Repeating Projects Question
 

I've looked for the answer to this and I am sure it is something silly I am missing, but I want to make a project that is sequential and have it repeat daily. I would think I would be able to do this by making a sequential project, and in the inspector having it repeat every 1 day from assigned date, but it does not repeat. The other option that I see to have the actions themselves repeat does not work, because it is sequential, the newly created action (the next days) bumps to the top of the list, and I can never get to another action on the list (without going back to the planning mode, thereby defeating the purpose). I want to work in context mode.

My guess is that you aren't marking the project itself as complete when you finish the included actions. Only when you do that will the project make its new instance appear. To mark the project complete, use the Complete button (checkmark) in the toolbar, or right/cmd-click the project name for a popup menu, or select the project name and hit the space bar. Note that you won't see any indication (except the absence of available actions) in Context view that you've got a project ready to be marked complete. However, if you flip over to Project/Planning mode, and set the project selector to Stalled projects, you'll see a list of projects which have no available actions, which will include all of your projects that are eligible to be marked complete.

I shouldn't need to mark the project completed, as I have set it to repeat based on start date, not on project completion status. (Inspector) Otherwise it doesn't make sense to even use this part. I don't want to have to *remember* to mark things completed.

As far as I know, marking the project complete is what triggers the repeating project to appear. That's how my setup works. There's a button you can add to your toolbar to make it quick, although doing it from right-click is pretty easy, too.

The setting to repeat based on assigned date or completion date just controls the dates assigned to the repeating item. Items don't repeat until you check them off. You can reasonably argue that it should work differently, but this is how it works now.

You can use Help -> Send Feedback in OF to submit a request for different repeating item behavior. There are several threads on repeating items in the forums. My favorite request is for items that repeat every work day. For version 1.0, Omni Group went with just the basics.

[QUOTE=anon;39413]I shouldn't need to mark the project completed, as I have set it to repeat based on start date, not on project completion status. (Inspector) Otherwise it doesn't make sense to even use this part. I don't want to have to *remember* to mark things completed.[/QUOTE]

If you aren't marking things completed, you're missing out on the best part of getting (most) things done - crossing them off the list! :-)

A further comment to the "I shouldn't have to remember to mark it complete": one might reasonably think that marking off all the tasks as complete should automatically mark the project complete. You're welcome to that opinion, and to send feedback to that effect, but there is a contingent that feels strongly that such behavior is counter-productive. Just a word of warning, so that you aren't too surprised by the reaction when you suggest what may well seem like a logical next step :-)

I do want to "mark" the individual tasks complete, perhaps should have said I don't want to remember to mark the project complete to get it to repeat, after all, it's never really "complete."

However, thanks for the feedback. At least, I don't feel like I am missing something simple, it's just not how the program works.

whpalmer4 --> I don't necessarily like the behavior of assuming a project is complete because you finished all the assigned tasks and would agree it is counter-intuitive. However, I think intuitively for the "repetition" option just doesn't work exactly how I would think it should. There's workarounds, but was rather hoping for an easier solution I was missing.

So, if I may put words in your mouth, what you would like to happen is the current behavior when a repeating project (or action group) is marked to repeat from the completion date, and have the repeat just magically appear the repeat interval after the previous one was assigned to start (regardless of completion status) in the case of a repeating project (or action group) marked to repeat from assignment date? That could certainly be implemented, probably without undue difficulty. It does make for something that behaves much differently in one situation than another (one repeats automatically, another you have to mark it for completion) which is one more little quirk for a user to have to keep in mind; in my opinion it is easier to remember rules that apply in all circumstances than having to remember a set of conditions for this, a different set for that, etc.

How many of these endlessly repeating daily items do you have? Are they all in one project, or many? One could fashion an Applescript to check them all for completion and mark them completed. Then you just need to remember to run the script when you're done for the day, or maybe trigger it from a nightly iCal event or something. Not as clean or convenient as a checkbox you can set in the preferences panel, but I usually find a workaround now to be much handier than a delivered feature in 6 months, at least for the next 6 months. Or in this case, just build the habit of marking the project complete when you finish it - maybe even put a reminder to do that in the name of the last action.

Here's another option. As you say, your project is never really complete. So don't complete it. Make it a parallel project with two items. First item is an action group containing all of the actions you want repeated (make the action group sequential). Set the action group to repeat at the appropriate interval (daily), based on assigned date. The other item is simply a reminder which tells you to mark the action group completed. Set it to start at such a time you'll still be looking at the program, but after you would have had time to knock off all the daily tasks. Set it to repeat at the same interval, also based on assigned date. For a little extra pizzazz, install the Growl notification stuff. In any case, after whatever amount of time you'd alloted yourself to get all the daily tasks done, the reminder pops up via Growl or just on your Next Actions list and you're reminded to tick off the action group, which immediately creates the next one, and then you tick off the reminder, which creates the next reminder.