Google Tasks for iGoogle Gets a New Interface

Gmail Labs is brimming with tools and features but most of them never leave the experimental repository, largely because they serve a limited set of users. Others though spend their time in Labs as an extended beta period, something that Google knows a lot about, and are finally released to the general public once they are ready. Tasks were added to Gmail Labs last year to serve as a simple to tool to keep up with your to-do list and now the feature has been rolled out for everybody using Gmail but also for Calendar, iGoogle users, who enjoy some special features, and mobile phones.

“People use all kinds of tools to help them get stuff done — paper to-do lists, messages with a certain label or stars in Gmail, notes in Google Calendar, a couple different iGoogle gadgets and so on. Late last year, we added a lightweight way to help you keep track of what you need to do in Gmail Labs — tasks,” David Barrett-Kahn, software engineer on the Tasks team, wrote. “Since then, it's graduated from Labs, and you can manage your tasks not only in Gmail, but also in Google Calendar, iGoogle and from your mobile phone.”

Now the tool has a new full-screen feature in the custom iGoogle homepage along which also come some better management options with snazzier look than the Gmail version. With the full-screen option users will be able to mange their tasks more easily through a much more complete interface and also manage several task lists at a time. There are plenty of ways to handle to-do lists but Tasks aims to make the experience as easy and as seamless as possible. The fact that it is now available across multiple Google services should also make it more useful.

For those unfamiliar with the tool, Google has also provided a few tips that will allow you to make full use of it. For example, when managing completed tasks there are two ways of handling things. There is the obvious option of deleting the task but users can also set the task as “completed,” which will allow them to remove it from the list without losing it forever. Furthermore, there is the possibility to indent certain tasks to make them stand out by pressing “tab.” You can reverse this by pressing “shift+tab” and this can also be achieved through the Actions menu or buttons. And if you want to keep up with the latest development for the feature you can follow the Google Tasks Twitter stream.