Import from Things 3

On a Mac, quit Things, compress its database in the Finder, and import the .zip. Projects become lists, grouped by area, and Today lands in Today’s Plan.

You need Things on a Mac: Ring List can’t read what Things on an iPhone or iPad saves, but with Things Cloud the Mac has all your to-dos. It takes about five minutes.

On your Mac

1. Quit Things.
2. In the Finder, choose Go, then Go to Folder…, paste this, and press Return: ~/Library/Group Containers/JLMPQHK86H.com.culturedcode.ThingsMac
3. Open the folder whose name starts with ThingsData.
4. Right-click Things Database (it may show as Things Database.thingsdatabase) and choose Compress. A .zip appears beside it.
5. To import on a computer, drag the .zip to your Desktop. To import on a phone, put it in iCloud Drive or Google Drive.

In Ring List

1. On Ring Lists, tap or click the dashed + circle, then import.
2. Set From to Things 3.
3. Tap or click Choose the .zip file and pick the .zip.

What comes over

• Each open project becomes a list, in a group named after its area. An area’s own to-dos get a list of their own, first in the group.
• The Inbox, to-dos in no project or area (as Other to-dos), and projects in no area go in a group called Things 3.
• Today and This Evening to-dos are in Today’s Plan. Upcoming ones are planned for their day, and Someday ones are 🏝️ Someday.
• Headings become sections, checklist items become subtasks, and a deadline becomes the due date. Notes, tags, reminders and repeats come over.
• Finished to-dos come in finished (the newest 1,000 of each list). Canceled ones come in as Won’t do.
• A project’s or area’s tags become saved searches, in the sidebar under Search All.

Left out: finished, canceled and trashed projects, and the Trash.

If it doesn’t work

• “That file couldn’t be read as a Things database”: quit Things, then make the .zip again.
• “That Things database is from an older Things”: update Things on your Mac, open it once, then make the .zip again.