inter-App Document Interchange
 

I've just downloaded the latest update of GoodReader which now supports inter-App Document Interchange (see attached pic). Is anyone aware whether [I]OmniFocus for iPhone[/I] will be getting this feature in a future release, or should I be canvassing Members to email in their votes? Thanks.

OK, I'm going to have to assume that 1. no-one else but me is interested in this feature, or 2. the Sith Lords are sticking to their NDAs, at least until the refurb of their Death Star is complete!

[QUOTE=endoftheQ;80870]OK, I'm going to have to assume that 1. no-one else but me is interested in this feature, or 2. the Sith Lords are sticking to their NDAs, at least until the refurb of their Death Star is complete![/QUOTE]

I would like to answer, but 1) I might be interested in the feature, and 2) I don't have an NDA, so you appear to have proven I do not exist :)

I guess that someone at Omni has probably put it on a someday/maybe list, and that actual requests from customers would help make it happen.

[QUOTE=endoftheQ;80870]OK, I'm going to have to assume that 1. no-one else but me is interested in this feature[/QUOTE]

Btw, how do you envision using this? Just using GoodReader to view attachments contained in your OF database instead of the built-in viewer, or did you have something else in mind?

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;80897]I would like to answer, but 1) I might be interested in the feature, and 2) I don't have an NDA, so you appear to have proven I do not exist :)[/QUOTE]

If you're a figment of my imagination, I'm in more trouble than I thought :p

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;80898]Btw, how do you envision using this? Just using GoodReader to view attachments contained in your OF database instead of the built-in viewer, or did you have something else in mind?[/QUOTE]

OK, focussing on GoodReader. I stuff my actions with attachments. This App allows me to open many formats that OmniFocus's viewer can't handle, for example password-protected PDFs. Also, being the altruistic soul that I am (stop laughing!) and (donning a kevlar vest) if you remember the smalltownboy fiasco, it would allow stand-alone users to export attachments from OmniFocus.

If Document Interchange was implemented, it wouldn't just apply to GoodReader but all the other Apps that are bringing this feature online. I believe that inter-connectivity between Apps is key to avoiding GTDS (Getting Things Done, [I]Slowly[/I]), ie. the hours wasted using copy-n-paste.

It was less clear to me that this would offer a more convenient way to get attachments out of OmniFocus...but I wouldn't mind being proven wrong on that!

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;80904]It was less clear to me that this would offer a more convenient way to get attachments out of OmniFocus...but I wouldn't mind being proven wrong on that![/QUOTE]

If Document Interchange was implemented in OmniFocus, you'd click on an embedded attachment and it would offer up 'Open in GoodReader' as an option. After opening in GoodReader, you can then save locally, to MobileMe, WebDAV, DropBox, GoogleDocs, send as an email, etc. etc.

Sincere apologies to everyone if my explanations about Document Interchange appear nonsensical. I only discovered this inter-App ability in the last week or so.

OK, if I open an email on my iPhone with an attachment and tap it, it opens in the iPhone's inbuilt viewer. If I press and hold, I get the options shown in the attached pic.

So, if I received a PowerPoint presentation by email that needed action, I would tap and hold the attachment which would bring up 'Open in...' followed by a list which would include OmniFocus, as long as Omni has implemented Document Interchange. The attachment would then appear within OmniFocus to which I could then ascribe an action.

If I was in OmniFocus and pressed and held on to an attachment, I would get options to open it in other packages that support Document Interchange, enabling their export options.

Hopefully that makes sense. If not, feel free to let me know! :eek:

[QUOTE=endoftheQ;80906]If Document Interchange was implemented in OmniFocus, you'd click on an embedded attachment and it would offer up 'Open in GoodReader' as an option. After opening in GoodReader, you can then save locally, to MobileMe, WebDAV, DropBox, GoogleDocs, send as an email, etc. etc.[/QUOTE]
Right, but I'm just not totally convinced it would be any easier to tell it to open an attachment in GoodReader, then tell GoodReader that I want to mail it, compared to simply copy and paste directly into Mail. I understand that you can't do that right now, but I don't expect that to always be the case, and I would be a bit surprised if they only did the DI feature and didn't get copy/paste working in places where it does not now but should work, like extracting attachments.

I think it would be a useful change even if it only gave us the ability to read some additional document types, but if GoodReader can do more than that, great.

What about using DI to get files into OmniFocus? Do you see that as useful? Just like dragging a file onto Mail's dock icon creates a new email with file attached, maybe the "Open in OmniFocus" option would put you in quick entry with the file attached?

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;80914]Right, but I'm just not totally convinced it would be any easier to tell it to open an attachment in GoodReader, then tell GoodReader that I want to mail it, compared to simply copy and paste directly into Mail. I understand that you can't do that right now, but I don't expect that to always be the case, and I would be a bit surprised if they only did the DI feature and didn't get copy/paste working in places where it does not now but should work, like extracting attachments.[/QUOTE]

I agree, although I don't believe it has to be one or the other! Also, how many Members have voted on 'fixing' or 'feature requested' attachment copy-n-paste out? You might be a 'bit surprised if they only did the DI feature' but I don't have your faith, that either will be implemented, sans votes! I never knew that bug fixes had to be voted on, until Brian made that clear. Hence, my original post.

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;80914]I think it would be a useful change even if it only gave us the ability to read some additional document types, but if GoodReader can do more than that, great.[/QUOTE]

It's not just GoodReader (which I used only as an example) Apple has implemented Document Interchange system-wide within it's own Apps. In the last few days, I'm seeing more-and-more Apps implement DI in their updates.

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;80914]What about using DI to get files into OmniFocus? Do you see that as useful? Just like dragging a file onto Mail's dock icon creates a new email with file attached, maybe the "Open in OmniFocus" option would put you in quick entry with the file attached?[/QUOTE]

I think there may have been crossover between our posts, as I did mention this in my last post, please accept my apologies, if I didn't make sense.

As always, whpalmer4, appreciate your input.