Yow User Guide

Yow is a desktop application for managing tasks, optimized for use via a Command Line Interface (CLI) while still having the benefits of a Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Table of Contents

• Quick Start
• Features
  • Adding a Task
  • Viewing Help: help
  • Listing All Tasks: list
  • Marking a Task as Done: mark
  • Unmarking a Task: unmark
  • Deleting a Task: delete
  • Finding Tasks: find
  • Exiting the Program: bye
• Saving the Data
• Editing the Data File
• FAQ
• Command Summary

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Quick Start

1. Ensure you have Java 17 or above installed on your computer.

2. Download the latest YowBot JAR file from the releases page.

3. Copy the JAR file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for Yow.

4. Open a command terminal, navigate (cd) into the folder containing the JAR file, and run:

   java -jar YowBot.jar
   

5. Start entering commands. Some example commands you can try:

   • list : Lists all tasks.
   • todo Read a book : Adds a To-Do task.
   • delete 2 : Deletes the 2nd task.
   • bye : Exits the chatbot.

6. Refer to the Features section below for details of each command.

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Features

Notes about the command format:

• Words in UPPER_CASE are parameters to be supplied by the user.
  • e.g., in todo DESCRIPTION, DESCRIPTION is a parameter which can be used as todo Read a book.
• Parameters must be in the specified order.
• Extraneous parameters for commands that do not take in parameters (such as help, list, bye) will be ignored.

 

Adding a Task

Adds a task to Yow. There are four types of tasks:

1. To-Do Task

   todo Project3
   

2. Deadline Task

   deadline Submit report /by 2025-02-28 1800
   

3. Event Task

   event Meeting /from 2025-03-01 1400 /to 2025-03-01 1600
   

4. Specific Duration Task

   within Project work /from 2025-02-15 1000 /to 2025-02-20 1800
   

 

Viewing Help: help

Shows a message explaining how to access the help page.

Format: help

 

Listing All Tasks: list

Shows a list of all tasks in Yow.

Format: list

 

Marking a Task as Done: mark

Marks the specified task as completed.

Format: mark INDEX

 

Unmarking a Task: unmark

Marks the specified task as not completed.

Format: unmark INDEX

 

Deleting a Task: delete

Deletes the specified task from Yow.

Format: delete INDEX

 

Finding a Task: find

Finds tasks whose descriptions contain the given keyword.

Format: find KEYWORD

 

Exiting the Program: bye

Closes the YowBot window and exits the program.

Format: bye

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Saving the Data

Yow automatically saves tasks to yow.txt in the data/ directory. Tasks will be loaded when you restart the chatbot.

Editing the Data File

Tasks are stored in yow.txt. Advanced users can manually edit this file.

Incorrect edits can cause unexpected behavior.

FAQ

Q: How do I transfer my tasks to another computer?
A: Install Yow on the other computer and copy the yow.txt file to its data/ folder.

Command Summary

Action	Format
Add To-Do Task	todo DESCRIPTION
Add Deadline Task	deadline DESCRIPTION /by DATE_TIME
Add Event Task	event DESCRIPTION /from START_TIME /to END_TIME
Add Duration Task	within DESCRIPTION /from START_TIME /to END_TIME
List Tasks	list
Mark Task as Done	mark INDEX
Unmark Task	unmark INDEX
Delete Task	delete INDEX
Find Task	find KEYWORD
View Help	help
Exit	bye