We continue our discussion of new Mountain Lion features by looking at a new application in OS X called Reminders, which helps you to track to-do lists and events. Already available on iOS devices, Reminders provides the same to-do list functionality as previously found in iCal with many more features. For instance, you can set location-based reminders that will trigger alerts on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad when you arrive at or leave from a specific location. In order for this to work however, you will need to turn on Location Services for the Reminders app from the Privacy tab of Security & Privacy preferences. For instance, you can set a reminder to go off when you are near a grocery store.

To create a new reminder, click the + (plus) icon on top of the Reminders window or click in any empty space in your Reminders list and begin typing. From the Info window, you can also choose to be reminded on specific date and time as well as set your reminders to repeat at specified intervals. Reminders tied to a date will display in the Notification Center. If you wish, you can set a priority for your reminders from this window as well as enter in additional information in the Note field.

To mark a reminder as completed, click the check box next to the reminder to check it. The reminder will disappear from the Reminders window and move to the Completed heading, which displays all reminders that you have marked as done. Unchecking a reminder in the Completed area will return it to the Reminders area.

A nice feature is the ability to create more than one Reminders list. For instance, you may wish to separate out your grocery list from your other reminders. To do so, click the + button on the bottom of the left pane and then type in the name for your new list. It will now appear in the left pane along with your other reminder lists. You can easily move reminders from one list to another by clicking and dragging.

You can have reminders tied to multiple accounts. For instance, you can link Reminders to your iCloud account, Google account or Yahoo! account. To add a new account, choose Reminders > Accounts from the menu, enter in your account information and switch on the Calendars & Reminders setting for that account. You can also configure your accounts from the Mail, Contacts & Calendars area of the System Preferences pane. Once you have set up an account to work, it will appear in the left pane of the Reminders application.

To Use Reminders

1. Click the Reminders icon on the Dock.
2. To create a new reminder:
   a. Click the reminder list in the left pane that you wish to use.
   b. Click the + (plus) icon on top of the Reminders window
   Or
   Click in any empty space in your Reminders list
   Or
   Press the ⌘ + N keystroke combination.
   c. Type in your reminder information.
3. To display the miniature calendar, click the center icon in the reminders list pane.
4. To tie a reminder to a specific date, click the desired date in miniature calendar and then type in the new reminder.
5. To change the date or time for a reminder:
   a. Move your mouse pointer over the reminder and then click the Info icon when it appears
   Or
   Double-click on the reminder entry you wish to change.
   b. Click the On a Day checkbox.
   c. Click on the date and time and make your changes.
6. To add a location-based reminder:
   a. Move your mouse pointer over the reminder and then click the Info icon when it appears
   Or
   Double-click on the reminder entry you wish to change.
   b. Click the At a Location checkbox.
   c. Click the Arriving or Leaving radio button.
   d. Type the location in the box
   Or
   Type in the name for one of your contacts. You can then choose which of the contact’s addresses to use from the box.
7. To create a repeating reminder, display the info box, click the Repeat list and make your selections.
8. To create a new reminder list, click the + button in the left pane and type a name for your new list. Press Return when finished.
9. To tie reminders to a specific account, choose Reminders > Accounts from the menu and then enter in your account information.

Similar Posts:

• Sync Google Contacts with your Mac’s Contacts application
• Create Links to an E-mail Messages in the Notes app
• Read Web Pages Offline using Safari’s Reading List Feature
• Apple’s Best of 2014
• Turn TextEdit into a Word Processor by Inserting Tables
• Introducing Daily Mac Tips Courses