Easy install for Windows and OS X with this new and final version 1.2.2; click and play! The goal for this extension is to have an easy way during meetings to create tasks in a to-do list and manage them afterwards. It presumes that you make minutes and would like to generate a task list during meetings with ease and manage them.

When there is a task that has to be done by you, you activate the macro (through a keystroke or by using the menu). A window box comes up, where you can fill in the subject of the task, the due date and some other details. The macro also records in the background the filename if you were making minutes at the moment, the current date and a paragraph selected with text (hopefully related to that action). If no text is selected, no text is recorded.
Afterwards you can call a report, from a database called TakenDB.odb, from within Writer. It gives all the unfinished tasks, sorted on priority. That database also contains other useful reports, which you can use if you open the database with Open Office Base. The database also contains a form where you can browse through all the tasks and make changes.

I use this extension on a daily basis for my work. It reduces mind-traffic; after a day full of meetings, I know the tasks that I took on during those meeting are well kept on one place, easy accessible. I have also my digital minutes of those meetings, but I don't have to open them again to remember my tasks and their details.

Remarks:

• OS X, Linux and other -X users be sure to use version 1.2.2, Windows users can use 1.2.1 as well. In this version of the the extension the task database (TakenDB.odb) and the explanation (Readmefirst.odt) are included and handled by Minutes2Tasks
• Your installation needs an installed java runtime. Otherwise this extension won't work. Check in the menu Extra-Options for an item called java. There should be a reference to an installed version of java. If there isn't one, you need to download java and add a link there.
• On some linux-boxes there is a problem: tasks get written to TakenDB.odb, but TakenDB.odb actually stays empty. Result: at the next start of Openoffice.org all tasks and settings are gone. I experienced myself with two linux-boxes running Kubuntu 10.04. Mepis 8 is affected as well. The Openoffice.org-version isn't relevant. The bug will be fixed in OpenOffice 3.4, see http://openoffice.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=112014
• The supplied Readmefirst.odt (click on the help sign!) tells you how to install and to use this extension
• I've used a lot of code of Writer's Tool and Toools. They are great. Thanks.

This extension should work for Windows, OS X and Linux (x86 and x86-64).

Support is provided at http://sourceforge.net/projects/minutes2tasks/forums/.
Updating from from the versions before 1.0.12 requires a new TakenDB.odb, which is supplied in the .oxt.

My experience is that earlier installed extensions can mess up the workings of this extension. The solution is to delete or rename your user profile:

• For Windows users:
  Before Vista: \Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\OpenOffice.org\3\user\
  From Vista: \Users\user name\AppData\Roaming\OpenOffice.org\3\user
• For GNU/Linux users:
  /home/user name/.openoffice.org/3/user
  /home/user name/.ooo3/ for OOo 3.x.x
• For Mac OS X users:
  /Users/user name/Library/Application Support/OpenOffice.org/3/user

This is the final version; only bugs will be solved.

Version: 1.2.2

Provider: Joop Verdoorn

Report abuse here