How to convert lines to an org-mode checklist?

Question

Suppose I have the following list. I'd like to convert it to a checklist.

Lec 1 |         1:20:36
Lec 2 |         1:10:32
Lec 3 |         1:08:33
Lec 4 |         1:20:33
Lec 5 |         1:16:50
Lec 6 |         1:08:49
Lec 7 |         1:17:40
Lec 8 |         1:19:47
Lec 9 |         1:21:22
Lec 10 |        1:23:52
Lec 11 |        1:23:45
Lec 12 |        1:25:32
Lec 13 |        1:19:06
Lec 14 |        1:14:28
Lec 15 |        1:11:01
Lec 16 |        1:24:07
Lec 17 |        1:24:34
Lec 18 |        1:17:17
Lec 19 |        1:14:59
Lec 22 |        1:15:08
Lec 23 |        1:16:48
Lec 24 |        1:24:47
Lec 25 |        1:25:21

How to do it?

(I did it in using kbd-macro. I wonder is there an org command to do it?)

Answer 1

Simplest way I could think of:

1. Select the list.
2. Move the point to the first column.
3. C-x r t- [ ]RET

You are done.

Answer 2

First, some semantics for clarity. In org-mode, a plain list is either ordered or unordered, starting with either a -, +, or * (for unordered), or a number followed by either a . or a ) (for ordered). So: the "list" you describe in your example is not yet an org-mode list, because it doesn't start with any of these bullets.

Second, I presume by "checklist" you mean the checkboxes that org-mode uses in its plain lists, as in:

- [X] A checked list item
- [ ] An unchecked list item

Here's a very simple function that will convert all lines in the selected region to an unordered list with checkboxes (not extensively tested, but works on your example):

(defun org-convert-lines-to-checklist (beg end)
  "Convert all plain lines in region to a plain list with
checkboxes."
  (interactive "r")
  (save-excursion
    (goto-char beg)
    (dotimes (_ (- (line-number-at-pos end) (line-number-at-pos beg)))
      (insert "- [ ] ")
      (indent-according-to-mode)
      (forward-line 1))))

Answer 3

Below is another fun way to transform text into an org-mode checklist.

Use Org-mode Code Blocks to Convert Text into List of Checkboxes

Note: To generate the results use C-c C-c while the cursor is within a code block.
Then answer yes when prompted.

1. Wrap your list inside a named dynamic block

   #+NAME: my-list-block  
   #+BEGIN:  
   Lec 1 |         1:20:36'  
   Lec 2 |         1:10:32  
   Lec 3 |         1:08:33  
   Lec 4 |         1:20:33  
        ... More ...  
   Lec 24 |        1:24:47  
   Lec 25 |        1:25:21  
   #+END:  
   

2. Write an org-mode code block in your favorite programming language.

   Example 1 - Using an elisp Code Block

   #+name: list-into-checklist-elisp
   #+header: :results list raw replace output 
   #+header: :var data=my-list-block()
   #+begin_src elisp
     (dolist (x (split-string data "\n"))
           (princ (format "[ ] %s\n" x)))
   #+end_src
   
   #+RESULTS: list-into-checklist-elisp
   - [ ] Lec 1 |         1:20:36
   - [ ] Lec 2 |         1:10:32
   - [ ] Lec 3 |         1:08:33
   - [ ] Lec 4 |         1:20:33
   - [ ]       ... More ...
   - [ ] Lec 24 |        1:24:47
   - [ ] Lec 25 |        1:25:21
   

   Example 2 - Using a perl Code Block

   #+name: list-into-checklist-perl
   #+header: :results list raw replace output
   #+header: :var data=my-list-block()
   #+begin_src perl
     map { printf qq([ ] %s\n), $_ } split(/\n/, $data); 
   #+end_src
   
   #+RESULTS: list-into-checklist-perl
   - [ ] Lec 1 |         1:20:36
   - [ ] Lec 2 |         1:10:32
   - [ ] Lec 3 |         1:08:33
   - [ ] Lec 4 |         1:20:33
   - [ ]       ... More ...
   - [ ] Lec 24 |        1:24:47
   - [ ] Lec 25 |        1:25:21
   

   Example 3 - Using a bash Code Block

   #+name: list-into-checklist-bash
   #+header: :results list raw replace output
   #+header: :shebang #!/usr/bin/env bash
   #+header: :var data=my-list-block()
   #+begin_src sh
     while IFS="\n" read -ra ADDR; do
           for i in "${ADDR[@]}"; do
               echo "[X] $i"
           done
      done <<< "$data"
   #+end_src
   
   #+RESULTS: list-into-checklist-bash
   - [X] Lec 1 |         1:20:36
   - [X] Lec 2 |         1:10:32
   - [X] Lec 3 |         1:08:33
   - [X] Lec 4 |         1:20:33
   - [X]       ... More ...
   - [X] Lec 24 |        1:24:47
   - [X] Lec 25 |        1:25:21
   

   Example 4 - Using a python Code Block

   #+name: list-into-checklist-python
   #+header: :results list raw replace output
   #+header: :var data=my-list-block()
   #+Begin_src python
     l = ["[ ] {x}".format(x=row) for row in data.splitlines()]
     for i in l: print i
   #+end_src 
   
   #+RESULTS: list-into-checklist-python
   - [ ] Lec 1 |         1:20:36
   - [ ] Lec 2 |         1:10:32
   - [ ] Lec 3 |         1:08:33
   - [ ] Lec 4 |         1:20:33
   - [ ]       ... More ...
   - [ ] Lec 24 |        1:24:47
   - [ ] Lec 25 |        1:25:21
   

   Example 5 - Using a ruby Code Block

   #+name: list-into-checklist-ruby
   #+header: :results list raw replace output
   #+header: :var data=my-list-block()
   #+Begin_src ruby
     for l in  data.split("\n")
       puts "[ ] #{l}"
     end
   #+end_src 
   
   #+RESULTS: list-into-checklist-ruby
   - [ ] Lec 1 |         1:20:36
   - [ ] Lec 2 |         1:10:32
   - [ ] Lec 3 |         1:08:33
   - [ ] Lec 4 |         1:20:33
   - [ ]       ... More ...
   - [ ] Lec 24 |        1:24:47
   - [ ] Lec 25 |        1:25:21
   

Thanks for asking your question!

Hope that helped!

Note: This code was tested using the following versions of emacs and org-mode.

GNU Emacs 24.4.1 (x86_64-apple-darwin14.0.0, NS apple-appkit-1343.14)
Org-mode version 8.2.10 (8.2.10-29-g89a0ac-elpa)

Answer 4

Vanilla org-mode:

• C-c - (org-ctrl-c-minus) - Convert selected text into a plain list
• C-u C-c C-x C-b (org-toggle-checkbox) - Convert selected plain list into a list with checkboxes

Spacemacs:

• , - (org-ctrl-c-minus) - Convert selected text into a plain list
• SPC u , T c (org-toggle-checkbox) - Convert selected plain list into a list with checkboxes

Answer 5

Using search and replace:

M-%Lec Enter - [ ] Lec Enter

Note that there are spaces around the checkbox, although they don't show up well here.

Answer 6

In Evil mode or Spacemacs you can do this, assuming you have not changed the default key-bindings:

1. In Normal state (equivalent to Vim's Normal mode), move the cursor to the beginning of the first line in your list.

2. Press Ctrl+v.

3. Press j once for each remaining line in your list. (Alternatively, type the number of remaining lines in your list, followed by the j key. E.g. for your example: 24j.)

4. Press Shift+i.

5. Type - [ ].

6. Press Esc.

Answer 7

For short, C-u C-c C-c on the first item of a list can turn the whole list into checklist.

Checkboxes (The Org Manual) says

C-c C-c (org-toggle-checkbox)

Toggle checkbox status or — with prefix argument — checkbox presence at point.

• With a single prefix argument, add an empty checkbox or remove the current one.

• With a double prefix argument, set it to ‘[-]’, which is considered to be an intermediate state.

There is a note on the single prefix argument:

C-u C-c C-c on the first item of a list with no checkbox adds checkboxes to the rest of the list.