Frequently asked questions

I can’t get Ghost Action to start on Leopard

Ghost Action version 1.1 and the beta versions up to 1.2.19b doesn’t start on Leopard. A version of Ghost Action that works on Leopard is available here (1.2.23a). This version is a preliminary release and doesn’t work on Tiger.

Will Ghost Action support feature X in a future version?

Some of the planned features are repeatable actions, printing of a subset of your actions, different printing layouts, bigger notes field, formatted text in the notes field, start dates, search, quicksilver integration, improved tabbing between fields, optional @-symbol when syncing, syncing only specified contexts, optional project name in to-do when syncing, improved action filtering, saving of sort orders, separation of next actions from future action, attachments, undo, better date formatting, backup/restore to file and more.

Sub-projects might happen in a future release if it can be solved it without compromising the simplicity and usability of Ghost Action.

Some features which are not going to happen include a complete replacement for iCal, a full-blown project management tool or a full-blown outliner.

Will Ghost Action be available on the iPhone?

Most likely yes. A final decision will be made when Apple have published more details about the iPhone Development Kit that is to be released in February 2008.

It’s likely but not certain that Apple in the near future will provide some kind of iPhone to-do list that can sync to iCal. In that case, Ghost Action will be able to sync to that to-do list as well.

I purchased a license, but I haven’t received it. What’s wrong?

Your license is sent as soon as the transaction is completed. Normally that happens immediately, but if you’re paying with an electronic check from a PayPal account, the transaction will be completed after 3–4 days for an US bank or up to 9 days for a non-US bank. The transaction will be marked complete in the PayPal account when the electronic check is cleared.

If your transaction is complete and you still haven’t received the license, it has probably been caught in a spam filter. Please check it before contacting support.

On how many computers or user accounts can I use Ghost Action given a single license?

Your license gives you the right to either:

let any user run Ghost Action on a single computer OR
run Ghost Action on all your personal accounts on any computer that you have access to

How can I share my Ghost Action data between multiple computers?

Ghost Action only syncs to iCal, but you can share your Ghost Action data between multiple computers by using one of the tools that enable you to share your iCal data between multiple computers, including .Mac and SyncTogether. You can also transfer your information between computers by syncing to a PDA, phone or iPod with iSync.

Doesn’t Ghost Action need an inbox?

Currently the preferred way of using Ghost Action is to assign a context immediately when creating actions. However, you can also create a special context “Inbox” and use that as your inbox. Ghost Action will support improved inbox handling in a future version.

None of my data from iCal is appearing in Ghost Action. What’s wrong?

Only iCal calendars starting with @ will get synchronized with Ghost Action. These calendars are considered to represent contexts. For any iCal to-do that you want to appear in Ghost Action, make sure that the calendar of the action starts with @. Try to enter a few contexts, projects and actions in Ghost Action, and see how they appear in iCal after synchronizing, and you will soon understand how it works. (More documentation on synchronization is on the way.)

Why not add a remove button (-) below the action, project and context lists?

The reason the remove button is absent is to prevent people from pressing it by mistake. You can delete an item by pressing command-backspace or by choosing Edit → Delete. Apple’s Mail, iTunes, and iCal also do not have any remove button for the same reason.

The web store forces me to pay using PayPal. Why?

Paypal is handling the payment processing for Ghost Park Software. If your credit card is already associated with an PayPal account, PayPal will force you to use that account. You can still have the sum directly drawn from you credit card though.

I did a synchronization, but nothing is appearing on my handheld device?

Ghost Action only syncs to iCal. To complete the synchronization to your device you need to use iSync or a third-party application such as Missing Sync.

How can I sort using two columns, one as the primary sorting key and the other one as the secondary key?

First single-click on the column heading of the secondary sorting key, then single-click on the column heading of the primary sorting key. This will produce the correct sorting. New entries will be sorted to the right position if you click twice on one “only due actions,” which will trigger a resort.

Can you make Ghost Action available in another language than English? I’m willing to help with the necessary translations.

That’s a very nice offer, but Ghost Action will only be available in English. Unfortunately translations slow down the development process a lot when text needs to be changed. Besides, Ghost Park Software can only give support in English, so having a user interface in their own language might mislead users into thinking that Ghost Action also is supported in that language.

How can I backup my Ghost Action data?

There are currently three ways you can backup your Ghost Action data:

Backup your whole home directory under /Users/YourUser excluding .Trash and Library/Caches and Library/Logs. This is the recommended approach and will not only backup you Ghost Action data but also the data of most other applications.
All Ghost Action data except the project templates are synced to iCal, which can backup iCal’s data by choosing File → Backup to File… A similar function will be added to Ghost Action in a future release.
You can also backup only Ghost Action’s data by manually copying and archiving the directory /Users/YourUser/Library/Application Support/Ghost Action and its contents.

Ghost Action won’t start on my computer or my computer hangs when using Ghost Action? What’s wrong?

There’s a known problem with Ghost Action and Application Enhancer on PowerPC machines, which causes Ghost Action not to start. Can you check in System Preferences if you have an item “Application Enhancer”? If so add Ghost Action to the master exclude list.

The Application Enhancer ClearDock will let Ghost Action start, but then the machine or certain applications will hang. This problem also affect Intel machines. The resolution is as above, add Ghost Action to the master exclude list for Application Enhancer.

Will Ghost Action sync with application X?

Any application that can be made to sync to-dos with iCal, will sync with Ghost Action. Applications that cannot sync to iCal cannot sync with Ghost Action either.

Entourage can sync with Ghost Action if you’re using version Microsoft Office 2004 version 11.2.3 or better.

I clicked the wrong button on the first attempt to sync iCal and Ghost Action. Now Sync Services always denies Ghost Action. How can I add Ghost Action to Sync Services as a valid app to sync with?

Try Ghost Action → Preferences → Advanced and click the Reregister button. Then do a normal sync.

How can I import my data from Kinkless GTD (kGTD)?

Micah Bly has contributed a modified version of the Kinkless script that will help you import your data into Ghost Action. Read more about it here.

How do I use the Getting Things Done method?

A quick and very short introduction to GTD can be found at LifeDev. Then there is always the book.