Can I export my tasks to Excel?
Task List by Zaweba exports tasks as a UTF-8 CSV file that Excel opens directly, and it is formula-safe so task titles stay as plain text.
Excel opens the file directly. In Task List by Zaweba, use File, then Export tasks as CSV, and the app writes your tasks to a CSV file in UTF-8, which Excel and other spreadsheets read without fuss. The export is formula-safe, so a task title that happens to begin with a character a spreadsheet treats as the start of a formula is kept as plain text.
That gives you your tasks in rows and columns for sorting, filtering, reporting or sharing.
Exporting step by step
In Task List, open the File menu and choose Export tasks as CSV. Pick a folder and a file name, and save. In Excel, open the file as you would any other. Because the file is UTF-8, accented letters, the pound sign and other characters come through correctly.
If you plan to work on the spreadsheet for some time, save it from Excel in Excel's own format, so that formatting and formulas you add are kept.
Why formula-safe matters
Spreadsheets treat any cell that begins with certain symbols, such as an equals sign, as a formula. A task title like =Check totals with Sam would otherwise turn into an error, or worse, run as something you did not intend. Task List writes such titles so they stay as text. You get exactly what you typed.
What people use it for
A timesheet or a report is a common reason. Tick tasks as you finish them and the Completed view records when each was done; export, and the record is in a spreadsheet ready to total or to send to a manager.
Sharing is another. Someone who lives in Excel can read a CSV without installing anything, and can sort it by due date or filter it by tag in a familiar way.
Keeping a record before a clear out is a third. If you are about to use Clear completed to tidy the Completed view, export first and the history stays with you.
CSV is for reading elsewhere
CSV is a one-way trip for looking at tasks in another program. It is not the way to move your tasks to another PC or restore them later. For that, use File, then Export a full backup, which saves everything as JSON (without the email password), and Import on the other side, which replaces what is there after asking and takes a safety copy first.
Other outputs
For a page rather than a spreadsheet, File, then Print or save the list as PDF produces an A4 sheet. And behind everything, Task List copies its database every day, keeping the newest 14 copies, so a backup is always there even if you never export a thing.
Where the file goes
The export is a file on your own PC. Task List has no account and no cloud, so nothing is uploaded when you export; what happens to the CSV afterwards is up to you. Store it somewhere sensible, and remember that a spreadsheet copy does not update itself: when tasks change in Task List, export again rather than editing the old file.
In short, Task List by Zaweba keeps the tasks and Excel does the analysis. Ticking tasks as you go, with honest due dates and a few consistent tags, is what makes the exported sheet worth having. A single export at the end of each month gives you a tidy record without any extra effort during the month.
