Track every project in one glance

1 Introduction

StepMark keeps your projects in a single table. Each project takes two rows: the top row holds the key facts (name, stage, deadline, blocker) and the row underneath holds the details (description, what is happening at this stage, what needs to be done next, what is blocking you). Everything is editable in place — click a cell and type.

It runs entirely in your web browser. There is nothing to install, no account to create, and your data never leaves your computer.

What you can do

2 Quick start

You can be up and running in under a minute.

3 A tour of the screen

The numbers in the picture match the list below it. (Click any picture in this manual to enlarge it.)

1. Add project — creates a new, empty project at the end of the list.
2. Export / Import — back up your data to Excel or JSON, or restore it. The small chip next to the project count shows whether you have unsaved changes and when you last exported.
3. Help and settings — the book opens this manual, ⓘ shows version information, and the sun/moon switches the theme.
4. Controls bar — filter by priority or category, group by category, choose how to sort, and manage categories.
5. Project table — one two-row entry per project. Click the Project, Category, Next Step or Last Updated header to sort by it.
6. Footer — a count of projects per priority, a link to this manual, and the app version.

4 The project table

Each project spans two rows. Some cells (Category, Priority, Lead, Notes, Last Updated and the two end columns) stretch across both rows; the others are split into a top and a bottom half.

1. Drag handle — grab to reorder projects.
2. Project — the name on top, a short description below.
3. Category — pick from the list or add your own. See Categories.
4. Priority — High, Medium, Low or Archived. See Priority.
5. Lead — who is driving the project (initials or a name).
6. Stage — the current stage, with a line of detail below.
7. Next Step — the deadline on top, what needs to happen below.
8. Blockers — the type of blocker on top, a description below.
9. Notes — free text, as long as you like.
10. Last Updated — filled in automatically.
11. Delete — appears when you point at the row.

Editing text

Click a name, description, lead, detail or notes cell and type. Press Enter (or click elsewhere) to finish. In Notes, Shift + Enter starts a new line. Empty cells show a faint hint of what belongs there.

Stage

Choose where the project is. The line underneath is for details, such as “6 of 10 sites installed”.

Next Step and deadline

Click the date to open a calendar, or type the date directly. A small Done button appears while the field is active — click it to close the picker. Use the line below to say what has to happen by then.

Blockers

Pick the kind of obstacle, then describe it. Leave it on None when nothing is in the way.

Last Updated

StepMark stamps each project whenever you change one of its fields. Recent edits read “just now”, “12m ago” or “3h ago”; within the past week it shows the weekday; after that, the date. Reordering a project does not change its Last Updated time.

Deleting a project

Point at a row to reveal the trash icon on its right, click it, then confirm. Deleting cannot be undone, so export first if you are unsure.

5 Priority

Use the colored badge to say how urgent a project is. Click it and pick a new value from the list.

The footer counts how many projects have each priority. These counts always cover all projects, even while a filter is on.

6 Categories

Categories group related projects — for example the three parts of an academic job. StepMark comes with Research, Teaching and Service, and you can add as many of your own as you like. A project with no category is shown as Uncategorized.

Assigning a category

Open the Category list in a project's row and choose one. The same list appears on phone cards.

Adding your own category

Choose + New category…, type a name, and press Enter or click Add. The project is placed in the new category, and the category appears in every project's list from now on. Your categories are saved with your data and included in JSON exports.

Names are not case-sensitive: typing “outreach” when “Outreach” exists simply selects the existing one.

Removing a custom category

Click Manage in the controls bar to see your custom categories and how many projects use each. Click Remove to delete one. If projects are using it, StepMark asks you to confirm first; those projects become Uncategorized and nothing else about them changes.

7 Filtering

Filters decide which projects are shown. They combine, so you can look at only the High-priority Research projects, for instance.

1. Priority — click All, High, Medium, Low or Archived. The active choice is highlighted in the priority's color.
2. Category — a drop-down listing every category in use, with the number of projects in each, plus Uncategorized. Choose All to clear it.

8 Grouping by category

Under Group choose By category to split the table into sections, one per category, with a header showing the project count. Categories are listed alphabetically, with Uncategorized last. Choose None to go back to a single list.

1. Group — switch between None and By category.
2. Group header — click it to collapse the section. The chevron points down when open.
3. Collapsed group — the chevron points right and the projects are hidden. Click again to expand. StepMark remembers which groups you collapsed.

While grouped, sorting always happens inside each group (see Sorting).

9 Sorting

Sorting decides the order of what is shown. Use the Sort by buttons, or click a column title (Project, Category, Next Step, Last Updated).

• Manual — your own order (see Manual ordering). This is the starting choice.
• Priority — High first, then Medium, Low and Archived.
• Category — alphabetical by category; Uncategorized last.
• Deadline — earliest date first.
• Updated — least recently changed first.
• Name — A to Z.

Click the active choice a second time to reverse it; an arrow ↑ or ↓ on the column title shows the direction.

Sort scope: all projects, or within categories

When your projects belong to several categories you can choose how the sort is applied with Sort scope.

• With Within categories and no group headers, categories stay together but there are no headings — useful for a compact list.
• With Group → By category, the scope is fixed to “within categories” and its buttons are dimmed.
• If you pick Sort by → Category, the sort order decides the order of the categories themselves.

10 Manual ordering

Put projects in exactly the order you like — your most important work at the top, related projects side by side.

1. Drag handle — the grip (⠿) at the left of each row. Press and drag it.
2. Drop line — a blue line marks where the project will land: above or below the row you are pointing at, depending on which half of it the pointer is in.
3. Manual — the Sort by choice that shows your own order.

Three ways to move a project

• Drag and drop with the grip handle (computers and tablets with a mouse or trackpad).
• Keyboard: press Tab to focus a handle, then ↑ or ↓ to move the project one place. Focus stays on the handle so you can keep going.
• Touch screens: each card has ▲ and ▼ buttons.

How sorting interacts with manual order

• While a filter is on, a moved project keeps its place relative to the other projects, including those currently hidden.
• While grouped, or while sorting “within categories”, projects can only be moved among others in the same category. This prevents a drag from silently changing what is shown.
• Your order is saved automatically and used by exports, so it comes back after an import.

11 Phones and tablets

On narrow screens (under about 770 px) the table is replaced by one card per project. Everything you can do in the table you can do on a card: edit text, choose category, stage, deadline and blockers, change priority, and delete.

• The toolbar shows icons only; the controls bar stacks into rows. All filters, grouping, sorting and Manage work the same way.
• Use ▲ ▼ at the top of a card to reorder (when Sort by is Manual).
• Tap + Add project at the bottom of the list, or the plus button at the top.
• Edits made on a card and in the table view stay in sync — they are the same data.

12 Saving, export and import

Automatic saving

Every change is saved to your browser as soon as you make it. Your view settings (filter, group, sort, collapsed groups, theme) are remembered too. StepMark also asks your browser to keep this data safe from automatic clean-up when disk space runs low; some browsers, such as Firefox, may ask your permission. This helps, but it is not a guarantee, so keep exporting backups.

Exporting a backup

Browser storage can be cleared by accident, and it does not follow you to another computer. Export a file now and then, and always before changing browsers or clearing site data.

1. Status chip — green ✓ Exported when everything is backed up (hover to see when); amber Last export 3 days ago (or Not exported yet) when you have changes since the last export, including reordering. Hover over it, or look at the banner below the table, to see how many projects have changed.
2. Export menu — choose Excel (.xlsx) or JSON, then name the file and click Download.

Excel or JSON?

Importing

Choose Import and pick an Excel or JSON file. Excel files need a header row; StepMark reads the column names listed above and ignores any it does not recognize. Rows keep their order from the file.

Closing the tab

The browser asks for confirmation before you leave or reload the page. Your data is already saved, so this is only a safety net against closing the tab by mistake.

13 Dark and light theme

StepMark follows your system's light or dark setting by default. Click the sun/moon button in the toolbar to cycle through Dark → Light → System. Your choice is remembered.

14 Keyboard shortcuts

15 Tips and troubleshooting

A project I just edited disappeared.

A filter is probably hiding it. If you change a project's priority or category while that filter is active, the project no longer matches and drops out of view. Set both filters to All to see everything again.

I cannot drag projects, or the handles are grey.

A sort is active. Choose Sort by → Manual. If you are grouped, projects can only move within their own category.

All my projects are gone.

StepMark stores data per browser and per web address. You may be in a different browser, a private window, or on a different copy of the page; or the site data was cleared. Open the browser you used before, or use Import with your latest backup.

How do I use StepMark on two computers?

Export on one, then import on the other. Data does not sync automatically, so decide which computer holds the latest version.

Can I rename a category?

Not directly. Add the new category with + New category…, move each project to it using its Category list, then remove the old one in Manage.

Can I share a project list with colleagues?

Export to Excel and send the file, or export JSON and have them import it. Everyone keeps their own independent copy.

Habits that work well

• Keep the Next Step small and concrete, so you know exactly what to do next time you open the page.
• Use Archived instead of deleting finished projects; the filter keeps them one click away.
• Group by category for planning meetings, and sort by Deadline for the week ahead.