Double entries appearing?
 

I have a repeating project that I setup (basic routine things in the morning). However, I keep noticing entries will duplicate themselves. Not all of them at once, but one here and another there.

Anyone else experienced this before? I tried to search for it, but am not seeing any results.

Duplicate entries
 

I have had this happen when I check an item off on my Mac and my iPhone or iPad. Only with repeating tasks though.

[QUOTE=ptgn123;87429]I have had this happen when I check an item off on my Mac and my iPhone or iPad. Only with repeating tasks though.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. I have my OF syncing with MobileMe on iPhone 4 and Mac.

It's happening with me too.

The problem, in my case, seems to be on repeating projects that are set to automatically be marked as complete upon the last action's completion. When you perform that last action completion on OF for iPad, it does not mark the project as complete, yet still creates the new project for the repetition.

You can mark the project as done manually in OF for iPad when you do a review on the iPad. But, if you mark it as complete manually in OF for MacOS, it then creates ANOTHER repetition of the project, meaning you have duplicate projects open simultaneously.

Apparently, as of version 1.8, this fixed.

From the release notes:
[QUOTE][LIST][*]Fixed a bug which could cause duplication of a repeating due project or group during synchronization.[/LIST][/QUOTE]

I see this too. I am running 1.8.1 and the latest on iPad/iPhone. It does not always happen, so I can't figure out how to reproduce it.

[QUOTE=ShawnLevasseur;87450]Apparently, as of version 1.8, this fixed.[/QUOTE]

No, it's still happening from time to time.

Agreed that it is still happening (new copy is made, old one left incomplete). No luck for me so far in narrowing down the circumstances in which it does. Send in the reports to the ninjas!

I agree - this is still happening, even with 1.8.1. I've been writing to Omni for over a year about this bug. I'm ready for it to be fixed!

Yeah, if we can get a reproducible case of the bug, that'll help us track down whatever is going awry. (Thanks for sending that database in, Bill!)

I think it has something to do with syncing on the iPhone. Perhaps there is some confusion when I mark a daily recurring item as complete on the iPhone and then sync OF for Mac first, and then sync the iPhone. I use Omni's sync server. I'm not positive that is the exact sequence of events, but it's something like that. I will try and pay attention over the next few days and see if I can spot a pattern.

Okay, here is how I was able to reproduce this bug:

1. Create a new task on OF Mac with start date today, due date today, and recurring every 1 day
2. Sync the OF Mac with Omni Sync Server
3. Sync the OF iPhone with Omni Sync Server

At this point both OF Mac and OF iPhone have the same data.

4. Mark today's occurrence of this task done on OF iPhone. Quit OF iPhone before it syncs.
5. Mark today's occurrence of the same task done on OF Mac. Manually sync OF Mac.
6. Open OF iPhone and sync.

Now there will be 2 occurrences of the new task for tomorrow.

I don't normally manually sync, of course, but I think this demonstrates that something in the sync is not catching or resolving conflicts correctly between steps 4-6.

I hope this helps. I've already sent this to the support ninjas.

This specific example isn't a bug - if the same item is completed on multiple devices between syncs, they each generate a next action. After the syncs, each device get the ones created by the others.

Actions don't currently have any memory of which ones they came from or created when they were completed - they're just independent units. It is technically possible to add that sort of relationship and use it to try and trace the lineage back to the common ancestor so we can handle this like a sync conflict. Keep in mind that doing so comes at the cost of making syncs more complex and thus slower.

As always, folks that want a feature added can email the [EMAIL="omnifocus@omnigroup.com"]support ninjas[/EMAIL] and ask to be added to the item in question in our development database. Thanks!

Makes sense, thanks Brian.

[QUOTE=Brian;88009]This specific example isn't a bug - if the same item is completed on multiple devices between syncs, they each generate a next action. After the syncs, each device get the ones created by the others. [/QUOTE]

I'm sure that this is what is still getting me multiple instances.

Am I correct that the ipad syncs upon opening but the iphone does not? If that's the case I'm guessing it's intentional because of the nature of the different devices, but it's not intuitive to me.

And the desktop syncs after changes and another interval?

I think my multiples could be avoided if I just force a sync whenever I use any version of OF.

Happy to help, Malisa!

The three editions of OmniFocus all behave the same way - they'll sync on launch if they notice it's been more than an hour since the last time that device synced. If it hasn't been an hour yet, they won't auto-sync, but you can always tap or click the button to force a sync.

I'm seeing the same thing, but it doesn't seem to have anything to do with sync.

I'm currently taking part in NaNoWriMo, a writing competition with the goal to write 1,667 word a day throughout the month of november.
So I made a task for each day with the word count goal for that particular day. I made them repeated tasks so I won't have to enter everything again next year.

So now I have a task "11,667 words" that's due today.
If I click to mark the task finished, it is marked as finished, but immediately under it appears the same task for the same day for next year.

Not a bug really, more of a display issue I guess, but it happens on all three devices and gets kind of annoying. Is there a way to not display the tasks until they become relevant?

Yes, you use a start date to hide actions from consideration until a future date. How would the program know that your repeated action isn't relevant until next year, unless you told it so?

If you want your daily writing tasks to not show up before the day they are due, put a start date of that same day (but an earlier hour) on them. When they repeat, the start date will be reset for next year as well as the due date.

I have the start dates set for 0.00h and the end dates for 23.55 for the respective days.
So if I click 'done' the task for today, the one that comes in has a start date of 0.00h, November 7th, 2011.

[QUOTE=Flex;88579]I have the start dates set for 0.00h and the end dates for 23.55 for the respective days.
So if I click 'done' the task for today, the one that comes in has a start date of 0.00h, November 7th, 2011.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. If you view Available actions, you won't see that one until November 7, 2011. If you view Remaining actions, you'll always see it until you complete it. If you view Due Soon actions, you'll see it once you are within your "Due Soon" interval to the due date, until you complete it.

That worked, thanks. It seems the view also gets synced.

But is there a way to keep the done tasks visible without the ones from next year coming in? I find it quite motivating to see how far I've come.

You can look at the completed tasks only, or all tasks. Flip the selector from Active tasks to Completed tasks when you need encouragement, then back?