Productivity · Windows 10 and 11
Reminders you type the way you say them
Write “call Mum tomorrow at 6pm” or “take the bins out every Tuesday at 8pm” in one box. Octoolo shows what it understood before you add it. When the time comes, a Windows notification stays on screen with the reminder sound until you press Snooze 10 min or Done, whatever app you are working in.
How to set a reminder on your PC
- 1
Open Reminders
Open Octoolo's Productivity app and pick Reminders under Plan.
- 2
Say what and when
Type in the Remind me to… box, for example “renew the car insurance on March 3 at 10am”. The line under the box shows what Octoolo understood. If it found no time, it suggests a few ways to write one.
- 3
Add it
Press Remind me or Enter. The reminder lands in Late, Today, Tomorrow, Next 7 days or Later. Click it to change the time, set a repeat or add a note.
- 4
Act when it rings
The notification shows the reminder and the first line of its note. Press Done, or Snooze 10 min. In the list, Snooze also offers 1 hour and Tomorrow, and the circle marks it done.
What you can write
Octoolo picks the time out of the sentence and keeps the rest as the reminder's name. These are the words it knows:
| You write | It rings |
|---|---|
| in 10 minutes, in 2 hours, in half an hour | That long from now |
| at 6pm, 6:30 pm, 18:30 | At that time today, or tomorrow if it has already passed |
| at 5 | At 17:00. “at 1” to “at 6” mean the afternoon |
| noon, midnight | At 12:00 or 0:00 |
| morning, afternoon, evening, tonight | At 9:00, 15:00, 18:00 and 20:00 |
| tomorrow, friday 3pm, next tuesday | On that day, at 9:00 if you gave no time |
| on Oct 12, 12 March, on the 1st | On that date, the next time it comes round |
| every day, every weekday, every weekend | Again and again, from the first time on |
| every week, every month, every year, every 3 days, every Mon and Thu | On that rhythm |
Naming today's weekday means today if the time is still ahead, otherwise the same day next week. The words must be English; the rest of the sentence can be in any language, and times written as numbers, such as 18:30, work anyway.
Will it ring if Octoolo is closed?
Reminders ring through the Octoolo app as Windows notifications, so they reach you while you work in other programs. When you close Octoolo's window while something is planned, Octoolo keeps running with an icon in the corner of the taskbar. Right-click that icon and choose Quit Octoolo only if you want the reminders to stop.
For reminders after a restart, let Octoolo start with Windows: press Start with Windows on the Reminders page, or turn on Start Octoolo when you sign in to Windows in Settings. Started that way, it opens without its window, and closes itself after two minutes if nothing is planned.
Two limits are worth knowing. Octoolo does not wake a sleeping or switched-off PC, so nothing rings until it is back on. Reminders that came due while Octoolo was closed ring as soon as it starts; more than three at once come as one notification, such as “5 reminders”.
To make sure Windows shows them, use Test a notification. If Windows has Octoolo's notifications turned off, the page says so and Open notification settings takes you to the switch.
Reminders and the to-do list are one list
A reminder is a task with a time. Everything you add here also shows in the to-do list, under Planned and in Tasks, and a to-do with a Remind me time shows here. Clicking a reminder opens the same panel, so a reminder can have steps, a due day, a repeat, a note and a list of its own.
Finished reminders go to Done this week at the bottom of the page, in case you ticked one by mistake: untick it and it comes back. For the hours when you need a sound that keeps going until you get up, an alarm suits better; for “in 12 minutes” cooking jobs, a timer shows the countdown as it runs.
Questions, answered
Can it wake my PC to remind me?
No. Nothing rings while the PC sleeps or is switched off. A reminder that came due then rings as soon as Octoolo runs again.
What if I miss a reminder?
It stays in the Late group at the top of the page until you tick it or snooze it.
How do I stop a repeating reminder?
Click it and set Repeat to Never, or press Delete in its panel to remove it.
Can I get the reminders on my phone?
No. They live on this PC and ring on this PC; there is no phone app and no sync.
Does it need the internet?
No. Reminders are kept in Octoolo's data folder on your computer and ring from there.
Can I write reminders in another language?
The words for times, days and repeats are English. Times written as numbers, such as 18:30, are read in any sentence, and the reminder's name can be in any language.
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