ip

Duchess User Guide

Duchess is a desktop app to help you manage your tasks. Duchess can be used via a Command Line Interface (CLI) or via a Graphical User Interface (GUI). Below is a user guide on how to use Duchess.

Quick Start

1. Ensure you have Java 21 or above installed in your Computer.
2. Download the latest release from here.
3. Copy the file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for Duchess.
4. Open a command terminal, cd into the folder you put the jar file in, and use the java -jar duchess.jar command to run the application. A GUI similar to the below should appear in a few seconds.

1. Type your command in the text box and press enter to execute it. Some examples of commands are:
   • todo Go for a run:
     Creates a new task called Go for a run.
   • list:
     Lists all tasks.
   • delete 1:
     Deletes the first task in your list.
2. Refer to the Features below for details of each command.

Features

Notes about the command format:

• Words in UPPER_CASE are the parameters to be supplied by the user.
  e.g. in todo NAME, NAME is a parameter which can be used as todo Go for a run..
• Aside from NAME, parameters can be in any order.
  e.g. if the command specifies /from START_DATE /to END_DATE, /to END_DATE /from START_DATE is also acceptable.
• Aside from NAME, if a parameter is expected only once in the command but multiple parameters are provided,
  the last parameter will be taken.
  e.g. /by 2023-01-01 /by 2023-01-02 is taken as /by 2023-01-02.
• Extraneous parameters for commands that do not take in parameters (such as list, cheer and bye) will be ignored.
  e.g. if the command specifies list 123, it will be interpreted as list.
• Duchess supports partial matching of commands for advanced users.
  e.g. ch, che and c will all match the cheer command.

Adding a task:

todo: Adds a new task to the list without any additional parameters.
Format: todo NAME

deadline: Adds a new deadline to the list with a deadline date.
Format: deadline NAME /by END_DATE

event: Adds a new event to the list with a start and end date.
Format: event NAME /from START_DATE /to END_DATE

Some notes about the date format:

• Dates must be in the format YYYY-MM-DD.
• Event START_DATE must occur before END_DATE.

Deleting a task:

delete: Deletes a task from the list based on the specified task number.
Format: delete INDEX

Listing all tasks:

list: Lists all tasks in the list.
Format: list

Displaying a motivational quote:

cheer: Displays a motivational quote.
Format: cheer

Finding an outstanding task:

outstanding: Finds incomplete tasks at the specified date.
Format: outstanding DATE

An outstanding task should:

• Be incomplete.
• a deadline should end after DATE.
• an event should start on/before DATE and end on/after DATE.
• todo tasks are never considered outstanding.

Finding a task by keyword:

find: Finds tasks based on the specified keyword. Duchess will do partial matching on the keyword.
Format: find KEYWORD

Displaying help:

help: Shows a list of available commands.
Format: help

Marking a task as completed:

mark: Marks a task as completed based on the specified task number.
Format: mark INDEX

Marking a task as incomplete:

unmark: Marks a task as incomplete based on the specified task number.
Format: unmark INDEX

Exiting the program:

bye: Exits the program.
Format: bye

Saving the data

Duchess saves your tasks in your hard disk automatically after any command that modifies your list. There is no need to save manually.

Editing the data file

Duchess saves your tasks as a .txt file [JAR file location]/data/tasks.txt. Advanced users are welcome to update your tasks directly by editing that data file.

Caution: While Duchess tries to load your data from the file, any data in the wrong format will be ignored. This can lead to a loss of data!

References

English Literature. (2025, July 23). The 100 most famous quotes in english literature. English Literature. https://englishliterature.in/the-100-most-famous-quotes-in-english-literature/

pictore. (2021, June 16). Queen Victoria in her coronation in 1837 -xxxl with lots of details- stock illustration [Photograph]. iStock. https://www.istockphoto.com/en/vector/queen-victoria-in-her-coronation-in-1837-xxxl-with-lots-of-details-gm1323711024-409280322

SE-EDU. (2026, March 1). JavaFX tutorial. SE-EDU. https://se-education.org/guides/tutorials/javaFx.html

Sunriseforever. (2021, May 10). Boy, peasant child, fur vest image [Photograph]. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/photos/boy-peasant-child-fur-vest-shirt-6240696/

titoOnz. (2017, July 4). Gold damask pattern background stock photo [Photograph]. iStock. https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/gold-damask-pattern-background-gm809072960-130969091