CODEWITHSUNDEEP
emacsorg-mode
jhegedus
jhegedus

Reputation: 20653

Is it possible to have numbered todo lists in org mode?

Is it possible to have numbered todo lists (not with checkboxes) in org mode ?

So if I have a numbered list :

1. feed cat
2. climb tree
3. wash car

and I want to have something like:

TODO         1. feed cat
IN PROGRESS  2. climb tree
DONE         3.  wash car

It seems it is not possible (according to google), but in emacs everything is possible, maybe I just don't know how....

I would like to have several states for my ordered lists: IN PROGRESS, TODO, DONE, etc... so having checkboxes does not offer a solution for that.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1315

Answers (1)

NickD
NickD

Reputation: 6422

TODO states are associated with headlines, not list items. You can number your headlines explicitly:

* TODO        1. feed cat
* IN_PROGRESS 2. climb tree

But there is no support from org, e.g. no automatic renumbering when you delete one, no automatic alignment, ... - it will be all manual work.

EDIT: In answer to your comment below: It has to do with org history and syntax. Org started as an elaboration of outline-mode: it had headlines of various levels and could encapsulate a hierarchical document, like outline, but it also had TODO states associated with the headlines and timestamps (plain, SCHEDULED, DEADLINE) so it could be used for scheduling things. Lists were added as a light-weight mechanism to, well, list things: you could use lower-level headlines instead, but lists might be more convenient if you don't need all the machinery that headlines use. The only machinery that you can use with lists is an (optional) checkbox - basically, just a yes/no state. Numbered lists etc followed soon thereafter.

For a long time, org-syntax was ad-hoc, but there is a fairly well defined org syntax now, almost completely because of the efforts of Nicolas Goaziou.

The thing to remember is: Headlines can include lists, but lists cannot include headlines.

Upvotes: 1

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