By: CS2103-AY1819S1-W17-4 Since: Sep 2018 Licence: MIT

Morphed from: https://github.com/nus-cs2103-AY1819S1/addressbook-level4

1. Introduction

Deadline Manager (DLM) is for those who prefer to use a desktop app for keeping track of tasks. More importantly, DLM is optimized for those who prefer to work with a Command Line Interface (CLI) while still having the benefits of a Graphical User Interface (GUI). If you can type fast, DLM can help you sort out your upcoming tasks faster than traditional GUI apps. Interested? Jump to the Section 2, “Quick Start” to get started. Enjoy!

2. Quick Start

The steps to quickly get started with the project are as follows -

  1. Install Java version 9 or later on your Computer.

  2. Download the latest deadlinemanager.jar here.

  3. Copy the file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for your deadline manager.

  4. Double-click the file to start the app. The GUI should appear in a few seconds.

    Ui

  5. Type the command in the command box and press Enter to execute it.
    e.g. typing help and pressing Enter will open the help window.

After starting the application, here are some sample commands you can try:

  • list : lists all tasks in the deadline manager

  • add n/v1 milestone d/2/10/2018 t/CS2103T p/1 : adds a task named v1 milestone to the deadline manager

  • delete 3 : deletes the 3rd task shown in the current list

  • exit : exits the app

You can refer to Section 3, “Features” for the details of each command.

3. Features

Command Format in User Guide

  • Words in UPPER_CASE are the parameters to be supplied by the user e.g. in add n/NAME, NAME is a parameter which can be used as add n/Assignment 2.

  • Items in square brackets are optional e.g n/NAME [t/TAG] can be used as n/Assignment 2 t/CS3230 or as n/Assignment 2.

  • Items with …​ after them can be used multiple times including zero times e.g. [t/TAG]…​ can be used as   (i.e. 0 times), t/CS2103, t/CS2103 t/Project etc.

General Command Format

Most commands follow the following format (characterized by X/ parameter prefixes, where X is a single alphabet). For these commands, unless otherwise specified, the following apply:

  • Parameters can be in any order e.g. if the command specifies n/NAME d/DEADLINE, d/DEADLINE n/NAME is also acceptable.

  • Parameters that contain spaces and / should be placed within quotes (either ' or " are okay, but the opening and closing quotes must match) in order to prevent any ambiguity with other parameter prefixes. (When there is no ambiguity then quotes are not necessary; however, this is not recommended.)

  • Parameters containing ' or " must be enclosed within the other type of quote (i.e. parameters containing ' must be placed within ", and vice-versa). It is not possible to use both ' and " in the same parameter.

Deadline Format

  • Deadline dates are accepted by various commands in Deadline Manager. A deadline is only precise to a single day (it does not store the exact time within a day). Deadline Manager is not timezone-aware.

  • Dates are expressed in the format "D/M/YYYY". Examples of valid dates are: 29/03/2018, 29/3/2018, 1/1/2018. The year is never interpreted relative to the current century: 29/3/12 is interpreted as 11 January 0012.

  • Dates can also be expressed without the year, i.e. in the format "D/M". Examples of valid dates in this format are: 29/03, 29/3, 1/1. The current year (at the instant the command is executed) will be used.

  • The minimum year allowed is 1 (i.e. non-positive years are not allowed). The maximum year allowed is rather large (more than 6 digits, but limited by Java’s internal Date representation), but it will definitely work with year values less than 1000000.

Priority Format

  • PRIORITY should only be 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4.

  • Priority 0 denotes a task with no priority (lowest priority).

  • The order is: Priority 1 (highest priority) > Priority 2 > Priority 3 > Priority 4 > Priority 0 (lowest priority).

Frequency Format

  • FREQUENCY should be a non-negative integer between 0 and 999 (number of days betweeen consecutive occurrences of the task).

  • Zero frequency denotes a non-recurring task.

  • Non-zero frequency denotes a recurring task.

3.1. Viewing help : help

Displays the list of available functions for the user to use. It acts as a guide to help the user.

Format: help

3.2. Adding a task: add

Adds a task to the deadline manager
Format: add n/NAME [p/PRIORITY] [f/FREQUENCY] d/DEADLINE [t/TAG]…​

A task can have any number of tags (including 0)

  • DEADLINE should be a date in the format DD/MM/YYYY. Examples of valid dates are: 29/03/2018, 29/3/2018, 1/1/2018. DEADLINE is a mandatory parameter.

  • PRIORITY is an optional parameter. If PRIORITY is not given, priority 0 is assumed.

  • FREQUENCY is an optional parameter. If FREQUENCY is not given, frequency 0 is assumed.

You can have two tasks with the same attributes!

Examples:

  • add n/Homework d/01/01/2018
    Adds a task with name Homework with a deadline on 1st January 2018. Because PRIORITY and FREQUENCY are omitted, this task has priority 0 (no priority/lowest priority) and frequency 0 (non-recurring task).

  • add n/Assignment 2 d/1/1/2018 p/1
    Adds a task with name Assignment 2 with a deadline on 1st January 2018 with priority 1 (highest priority).

  • add n/v1 milestone d/9/10/2018 t/CS2103T t/Project p/2
    Adds a task with name v1 milestone with a deadline on 9th October 2018 with priority 2 (second highest priority). It is additionally tagged with 2 tags: CS2103T and Project.

  • add n/Clean the house d/01/01/2018 f/7
    Adds a task with name Clean the house with a deadline on 1st January 2018 with frequency 7 (this is a recurring task).

3.3. Completing a task : complete

Completes an existing task in the deadline manager. If the task is not recurred (the frequency is equal to 0), the task will be deleted. Otherwise, the deadline will be shifted to the next occurrence.
Format: complete INDEX

  • INDEX refers to the index number shown in the displayed task list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​

Example:

  • clear
    Starts with an empty task list
    add n/Homework d/01/01/2018
    Adds a non-recurring task.
    add n/Clean the house d/01/01/2018 f/7
    Adds a recurring task with frequency 7. See Figure 3.3.1 below.
    complete 2
    Completes the second task in the task list. Because the task is a recurring task, the deadline will be changed to 08/01/2018. See Figure 3.3.2 below.
    complete 1 Completes the first task in the task list. Because the task is a non-recurring task, it will be deleted. See Figure 3.3.3 below.

CompleteDemo1
Figure 3.3.1: Result after one clear command and two add commands
CompleteDemo2
Figure 3.3.2: Result of the complete 2 command
CompleteDemo3
Figure 3.3.3: Result of the complete 1 command

3.4. Listing all tasks : list

Shows a list of all tasks in the deadline manager.
Format: list

3.5. Editing a task : edit

Edits an existing task in the deadline manager.
Format: edit INDEX [n/NAME] [p/PRIORITY] [f/FREQUENCY] [d/DEADLINE] [t/TAG]…​

  • Edits the task at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed task list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​

  • At least one of the optional fields must be provided.

  • Existing values will be updated to the input values.

  • When editing tags, the existing tags of the task will be removed i.e adding of tags is not cumulative.

  • You can remove all the task’s tags by typing t/ without specifying any tags after it.

  • The range of possible values for each argument of the edit command follows that of the add command.

Examples:

  • edit 1 d/3/10/2018
    Edits the deadline of the 1st task to 3rd October 2018.

  • edit 2 n/v2 Milestone t/
    Edits the name of the 2nd task to be v2 Milestone and clears all existing tags.

  • edit 1 p/1
    Edits the priority of the 1st task to 1 (highest priority).

3.6. Filtering a list of tasks: filter

Filters the current list of tasks with a specified filter expression.
Format: filter FILTER_EXPRESSION

When this command is used, Deadline Manager will display only those tasks which satisfy the given filter expression.

When executing any modifying commands on a filtered list, the filter will be removed after that command (so all tasks will be shown). Modifying commands are those commands that modify the deadline manager’s content (e.g. add, delete, edit and clear).

3.6.1. Overview

Filter predicates are the core of the filter command. Each filter predicate specifies a testable condition that, for every task, may evaluate to either true or false (e.g. whether the deadline is earlier than 1/10/2018). Filter predicates are regarded as "indivisible".

Filter predicates are indivisible because each filter predicate represents a single rule for filtering - for example, a specified field (e.g. deadline) is compared against some specified value (e.g. 1/10/2018). There is no way to decompose a filter predicate into smaller testable conditions.

Most of the time, the Section 3.6.2, “Simplified filter syntax” is sufficient to find the needed task(s) for most basic use cases. We recommended that you read that section first and determine if you still need greater expressiveness, before reading the reset of the documentation contained in this guide.

However, when there are many tasks in the deadline manager and the simplified syntax returns too many results, or when an exact subset of tasks are required for exporting (see the export command), the simplified syntax becomes may be too imprecise to use. For these use cases, the filter command also supports a fully-featured expression parser that is extremely expressive.

3.6.2. Simplified filter syntax

Tasks can be filtered by typing filter followed by one or more space-separated keywords (e.g. filter assignment, filter homework CS2103, or filter badminton utown 3/10/2018). Such a filter expression would display only those tasks that contain textual or date fields (i.e. name, deadline, tags, and attachments) that matches every keyword (e.g. filter homework CS2103 will match a task with name Homework 1 and tags CS2103 and easy).

The following screenshot is an example to demonstrate that any field may be matched:

FilterDemo_Simplified
Figure 3.6.2.1: Result of filter assignment command (notice that the keyword "assignment" matches task name, tags, and attachments)

Numeric fields such as priority and frequency are not matched because the integer values used for priority and frequency often match many task names and tags too. To filter by priority and frequency, the field must be specified explicitly (see Section 3.6.3, “Controlling the field being matched” below).

An unquoted keyword can contain only alphanumeric characters, _, -, /, \, ., and ,. To use other characters (including whitespace), the keyword must be placed in quotes (both single (') and double (") quotes work, but the opening and closing quotes must match).

Matching of each eligible field:

  • When matching task names, a task is considered to match if the specified keyword is a substring (case-insensitive) of the task name (the given keyword need not be a whole word in the task name - e.g. test and case will both match Testcase).

  • When matching deadlines, a task is considered to match if its deadline is on or earlier than the specified date.

  • When matching tags, a task is considered to match if the specified tag is a substring (case-insensitive) of any tag of the task.

  • When matching attachments, a task is considered to match if the specified keyword is a substring (case-insensitive) of the filename of any attachment in the task.

Examples:

  • filter homework Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have a name, tag, or attachment that matches "homework". Note that "homework" cannot be interpreted as a valid date, so the deadline field is ignored.

  • filter assignment CS2103 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have a name, tag, or attachment that matches "assignment" and a name, tag, or attachment that matches "CS2103". Note that neither "assignment" nor "CS2103" can be interpreted as a valid date, so the deadline field is ignored for both keywords.

  • filter badminton utown 3/10/2018 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have a name, tag, or attachment that matches "badminton"; a name, tag, or attachment that matches "utown"; and a name, tag, attachment, or deadline that matches "3/10/2018". Note that any deadline on or before 3rd October 2018 will match "3/10/2018".

  • filter 1/10/2018 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have a name, tag, attachment, or deadline that matches "1/10/2018". Note that any deadline on or before 1st October 2018 will match "1/10/2018".

3.6.3. Controlling the field being matched

Each keyword can instead be written as a full predicate, which is a string of the following format: <key><operator><phrase>. The following diagram is an example of a typical full predicate:

FilterUnitDiagramUG

Each of the three parts of a full predicate means the following:

  • key is an alphabetic string that describes the attribute being compared. For example: priority, tag, or name.

  • operator is one of :, =, <, >.

  • phrase is a string that describes what to search (this is called the search phrase, and it is similar to the keyword in the simplified syntax).

As with the simplified syntax, an unquoted phrase string can contain only alphanumeric characters, _, -, /, \, ., and ,. To use other characters (including whitespace), the search phrase must be placed in quotes (both single (') and double (") quotes work, but the opening and closing quotes must match).

The operator : is known as the convenience operator — it is an alias for the operator that intuitively "does what you expect" for the given key. More details are given below in the context of each key.

The < and > operators are non-strict: Every task that will be shown using = will also be shown using < or >.
This full predicate syntax can be mixed arbitrarily with the keyword syntax described in the previous section. For example, badminton n:utown 3/10/2018 is allowed.

The following subsections explain the meaning of the operators for each valid key. (Any other key will cause Deadline Manager to produce an error.)

3.6.3.1. Name

When key is n or name, the task name is compared. Comparison is case-insensitive. The operator > tests if the search phrase is contained within the task name. The operator < tests if the task name is contained within the search phrase. The operator = tests if the search phrase is exactly the same as the task name. The convenience operator is an alias for >.

Examples to demonstrate each operator type:

Task name Test phrase Matches ">" Matches "=" Matches "<" Matches ":"

homework assignment

assign

Yes

No

No

Yes

exam

exam

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

assignment

homework assignment

No

No

Yes

No

assignment

homework

No

No

No

No

Homework Assignment

assign

Yes

No

No

Yes

Exam

exam

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Assignment

homework assignment

No

No

Yes

No
3.6.3.2. Deadline

When key is d, due, or deadline, the task’s due date is compared, and the search phrase is interpreted as a date. Dates must in the format specified in the Deadline Format section. The operator > tests if the task’s due date is on or after the specified due date. The operator < tests if the task’s due date is on or before the specified due date. The operator = tests if the task’s due date is exactly equal to the specified due date. The convenience operator is an alias for <.

Examples to demonstrate each operator type:

Task deadline Test phrase Matches ">" Matches "=" Matches "<" Matches ":"

1/10/2018

20/9/2018

Yes

No

No

No

1/10/2018

1/10/2018

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1/10/2018

15/10/2018

No

No

Yes

Yes
3.6.3.3. Priority

When key is p or priority, the task’s priority is compared, and the search phrase is interpreted as an integer, representing the priority to be searched. A priority of zero matches all the tasks with no priority set. The operator > tests if the task has priority at least as high as the specified priority. The operator < tests if the task has priority at most as high as the specified priority. The operator = tests if the task’s priority is exactly equal to the specified priority. The convenience operator is an alias for >. Note that priority 1 is the highest priority, priority 4 is the lowest (non-zero) priority, and tasks without any priority are considered to be of lower priority than priority 4. In other words, 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > (no priority).

Examples to demonstrate each operator type:

Task priority Test phrase Matches ">" Matches "=" Matches "<" Matches ":"

2

4

Yes

No

No

Yes

2

2

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

2

1

No

No

Yes

No
3.6.3.4. Frequency

When key is f or frequency, the task’s frequency (i.e. the number of days between consecutive occurrences of that task) is compared, and the search phrase is interpreted as an integer, representing the frequency to be searched. A non-recurring task (frequency of zero) is treated as if it has a frequency that is infinitely large (e.g. f>100 also includes all non-recurring tasks). The operator > tests if the task has a recurrence interval larger than or equal to the specified number of days. The operator < tests if the task has a recurrence interval smaller than or equal to the specified number of days. The operator = tests if the task has a recurrence interval exactly equal to the specified number of days. The convenience operator is an alias for <.

Examples to demonstrate each operator type:

Task frequency Test phrase Matches ">" Matches "=" Matches "<" Matches ":"

7

4

Yes

No

No

No

7

7

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

7

14

No

No

Yes

Yes
3.6.3.5. Tag

When key is t or tag, the task’s tags are compared, and the search phrase is interpreted as a (unordered) set of (substrings of) tags. Comparison is case-insensitive. Multiple tags are separated by commas (see examples below). The operator > tests if every specified tag is a substring of a tag of the given task. The operator < tests if every specified tag is a superstring of a tag of the given task. The operator = tests if every specified tag exactly matches a tag of the given task. The convenience operator is an alias for >.

Examples to demonstrate each operator type:

Task tags Test phrase Matches ">" Matches "=" Matches "<" Matches ":"

easy,CS2103,homework

CS

Yes

No

No

Yes

easy,CS2103,homework

CS2103

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

easy,CS2103,homework

CS2103,homework,easy

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

easy,CS2103,homework

CS2103T

No

No

Yes

No

easy,CS2103,homework

cs

Yes

No

No

Yes

easy,CS2103,homework

cs2103

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes
3.6.3.6. Attachment

When key is a or attachment, the task’s attachments are compared, and the search phrase is interpreted as a (unordered) set of (substrings of) filenames. Comparison is case-insensitive. Multiple filenames are separated by commas, in the same way as tags. The operator > tests if every specified filename is a substring of an attachment filename (of the given task). The operator < tests if every specified attachment is a superstring of an attachment filename. The operator = tests if every specified attachment exactly matches an attachment filename. The convenience operator is an alias for >.

Examples to demonstrate each operator type:

Task attachments Test phrase Matches ">" Matches "=" Matches "<" Matches ":"

"file.txt","Test.java"

Test

Yes

No

No

Yes

"file.txt","Test.java"

Test.java

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

"file.txt","Test.java"

Test.java,file.txt

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

"file.txt","Test.java"

betterfile.txt

No

No

Yes

No

"file.txt","Test.java"

test

Yes

No

No

Yes

"file.txt","Test.java"

test.java

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes
For set-based filter predicates (i.e. tags and attachments), an extension is available to specify that the set of tags (or attachments) in the task must be exactly those tags (or attachments) in the filter predicate (i.e. there should be no extra tags (or attachments) in the task). See Section 3.6.5, “Set-based extensions for filter predicates” for more details.
The behaviour of the simplified syntax mirrors that of the convenience operator.

Examples:

  • filter due<1/10/2018 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have deadlines on or before 1st October 2018.

  • filter d=1/10/2018 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have deadlines equal to 1st October 2018.

  • filter d:1/10/2018 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have deadlines on or before 1st October 2018.

  • filter name:Alex Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have a name that contains "Alex" (case-insensitive).

  • filter n:"Alex Tan" Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have a name that contains "Alex Tan" (case-insensitive).

  • filter p=1 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have priority = 1 (highest priority).

  • filter p>3 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have priority = 1, 2, or 3. (Highest priority, second highest priority, or third highest priority.)

  • filter f=1 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that recurs daily.

  • filter f<7 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that recurs at least once a week.

  • filter t:CS Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that has a tag that contains the substring "CS" (case-insensitive). The task could also contain other tags.

  • filter t=CS2103T Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that has the tag "CS2103T" (case-insensitive). The task could also contain other tags.

  • filter t=CS2103T,CS2101 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that has both the tags "CS2103T" and "CS2101" (case-insensitive). The task could also contain other tags.

  • filter a:hello Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that contains an attachment with a filename that contains "hello" (case-insensitive). The task could also contain other attachments.

  • filter a=Test.java,'Hello world.txt' Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that contains the attachments with exact filenames "Test.java" and "Hello world.txt" (case-insensitive). The task could also contain other attachments.

3.6.4. Composing filter predicates

In the simplified filter syntax, multiple space-separated keywords mean that every keyword must match some field in the task, effectively expressing a logical conjunction (i.e. AND). To allow for full flexibility, logical disjunction (i.e. OR), logical negation (i.e. NOT), and arbitrary compositions of logical operations may also be expressed, and they are described below:

Filter expressions (i.e. the FILTER_EXPRESSION strings) are composed from any number of filter predicates, and they create a composite rule to filter against. The filter command is designed to accept arbitrarily complex filter expressions that can be composed from any number of filter predicates.
The format for FILTER_EXPRESSION is defined recursively in the following paragraphs.

FILTER_EXPRESSION is a string any of the following possible formats:

  • FILTER_PREDICATE — This filter expression contains a single filter predicate (each filter predicate can use either the full predicate or the keyword syntax)

  • FILTER_EXPRESSION & FILTER_EXPRESSION — This filter expression is a logical conjunction (i.e. AND) of two other filter expressions. The operator & may be substituted with &&.

  • FILTER_EXPRESSION | FILTER_EXPRESSION — This filter expression is a logical disjunction (i.e. OR) of two other filter expressions. The operator | may be substituted with ||.

  • ! FILTER_EXPRESSION — This filter expression is a logical negation (i.e. NOT) of another filter expression.

  • ( FILTER_EXPRESSION ) — This filter expression is surrounded by parentheses.

Parentheses are used for finer control the order that filter expressions are combined. By default, ! has highest precedence (i.e. ! is applied first), followed by &, then followed by |. Parentheses may be nested to arbitrary depth, and in any valid manner.

When no boolean operator (&, |, or !) is specified where one is expected, it is implicitly treated as if an & was used. This allows the simplified syntax to work as it currently does.

When it is unambiguous, whitespace between the operators and filter expressions may be omitted.

Intuitively, the syntax for filter expressions mirrors that of arithmetic expressions such as 1+3*4 and (1+4+6)*2.
In the examples below, when we say that a task has a test phrase, we mean that the task has a name, tag, or attachment that contains the test phrase as a substring.

Examples:

  • filter assignment|CS2101 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that has "assignment" or "CS2101".

  • filter ! t:CS2101 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that do not have a tag that contains "CS2101".

  • filter cs & ((present & f=7) | meeting) Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that has "cs", and either (1) has "present" and recurs exactly once a week, or (2) has "meeting".
    The following screenshot is an example of a list of tasks that could be displayed by the above example:

FilterDemo_Complex
Figure 3.6.4.1: Result of filter cs & ((present & f=7) | meeting) command

  • filter n:assignment | (p:3 & t:CS2101) Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have a name that contains "assignment", or have priority at least 3 and a tag that contains "CS2101".

  • filter n:assignment||(p:3 t:CS2101) Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have a name that contains "assignment", or have priority at least 3 and a tag that contains "CS2101".

  • filter !n:homework||(p:3 t:CS2101) Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that have a name that does not contain "homework", or have priority at least 3 and a tag that contains "CS2101".

3.6.5. Set-based extensions for filter predicates

For fields that represent a collection (i.e. tags and attachments), it is also possible to filter only tasks which do not contain other tags or attachments apart from those specified. To do so, we introduce a set operator as per the diagram below:

FilterUnitDiagramSetUG

The part that was called operator previously is called the field operator here, and it retains its original meaning. The set operator introduced here specifies how the specified set (in the filter predicate) compares to the task’s set (of tags or attachments).

Meaning of the set operator:

  • The operator > tests if every item in the specified set is contained within the task’s set. The operator < tests if every item in the task’s set is contained within the specified set. The operator = tests if the two sets are equivalent (meaning that every item in the task’s set is contained within the specified set and vice-versa). The convenience operator is an alias for >.

Note that the definition of "contained" here is dependent on the kind of field operator being used - it does not necessarily mean a comparison for equality. See the examples below for more information.

When comparing a set-based field without using this dual-operator syntax, the set based operator used is effectively the convenience operator. (In other words, <key><operator><phrase> is equivalent to <key>:<operator><phrase>.)

Examples to demonstrate each operator type (using the tag field):

Task tags Test phrase Matches ">:" Matches "=:" Matches "<:" Matches "::"

easy,CS2103,homework

CS2103

Yes

No

No

Yes

easy,CS2103,homework

easy,CS2103,homework

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

easy,CS2103,homework

CS2103,homework,easy

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

CS2103

CS2103,homework

No

No

Yes

No

easy,CS2103,homework

cs2103

Yes

No

No

Yes

easy,CS2103,homework

cs

Yes

No

No

Yes
The set operator works in the same way as the above table for the attachment field as well.

Examples:

  • filter t=:CS Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that has a tag that contains the substring "CS" (case-insensitive). The task cannot contain any tags that do not have the substring "CS".

  • filter a=:Hello Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that has an attachment that contains the substring "Hello" (case-insensitive). The task cannot contain any attachments that do not have the substring "Hello".

  • filter t==CS2103T,CS2101 Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that has both the tags "CS2103T" and "CS2101" (case-insensitive). The task cannot contain any other tags.

  • filter t:=CS2103T Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that has the tag "CS2103T" (case-insensitive). The task could also contain other tags. (This is equivalent to filter t=CS2103T.)

  • filter t<:CS Returns a subset of the current list of tasks that do not have any tags that do not contain the substring "CS" (case-insensitive). The task need not have any tags that contain the substring "CS", so it could have no tags at all. This is usually used in conjunction with other filter predicates to constrain the filtered list to be exported.

3.6.6. Error messages

As filter expressions can be made arbitrarily complex, the filter command is also designed to provide comprehensive error messages that will help you to pinpoint any errors.

When an error is encountered, a copy of the filter expression will be displayed, with the error underlined and coloured in red, so that it becomes easier to identify the error. A relevant error message will also be displayed.

The underlined substring might not always be exactly what you expect, because there could be multiple possible candidates for the error.

There are a total of around 15 different types of error messages.

The following screenshots show two possible errors and the displayed result:

FilterDemo_Error1
Figure 3.6.6.1: Possible error result #1
FilterDemo_Error2
Figure 3.6.6.2: Possible error result #2

3.7. Sorting a list of tasks : sort

Sorts the lists of all the tasks which the user is currently viewing. Generally meant to be used in combination with filter.

When this command is used, Deadline Manager will sort all the currently displayed tasks according to the user-specified comparison method.
Sort comparators are the core of the sort command. Each sort comparator specifies a particular attribute (Example - name, priority) and a comparison direction, i.e ascending or descending.

The entire sorting command is composed of a chain of sort comparators. This chain helps the user to define which tasks to show earlier and which ones to show later.

The sort command results in a stable sort, i.e if two deadlines are equal according to the sort comparators then their relative order before the sort command and after the sort command remains the same.

What this means is that in case two tasks are in tie according to the first comparator, then the decision to place which task first is determined by the next comparator, and so on.

Format: sort SORT_COMPARATOR [SORT_COMPARATOR]…​

  • Format of a SORT_COMPARATOR: (n|name|d|due|p|priority|f|frequency)(<|>) OR (t|tag)(<|>){TAG1 TAG2 …​}

  • In the above format | refers to an OR. TAG1 and TAG2 are shown as example of tags that the user can input.

  • < stands for sorting in ascending order and `>' stands for sorting in descending order.

  • Sorts the list by the 1st comparator, in case of ties, it sorts by 2nd comparator and so on.

  • Meaning of the operators for each valid key:

    • When key is n or name, the task name is compared. The comparison is case-insensitive.

    • When key is d or due or deadline, the task’s due date is compared.

    • When key is p or priority, the task’s priority is compared. Note that the order is: Priority 1 (highest priority) > Priority 2 > Priority 3 > Priority 4 > Priority 0 (lowest priority).

    • When key is f or frequency, the task’s frequency (i.e. the number of days between consecutive occurrences of that task) is compared. A non-recurring task is treated as if it has a frequency of positive infinity.

    • When key is t or tag, the task’s tags are compared. In case < is used, it means TAG1 is placed earlier in the sorted order as compared to TAG2 and so on. For > it is vice-versa.

      For sorting by tags the user has to specify which tags are more important and which are less important.

    • Any other key will cause Deadline Manager to produce an error.

Examples:

  • sort n>
    Sorts the current list of tasks in view in descending order by name, where sorting is done in alphabetical order.

SortDemo1
Figure 1. Result of "sort n<" command

  • sort due< name>
    Sorts the current list of tasks in view in ascending order by due date, where ties are broken by descending order of names.

  • sort priority<
    Sorts the current list of tasks in view in ascending order by priority.

  • sort frequency<
    Sorts the current list of tasks in view in ascending order by frequency.

  • sort tag<{ cs2100 family cs2103t }
    Sorts the current list of tasks in view in ascending order by tags. In this case all the tasks with the tag cs2100 will be placed before those tasks with the tag family, finally followed by those tasks with the tag cs2103t.

  • sort n< tag<{
    This is invalid syntax since the curly braces have not been closed.

SortDemo1
Figure 2. Result of "sort n< tag<{" command

The above figure shows the error message when user feeds in an invalid command.

In case a task does not belong to any of the tags mentioned in the sort comparator it will be placed at the bottom of the sorted list.
In case a task contains more than one tag specified in the sort comparator, then it will be sorted according to those tags first which place it formerly in the sorted list.

3.8. Managing attachments of a task : attachment

Allows the user to add, list, delete and retrieve files associated with a specific task.
Deadline manager does not make a copy or backup the files added. Only the location of the files are stored by Deadline Manager. Hence, it is possible that the file might have been modified, renamed, moved or deleted without Deadline Manager’s knowledge. As such, there is no guarantee for a file associated with a specific task to always exist.
After the command is successfully executed, all the tasks in Deadline Manager will be listed.
Format (in general): INDEX ACTION [p/"FILEPATH"] [n/"FILENAME"]

More specific formats for each actions are listed below.

  • Format for Add Actions: attachment INDEX add p/"FILEPATH"

  • Format for Delete Actions: attachment INDEX delete n/"FILENAME"

  • Format for List Actions: attachment INDEX list

  • Format for Get Actions: attachment INDEX get n/"FILENAME" p/"FILEPATH"

    The application does not allow adding more than one file with the same filename to the same task, even if they are in different locations on the computer. For this application, filename includes the file extension as well.

  • Modify and manages the attachments of the task at the specified INDEX. The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed task list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​

  • ACTION is either add, list, delete or get

  • For add actions, the FILEPATH argument is required to denote the file you intend to attach to the task. A file must exist at the FILEPATH specified. The FILEPATH must be enclosed in quotation marks. For example: "D:/Documents/HelloWorld.txt"

  • For list actions, no additional arguments are required.

  • For delete actions, the FILENAME argument is required to represent the file to delete. The FILENAME must be enclosed in quotation marks. For example: "Hello World.docx".

  • For get actions, the FILENAME argument is required to represent the file to retrieve and the FILEPATH argument is required to denote the destination you want the file to be exported to. If there is an existing file at FILEPATH, it would be overwritten without warning. The FILEPATH and FILENAME must be enclosed in quotation marks, similar to the arguments in add and delete actions. Do note that FILEPATH should be a path to a file, not a folder in the computer.

To avoid ambiguity, it is recommended to use quotation marks when specifying a FILEPATH or FILENAME. Those that are not enclosed in quotations will still be parsed. However, the correct behaviour is not guaranteed.
If your filename contains double quotation marks " but not single quotation marks ', you may enclose the filename with single quotation marks ' instead. However, the application will not be able to work with files that have both double quotation marks and single quotation marks.

Examples:

  • Add: attachment 1 add p/"D:\Documents\Hello World.docx"
    Adds an attachment located at "D:\Documents\Hello World.docx" to the 1st task currently listed in the deadline manager. (Tip: You can list all tasks using the list command.)

AttachmentDemo2
Figure 3.8.1: Result of Attachment Command with Add Action

Figure 3.8.1 above shows an expected result message if the command is successfully executed by Deadline Manager for the example command.

AttachmentDemo2
Figure 3.8.2: Attachment Label after an attachment is added to a file

Figure 3.8.2 above shows the label that would be displayed along with the task after an attachment is added. The label will contain the file name.

  • List: attachment 1 list
    Lists all attachments currently associated with the 1st task in the deadline manager.

AttachmentDemo3
Figure 3.8.3: Result of Attachment Command with List Action

Figure 3.8.3 above shows an expected result message if the command is successfully executed by Deadline Manager for the above command with the List Action.

  • Get: attachment 2 get p/"D:\Documents\TaskAttachments.zip" n/"Assignment.zip"
    Saves an attachment named "Assignment.zip" of the 2nd task in the deadline manager to "D:\Documents\TaskAttachments.zip"

AttachmentDemo4
Figure 3.8.4: Result of Attachment Command with Get Action

Figure 3.8.4 above shows an expected result message if the command is successfully executed by Deadline Manager for the above command with the Get action.

AttachmentDemo5
Figure 3.8.5: Attachment will be saved to the designated location after the Get Action

Figure 3.8.5 above shows that you can expect to see the attachment appear in the designated location after the Get action.

  • Delete: attachment 1 delete n/"Hello World.docx" Removes the association of the attachment named "Hello World.docx" with the 1st task in the deadline manager.

AttachmentDemo6
Figure 3.8.6: Result of Attachment Command with Delete Action

Figure 3.8.6 above shows an expected result message if the command is successfully executed by Deadline Manager for the above command with the Delete action.

The import, export commands do NOT support backing up attachments. However they will keep a link to the attachments path if any.
The sort command currently does NOT support sorting tasks by their attachments. Support for this commands may be added in future releases of the application.

3.9. Exporting a set of tasks: export

Exports the tasks that is currently displayed by the Deadline Manager. The tasks will be saved as a file at the provided FILEPATH location.

Deadline Manager provides two different formats to export in.

  1. eXtensible Markup Language (XML) format: XML is a format that Deadline Manager is fully compatible with. If exported as XML format, tasks can be imported back into another copy of Deadline Manager.

  2. Comma Separated Values (CSV) format: CSV is a format that is supported by most calendar applications. If exported as CSV format, tasks can be imported into other applications like Google Calendar. Currently, Deadline Manager can only export names and deadlines of tasks.

Format: export [csv] p/FILEPATH [r/overwrite]

  • If the csv option is specified, Deadline Manager will export tasks in CSV format. Otherwise, by default, it will export in XML format.

  • FILEPATH refers to a location on your computer, and the FILEPATH provided should be enclosed within quotes ("). You may provide a relative location (tasks.xml) or an absolute location (C:\Folder\tasks.xml) for Deadline Manager to export to.

To avoid ambiguity, it is recommended to use quotation marks when specifying a FILEPATH. FILEPATHs not enclosed in quotations will still be parsed, however correct behaviour is not guaranteed.

  • If there is an existing file at the provided location, the write command will fail, in order to protect your data.

You can override the default behaviour by specifying r/overwrite. This will allow you to overwrite files even if they already exist. Use with caution so as not to overwrite important data.

Examples:

  • export p/cs2101.xml
    Creates and exports tasks to cs2101.xml in the same folder as Deadline Manager. This file can be used in import later.

The following is a step-by-step guide on how the export command behaves.

ExportDemo
Figure 3.9.1: A successful export command

Figure 3.9.1 (left) shows the sequence of events, starting from when the user enters the export p/cs2101.xml command into the command box.

Figure 3.9.1 (right) shows Deadline Manager exporting the file and displaying a success message. The exported file is located at cs2101.xml in the same folder, and contains the tasks displayed in the deadline manager, namely "CS2101 Oral Presentation" in the screenshot above.

  • export p/cs2101.txt (Exports a file successfully)
    export p/cs2101.txt
    Fails and returns an error as cs2101.txt already exists when the second command is run. In order to protect your data, the second export command fails.

ExportDemo3
Figure 3.9.2: Export error message

Figure 3.9.2 shows the error message when the user attempts to export p/cs2101.txt for the second time. Since the file cs2101.txt already exists, Deadline Manager will not overwrite any existing file so as to protect your data.

You can overwrite the file by specifying r/overwrite. The command would be export p/cs2101.txt r/overwrite in this case. * export csv p/cs2103.csv
Creates and exports tasks to cs2103.csv as CSV format. This file is compatible with most calendar applications and can be imported into Google Calendar.

  • export p/"C:\Documents\cs2103.txt"
    Creates and exports tasks to cs2103.txt in the C:\Documents folder.

3.10. Importing a set of tasks: import

Imports tasks that were previously generated by an export command. Deadline Manager will attempt to retrieve tasks from the provided FILEPATH location.

Format: import p/FILEPATH [r/all | r/overwrite | r/skip]

  • FILEPATH refers to a location on your computer, and the FILEPATH provided should be enclosed within quotes ("). You may provide a relative location (tasks.xml) or an absolute location (C:\Folder\tasks.xml), for Deadline Manager to export to.

To avoid ambiguity, it is recommended to use quotation marks when specifying a FILEPATH. FILEPATHs not enclosed in quotations will still be parsed, however correct behaviour is not guaranteed.

  • Additionally, the file must be in a readable XML format.

Currently, Deadline Manager does not support importing from a CSV file. This feature will be made available in v2.0.

Optional commands can provided to specify what Deadline Manager should do when there is an import conflict.

An import conflict occurs when you try to import a task, but the task (having the same name, deadline and other attributes) already exists in your Deadline Manager. When this happens, Deadline Manager needs to know what you want to do with these tasks.

You can input either one of three commands to specify how to resolve an import conflict:

  • r/all: Imports the new task, keeping both the existing and incoming tasks.

  • r/overwrite: Imports the new task, replacing the existing task.

  • r/skip: Does not import the conflicting task, keeping the existing task instead.

If you do not specify any command, Deadline Manager uses r/skip by default, i.e. it will ignore new tasks that cause import conflicts.

Examples:

  • (Assuming that we have previously exported to cs2101.xml)
    import p/cs2101.xml r/all
    Imports all tasks from cs2101.xml. Deadline Manager will save all tasks, even if duplicates already exist.

ImportDemo
Figure 3.10.1: Importing from XML, keeping duplicate tasks

In Figure 3.10.1 (left), we assume that the user has previously exported to cs2101.xml, which contains another copy of "CS2101 Oral Presentation". The user now attempts to import from cs2101.xml.

The result of the import is shown in Figure 3.10.1 (right). Since the r/all command is used, both copies of "CS2101 Oral Presentation" are saved.

  • import p/cs2101.xml
    Imports all tasks from cs2101.xml. Since the r/all parameter is not specified, if an incoming task already exists in Deadline Manager, it is skipped.

    .Result of import command with no parameters

    image::userguide/importScreenshot_2.png[ImportDemo4, width="790"] Figure 3.10.2 shows the success message after importing from cs2101.xml. By default, duplicate entries are skipped. Since cs2101.xml contains a duplicate copy of "CS2101 Oral Presentation", nothing new is imported.

  • import p/"C:\Documents\cs2101.xml" r/all
    Imports all tasks from C:\Documents\cs2101.xml. Deadline Manager will save all tasks, even if duplicates already exist.

3.11. Deleting a task : delete

Deletes the specified task from the deadline manager.
Format: delete INDEX

  • Deletes the task at the specified INDEX.

  • The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed task list.

  • The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​

Examples:

  • list
    delete 2
    Deletes the 2nd task in the deadline manager.

  • filter OP1 Assignment
    delete 1
    Deletes the 1st task in the results of the filter command.

3.12. Selecting a task : select

Selects the task identified by the index number used in the displayed task list.
Format: select INDEX

  • Selects the task and loads details about the task at the specified INDEX.

  • The index refers to the index number shown in the displayed task list. The index must be a positive integer 1, 2, 3, …​

Examples:

  • list
    select 2
    Selects the 2nd task in the deadline manager.

  • filter Assignment
    select 1
    Selects the 1st task in the results of the filter command.

3.13. Listing entered commands : history

Lists all the commands that you have entered in reverse chronological order.
Format: history

Pressing the ↑ and ↓ arrows will display the previous and next input respectively in the command box.

3.14. Undoing previous command : undo

Restores the deadline manager to the state before the previous modifying command was executed.
Format: undo

Modifying commands: those commands that modify the deadline manager’s content (e.g. add, delete, edit and clear).

Examples:

  • delete 1
    list
    undo (reverses the delete 1 command)

  • select 1
    list
    undo
    The undo command fails as there are no undoable commands executed previously.

  • delete 1
    clear
    undo (reverses the clear command)
    undo (reverses the delete 1 command)

3.15. Redoing the previously undone command : redo

Reverses the most recent undo command.
Format: redo

Examples:

  • delete 1
    undo (reverses the delete 1 command)
    redo (reapplies the delete 1 command)

  • delete 1
    redo
    The redo command fails as there are no undo commands executed previously.

  • delete 1
    clear
    undo (reverses the clear command)
    undo (reverses the delete 1 command)
    redo (reapplies the delete 1 command)
    redo (reapplies the clear command)

3.16. Clearing all entries : clear

Clears all task entries from the deadline manager.
Format: clear

3.17. Exiting the program : exit

Exits the program.
Format: exit

3.18. Saving the data

Deadline manager data are saved in the hard disk automatically after any command that changes the data.
There is no need to save manually.

Attachments are merely linked in the deadline manager. A separate copy of the file will not be stored. If the original attachment file has been deleted, deadline manager will fail to retrieve it.

4. FAQ

Q: How do I transfer my data to another Computer?
A: Install the app in the other computer and overwrite the empty data file it creates with the file that contains the data of your previous deadline manager folder. Q: How do I obtain the FILEPATH of a particular file in my Computer?
A: For Windows 10 users, you may follow the following steps using the File Explorer application on your Computer in order to obtain the FILEPATH:

  1. Navigate to the file you intend to obtain the FILEPATH of using the File Explorer application.

  2. Select the file which you intend to obtain the FILEPATH of.

  3. Click on Home near the top left corner of the File Explorer application.

  4. Click on the Copy path button as indicated in Figure 4.1 below. The FILEPATH will then be copied onto your clipboard.

  5. Go to the command box of Deadline Manager and paste the FILEPATH as required.

QnAFilepath1
Figure 4.1: Copy path button within the File Explorer application

Figure 4.1 above indicates which button should be clicked in order to obtain the FILEPATH. The FILEPATH should look something similar to "D:\Documents\123 p\Assignment.docx". You can use this for the FILEPATH argument in both import, export and attachments.

5. Command Summary

  • Add add n/NAME d/DEADLINE [f/FREQUENCY] [p/PRIORITY] [t/TAG]…​
    e.g. add n/CS2103 Tutorial d/11/10/2018 f/7 p/2 t/java t/hard

  • Attachment (Add) : attachment INDEX add p/"FILEPATH"

  • Attachment (Delete) : attachment INDEX delete n/"FILENAME"

  • Attachment (List) : attachment INDEX list

  • Attachment (Retrieve) : attachment INDEX get n/"FILENAME" p/"FILEPATH" e.g. attachment 2 get p/"C:\Documents\TaskAttachments.zip" n/"Assignment.zip"

  • Clear : clear

  • Complete: complete INDEX

  • Delete : delete INDEX
    e.g. delete 3

  • Edit : edit INDEX [n/NAME] [d/DEADLINE] [t/TAG]…​
    e.g. edit 2 n/CS2103 Assignment 2 t/easy

  • Exit : exit

  • Export : export FILEPATH

  • Filter : filter FILTER_EXPRESSION e.g. filter due<1/10/2018

  • Help : help

  • History : history

  • Import : import FILEPATH

  • List : list

  • Redo : redo

  • Search : search FILTER_EXPRESSION e.g. search due<1/10/2018

  • Select : select INDEX
    e.g.select 2

  • Sort : sort SORT_COMPARATOR [SORT_COMPARATOR]…​
    e.g. sort due< name>

  • Undo : undo

6. Glossary

  • Conjunction: A composite statement (i.e. predicate) that is true when two given statements are both true, or false otherwise.

  • Disjunction: A composite statement (i.e. predicate) that is true when any of two given statements are true, or false otherwise.

  • File Path: A string that defines the unique location of a file in the file system. The file path provided to Deadline Manager should include the file extension as well. You may like to refer to the FAQ for instructions on how to obtain the File Path of a file on your computer.

  • Negation: A composite statement (i.e. predicate) that is true when the given statement is false, or false otherwise.

  • Subset: A part of a larger group of related things.