What this means is that your documents aren't trapped in a proprietary format that only your task-management program can read. You can transfer a TaskPaper document to another computer, to your phone or PDA, or to any other device that can handle plain-text files, and you'll have full access to its content. Conversely, you can create and edit task lists in any text editor; as long as you remember TaskPaper's simple formatting rules, when you open that text file in TaskPaper, it will appear as an attractive project document.

Speaking of appearance, TaskPaper's Preferences dialog lets you choose from among several themes that determine the colors and formatting of your lists, or you can create your own themes (from scratch or based on an existing theme).

TaskPaper also includes a useful search/filter field that supports advanced queries; a separate Find/Replace feature; a Quick Entry Window for adding tasks to a project even if that project is currently hidden; OS X services support for adding tasks when in another program; and a good AppleScript dictionary.

So what doesn't TaskPaper provide? You don't get due dates, schedules, or many of the advanced project-management features of programs such as Things or OmniFocus. And while using TaskPaper, my biggest complaint was that it doesn't have an iPhone version and can't sync with any other iPhone to-do-list app. But I was continually impressed by its combination of simplicity and flexibility.