option is provided to include an attachment in the converted task.

Michael

Jan 27, 2011

In my article on Outlook Mac 2011, I complained that there was no easy way to convert e-mails to tasks in Outlook 2011, which greatly diminished the power of the task system there. I had heard then there were ways to write an AppleScript program to do this, but I did not want to subject my readers to doing that.

Well, it turns out, there is a predelivered script already in my current copy of Outlook Mac 2011 that enables this. I am not sure if I missed this before or if it turned up in a recent update, but it pretty much solves the problem.

[May 2015 Update: this script menu is not present in the new Outlook for Mac software. See more information here.]

With a message selected in Outlook Mac 2011, simply open the script menu at the far right end of the menu bar (see left—it looks like a small scroll) and choose Create Task from Message. (See this post if that script is missing).  A new task opens with the e-mail title as the task name, and the e-mail body in the body of the task. Rename the task to be more action oriented, and then be sure to set the start date, Priority, and other fields, and save it. This is pretty simple and this significantly relaxes my objections to using tasks in Outlook 2011.

Continue reading →

Jan 27, 2011

I just updated my MYN ToodleDo Overview and Config video to take advantage of the new MYN Preconfigurations I announced earlier. So it is now much easier to get started with ToodleDo and MYN using that video. If you have any friends or colleagues who you think may be interested, send them a link to this newer video.

Again, here is the new video URL: http://www.michaellinenberger.com/VideoPageToodleDo2.html

I’ve also updated my ToodleDo white paper. Here’s the new link

Jan 26, 2011

[APRIL 2011 UPDATE]: Got To Do has been discontinued by its maker!

So I now recommend a different app for Android users: Pocket Informant Android.

PLEASE GO TO THIS LINK for the MYN Android Solution: Pocket Informant.]

For those who may still have an old copy of GotToDo, here is the discussion from January 2011:

—— older now defunct Jan 2011  instructions——

Up to now, MYN ToodleDo users on Android didn’t have a good dedicated App like those available for the iPhone and iPad. Instead, you had to use ToodleDo on the smartphone’s browser to see the MYN views, and that can be hard on the small Android smartphone screens.

Well, there is great news! We finally have a dedicated Android tasks app that syncs with ToodleDo and supports MYN. It’s called Got To Do, and it’s a nice little app. This app was originally designed to match GTD principles, and, with recent changes (released last week) it can now be configured to match MYN principles as well. This fills a great need—this is now the first ToodleDo-syncable Android app that meets MYN standards (as configured below).

Got to Do has great ToodleDo features as well, with a well-implemented due date feature (like the ToodleDo web version, it treats due dates correctly—not linking them to start dates). ToodleDo folders (categories basically) are supported. And subtasks are supported on the paid version.

But you need to configure it a bit first; that’s what follows.

Continue reading →

Jan 18, 2011

Fantastic News. Anyone can now instantly configure their ToodleDo web account to match the MYN principles by simply clicking one button! If you have not yet set up your ToodleDo web account for MYN, this saves time over numerous configurations steps. And if you have already configured a ToodleDo web account for MYN, note this new capability allows you to get your friends or colleagues up and running quickly. Or if you accidently messed up your configs, you can get them back quickly with that one button. This does not configure the iPhone or iPad version; you’ll still want to watch my configuration video to see how to do that.

Here’s how to activate the new MYN preconfigured ToodleDo:

Continue reading →

Jan 18, 2011

Here’s great news for MYN ToodleDo users. If you watched my ToodleDo video, then you may recall I mentioned a change was coming soon that would greatly improve ToodleDo for use with MYN. The new feature allows you to view your complete MYN Task List in one scrolling view (just like the way MYN is configured in Outlook).

Well, it’s here now. The underlying feature that enables that is the ability to do a reverse subsort. This enables you to use the Main, All Tasks tab as your single primary MYN tasks view in MYN.

So MYN ToodleDo users, let me show you how to use this now. Continue reading →

Jan 10, 2011

I said in my last post on TaskTask that I’d announce when the next version was released—it’s out now. It fixes the issue in last-week’s release that caused problems if you had an earlier iPad or iPhone OS versions.

Jan 9, 2011

If you use Outlook 2003, here is my promised 2003 version of the Quick Start video, to follow after the 2007-2010 post I placed last week.

Getting started with MYN is a great way to start the New Year. If you’ve been meaning to start the Outlook MYN system, but are daunted by the size of the Outlook book, here is a 10-minute video that will get you started right now.

This video teaches you a subset of the complete MYN Outlook system; just enough so that you’ll be using the core of the Outlook MYN system in only a few minutes. You’ll have a system to get your long list of tasks for the new year organized, and then a way to stay ahead of too-many e-mails and too many to-do’s.

Even if you’ve never read any of my books, this video will help you get your workday under control.

This video is also a great way to share the system with others. So if you are using the full system and want to get your colleagues started—pass this on to them.

And if you are a reader of my Master Your Workday Now! book and have tried the paper system and now want instructions on how to configure it in Outlook—this video is the same basic system. Use this video to transition.

So try out this Quick Start video today.

Again, this is only for Outlook 2003. The Quick Start for 2007 & 2010 can be found here.

Jan 8, 2011

In Outlook 2003, we use the TaskPad to manage MYN tasks. It is normally visible on the right edge of the Calendar view; but sometimes not. If not, the standard way to reveal it is to go to the View menu, and choose TaskPad; that should do it. But sometimes that fails too. If that fails for you, here are some ways to force the TaskPad to be visible.

First, try activating the Day view of the Calendar by clicking Day at the top of the Calendar window. If still hidden, there are Continue reading →

[Originally posted Jan 5, 2013]

[May 18, 2014 Update: This article is superseded by a newer one here].

Jul 29, 2013 Instructions for Version 3:

As you may know, it is hard to find iPhone or iPad software that syncs tasks with your corporate Outlook Exchange Server. There is one that works great. It’s called TaskTask (and TaskTask HD for the iPad).

Once TaskTask is configured, it works perfectly for MYN. That means it groups on Priority, then, within groups, it sorts on Start Date descending. It excludes future tasks and it hides completed tasks. In other words, everything works for MYN. So, if you use Outlook tasks and are on Exchange (you most likely are using Exchange if you are in a company of any size) go get it now; it’s a great little app.

And by the way, if you use a Windows version of Outlook, but do not have access to an Exchange server (let’s say you use an Internet account of some kind) and so cannot use TaskTask, I encourage you to consider switching to a hosted Exchange server so you can. Godadday has them for about $8 a month and Microsoft for about $4,  Mine is hosted on Continue reading →