Filtering Using Stages and States
Summary: 
Filter by Stage
Runcible's Stages
Stage Meaning
Ideas: Things you might or might not want to do, but don't want to forget.
Backlog: Things you must or might do, but aren't doing yet.
Active: Things you are doing.
Closed: Things you've finished doing, and won't do any longer.
Trash: Things you decided you don't need to do or finish doing.
What are Stages?
Stages allow Runcible to display tasks categorized as To Do, In Progress, and Done, regardless of the States that you have defined in the workflow.
In ordinary language we describe time sequences as "before, during and after." (Grammatically they are conjunctions.)
In the context of Tasks, we use the terms To-Do(before), In Progress(during), and Done (after).
For Tasks in Runcible we use Backlog(To-Do and before), Active(In Progress and during), and Closed(Done and after).
Note: And we use these terms for three reasons: (a) to incorporate Agile Management concepts into task management, and to (b) leave the terms To-Do, in Progress, and Done for you to use in your workflow as Choices (Buttons); and (c) because 'Done' is a notoriously fuzzy and abused term. Why? A single task may go through many hands, and each person is 'done' with his part, but the task itself is still incomplete. So you can have many 'done' states within a workflow, but the task is still incomplete. Moreover, you can have many tasks completed, but not verified by another person, and signed-off by yet another. So we us the term "Closed" to mean "everything is done that could possibly be done, by everyone involved in this task".
Adding Ideas and Trash
But then Runcible adds Ideas to the beginning and Trash to the end.
Ideas
Use ideas for those things you don't want to commit to but don't want to forget.
(Of course, you can also use Ideas to placate people who have 'good ideas'.)
Trash
Move the task into the Trash Stage and remove it from your workspace views.
Trash does not delete anything. It merely removes it from all your views. You can recover items from the Trash as long as you create a workflow choice to do it.
To empty the Trash for a Program, and permanently delete the data:
• Open the Project and then select the Settings Tab • Scroll down and select "Empty Trash" • Confirm it.
It will take a few moments but the task and all related information will be deleted permanently.
Note: Runcible is an accounting system right? Underneath it all is a big accounting system. While you can delete any task that does NOT have monetary impact, you can't delete anything that DOES have monetary impact. You can only close it and enter an adjustment to reverse it. Background: Runcible stores Task related data in the Program. It stores transactions in the Program Sub-Journals. It stores the financial records in the Program Journal. It posts the sums of those journal entries to the Ledger.
What's the Relationship Between: Stages, States, Choices, Current State and the Workflow Buttons?
• Stages Contain States • States Contain Choices • Pages Display Buttons for each Choice in the Current State
Show All Stages: "Everything"
Selecting "Everything" will display all tasks regardless Stage or State.
The Ideas, Backlog, Active, and Closed states will be highlighted so it's clear which states are visible.
Trash is not included in the Everything view. To view tasks in the trash, select the trash view.
Tip: Use "Everything View" to find tasks.
Show Only the To-Do Stages: "Work"
Selecting "Work" will display all tasks in Backlog or Active Stage, regardless of what State that they are in.
The Ideas, Backlog and Active states will be highlighted so it's clear which states are visible.
Tip: Use Work View as your 'default' view.
Show Individual Stages
Selecting any Stage will display only the Tasks in that Stage.
Filter by State
Filtering by State is useful when you want more control over your list than Stages provide.
In this screenshot our program uses a workflow with the default States for Tasks. But it also includes a set of custom States for the editorial process: the management of Articles for publication on a web site.
So lets say you're in the Editorial group, and all you want to see is the work that is both completed or ready for review by you.
To see only the Completed and Review States:
• Select (down state) Completed and Review. • Select (up state) all the other ribbon buttons.
The Tasks panel will refresh and display your new selections.
Note: there is no 'Select None' option. Why? That would clear the entire panel. We have an open issue to simplify deselecting states in programs with many states. Warning: You can easily select a set of States, then a Stage that doesn't include them - leaving you with an empty list of tasks. Note: We have an open issue in Runcible to divide States ribbon by Stage.