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ChatTPG User Guide

ChatTPG is a lightweight, keyboard‑only task assistant that helps you track three kinds of tasks:

Todo – simple description, no date
Deadline – description + one due date/time (/by)
Event – description + a start (/from) and end (/to)

All data is auto‑saved to tasks/tasks.txt whenever you add, delete, mark, or unmark a task. You can safely exit and your tasks will persist.

1. Quick Start

Run the program – you start at the Main Menu.
Type open task organiser to manage tasks.
Add tasks with the formats below.
Use list, mark done, mark undone, find, or delete task as needed.
Type exit task organiser (or bye) to return to Main Menu.
Type bye again at the Main Menu to fully exit.

Need help inside the Task Organiser? Type help.

Command	Action
`open task organiser`	Enter the task management interface
`bye`	Exit the whole application (from main menu)

When inside the organiser, bye or exit task organiser returns you to the main menu instead of quitting immediately.

3. Task Organiser Commands

Command Pattern	Description	Example
`todo <desc>`	Add a todo task	`todo read book`
`deadline <desc> /by <when>`	Add a deadline task	`deadline return book /by 2025-10-01`
`event <desc> /from <start> /to <end>`	Add an event task	`event project meeting /from 2025-10-03 1400 /to 2025-10-03 1600`
`list`	Show all tasks with numbers	`list`
`mark done`	Mark a task done (will prompt for number)	`mark done` → enter `2`
`mark undone`	Mark a task undone (will prompt for number)	`mark undone` → enter `2`
`delete task`	Delete a task (will prompt for number)	`delete task` → enter `3`
`find`	Search by a SINGLE keyword (prompts for it)	`find` → enter `book`
`help`	Show command summary	`help`
`exit task organiser` / `bye`	Return to main menu	`bye`

Notes:

The find feature only accepts one word (no spaces). If you enter multiple words it will warn you.
Task numbers are 1‑based (as shown in the list output).
Invalid indices or malformed commands show an error without crashing.

4. Task Display Format

Each listed task looks like:

[T][ ] read book
[D][✓] return book (by: 2025-10-01)
[E][ ] project meeting (from: 2025-10-03 1400 to: 2025-10-03 1600)

Legend:

First bracket: Task type (T, D, E).
Second bracket: Status – [✓] done, [ ] not done.

5. Storage Format

Tasks are stored in tasks/tasks.txt using a pipe‑delimited line format:

T | 0 | read book
D | 1 | return book | 2025-10-01
E | 0 | project meeting | 2025-10-03 1400 | 2025-10-03 1600

Meaning:

First token: T (Todo), D (Deadline), E (Event)
Second: 1 if done, 0 if not done
Third: description
Deadline adds: | <by>
Event adds: | <from> | <to>

The file is recreated automatically if missing; no manual setup required.

6. Examples

Add a todo:

todo read book

Add a deadline:

deadline return book /by 2025-10-01

Add an event:

event project meeting /from 2025-10-03 1400 /to 2025-10-03 1600

Mark task 2 done:

mark done
2

Find tasks with keyword book:

find
book

7. Error Handling & Tips

Situation	What Happens
Unknown command	Shows an error + how to view help
Invalid task number	Explains valid range
Malformed add command	Shows correct format example
Multi-word search keyword	Rejected (keyword must be exactly one word)

Tips:

Keep descriptions concise but searchable.
Use consistent date formats for easier reading (e.g., YYYY-MM-DD).
You can list tasks anytime to re-orient yourself.

8. Exiting

Inside organiser: exit task organiser or bye → returns to main menu.
From main menu: bye → saves (already auto-saved on every change) and exits.

Your tasks are always saved immediately after each change—no manual save needed.

9. FAQ

Q: Do I lose tasks if I close abruptly?
Changes are flushed on every modifying command. Only an OS-level forced kill during a disk write is risky.

Q: Can I edit an existing task’s text?
Not yet. Delete and re-add the task for now.

Q: Can I use spaces in the find keyword?
No – find accepts exactly one word (no internal spaces). Leading or trailing whitespace is trimmed.

Happy tasking with ChatTPG!

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