academic_project_tracker

🎨 Customization Guide

Make Research Project Tracker work exactly how you want it. This guide covers how to customize the interface, workflows, and features to match your research style.

Quick Customization Options

1. Tags and Categories

Creating Custom Tags

Tags help you categorize and filter tasks. Create tags that match your workflow:

Common Tag Sets:

By Task Type:

By Research Phase:

By Priority/Status:

By Project Type:

To Create a Tag:

  1. Go to the Kanban board
  2. Click “Manage Tags” in the filter menu
  3. Click “Add Tag”
  4. Choose a name and color
  5. Save

Tag Organization Tips:

2. Project Templates

Create reusable project templates for common research patterns.

Example: Conference Paper Template

Project: Conference Paper - [Topic]
Priority: High
Status: Planning

Tasks:
1. Literature Review
   - Identify 20 key papers
   - Read and annotate
   - Create synthesis document

2. Research Design
   - Define research questions
   - Design methodology
   - Plan experiments/analysis

3. Data Collection
   - Gather datasets
   - Run experiments
   - Document results

4. Analysis
   - Process data
   - Statistical analysis
   - Create visualizations

5. Writing
   - Abstract (250 words)
   - Introduction (1000 words)
   - Methods (1500 words)
   - Results (1500 words)
   - Discussion (1000 words)
   - Conclusion (500 words)

6. Revision
   - Self-review
   - Peer review
   - Advisor feedback
   - Final polish

7. Submission
   - Format for conference
   - Prepare supplementary materials
   - Submit before deadline

Example: Dissertation Chapter Template

Project: Chapter [N]: [Title]
Priority: Critical
Status: Active

Tasks:
1. Outline and Structure
2. Literature Review Section
3. Methodology Section
4. Findings Section
5. Discussion Section
6. First Draft Complete
7. Advisor Review Round 1
8. Revisions - Round 1
9. Committee Review
10. Final Revisions
11. Chapter Complete

Example: Course Project Template

Project: [Course Code] - [Assignment Name]
Priority: Medium
Due Date: [Deadline]

Tasks:
1. Review Assignment Requirements
2. Research Phase
3. Proposal/Outline Due
4. Draft Sections
5. Complete First Draft
6. Peer Review (if applicable)
7. Final Revisions
8. Submit

3. Workflow Customization

Customizing Kanban Columns

The default columns are: To Do → In Progress → Review → Done

Alternative Workflows:

Academic Writing Workflow:

Research Experiment Workflow:

Literature Review Workflow:

How to Modify (requires code edit): Edit src/frontend/src/components/KanbanBoard.jsx and update the columns array.

4. Conference Deadline Customization

The deadline tracker includes a customizable conference list.

Customizing Conference Lists by Field

Computer Science & AI:

[
  {"name": "NeurIPS", "deadline": "2026-05-15", "website": "neurips.cc"},
  {"name": "ICML", "deadline": "2026-02-01", "website": "icml.cc"},
  {"name": "CVPR", "deadline": "2026-11-15", "website": "cvpr.org"},
  {"name": "AAAI", "deadline": "2026-09-09", "website": "aaai.org"}
]

Engineering:

[
  {"name": "ASME Conference", "deadline": "2026-03-01", "website": "asme.org"},
  {"name": "IEEE Conference", "deadline": "2026-04-15", "website": "ieee.org"}
]

Social Sciences:

[
  {"name": "APA Annual", "deadline": "2026-01-15", "website": "apa.org"},
  {"name": "ASA Meeting", "deadline": "2026-02-01", "website": "asanet.org"}
]

Biology/Medicine:

[
  {"name": "AAAS Annual Meeting", "deadline": "2026-10-01", "website": "aaas.org"},
  {"name": "Society for Neuroscience", "deadline": "2026-05-15", "website": "sfn.org"}
]

To Update Conference List:

Option 1: Via Interface

  1. Navigate to Deadlines view
  2. Click “Manage Conferences”
  3. Add/edit/remove conferences

Option 2: Edit File Directly

  1. Edit /deadlines/index.html
  2. Find the conferences array
  3. Add your field’s conferences
  4. Save and refresh

Standalone Deadline Tracker: The /deadlines/index.html file is a standalone tracker you can customize completely. See deadlines/readme.md for detailed instructions.

Advanced Customization

5. Theme and Styling

Color Scheme

The app uses Tailwind CSS. To customize colors:

Edit: src/frontend/tailwind.config.js

module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        primary: '#3B82F6',    // Blue
        secondary: '#10B981',  // Green
        accent: '#F59E0B',     // Amber
        // Add your custom colors
      }
    }
  }
}

Dark Mode Toggle

Dark mode support coming in v1.1. Track progress: Issue #23

6. Custom Fields

Add custom metadata to projects or tasks.

Example: Add “Advisor” Field to Projects

Step 1: Update database schema

-- Run this in SQLite
ALTER TABLE projects ADD COLUMN advisor TEXT;

Step 2: Update frontend form Edit src/frontend/src/components/ProjectForm.jsx to include the new field.

Step 3: Display the field Update src/frontend/src/components/ProjectCard.jsx to show advisor name.

Common Custom Fields:

7. Notification Preferences

Email Reminders (v1.1 feature)

Configure email notifications for:

Desktop Notifications (v1.1 feature)

Browser-based notifications for:

8. Data Import/Export

Importing from Other Tools

From Trello:

npm run import:trello -- path/to/export.json

From Notion:

npm run import:notion -- path/to/export.csv

From Asana:

npm run import:asana -- path/to/export.csv

(Import scripts coming in v1.1)

Exporting Your Data

To CSV:

npm run export:csv

To JSON:

npm run export:json

To PDF Report:

npm run export:pdf

9. Keyboard Shortcuts

Current Shortcuts:

Customizing Shortcuts:

Edit src/frontend/src/hooks/useKeyboardShortcuts.js:

const shortcuts = {
  'ctrl+n': createNewTask,
  'ctrl+p': createNewProject,
  // Add your custom shortcuts
  'ctrl+shift+w': openWhiteboard,
  'ctrl+d': viewDeadlines,
}

10. Integration with External Tools

Google Calendar Sync (planned v1.2)

Export deadlines to Google Calendar:

npm run sync:google-calendar

GitHub Integration (planned v1.2)

Link GitHub issues to tasks:

Task: "Fix authentication bug"
GitHub: #42 in repo/project

Overleaf Integration (experimental)

Link Overleaf documents directly:

Task: "Write Introduction"
Link: https://overleaf.com/project/abc123

Zotero Integration (experimental)

Link papers from Zotero library:

Task: "Read Smith et al. 2025"
Zotero: @smith2025

Field-Specific Customization

For Computer Science Researchers

Recommended Tags:

Custom Fields:

Project Template:

1. Problem Definition & Related Work
2. Algorithm Design
3. Implementation
4. Experiments
5. Benchmarking
6. Paper Writing
7. Code Release

For Life Sciences Researchers

Recommended Tags:

Custom Fields:

Project Template:

1. Hypothesis & Background
2. Protocol Development
3. IRB/IACUC Approval
4. Sample Preparation
5. Experiments
6. Data Analysis
7. Manuscript Writing

For Social Science Researchers

Recommended Tags:

Custom Fields:

Project Template:

1. Research Design
2. IRB Approval
3. Participant Recruitment
4. Data Collection
5. Transcription
6. Qualitative Coding
7. Analysis
8. Writing

For Humanities Researchers

Recommended Tags:

Custom Fields:

Project Template:

1. Topic Selection
2. Primary Source Gathering
3. Secondary Literature Review
4. Close Reading & Notes
5. Argument Development
6. Chapter Drafting
7. Revision

Configuration Files

Environment Variables

Create .env file in root:

# Server Configuration
PORT=5050
NODE_ENV=development

# Database
DATABASE_PATH=src/backend/data/tracker.db

# Features (coming soon)
ENABLE_EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS=false
ENABLE_GITHUB_SYNC=false
ENABLE_CALENDAR_SYNC=false

# Customization
DEFAULT_TASK_VIEW=kanban
SHOW_WELCOME_MESSAGE=true

User Preferences

User preferences are stored in the database. Access via Settings panel (coming in v1.1).

Community Customizations

Check out community-contributed customizations:

Share Your Customizations: Submit a PR to add your templates, themes, or workflows to the community collection!

Getting Help with Customization

Made it your own? Share your setup in Show and Tell!

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