This is not very intuitive, and drove me crazy for an hour or so after I got my iPhone.

Here's what you do:
1) On a page with a list of tasks (e.g., "Today"), press "Edit" (towards the top right, beneath the "+")
2) Blue check-marks will appear to the left of each task. Press the checkmark beside the task you want to mark as "complete"
3) A box labeled "complete" will appear. Press it, and you're done.

It's really easy, once you finally figure it out!

csesget ,

Thanks for the post. It was driving me crazy trying to figure this out as well. Thanks!

this is really annoying and a major design flaw.

you scan thru your tasks to find "pick up cheese" is done only to scroll up - presse the "edit" button and scroll down again searching for the task in order to complete it - do so - scroll back up to hit "edit" again to finish the processs...

please, please fix this. the process of "checking off" completet tasks is so importand it shouldn't hide under an "edit" screen and require multiple seach / scroll actions…

previously regarding this:

"please as an intermediate solution include a big "complete" button in the edit screen of a task. that way it's one search for the task, one tap to go to edit an one to complete. with an automatic return to the list after the tap.
i think this could make a lot of people happy. "

i agree. i'm new to RTM, but have tried every other mac and online task manager. one basic test is to see how easy it is to use while checking off items in a grocery store. it seems weird that you have to go into "edit mode" to check things off.

agree, agree, agree: TaDa lets you check off an item simply by touching it, which is ideal ...

Yes, it seems this should be a LOT easier.

I disagree.

The way RTM works on the iphone is consistent with how other native applications like email and SMS work. If every web application used their own unique approach it would require users to always remember how this or that app handles things like this.

It makes lots of sense to me that a check-mark is associated with "checking off" a task, and on the iPhone it really is necessary to add a confirmation step; otherwise it's too easy to brush the phone accidentally and delete something.

(By contrast, I find it highly *unintuitive* that the checkbox mark in the standard RMilk interface is *not* for completing a task, and I'm still trying to figure out why I need to go through multiple steps of selecting (or getting into drop-down menu) before I can mark something complete. But that's another issue...)

@rcox1963
keep in mind that email and sms allow swiping the entry to delete it. RTM doesn't that's why the "consistency" you highlight does not deliver.
thats why i asked for an intermediate solution:
include a "complete" button on the iphone edit page of an entry… and all is well for now. that way i simply tap the entry i want to mark complete, it goes to the edit screen, i hit complete. fine. done.
but the scrolling up and down and relocatin tasks is simply _ bad design.
cheers.

Second apjk and esmp.

An intermediate solution is possible. Just add the possibility of a swipe or have small checks waiting next to the task with another touch to "complete." The scrolling up and down is the real craziness.

@rcox...I disagree with your argument of consistency. Consistency is nice and ideal, but the fact of the matter is creating a better system is worse than being consistent with a crappy system.

Despite the brilliance of the iPhone's UI, there are some glaring omissions (not deleting multiple emails, not deleting individual calls/SMS). RTM and Apple should be upping one another with each release--capitalism works and we win.

I too was infuriated until I found this thread! I think that's because RTD is the first web app I've used that's consistent with Apple's HIG. Here's what was throwing me off though... RTD (desktop) is inconsistent with RTD (iPhone). I wouldn't have overlooked the Edit button had I not been desperately searching for a Complete button. That's where the consistency needs to get worked out.

Furthermore, I'm sure a native app will have UI advantages (swiping). In the meantime, RTD is perhaps a little too robust as a web app. That's where 37 Signals got it right. However, Ta-da list is a mess in spite of how simple it is.

Keep up the great work, RTD team. You're on the right track.

BTW, apart from deleting SMS / email messages, what actual "editing" is taking place when you tap the Edit button? Perhaps your real frustration is with Apple...

I don't see why you can't just click the little circle next to the task and then confirm it with the blue "complete" button. No accidentally deleting tasks and no hunting and searching.

Seems like "edit" should be for batch checking things off (ie. no confirmation "complete" button).

I really like bradbane's idea. That would be great.