Ical event sync with automated alarm function or an internal alarm function.
 

Ical event sync with automated alarm function or an internal alarm function.

Some people need it urgently for their profession. Nobody will be forced to use it, if it would be realized.
After email contact I know, some other programms like hitlist and things are thinking about implementing it in the future.
Of course you can sync your tasks to ical then manually ad an alarm. circuitous. And I never understood of syncing a omnifocus task list with a ical task list.... did I miss something ?

Just think about this every day case:
How should I call a client at a certain time when there is no pop up alarm on my desktop ? I got all Tasks of the project of this client in omnifocus.For that phone call I have to use a second programm to remind at a specific time of a day to make that call. While omnifocus could do this with a simple alarm, activated manually for specific tasks.

Have you tried using Growl notifiers to provide these alarms? i find them useful to provide the very sort of reminders you describe in your example.

[QUOTE=narvik04;59913]How should I call a client at a certain time when there is no pop up alarm on my desktop ?[/QUOTE]

Have you tried setting up Growl for your OmniFocus notifications? It works nicely with OmniFocus with a lot of flexibility for the type of notification.

Wow, talk about like minds posting at the same time!

There are two main reasons I dont like growl as Omnifocus due task notification.
First, there are too many of them appearing at the same time. I have to read all of them to find out the important ones.
Second, all growl notifications start at one specific time, not the time the task due time is set. Or am I wrong? So a growl reminder of a phone call I have to do at 15 pm on Monday, will remind not me at 15 pm, but at a specific time set for all tasks.

You'll get Growl notifications at the start and due dates/times set for the task. If you have your phone call set to start at say 8 am on Monday and due at 15 pm on Monday, you'll get an available notification at 8 am and an overdue notification at 15 pm.

[QUOTE=narvik04;59959]There are two main reasons I dont like growl as Omnifocus due task notification.
First, there are too many of them appearing at the same time. I have to read all of them to find out the important ones.
Second, all growl notifications start at one specific time, not the time the task due time is set. Or am I wrong? So a growl reminder of a phone call I have to do at 15 pm on Monday, will remind not me at 15 pm, but at a specific time set for all tasks.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure what you're seeing, but I get the Growl reminders as the tasks become available. Perhaps you're seeing items as the go past due and have a bunch set for the same due date.

Growl reminders are configured in System Preferences. (The UI is clunky, but that's a Growl issue not an OF one.) Once in the Growl System Pref pane, go to the Applications tab. Then you can select OmniFocus in the list, and click Configure. I have mine set up to show when tasks become available and when clippings have been added to the Inbox.

What version of OF are you using? 1.6.1 sets a limit on the number of reminders it will display at once. And how would a different alarm keep you from having to read through and find the important ones. Presumably you'd still get reminders for the same tasks. Or are you looking for additional meta-data on tasks, like the Alarm settings in iCal? If so, use [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=3734"]Help --> Send Feedback[/URL] to submit your feature request.

Isn't there a script around for making a specific task into an ical event? Have you tried that?

I too wish for notifications sans Growl. For example, I hope one day we'll be able to keep OF in the background of my iPhone and have it pop up notiifications.

Until that happens, integration with iCal - with alarms set per OF, seems like the way to go.

thanks for your postings.
I will try to go with growl for a while. But for the future I am looking for that feature of simple pop up reminder like in ical. Maybe I got to switch to another task management software, but this would be sad.
If somebody got the link to the omnifocus to ical event alarm script, it would be nice posting it. When I ll find it, I ll let you know.

[QUOTE=narvik04;60176]thanks for your postings.
I will try to go with growl for a while. But for the future I am looking for that feature of simple pop up reminder like in ical. Maybe I got to switch to another task management software, but this would be sad.
If somebody got the link to the omnifocus to ical event alarm script, it would be nice posting it. When I ll find it, I ll let you know.[/QUOTE]

This is a long-running discussion, and one where Omni is on record as saying they think the status quo is what they feel is appropriate, so I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a built-in pop up service like in iCal. I have to say that looking at my actions, there isn't a simple rule of thumb for how I would want to be notified, possibly because most of them are not of the form "at 3pm, call Fred". That's clearly an easy notification to do, but what is the notification for "stuff pinata full of candy and toys by party time"?

The script is at [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?p=55309#post55309"]http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?p=55309#post55309[/URL]

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;60184]I have to say that looking at my actions, there isn't a simple rule of thumb for how I would want to be notified, possibly because most of them are not of the form "at 3pm, call Fred". That's clearly an easy notification to do, but what is the notification for "stuff pinata full of candy and toys by party time"?[/QUOTE]

I agree, not ALL tasks should utilize this type of notification. As well, this is why the current use of Growl doesn't work for those wanting this type of notification. Rather, I'd like to see a new, optional, field such as Due Time. Only if this is set would it create an iCal entry. By doing so, the true GTDers are happy and the people who need a subset of tasks to popup alarms are happy. Again, I think iCal should be the mechanism used alarms. In doing so it allows for notifications when I'm away from my computer.

Here is my reply to another thread on this topic in the iPhone area.

Rather than add a layer with iCal, I would prefer to see Omni add an SMS notification feature, similar to Jott, directly to the OF client.

I've submitted a feature request on this and suggested that a notification check box and perhaps amount of time before due to be notified, could be added to the date area on the action inspector to enable a reminder.

The cell number to use for SMS notifications could be entered in preferences for use whenever a notification is enabled. John

[QUOTE=jbkendrick;60245]Rather than add a layer with iCal, I would prefer to see Omni add an SMS notification feature, similar to Jott, directly to the OF client.[/QUOTE]

SMS would be cool, but what if your system running OF is asleep in your laptop bag, etc.? Or are you talking about a hosted Omni server handling this? I don't see that happening.

No, I didn't expect a server handling the notifications. My situation may be a bit different than most. OF is running on my iMac at home most of the time and syncing every hour with my laptop that I carry with me. In fact the laptop is on during my work hours as well, so I would normally have a client running to handle notifications. I understand not everyone would be so fortunate. John

[QUOTE=jbkendrick;60245]Rather than add a layer with iCal, I would prefer to see Omni add an SMS notification feature, similar to Jott, directly to the OF client.[/QUOTE]

By the way, you don't have to wait for this feature: you can do this right now by turning on SMS notifications in Growl.

[QUOTE=Ken Case;60342]By the way, you don't have to wait for this feature: you can do this right now by turning on SMS notifications in Growl.[/QUOTE]

Actually, there's more to it than that.

You also have to set up and maintain an account with a company who charges you for every SMS you send.

Its just as easy for me to check my iphone or computer periodically instead of having to maintain another account and another layer of complexity.

[QUOTE=cellmatrix;60350]You also have to set up and maintain an account with a company who charges you for every SMS you send.[/QUOTE]

What I personally use for SMS notifications is AT&T's free email-to-SMS gateway at txt.att.net: you can configure Growl to send email to an address like [email]2065551234@txt.att.net[/email].

[QUOTE=Ken Case;60356]What I personally use for SMS notifications is AT&T's free email-to-SMS gateway at txt.att.net: you can configure Growl to send email to an address like [email]2065551234@txt.att.net[/email].[/QUOTE]

That's pretty nifty, thanks! However, I wouldn't want any and all tasks that become due to nag me. Rather I'd like to set only those that are due by a certain time of day.

For example, I would like a notification for "Call Mom" at 3pm but not for "Install latest updates on Mom's computer".

[QUOTE=cjs226;60362]
For example, I would like a notification for "Call Mom" at 3pm but not for "Install latest updates on Mom's computer".[/QUOTE]

"Call Mom at 3" really isn't an OmniFocus task at all.

OF was never meant to be your only time/task manager – it is intended to be used for the things that can't be put on a calendar. OF and (your favorite calendar app) are supposed to be used together, with the calendar for stuff that is glued to a specific time and OF for things that really don't have a date/time.

So, in my case "take Daughter for high school tour" is a calendar item, but "re-write paper about daughter for high school teachers" is an OF item. The first can't be done at any time except Thursday at 2:30, the latter can be done any time before August.

I know it feels like a pain to divide out lives into two products, but that is the way OF is intended to work, and the way the developer ninjas will be improving OF.

I cannot agree that OF should not be used for reminders
 

@LizPF I'm not sure what you're doing with OF, but I have over 100 projects and thousands of tasks, and use it for Project Management for all my projects at home and work.

On some tasks, there is a hard landscape, and it is a duplication of effort to put a task on a calendar when it is already in OF. OF is a calendar in that you can see what is overdue and due soon, and the details of that dating. If it isn't a calendar, then why have a due date feature at all.

This especially applies to those of us that are in OF all day long and store all our project information there. And we are already putting in due dates/times to manage the projects properly.

@Ken Regarding Ken's suggestion to send Growl notifications to SMS. That really isn't a good solution as there would be too many messages going out. I would like the capability to send just those notifications that I need to be reminded of at a certain time. I am currently using Jott for those types of notifications, but that too is a duplication of effort I would like to remove from my workflow.

This obviously is not any kind of deal breaker for me. I love OF and it is absolutely the best and most flexible GTD tool on the market. John

[QUOTE=jbkendrick;60541]On some tasks, there is a hard landscape, and it is a duplication of effort to put a task on a calendar when it is already in OF. OF is a calendar in that you can see what is overdue and due soon, and the details of that dating. If it isn't a calendar, then why have a due date feature at all.

This especially applies to those of us that are in OF all day long and store all our project information there. And we are already putting in due dates/times to manage the projects properly.[/QUOTE]

I really like this [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showpost.php?p=54443&postcount=49"]post from Brian[/URL]. I think he really underscores the differences between the two kinds of data.

-Dennis

Thanks Dennis. I agree with Brian on start and end hard landscape belonging in a calendar, but still feel there's a place for important reminders about things coming due.

Others have asked, why not use a perspective. I do use a perspective, but often when I arrive at work I have other chores that need to be done and sometimes attend early meetings. It is at those times that an SMS reminder of something I really need to get done is welcome. As I've mentioned, Jott has served me well here, and it would be nice to incorporate something like that into OF. John

automatic alarm
 

The automatic alarm would be nice and I really prefer that.These tools are very much helpful for us and specially the professional.