New Feature: Simple Plain Text Export with Emoji Status Indicators

Posted on April 7, 2025 by FreeTodoList Team

We're excited to introduce a new export option for your todo lists - Plain Text Export with Emoji Status Indicators!

Why Plain Text?

While our previously introduced Markdown export provides comprehensive details and formatting, sometimes you need something even simpler. Plain text exports offer several advantages:

• Universal compatibility: Plain text works everywhere - in emails, chats, documents, notes apps, and more
• Easy readability: No special formatting knowledge required
• Emoji indicators: Visual status indicators that work across platforms
• Focus on essentials: Just your list title, description, and items

How to Use Plain Text Export

Exporting your list to plain text is easy:

1. Open any of your lists
2. Click on the Actions dropdown in the top right corner
3. Under Export & Subscribe, select Export as Plain Text
4. Your browser will download or display the plain text version of your list
5. Copy and paste it anywhere you need

What's Included

The plain text export focuses on essentials:

• List title
• List description (if you have one)
• All active items with emoji status indicators:
  • ✅ for completed items
  • ⬜️ for items still to do
• Archived items (shown in a separate section at the bottom)

Example

Here's what a plain text export looks like:

Weekly Grocery Shopping

Remember to bring reusable bags!

✅ Milk
✅ Bread
✅ Eggs
⬜️ Apples
⬜️ Bananas
⬜️ Coffee beans
⬜️ Pasta
⬜️ Tomato sauce

Archived Items:
✅ Old shopping list
✅ Items from last month

Use Cases for Plain Text Export

Plain text exports are perfect for:

• Quick sharing: Paste your list into a text message, email, or chat
• Universal accessibility: Share with anyone regardless of what apps they use
• Analog usage: Easily print your list without formatting issues
• Note taking: Add to your existing notes in any system
• Cross-platform compatibility: Copy between devices and operating systems without losing formatting
• Visual clarity: The emoji indicators make status clear at a glance

Real World Example: Collaborative Shopping

1. Create a Party Supplies list in FreeTodoList
2. Add all needed items
3. Export as plain text with emoji indicators
4. Share in your group chat
5. Everyone can see what's been purchased (✅) and what still needs to be bought (⬜️)

Which Export Format Should You Use?

We now offer two export options:

• Plain Text Export: When you need simplicity, universal compatibility, and emoji status indicators
• Markdown Export: When you want comprehensive details including metadata, due dates, and formatting capabilities

Choose the format that works best for your specific needs!

Feedback Welcome

We're constantly working to improve FreeTodoList based on your suggestions. If you have ideas for how we could enhance our export options or other features, please send us feedback.

Happy organizing!

The FreeTodoList Team