There are many ways to set up a reminder. You can add an alarm on your mobile phone for each task you have and have it ring to remind you that you need to get your work done. Alternatively, you can make use any of the to-do list app or Google Calendar to send you an email notification when the time is up. If you are using Ubuntu, here is an even easier way to add and receive reminders on your desktop.
Indicator-remindor is an appindicator that allows you to easily add reminders from the system tray and receive desktop notification when the time is up.
Installation
Open a terminal and type:
Once installed, run the “indicator-remindor” app and you should see a Clock icon in the system tray.
Usage
The usage is very easy. Click the Clock icon in the system tray and select “Add”. This will open a window with input fields for you to enter your reminder. You can enter a name for the reminder, the time and date that it should remind you and optionally, run a command when the reminder is due.
While editing the date and time, you can set whether it is a one-time event or it will repeat itself on a regular interval.
On the Notification tab, you can decide whether it should show a popup, dialog box or boxcar (so you can receive the notification on your mobile device).
The sound tab, as its name implies, allows you to configure the sound setting for the reminder.
This is how the reminder notification looks like on my Gnome Shell desktop. If you are using the Unity desktop, it should be similar to the regular notification.
More than a simple reminder
The thing I like about remindor is that in addition to the popup notification, it also allows you to execute task (a command) together with the reminder. For example, I can easily set a reminder to check email at 12pm every day and get it to open Thunderbird (email client) when the time is reached. You can of course set it to run any of the installed application, or just insert in your own command line code.
Managing your reminder
In the Manage option, you can view all the reminders that you have set, past, present and future. From here, you can also edit, delete or even postpone the reminder. In case you dislike the color background for each Reminder field (the default is blue for Today, green for Future and yellow for Past), you can also change the color in the “Preferences -> Interface” section.
Synchronization
Apparently, this application doesn’t come with a synchronization option so you can’t set it once and have it available everywhere. However, if you are using Ubuntu on several computers and have an Ubuntu One account, you can get Ubuntu One to sync the particular folder. It will then sync the remindor’s database and make it available on each of your Ubuntu desktop.
Here is how to do the synchronization:
Open the Nautilus File Manager and press “Ctrl + H” to reveal all the hidden folders.
Navigate to the “.config” folder. Within it, you should see a “indicator-remindor” folder. Right click on it and select “Ubuntu One -> Synchronize This Folder” (you will need to have Ubuntu One installed and activated).
That’s it. Ubuntu One will do its job to synchronize the folder and make it available on every Ubuntu machine you are running.
What’s your thoughts on such an easy to use reminder app? Or do you have any other way to set/receive reminders on your desktop?
Damien Oh started writing tech articles since 2007 and has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. He is proficient in Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and iOS, and worked as a part time WordPress Developer. He is currently the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Make Tech Easier.
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