Understanding How Task Linking Actually Works
So before we touch a single checkbox or build any filters, here’s what tripped me up when I first tried to link notes to tasks inside Amplenote: the whole thing feels clever but weird at first. You’re not dragging something between apps or building out five steps in some automation chain — you’re just writing, and then adding brackets around stuff. That’s it. But those brackets are acting like little portals 😂
Here’s what’s really happening. Every time you use double brackets around a keyword or phrase — like [[Call plumber]] — you’re creating a backlink to that note. If that note doesn’t exist yet, Amplenote quietly creates it behind the scenes. But here’s the kicker: if you put that backlink inside a task bullet (using `- [ ]` or `- [x]`), Amplenote treats the link as a task-level connection.
For some people, this works like magic. For others (me), it caused confusion because tasks didn’t show up in the Task View unless you gave them a due date or included them in the right note.
So just to be absolutely clear:
| Location | What Amplenote Does |
|---|---|
| Inside task bullet, with [[Note Title]] | Creates a link AND treats the note as a linked task context |
| Inside regular text, with [[Note Title]] | Just a link, no task integration |
| Nested under a header with [[Note Title]] | Still works — header doesn’t interfere |
Once I wrapped my head around that, things started making more sense. But there was still one serious snag I’ll get into next.
When Tasks Disappear Without Errors
Here’s what completely fried my brain: I had tasks with proper links, nested correctly in their note, and tagged with context labels… but they would evaporate from the master Task View. No errors, no red text, no messages. They were just gone 🙃
I thought I was losing my mind. Did I accidentally delete the note? No. Did I mislabel something? Nope. Eventually, I opened one of the missing notes in the side panel… and saw all the tasks sitting right there. Still checked, not archived. They existed — just ghosted from the Task View.
The fix? Scroll to the FILTERS in Task View and look at the per-tag or per-note settings. If you’ve disabled showing tasks from a context like [[Errands]] or [[Templates]], those tasks are hidden globally. I had forgotten I’d disabled one of my key notes to cut down visual clutter during a brain-dump session. Ridiculous.
It’s even weirder because there’s no real-time alert. The tasks just go stealth.
So now I know to:
– Double check if I’ve disabled the current note or tag
– Right-click the note in the sidebar task filters and ensure “Show tasks” is enabled
– Yell at nobody in particular all while blaming my past self
How Embedded Dates Affect Whether Tasks Show Up
This one’s super subtle, and I discovered it by accident. If you write a task like this:
`- [ ] Email Wyatt about bank forms [[Money Matters]]`
It just shows up in the note, nothing fancy. But if you do:
`- [ ] Email Wyatt about bank forms [[Money Matters]] 📅 Tomorrow`
Now you’re cooking. That little date symbol (the calendar popup) makes Amplenote pick up the task and thread it into your calendar view. It’s optional, but without it, scheduled views like “Today” or “Upcoming” won’t show it — even if the task is super urgent.
You can enter it manually (“📅 Monday”), but Amplenote’s built-in calendar modal triggers if you hover to the right edge of the task line and click the clock icon. That UI is fiddly, especially on mobile.
Sometimes the calendar date gets stripped from the task if you delete the associated event from Calendar View. This creates phantom tasks — no date, no calendar visibility, but still in the note. Again, no warning, just silence.
I now always enter due dates first, then add backlinks second. Otherwise I end up with half-scheduled chaos.
Creating a Note That Autochunks Into Project Tasks
Let’s say I’m writing a new note for a freelance client outline. I used to just brain-dump everything into a single list like:
– [ ] Project kickoff next week
– [ ] Review onboarding doc
– [ ] Write intro paragraph
But now I use backlinks even during brainstorming:
– [ ] [[Client Eric]] ➝ Project kickoff next week
– [ ] [[Doc Review]] ➝ Review onboarding doc
– [ ] [[Writing Sessions]] ➝ Write intro paragraph
That way, each of these tasks flows into the context-specific views. I’ve got one note called [[Client Eric]], and when I write in that note or link things to it, all the associated tasks show across views automatically.
It also makes dashboards possible. I created a note called [[Today Watch]], and inside that, I include:
`{{[[query]] AND [[Client Eric]] AND priority >= 2}}`
Now it pulls in only the critically urgent stuff for that client. Amplenote understands these embedded queries — they act like live filters. Doesn’t always load instantly, especially if you move between views fast, but it’s surprisingly consistent after the initial lag.
Why Archived Tasks Still Pop Up Sometimes
This drove me nuts after a long weekend where I closed about fifteen tasks while offline. When I opened Amplenote again, a bunch of them came back. Not re-opened — still showing as done — but clogging the “Today” context. Whyyy 😩
Turns out, if a task has a hard due date (like “📅 April 23”) and you never remove the date after checking it off, Amplenote still thinks it’s part of the timeline view. Even if it’s archived, it’ll stick around in calendar views unless “Hide done tasks” is toggled.
Fix is simple now:
– Either delete the due date after checking it off
– Or manually archive old tasks by removing calendar link + confirming in Trash
I made a new saved search called [[Today Clean]] that conditionally excludes completed tasks with certain labels. Not perfect, but it gives me breathing room.
Linking To Existing Notes From Tasks Without Duplicates
I messed this up a lot in the beginning. If you try to type [[Weekly Review]] directly while in a task list and accidentally hit space or add punctuation right after, Amplenote sometimes treats it like a new note instead of linking the existing one. Like:
`- [ ] Finish reviews for [[Weekly Review]].`
That period ruins it. Amplenote sees [[Weekly Review]]. as distinct from [[Weekly Review]] — now you’ve got two notes. Sneaky. You won’t even notice until you click and it takes you to a blank new note with a dot in the title ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
To fix it:
– Always confirm backwards — hit [[ and use autocomplete
– Avoid ending backlink phrases with punctuation inside the brackets
If you already have duplicate notes (like one with a trailing space or punctuation), you can:
– Rename the correct one
– Use “Merge notes” (via right-click)
– Delete the accidentally-created one (but triple-check first)
Workflow To Batch Convert Brain Notes Into Tasks
Let’s say you wrote a long text note while half-asleep on your phone — something like:
“Buy vinegar for shower, call Jo about Tuesday move, reschedule dentist, get printer ink, return library books.”
It’s all in one enormous bullet. Here’s how I break it into tasks fast:
1. Highlight the text block and hit “Split to tasks” from the right-click menu.
2. Each line becomes a `- [ ]` bullet.
3. Manually wrap context notes: [[Groceries]], [[Appointments]], [[Errands]] where needed.
4. Add quick dates with `📅 Friday`, `📅 Tomorrow`, etc.
5. Save as part of a note with proper context label, so I don’t lose track again.
This turns lazy dumps into usable tasks in under a minute. I also keep a saved search for `tag:todo note:inbox` so that anything written this way NEVER gets forgotten.
Links Sometimes Unlink Themselves After a Restart
THIS. This one.
Let’s just say I had [[Meal Planning]] linked in five different task lists. After a computer restart (and weird cache reset?), they all rendered like plain text. Still showed the double brackets, but clicking them did nothing. The original [[Meal Planning]] note was untouched — the backlink just… died.
After digging like a raccoon in a trash can of settings, I figured it out:
– The sync cache hadn’t reloaded fully from the server
– Local client timed out resolving links
– Refreshing the browser window fixed it temporarily
Eventually, I cleared the app cache manually from settings, and restarted again. That restored the broken links, but now I pop open the [[Linked Notes View]] briefly after restart just to make sure nothing’s missing.
Might be overkill. But when half your task system is running on invisible tunnels between notes, it’s worth triple-checking 🔍