Errands User Guide & FAQ

** The current version of Errands is V5. It has full support for iOS 11 and includes a new, improved calendar display.

Errands FAQ

Settings (Tasks)

Settings (General)

Common Questions & Issues (in addition to the Mini User's Guide)

In-App Backup

Errands has an in-app backup feature. You can use this to save backups for safekeeping, restore from older backups if needed and/or to transfer your Errands data to a new iOS device. To access this, go to Errands > Settings > General > Database Backup & Restore.

Errands Data Disappeared

If your data vanishes (which is a very rare occurrence), Go to Errands > Settings > General > Database Backup & Restore and select a backup from prior to things vanishing and restore from it.

Notes as Checklist Setting is not "sticking"

This is a known issue. To get the setting to stick, tap on the “Notes as Checklist” switch to turn it on/off instead of sliding the switch. 

Solving Problems with iCloud Sync

First, take a deep breath and don't panic! Then, click or tap here.

No alerts or sounds on lock screen? Check Do Not Disturb setting.

Do Not Disturb is a feature of the operating system that was added in iOS 6 and enhanced in iOS 7. It allows you to silence calls and alerts based on several criteria. For example, you can allow calls from your Favorites list, but silence all others. Alerts will always be silenced on the lock screen if Do Not Disturb is enabled and optionally will be always silenced (depending on the device Settings app > Do Not Disturb options). 

When Do Not Disturb is enabled, a quarter moon icon will show on the right half of the status bar. WIth the default settings, this icon will be dimmed when the phone is unlocked and solid white when locked.

On iOS 7, you can quickly turn toggle Do Not Disturb via the swipe-up Control Center. 

Alerts Don't Fire When Errands Is Not Active

Openthe iPhone/iPod touch/iPad Settings app (located on your home screenwith gears in the icon). Tap on "Notifications" near the top and findErrands in the list. Ensure that everything is ON (Banners/Alerts, BadgeApp Icon, Sounds, Show in Lock Screen, Notification Center).

Donot force-quit Errands right after you exit (i.e., remove it from themultitasking bar). If you wish to force-quit, wait at least a minuteafter returning to the home screen.

Repeating Tasks Don't Show on the Calendar

Errandsis focused on being a to-do list rather than a calendar / planner app.  Due to some underlying issues, such as Errands allowing tasks to repeatbased on completion rather than due date, displaying future dates isn'tstraightforward. 

Sincethis is an oft-requested feature, I am looking at ways that I can atleast get some of the repeating tasks to show up on the calendar.

FYI,  as soon as you mark a task as completed, it will be instantlyrescheduled to the next repeating date and show up in the calendar viewon that date.

What About Integration with iOS Calendar & Reminders Apps?

I can't divulge details, but this is in the plans :)

Can I Manually Order My Tasks?

Youcan manually order your tasks.  Tap on the "eye" icon on the bottomtoolbar and select "Manual" for the sort mode. Then tap the Edit buttonand use the grabber icons (three stacked bars to the right of each task)  to move them.  They will stay in this order until you again select aspecific sort.

Errands Data Backup

When you sync your phone via iTunes (or if you have iCloud backupsenabled), it will backup your device data, which includes the Errandsdatabase and all settings.  Thus, if you had a catastrophic devicefailure (lost, broken, etc.) you could do a full restore and in theprocess all of Errand's data would also be restored.

Errands Backup: Errands supports automatic database backup (done whenyou exit), along with the ability to restore in-app or from an emailedcopy of the backup. See Settings > General > Database Backup &  Restore within the app.

NOTE: In the current version, the in-app backups are kept on the device.  For full peace-of-mind, it is recommended that you occasionally tap onthe most recent backup and email a copy to yourself for safekeeping.