With themacOS Catalinaupdate, users received new apps like Music, TV, and Podcasts along with updates to others like Notes and Mail. The Reminders app also got an update to its appearance and functionality that many have been waiting for.
Enhancements like subtasks and Messages integration, that can increase your productivity both at work and at home, are now part of the package.
Let’s take a look at all of the new features and how to use them in the redesigned Reminders app on Mac.
New features in the Reminders app
Smart lists
One of the first things you’ll see with the improved Reminders app are the smart lists. These display as boxes in the sidebar and include Today, Scheduled, Flagged, and All.
If you don’t see your sidebar, clickView>Hide Sidebarfrom the menu bar to display it. (Not sure why the action isn’t Show Sidebar.)
Once you see those smart lists, you can jump to important reminders with a click.
New edit buttons
On iOS, the Reminders app now has a smart toolbar, but on Mac, you’ll see something similar with the new edit buttons. These tools allow you to quickly add common items to your reminders.
Add subtasks
If you use task lists with reminders for work or projects, then you know importance of subtasks. You can now create them in the Reminders app, and you have a few handy ways to do it.
Create a reminder like you normally would and then use one of these methods to turn it into a subtask.
To turn the subtask back into a regular reminder,click and drag it outfrom under the parent reminder or use the menu bar or shortcut menu and selectOutdent Reminder.
Group lists
To to keep similar lists together, you can put them into a group. For instance, you can set up a group for Family and put your Shopping and Grocery lists within it.
To create a group, clickFile>New Groupfrom the menu bar. The new group will display as a folder in your sidebar ready for you to give it a name.
Then, just select anddrag other lists into that group. Alternatively, you canright-clickor holdControl and clicka list, and pickAdd To Group>[Group name]from the shortcut menu.
Integration with Messages
Another cool new feature in the Reminders app is the integration with Messages. This lets you tag a contact in one of your reminders and then see a notification when you’re chatting with them in the Messages app.
1)Select the reminderand click theInformationbuttonnext to it.
2)Turn on the toggle forWhen Messaging a Person.
3)ClickAdd Contactand select a contact. You’ll then see your contact’s name attached to that reminder.
Then, when you communicate with them in Messages, you’ll get a notification from Reminders that you can markCompleteor snooze forLater.
More attachments
You can also add more attachments to a reminder like photos, scanned documents, or links to websites.
Select the reminderand click theInformationbuttonnext to it. You can then enter theURLfor a website or clickAdd Imageto select a photo, scan, or sketch.
Wrapping it up
Even though it’s long overdue, this update to the Reminders app is a terrific one. And be sure to check out how to use these samenew features in Reminders on iPhone and iPadtoo!
What’s your favorite new feature in the Reminders app on Mac? Will you use subtasks? Are you excited about the Messages integration? Do you like the list grouping option? Let us know in the comments below!
