Todo tasks not appearing in the Task List in visual studio 2012

Question

I've recently upgraded to Visual Studio 2012 and haven't have any problems except for the fact that comments beginning with "//todo" no longer show up in the task list. I have absolutely no idea on where to start looking for a solution to this problem as all of the keywords are too general.

I came across other similar questions where the answer was that the file wasn't open containing the //todo comment, but that is not the case for me. My todo comments do not show up even when the file is open in front of me.

Unfortunately not. The //todo comments do get highlighted as if they are added to the task list, but they simply aren't displayed. — SamuelDavis, Sep 06 '12 at 03:25
Same for VS2010: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4535363/how-do-i-make-todo-comments-show-up-in-the-task-list-for-c-projects-in-visual — , Dec 03 '13 at 16:34
Does anyone have any idea where the category drop down moved for vs2015? — Matthew Whited, Jun 08 '15 at 15:20

score 139 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 05 '13 at 14:18

139

Actually there is a dropdown control at the top of the "Task List" window and if you use the Visual Studio 2012 Dark Theme the dropdown looks like a label. If you click the "User Tasks" text, you will see "Comments" selection which lists your comments that contain "//todo".

Screenshot

Enlarge Image

edited Sep 05 '13 at 14:18

answered Feb 07 '13 at 08:28

Furkan Ekinci

2,472
3
29
39

1

Dang! I looked and looked and couldn't see that. – Jonathan Wood Jun 28 '13 at 05:34
@Furkan Elkinici, I did what you said but nothing happen in my case. it it the same blank Task List – McLan Jul 17 '13 at 15:28
@Rania-Boy do you use Visual Studio 2012 and Dark Theme? – Furkan Ekinci Jul 17 '13 at 16:25
@FurkanEkinci: yes, but even if it is light or blue, the theme does not matter. Anyhow, now it is working. check my answer below .. – McLan Jul 18 '13 at 10:39
I cannot believe I didn't see that xD @MrX, Thank you !! – Whiplash Aug 07 '15 at 16:44

score 41 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

41

** For Visual Studio 2012 **

Select View -> Other Windows -> Task List.

enter image description here

Select the option "Comments" in the Task List window.

For Visual Studio 2008.

In the Task List window select the option "Comments".

enter image description here

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

1
1

answered Dec 28 '12 at 23:06

RckLN

4,272
4
30
34

2

@RckLN: I have the same problem but in windows-7 and VS2012. I followed your short and very-useful tutorial but the problem stands still and I can't see my "//TODO" comment in the Task List – McLan Jul 17 '13 at 15:38
@RckLN: I have figured it out, see my answer below. i was just missing the colon after the token. – McLan Jul 22 '13 at 10:29

score 8 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 05 '12 at 21:52

8

You can view what you have set for tokens in Tools/Options under the Environment/Task List item in the left tree. You should have "TODO" in there which should detect //todo.

answered Sep 05 '12 at 21:52

Peter Ritchie

35,463
9
80
98

11

This was not the correct answer, but it was very, very useful. The cause was a dropdown box containing the items 'comments' and 'user tasks'. As this new dark theme tucks away the dropdown icon, I believed it was simply a title and not a dropdown box. 'user tasks' was selected while what was needed was 'comments'. – SamuelDavis Sep 06 '12 at 03:29

score 7 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 17 '13 at 16:01

7

Well, I was Having the same problem working in Windows-7 and Visual Studio 2012. All I had to do is change from:

// TODO

to

// TODO: do not forget the colon

answered Jul 17 '13 at 16:01

McLan

2,552
9
51
85

1

The colon really should not affect the todo's appearing unless you have messed up your settings under tools-> options-> environment-> Task List – SamuelDavis Jul 22 '13 at 04:05
2

@SamuelDavis: the colon made all the difference for me. My settings were and still fine as after installing VS-2012 (fresh installation) I haven't touched them. In fact, I was able to add two more tokens but again I have to put the colon in order to be identified as "Task List" – McLan Jul 22 '13 at 10:27
1

@Rania-Boy yup, made all the difference for me, the lil bugg(...) – Aleksander Lidtke Sep 08 '13 at 21:56
1

@Irfan: for some of us the use of the colon is vital while it's not with others.I guess we are missing a very tiny small setting-detail, we need to find it out because it may be affecting other things as well .. – McLan Sep 13 '13 at 09:41
2

Thanks, that worked for me! Note that you have to have a space after the colon as well. – Nov 17 '14 at 15:24
1

@Suda.nese Thanks ! Works for me but need exactly "// TODO:", case and space. – Jean Davy May 13 '15 at 07:13

score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 02 '15 at 21:24

3

Chalk this up to a stupid mistake, if it is not showing for you make sure your code doesn't look like this:

//int justfakecode=1; // TODO: FIX ME LATER

with the token as part of a commented out line. I herped the derp on this one.

answered Nov 02 '15 at 21:24

peroija

1,982
4
21
37

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Aug 18 '15 at 13:51

2

Task list comments just shows current files TODO comments. This may be a bug of Visual Studio.

answered Aug 18 '15 at 13:51

The original post references VS 2012. Since newer versions have been released, it is possible it is no longer a bug. Have you checked with 2015? Also, this question already has an accepted answer. The fact that you are providing (probably already known) details about 2+ year old software -- it is a little extraneous to SO. I did not flag, but I did downvote. – onebree Aug 18 '15 at 14:21
2

Confirmed in VS 2015 as well in some cases. Upvoted to counteract onebree's downvote. – Dan Bechard Apr 11 '16 at 15:34

Todo tasks not appearing in the Task List in visual studio 2012

6 Answers6

Linked