Support sorting tasks based on file creation/modification date

[wenlzhang]

Similar to what is discussed as follows, it may also be very useful if tasks can be sorted based on the creation/modification date/time of files that contain those tasks.
#93

A use case for this would be to query tasks that do not have any start/schedule/due dates. With this being supported, one can sort tasks based on the creation/modification date of the files and arrange those tasks with proper dates, priorities, etc.

The syntax for sorting them can be something as follows (one of them or their combinations):

Creation time:

sort by ctime

Modification of time:

sort by mtime

Creation day:

sort by cday

Modification day:

sort by mday

[claremacrae]

Another vote for this: Discussion #684

[tophee]

While I appreciate the new feature that allows us to add the creation date to the task, I don't think it can replace the feature requested here, i.e. to sort by file-dates.

I find myself not setting the created date as it adds a lot of clutter to the task (if anyone has a CSS snippet to hide it, that would make a huge difference!), but apart from the visual aspect, I like the extended functionality that the file modification date would provide. Let me explain: even if we assume that all our tasks have a created date, I think that getting the tasks of the most recently modified files would be more helpful than going after the creation date.

Note that the moment you create the task, mday and created are the same, so if you don't edit the file later on, the functionality provided by both is the same (but in the case of mday at a lower "cost". The interesting part starts when you do modify the file later on. In my notes, the fact that I modified the file more often than not increases the relevance of the tasks on that page. So, what I like about sorting by mday is that it will give me more relevant tasks, even if I didn't see or think about them while updating the note. It's a bit like AI but without AI: "I noticed that you recently updated that note so I thought the tasks in that note might be relevant for you today, so I am listing them here".

Of course, it is easy to come up with scanrios where mday will give you worse results, and it depends a lot on how you organize and work with your notes, but there you have it: that's why I would really like to be able to sort by mday.

[claremacrae]

@tophee, hi, thanks for a useful post. What you say exactly matches my presumption of how people would use the requested facility.

While I appreciate the new feature that allows us to add the creation date to the task, I don't think it can replace the feature requested here, i.e. to sort by file-dates.

I agree, but nobody has suggested that creation date does replace these features.

The reason that creation date has been implemented is because somebody volunteered to implement the feature and made a pull request.

Nobody has offered to work on this facility, and I am working on other areas, so it has not been done.

If anyone had the time and experience to spend on implementing this feature, I could talk them through doing a thorough job it it.

[BrucePlumb]

For those wishing to add Created date AND TIME to their tasks I have an easy to use solution. It is not difficult to set up. First you need to have installed the Templater plugin.
Start with making a Template file (called "New Task" or whatever).
(following has been edited for clarity) When I tried to post here copies of my Templater commands they disappeared so I have to explain a bit. A Templater command is preceded by the two characters < plus % together and the command is followed by % plus > together. Please read the Templater documentation if this isn't clear. Enter the following (surrounded by those templater command "brackets")
tp.file.rename(tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD__HH.mm.ss"))
in the template to automatically set the title of the new Task note to the created date and time. But that is just a temporary name and not really necessary because you will want to change the name of your new task note to your task contents. Next in the template enter a few #'s followed by a space to create a header, followed by (again surrounded by the templater command brackets)
moment(tp.file.Created).format("MMMM D, YYYY, HH.mm")
which will become a header with the created date and time. Note that you are not limited to the Tasks standard YYYY-MM-DD format. Then add a task to the template:

• Task
  Keep the contents short i.e. just "Task" - the real contents of a new task you will put in the name of the new note. You can add any other properties to the task (like due date, priority, etc.)
  This all takes advantage of the fact that any Tasks query always shows the source of the task, which includes the title of the file where it is located (here acting as your task contents) plus the header under which it is located, in this case the date and time header. So any Tasks query will show results like:
• Task (name of the note > April 12, 2024, 15.44)
  You have all the information you want.
  Next, it is handy to use the Meta Bind plugin to create a button in you Daily Note template for making new tasks. My Daily Note template contains: (preceded and followed by the standard 3 backticks)

label: New Task
hidden: false
id: ""
style: default
actions:
  - type: templaterCreateNote
    templateFile: "Templates/New Task.md"
    folderPath: Tasks

The above assumes you have made a folder named "Tasks" to which all new tasks will be added.
A third plugin needed to sort the results is "Custom File Explorer Sorting". Using that you can include in the "sortspec" file's properties:
target-folder: Tasks
order-desc: created
to have all the tasks in the Tasks folder sorted by created order. (ascending or descending as you prefer)
For that your New Task template will need a "Created" property with the contents (again surrounded by templater command brackets)
tp.file.creation_date("YYYY-MM-DD _ HH:mm:ss")

With this system it is easy to keep descriptive information about the Task together with the task in the Task note. Actually, I use this system not just for tasks but for all my Fleeting Notes. The task then serves as a handy link and a reminder to process the contents of the Fleeting note.

[claremacrae]

Thanks for taking the time to make a suggestion @BrucePlumb.

I regret to say I tried understanding it and got lost trying to separate out the different steps in my mind, and to understand what the template(s) actually looked like after surrounded by the templater command brackets which can't be copied here

However, just to note that work going on behind the scenes means that it may become possible for Tasks to support this request natively in the next few months.

[BrucePlumb]

I just found that changing the contents of the property "Created" seems to have no effect on the sorting done by Custom File Explorer Sorting. So I was wrong, you don't need to add a "Created" property to the Tasks template. The created date and time are kept somewhere I don't know, possible in the operating system's file data?

[claremacrae]

Yes, this ticket is about accessing data from the operating system:

it may also be very useful if tasks can be sorted based on the creation/modification date/time of files that contain those tasks.

There is another issue about accessing values from markdown frontmatter/properties.

[BrucePlumb]

Thank you Clare for the response. I tried to post the full commands on Github but they went missing! I shouldn't have assumed that anybody interested in such customizing would be familiar with Templater and its command format. The Templater command opening bracket is < plus % and the closing bracket is % plus > Maybe email will show it correctly? ##### <%moment(tp.file.Created).format("MMMM D, YYYY, HH.mm")%> in the template will create the header with the current date and time. - [ ] Task can be just left unchanged Then a tasks query will show: - [ ] Task (name of the Task note > April 12, 2024, 15.44) I like my system very much and would be very happy if others find it useful. Please give me suggestions too. Bruce Plumb

…

On Sat, Apr 13, 2024 at 02:00 Clare Macrae ***@***.***> wrote: Thanks for taking the time to make a suggestion @BrucePlumb <https://github.com/BrucePlumb>. I regret to say I tried understanding it and got lost trying to separate out the different steps in my mind, and to understand what the template(s) actually looked like after surrounded by the templater command brackets which can't be copied here However, just to note that work going on behind the scenes means that it may become possible for Tasks to support this request natively in the next few months. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#405 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AJIHHCOIUHE52OFKU4SCNOTY5AHJ7AVCNFSM5H6PZHT2U5DIOJSWCZC7NNSXTOKENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQ5TSMBZHA2DOMQ> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: <obsidian-tasks-group/obsidian-tasks/repo-discussions/405/comments/9098472 @github.com>