Tips

Home

• 👋 New here? Work through the Getting Started Checklist and the Walkthrough.
• 🏷️ Set your WHO Trip Tags (yourself and anyone you’re packing for) — otherwise baby, child, and pet items & tasks stay hidden.
• ⚙️ Pick a Site Mode in Preferences (Simple, Standard, or Ludicrous) to control how much detail you see.
• Click your current trip name in Quick Actions to jump straight to its Dashboard.
• Clicking Packlist PRO (upper-left) jumps Home by default — retarget it under Preferences.
• The thin blue line at the top is a scroll progress indicator, showing where you are on a long page.
• Send feedback or bug reports anytime via Contact Us — every one gets read.
• To go back, use the ← button by the page title (or any ← Back button) instead of your browser’s Back button.
• Click the ⓘ icon (upper-right) anytime to reopen the Tips card, like this one.

Trip Dashboard

• 📊 Trip Readiness blends packed items and finished tasks into one number — watch it reach 100% before you leave.
• 🔗 Card headings (Packlist, Tasklist, Notes) are links — tap one to jump straight there.
• 🛒 Buy what you couldn't travel with after you arrive — your packlist flags those as buy on arrival.
• 🎒 Back home, mark what you wish you'd brought (or didn't need) — it sharpens your next trip's list.
• 📝 Update your Trip Notes right after the trip, while details are fresh.
• Reopen this card anytime with the ⓘ icon in the upper-right.

Walkthrough

• 🧪 Try each step on a real trip (or the demo trip) as you read — you can’t break anything.
• 📘 Sections run top to bottom in the order you’ll use the app — Home, All Trips, Trip Dashboard, and on.
• This is the Simple Mode tour — switch Site Mode in Preferences for the Standard or Ludicrous versions.
• When you’re done, run the Getting Started Checklist to lock it all in.

Getting-Started Checklist

• ✅ Auto-checked boxes (greyed out) are ones we detect you’ve already done — you can’t un-check those. Tick the rest yourself.
• 😌 None of this is required — it’s just the fast track to getting the most out of Packlist PRO.
• 📍 Your manual checks are saved per device (in this browser), so they won’t follow you to another phone or computer.
• ↺ Reset My Checks clears only the boxes you ticked — auto-checked items stay.
• Each item has a shortcut button (e.g. + New Trip) that jumps you straight there to knock it out.

About

• 🧳 Try everything without an account — open the demo trip and click around.
• 🎚️ Match the depth to the trip: switch Detail Level (High-Level → Ludicrous) right on your Packlist, Tasklist, or Quicklist.
• 📚 Browse our free Gear Guides for packing advice and curated gear picks.
• 🔒 We never run ads or sell your data — see Security & Privacy for the details.
• Stuck? Help has step-by-step troubleshooting; have an idea? Contact Us — we read every submission.

Sign up — Step 1

• 🔒 We never sell or share any of your info — no ads, ever.
• 🧭 Seven short steps, about a minute. Most fields are optional — only name, login, and one way to reach you are required.
• Tap any Why? link to see why a field helps. You can change anything later in your profile.
• Last name lets trip-sharing buddies find you — and we address you correctly.
• ← Back keeps everything you’ve typed, so feel free to revise earlier steps.

Sign up — Step 2

• 🎂 Birthday is optional — leave it blank, or fill in all three boxes.
• It only tailors packing suggestions to your age range; your birthday stays private and you can edit it later.
• You do need to be at least 12 to use Packlist PRO.

Sign up — Step 3

• 👕 Gender lets us filter gender-specific packing items.
• Pick Prefer not to say to keep it private — you’ll just get generic suggestions, and you can change it later.
• Please choose one option to continue.

Sign up — Step 4

• 📱 Phone is optional — leave both fields blank to use email only.
• Add it for SMS task reminders (and account recovery). Phone Service is your carrier, needed to route the text.
• 🔒 We never spam, sell, or share your number, and you can update it later.

Sign up — Step 5

• ✉️ Email is optional only if you gave a phone number — we need at least one way to reach you.
• It’s used for trip-share notifications and account recovery if you ever lose access.
• 🔒 We never spam, sell, or share your address, and you can change it later.

Sign up — Step 6

Sign up — Step 7

Trips

• 🧳 Click a trip to open its Trip Dashboard; double-click (or press and hold) it to jump straight to Edit Trip — details, tags, link sharing, or summary.
• 📋 Duplicate Trip copies an existing or Template trip's Tags, Items, and Tasks into a fresh one — all packed/done status cleared. The fastest way to start a similar trip.
• 🏷️ Put TEMPLATE or BACKUP in a trip name and the filter chips below (Upcoming / In Progress / Past / Templates / Backups) keep those out of your way until you want them.
• 🔍 Search finds a trip by name; chips sort the rest by date. Keep names short and set the Leaving / Return dates rather than typing dates into the name.

Edit Trip

• 🏷️ Trip Tags drive the recommendations on your Packlist and Tasklist — the more accurately you tag, the better the suggestions. Under Who, select only yourself and anyone you're packing for.
• 🔗 Trip Link lets you plan with companions: send your Trip Link Code or invite by email, and when they accept they link it to one of their own trips. You can also share read-only access to your Packlist or Tasklist.
• 👥 Once trips are linked, you can request shared items and tasks from the group and claim them (“I'll bring it”), and add private-or-shared Notes, Expenses, and Itinerary items.
• Each card (Details, Tags, Link, Summary) has its own Save — but Tags auto-save. Save Trip Details first to unlock the other cards.
• Build your Contact List and saved companions appear in a one-click invite picker — no need to type an email each time.
• The companions list shows who accepted or declined. Anyone can Leave this trip anytime; if the organizer leaves, the role passes to another companion.
• Trip Summary (Retrospective + Lessons Learned) is for after the trip — quick notes so the next similar trip starts smarter.
• Need a starting point? On Trips, use Duplicate Trip to copy a previous trip's Items, Tasks, and Tags. Put TEMPLATE or BACKUP in the name to keep reusable trips easy to spot.
• Keep Trip Name short — use the Leaving and Return Date fields instead of putting dates in the name.

Itinerary

• ✨ Get Suggestions pulls real events, top attractions, and places to eat for your destination and dates — check the ones you like and add them straight to your itinerary.
• 💰 Editing an item? Open Add to Expenses to log what it cost — it lands on your Expenses page without re-typing the details.
• 📅 Set a Start Time to add an item to its own calendar link, or use Calendar (.ics) up top to export the whole dated itinerary to your phone's calendar.
• Set an item Type and the matching Location / Booking sections (provider, confirmation #) auto-open; Status tracks planned vs. booked vs. confirmed vs. completed.
• Use the arrows on the Today card to step day by day; click any item in the list to load it for editing.
• Heading off with spotty internet? Print or Save to PDF first so you have it offline.

Expenses

• 🤝 Tick Split with a companion for shared costs, then Settled up once you've squared away — the summary up top shows what's still unsettled.
• 📊 The summary card totals the trip and the bar breaks spend down by type (lodging, food, transport…), so you can see where the money went at a glance.
• 💲 Don't know the exact amount yet? Check Estimated amount and uncheck it later — estimates are totaled separately so they don't skew your real spend.
• ⭐ Optional Ratings (overall / satisfaction / value) feed your retrospective — "was that hotel really worth it?"
• Add an expense straight from an Itinerary item (its Add to Expenses section), or Export CSV here for your records.
• Click any expense in the list to load it for editing.

Weather

• ⛅ Click any location — a saved one or a search result — and its weather loads right away.
• 📍 Use my current location asks your browser for your position (you'll see a permission prompt), then loads the weather there.
• 🕓 Your last 10 locations are saved automatically; your profile location is always pinned first.
• Open any day in the forecast for every detail, including the hour-by-hour table.
• Forecasts are cached for a few hours, so repeat checks are instant and don't re-query the weather service.

Packlist

• 🎒 Try the Recommended Items filter under Options to show items relevant to your Trip Tags.
• Check Sel (Selected) to add an item to your list; check Pkd (Packed) once it's in the bag — Packed auto-marks Selected too.
• Use the ⋮ menu on each item for Buy or Not Bringing — or, on a shared trip, Request from Group. Items marked Buy flow to your Shopping List.
• Heading off-grid? Set Loading to Full List in Options to cache your entire Packlist for offline use (the other modes only cache categories you've opened), and Print / PDF as a backup.
• Important items have a yellow checkbox; the ⋮ menu turns red when an item isn't at its default.
• Seeing too few or too many items? Check your Detail Level (in Options) — and switch Group By to Timing or Importance to repack by when, not just by category.
• Use Filters to narrow by category, status, or keyword, and Options for sort order, quantities, and display settings.
• ⚠️ Be sure to choose Tags for your Trip so the Recommended Items filter can be used — without Trip Tags, the Filter is set to All Items.

Configure Items

• ⚙️ This is your master catalog — uncheck an item's box to hide it from every trip's Packlist, re-check to bring it back. Changes save automatically.
• Turn on Importance / When to Pack columns (in Options) to override an item's defaults for you — without changing the item itself.
• Turn on the Always Bring column to mark staples that get auto-added to every new trip you create.
• Changed your mind on a row? Use its ⋮ menu to reset that item back to its defaults.
• Use Detail Level to control how many items show (lower = essentials only) and Search to jump to a specific one.
• Want a packing item we don't have? Create your own item — or use a row's ⋮ menu → Edit Item to change its name, description, or details.

Edit Item

• 🎚️ My Settings override an item's defaults (Importance, When to Pack, When to Buy) for you — without changing the item itself. Reset to Defaults clears all your overrides.
• 📌 Check I bring this on most or all trips (Always Bring) to auto-add it to every new trip; check Hide to keep it out of your Packlist and Quicklist.
• 🛒 Items you mark Buy on a trip flow to your Shopping List; When to Buy times the buy reminder (before leaving vs. after arriving) relative to your trip dates.
• 💾 The My Settings and Base Information Save buttons each save both cards at once; Admin Settings saves on its own. For a brand-new item, save Base Information first to create it.
• For items you didn't create, Base Information is read-only — you can still adjust My Settings.

Quicklist

• ⚡ Quicklist is a throwaway preview — nothing you check off here is saved. It's the fast way to glance at what a trip type needs without creating a trip.
• Pick one or more Tags on the left (activities, who you're packing for…), then click Show Quicklist to see matching Items and Tasks together.
• In Options & Filters (top right) toggle Items vs. Tasks, Common Items Only, your Always Bring / Always Do picks, and whether to show Uses and Notes.
• Want a list that does save your progress? Use Packlist and Tasklist instead.

Recommended Gear

• 🛍️ These are gear suggestions for items you've marked Buy (shown first) or are bringing across your trips — we only show picks for items you've actually added, so it stays relevant.
• A ★ Our Pick badge marks gear we've personally vetted — those come first within each item.
• Seeing little here? Mark more items Buy or Selected on your Packlist to fill it out.
• Looking to actually buy now? Your Shopping List gathers everything you've flagged Buy, with product links inline.

Shopping List

• 🛒 This list gathers everything you've marked Buy on your Packlist, plus anything you add here. Trip-sourced lines are tagged with the trip name as their Store, so you can filter to one trip's shopping.
• ✅ Check a line off to strike it through — if it came from a trip, that also clears its Buy flag everywhere. The 🗑 trash icon removes a line without touching your trips.
• 🔍 Search also looks through our product catalog — matches show in an "Add from catalog" card so you can drop a real product straight onto your list.
• ✎ To edit a line, double-click or click-and-hold it (no need for the ✎ icon); click-and-hold its priority tag to change priority on the spot. Click outside the edit window to auto-save.
• Store/List is freeform — Grocery, Online, FL Trip, Xmas — then filter or sort by it up top to walk the store in sections. Urgent lines also pin to the pink banner.
• After shopping, ↺ Uncheck All resets checked-off recurring items for next time, or 🗑 Delete All Checked Items clears them for good.
• Take it with you: ✉ Email, 🖨 Print / PDF, 📋 Copy as text, or (on phones) 📤 Share straight to a messaging app.
• Adding several things? The Add window stays open after each + Add, keeping the Store and Department you typed; your list refreshes when you close it.

Show / Hide Tags

• 🏷️ Hide tags you never use so the Quicklist and Edit Trip tag pickers stay focused on what matters to you.
• 👍 Hiding is safe — it only changes which tags you see when building lists. Nothing you've already tagged, saved, or packed is affected, and you can re-check a tag anytime.
• Uncheck a tag to hide it, re-check to show — changes save automatically.
• Tags are grouped by type — click a group heading to collapse or expand it.

Gear Guides

• 📚 These guides are free, public, and written by the Packlist PRO team — no account needed to read them.
• 🛒 Guides include product picks from our curated catalog; links are click-tracked and may earn us a commission (each guide carries the full disclosure).
• 👀 Want the interactive version? Try the demo trip — the app turns this advice into checklists.

Tasklist

• ✅ Set Trip Tags first, then use the Recommended Tasks filter (in Options) to surface only tasks that fit this trip.
• Check Sel to put a task on your list; check Done when it’s finished.
• Open the ⋮ menu for Doing, Edit Task, and — on a shared trip — Request from Group so anyone can claim it.
• Heading off-grid? Print / PDF a copy in case you lose signal mid-trip.
• Seeing too few tasks? Raise Detail Level in Options — lower levels hide advanced tasks.
• A red ⋮ button flags a task that’s selected but not yet marked Doing; Important tasks get a yellow checkbox.
• ✉ Email to Me sends the list to your account email; tasks you set to recur live on Configure Tasks.
• Use Filters to narrow by timing, importance, status, or keyword; use Options for group-by, sort, and display.
• ⚠️ This trip has no Tags yet, so Recommended Tasks falls back to All Tasks — add Tags for your Trip to unlock it.

Configure Tasks

• ⚙️ This is your master task catalog — the checkbox controls whether a task can ever appear on your Tasklist. Uncheck to hide it everywhere.
• Set Always Do on a task to auto-add it to every new trip you create.
• Importance and When to Do here override that task’s defaults for you only — they don’t change the task for anyone else.
• Use the ⋮ menu to Reset a task back to its original defaults, or to Edit a task you own.
• Don’t see a task? Raise Detail Level in Options — lower levels list only the essentials.
• Turn columns on or off (Importance / When to Do / Always Do) under Options to declutter the rows.
• Every change saves the moment you make it — no Save button needed.

Edit Task

• 💾 For a brand-new task, save Base Information first to create it — then My Settings and Admin Settings unlock.
• My Settings override this task’s Importance and Timing for you only, without changing the task itself.
• Check I do this for most or all trips to auto-add this task to every new trip you create.
• Reset to Defaults clears all your personal overrides and restores the task’s original settings.
• Saving My Settings or Base Information saves both cards at once; Admin Settings has its own Save.
• For tasks you didn’t create, Base Information is read-only — you can still set My Settings.
• Hide keeps a task off your Tasklist and Quicklist without deleting it.

Notes

• 📝 Set Applies To Date to pin a time-sensitive note to the top of the list, sorted oldest-first — great for day-specific plans.
• Use 👥 Share on a note (or check Add to group when adding one) to put it on the group’s shared board — everyone on the trip can view and edit it; unshared notes stay private.
• Click any note in the list to load it for editing; Make private pulls a shared note back to just you.
• Good things to stash here: flights, hotels, rental car, confirmation numbers, shows, addresses, phone numbers.
• Heading off-grid? Print / PDF your notes in case you lose signal mid-trip.
• ✉ Email to Me sends every note for this trip to your account email.

Contacts

• 🔎 Find someone by typing their exact email or phone number — partial matches won't appear, so you'll only find people you already know how to reach.
• 🔗 Your contacts are shared across the family of sites, so anyone you add or block here stays in sync with chat everywhere.
• 🚫 Block moves a contact to your Blocked list so they can't reach you in chat — Unblock brings them back anytime.
• ＋ Click Add beside a search result to save them to your contacts.
• 🟢 A green dot means a contact was active recently; use the filter box to narrow by name or place.
• Click any card's heading to collapse or expand it.

Invite

• 📨 One field handles both — type an email or a US phone number and we figure out which to send.
• Together in person? Have them scan the QR code — no typing needed.
• Texts route through US carrier SMS gateways (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint); use a 10-digit US mobile number.
• Quick shortcut: type the name part, then tap (add @gmail.com) to finish the address.
• Prefer your own app? Copy the share link below and send it however you like.
• Invites are throttled to curb abuse — if you hit the limit, try again in an hour.

Preferences

• ⚙️ Site Mode sets how much detail you see — start at Standard; pick Ludicrous to unlock every advanced option.
• Every setting saves the instant you change it — the Save button is just extra reassurance.
• Set Logo link to choose where tapping PacklistPRO (top-left) jumps you — e.g. straight to your Trip Dashboard.
• Color Scheme Auto follows your device’s dark mode; Site Background tints adapt to your Light/Dark theme.
• 🔔 Reminders, Quiet Hours, and Do Not Disturb live on the Notifications page.

User Profile

• 🕑 Set your time zone so trip reminders arrive at the right local hour — turn the reminders on at Notifications.
• Adding a phone number? Pick your carrier too — SMS reminders route through the carrier’s text gateway.
• Tap Why? beside any field to see exactly how it’s used.
• Every field is optional — a backup email or phone just gives us a second way to reach you.

Update Credentials

Forgot Login

• 🔑 Enter the email or phone number on your account — either one works.
• Send Username reminds you of your username; Reset Password emails or texts a new temporary password.
• After logging in with a temporary password, change it on Update Credentials.
• For privacy, the on-page message looks the same whether or not an account matched — check your inbox to confirm.
• Too many tries are rate-limited; if you remember your password, just log in.

Login

• 🎬 Just looking? Try the Demo — explore everything, no account needed.
• Your username isn't your email. Forgot it? Forgot Login recovers both.
• 🔐 On a shared or public device, log out when you're done.
• New here? Join (free!) takes a minute.

Notifications

• 🔔 Under Reminder Preferences, turn on reminders as each trip’s timing window hits (Days Before, Day Of) for the tasks, items, and itinerary events you’ve added.
• Reminders fire once a day in your local time — set your zone on User Profile so they land at the right hour.
• Prefer email reminders? Tick that channel — it works without enabling push, and you can route it to a different address under Notification Delivery.
• Push reaches you even when the site is closed; after subscribing, hit Show a Test Notification to confirm this device receives them.
• 🔕 Use Quiet Hours and Do Not Disturb below to mute reminders on your schedule; if push is blocked, follow the per-browser steps shown here.

Help

• 🛠️ Work through the steps in order — the simplest fixes are first. If one doesn't help, move on rather than repeat it.
• Clear Cookies resets saved preferences (dark mode, font size) but does not log you out — safe to try.
• Push notifications stopped? Notifications → Unsubscribe, then Enable to re-subscribe.
• A timed-out session re-logs you in automatically on the next refresh (Ctrl+F5, or pull down on mobile).
• Prefer a guided tour? Pick the Walkthrough below that matches your Site Mode (Simple, Standard, or Ludicrous).
• Still stuck? Use Contact Us with the error text and the page you were on.

Contact Us

• 🐞 Pick the right Feedback Type first — it routes your message. Found a security flaw? Choose Security Issue.
• Attach screenshots (drag & drop works) — images only, up to 10 files / 20 MB total. They speed up bug fixes the most.
• Want a reply? Set Expecting a Reply to Yes, please. We pre-fill your saved email/phone if you're logged in.
• Urgency = how soon; Importance = how much it affects people. They're separate — set both.
• The more specific the detail (what you did, what happened, what you expected), the faster we can help.
• Heads-up: submissions are limited to about 10 per hour. Track replies under My Submissions.

My Submissions

• 📬 Click any row to open it — you'll see your full message and any admin reply below.
• The status badge shows whether a submission is still open or has been resolved.
• No reply yet just means we've received it — if you left an email or phone, we'll also notify you when we respond.
• Use Send New Message → (top right) to file another bug, question, or idea.

Security & Privacy

• 🔐 Found a vulnerability? Report it via Contact Us — it pre-selects the Security Issue type so it reaches us fast.
• This page is long — use the floating On this page button to jump straight to a section.
• Each card covers a different layer: site-wide protections, the login page, your notes, and trip sharing.
• Short version: data is encrypted in transit, logins and the contact form are rate-limited, and we never sell your data.

What's New

• 📣 Recent fixes, features, and improvements — newest first.
• Older entries continue on the next pages at the bottom.
• Want something added or fixed? Send an idea — this list is where it lands.

Donate

• ❤️ Pick a suggested amount (or type your own), then choose Venmo or PayPal — it's free and ad-free, no account needed.
• PayPal pre-fills the amount you picked; Venmo opens to the profile, so enter the amount in the app.
• Can't donate right now? Inviting a friend and sending feedback help just as much.
• Tap Copy Link to paste the donation URL into your banking, Venmo, or PayPal app instead.