Since the launch of the first iPhone in 2007, iCal users have been begging for a simpler way to sync their to-do lists from iCal to their devices. It has been a little more than four years, but Apple has finally implemented a better system natively into iOS.

Reminders is an application that lets you see to-do items from iCal, Outlook, and it can even sync your lists with iCloud. To-do items can be set with due dates and even locations. Location-based reminders will send you an alert whenever you are near the destination that the item is associated with. Read on to find out how to use this helpful new app.

1. Creating a To-do List

When you first open the application, the Reminders application look familiar to many Apple iOS applications. To create a new to-do list, tap on the Edit button in the top-left corner of the app. Under the different sections (On My iPad, or any iCloud account), you will see a button for "Create New List". Tap on this button, and then type out the name of your new list. When you have finished, tap the Done button in the top-left corner.

2. Add an Item

To add an item to the to-do list that we just created, simply tap on it, and then tap on the plus button in the list. This will show the iOS keyboard, allowing you to type the item. Press the return key on the keyboard to save the item and go on to a new line. This allows for rapid entry of new todo list items.

3. Set Reminders and Other Options

After you have entered an item into your to-do list, you can tap on the item to get the Details pop up dialog. This dialog allows you to edit the item title, add a reminder, set the priority, change the to-do list the item appears in, and also lets you add notes.

In the Remind Me section, tap the “On a Day” switch to turn this feature on, and then set the date you wish to be reminded in the resulting box.

You can similarly set the priority to be None, Low, Medium, or High. Unfortunately, this priority setting does not change the weight on the items in the Reminders application, but if you sync with iCloud, iCal, or Outlook, they will appear weighted on the list depending on the priority (highest priority will appear at top).

4. Add a Location Reminder

To add a location-based reminder for an item, tap on the item after adding it to your reminders, and the flip the switch to ON for the "At a location". Your iOS device will determine your current location, or you can change the address by tapping on it.

After configuring the address, you can tap either "When I Leave" or "When I Arrive". After tapping one of these options, a geo-fence will be set around the location. Whenever you leave or arrive at the location, a local push notification for the reminder will be sent to your device.

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