Omnifocus 2
 

Hello.
I bought omnifocus to my iPad, and I am currently testing omnifocus for Mac.
Should I buy and hope omnifocus 2 not coming tomorrow?

Not only is it not coming tomorrow, it isn't coming next month, or even the month after that! OmniPlan 2 has been in private beta for a few months, and no doubt will go through a more public beta for a month or so before it actually ships. OmniFocus is still in the development cycle for an OmniFocus 1.x release (but one where the public can download and use it, unlike the OmniPlan 2 beta) which would not make a lot of sense if OmniFocus 2 is going to be available very shortly thereafter. There's also a new release of OmniOutliner in the schedule, and both OmniPlan 2 and OmniOutliner 4 are expected before OmniFocus 2.

If I'm wrong, there are a couple things working in your favor. Omni offers a 30-day money back guarantee, so if OmniFocus 2 ships within 30 days of your purchase, you should be able to get the upgrade for free (assuming they don't charge more for it than for OmniFocus). Also, Omni offers a pretty decent credit for having bought any previous version, usually around 2/3 of the price. If you're buying a tool that you are going to use all the time, it won't take very long to recoup the other 1/3. Let's say you buy it today, and 4 months from now OmniFocus 2 ships (a very aggressive target), with an upgrade cost of $30 (high end of the range). If you can't make yourself $30 more productive in 4 months of using it, it might not be worth buying for $80! In my estimation, it is likely to be more months, and fewer dollars.

Also, having OmniFocus on both Mac and iPad gives you a more powerful system than either alone. See my post [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=19943"]here[/URL] for more details. If you like what you see of OmniFocus for Mac now, you should buy it, rather than waiting for OmniFocus 2.

Thx for the reply.
/M

So how does one get the beta? :)

[QUOTE=hackeron;98395]So how does one get the beta? :)[/QUOTE]

If you are referring to the OmniFocus 1.x beta for Mac that whpalmer4 mentioned, I believe that was OmniFocus 1.9 that has now been released ( I think - I'm happy to be corrected!).

Hope that helps,
Tim

Just for the record; I'm more than happy to give the OmniFocus 2 beta a whirl. I use OmniFocus constantly. My entire team does! It's not going to happen, but man, I would love to give OmniFocus 2 a try. The iPad interface is so much more intuitive than the Mac one when compared. (- : The Omni Group always do an amazing job on UIs!

Tried and really liked OmniFocus 1.9. I'm not entirely sure whether or not to buy as the new version of anything I buy is released within a couple of months!

@divine Could you please buy OF asap, so I can have version 2.0 in a couple of months? ;)

[QUOTE=FatalError;98601]@divine Could you please buy OF asap, so I can have version 2.0 in a couple of months? ;)[/QUOTE]

My thoughts exactly.

Haha. I'll give myself a week off, see if I miss it!

Omnifocus is one of the better app developers when it comes to communicating with their customers, but I'm probably gonna pass if they release another version to buy for each platform. The iPad app alone cost me 40 dollars and I don't think customers will react very well if/when they found out a new version will need to be repurchased one day.

Omni Group's apps are expensive, without a doubt. But man, as a company they are fantastic. They're smart, they understand customer interaction and communication, they have a fantastic UI designer and they have great customer service. I suspect that's where the premium dollars go.

<Jeopardy theme>
 

2011 is almost over! To paraphrase Eddie Izzard:

Omnifocus 2 or death?

Omnifocus 2, please!

Throw us a line, tell us SOMETHING.
 

[QUOTE=apkawel;102632]2011 is almost over! To paraphrase Eddie Izzard:

Omnifocus 2 or death?

Omnifocus 2, please![/QUOTE]

I know you guys are slow, and that your results are great, but you've been promising it for seven months. Give us a date, an update or something. OmniFocus is great and the iPad app is the best. The Mac app really is getting long in the tooth.

I sure hope we haven't been promising anything about the timing of OmniFocus 2! We haven't even decided yet whether the major overhaul of the user experience which we're currently working on will be called OmniFocus 2 or 1.x or something else. And we don't really know when it will ship.

I wish I knew exactly how long it will take to design and build what we're working on now. But even after something has shipped, it's very difficult to guess how long it took to create—so you can imagine how hard it is to guess before it's designed and built!

What I can say is that most major software updates usually take 24 months or longer, and what we're working on definitely counts as a major update. But we've also been working on this off and on for a while now, so while it's certainly not going to ship in 2011, I'm at least somewhat hopeful that it might ship before late 2013.

[QUOTE=mattilacken;94270]Hello.
I bought omnifocus to my iPad, and I am currently testing omnifocus for Mac.
Should I buy and hope omnifocus 2 not coming tomorrow?[/QUOTE]
If Omnifocus 2 comes out in the next few months & omni doesn't let you upgrade for free then I will pay for it. That is how confident I am that there will not be a release. See [url]http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=13085[/url] to get an understanding of Omni's timeframe.

Note: I am not intending to criticize Omni (I used OO & OF everyday) but just pointing out that they work at glacial speeds compared to other software developers.

[QUOTE=kparsons;102650]
Note: I am not intending to criticize Omni (I used OO & OF everyday) but just pointing out that they work at glacial speeds compared to other software developers.[/QUOTE]
I also feel pretty comfortable predicting that it won't come out in a few months, as a prediction I made months ago was that I would be surprised to see it by Dec. 25, 2011, long before Ken stated that it won't happen in 2011 :-)

I disagree that they work at glacial speeds, however; from what I can see, they moved quite quickly with the iPad apps they've delivered so far. It's true that releases may seem to be a long time in coming (and with the exception of those which must line up with an Apple product release, usually later than predicted), but they deliver a lot of software when they arrive. There's quite a bit of activity behind the scenes that we rarely see. I doubt Omni management would be willing to pay all of those staffers if they weren't busy doing something useful!

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;102655]
I disagree that they work at glacial speeds ... [/QUOTE]

I agree. I didn't mean they weren't working or working really slow but simply that there is a "unique" time frame between major updates (hopefully implementing really useful changes/improvements). I'm still holding out for a change in the underlining feature (so it like every other program) in OO - then I will, honestly, be happy :)

I have to say I am more than a little disappointed.

First, a little history. I have been a long time GTD devotee, and have used OF since in was in beta. I bought a license on January 7, 2008, which I think was the day before it shipped. Although there have admittedly been numerous updates since then, that was nearly four years ago.

While I am happy not to have had to pay for numerous versions, and I understand that others might justifiably suggest that the current version is very different than the original and I should appreciate that Omni is giving so much in terms of updates without requesting payment, the fact is that I would more happily pony up for a version that had the features that already exist on my phone. It seems odd and somewhat unforgivable that the iphone version is significantly more advanced and frankly useful than the Mac version.

This is especially true, and I am especially frustrated by the lack of an updated OF because, as many have pointed out the strict GTD on which OF is predicated is, in my opinion, outdated. For most of the people who I suspect use OF (knowledge workers and the like) context in the world of laptops tablets and smart phones is less and less useful. I can do nearly everything I need to do nearly anywhere, and so in our brave new world my "phone" and "mac" contexts have essentially swallowed everything else. Accordingly, I am now slowly morphing my contexts to adapt, and now I am tinkering with things that I had, in good GTD fashion, moved away from, such as priority and Today lists, because they help me more now more than identifying what I can do with the present tools, because the tools I need are very nearly always with me. The problem is that my trusted system, OF, and in particular, OF on the Mac, while still very useful, is increasingly less useful, and has largely been relegated to my universal inbox, with the "work" portion being done on other devices. Knowing now that there is unlikely to be any relief on the horizon is frustrating.

I still think OF is the best of the bunch of these kinds of programs, but it is, to me, no longer the best app I have. Candidly, if it were not for the review function and spectacular quick add, I might be tempted to move on. For the moment, I expect to remain faithful, but my faith has been shaken.

Wdiadamo, I understand what you are saying in terms of contexts becoming less relevant now that about everybody has a smartphone in his pocket. Of course you can now do calls, send mails, read/write/edit documents/spreadsheets, dictate letters, check the web and much more on the go. That tells me that we need, as you say, to adjust our contexts.

What I wonder is what you would like OF to do about it. You already said you are using a today list. Nothing wrong with it, as a lawyer I highly depend on deadlines so I use a lot of due dates for things that HAVE to be done by a date. And I have a today perspective on all my devices that tells me each morning what I need to do today before I can do other stuff that's not time crucial. Provided, one can use the forecast view for that but I prefer to be able to assign tasks to a day even if their due date is not necessarily on that day. That is for the reason that sometimes I WANT to do it on a certain day but if I then for some reason do not manage to actually do it that day, the "holy" deadline still reminds me days later that I better get my ass in gear and hurry up on that task before it's too late.

I am not saying you are wrong about your observations/formulations of needs, I am merely wondering what you would ideally like to get from OF.

I started this thread some time ago, asking about OF2. Then I bought OF, and I´m very, very satisfied with it.
Take your time, don´t hurry...I´m more than pleased with the current product..

The notion of context is just a tool to subdivide a big list of tasks into smaller ones, in order to make it easier to choose the next task to do. The notion of physical context as espoused by David Allen is one obvious way to use it, but it's not the only way!

Take a step back from your tasks and imagine that you had to divide up the list to delegate it all to a bunch of co-workers for the next few months. Is there a logical way to divide up the list? That might be a good starting point for a set of contexts.

[QUOTE=wdiadamo;102690]For most of the people who I suspect use OF (knowledge workers and the like) context in the world of laptops tablets and smart phones is less and less useful. I can do nearly everything I need to do nearly anywhere, and so in our brave new world my "phone" and "mac" contexts have essentially swallowed everything else.[/QUOTE]

Just in case it's helpful, a coworker's blog post which may be helpful: [URL="http://www.omnigroup.com/blog/entry/slay_the_leviathan_context/"]Slaying the Leviathan Context[/URL].

Strangely, the more I have the ability to do everything everywhere - the more I want richer division of contexts so that I don't try to do everything at once! :)

[QUOTE=Ken Case;102640]I sure hope we haven't been promising anything about the timing of OmniFocus 2! We haven't even decided yet whether the major overhaul of the user experience which we're currently working on will be called OmniFocus 2 or 1.x or something else. And we don't really know when it will ship.
[/QUOTE]

I read this [URL="http://www.macstories.net/news/omni-groups-huge-2011-omnifocus-2-new-omniplan-omnioutliner-for-ipad/"]http://www.macstories.net/news/omni-groups-huge-2011-omnifocus-2-new-omniplan-omnioutliner-for-ipad/[/URL] which seemed to suggest Omnifocus 2 was coming out this year:

[QUOTE]Omni Group’s CEO Ken Case gave some details of the company’s roadmap for 2011 at Macworld Expo. The three key products seem to be [B]OmniFocus 2 for Mac, coming later this year[/B] and highly inspired by the iPad app, a brand new OmniPlan with cloud sync and collaboration features, a version of OmniOutliner for iPad.[/QUOTE]

I am appreciative of the comments in response to my post, and the reason I have not yet answered is that Christian's post got me thinking about what I do want, and so I am doing a bit of hard thinking before I try to articulate it. I consider this to be an important question, and will try to address it soon and responsibly. Without trying to overstate it, I am thinking that there are some fundamental precepts of GTD that no longer work for me, and I need to consider, along the lines of the link Brian above suggested, as well as Kourosh Dini's thoughts, including [URL="http://usingomnifocus.com/contexts-vs-tags/"]http://usingomnifocus.com/contexts-vs-tags/. [/URL]. I'll let you know.

A Fresh Take on Contexts
 

Sven posted a great article here on his fresh take on contexts you might find helpful.

[URL="http://simplicityisbliss.com/2011/06/30/a-fresh-take-on-contexts/"]http://simplicityisbliss.com/2011/06/30/a-fresh-take-on-contexts/[/URL]

Horst

[QUOTE=hwend;102878]Sven posted a great article here on his fresh take on contexts you might find helpful.

[URL="http://simplicityisbliss.com/2011/06/30/a-fresh-take-on-contexts/"]http://simplicityisbliss.com/2011/06/30/a-fresh-take-on-contexts/[/URL]
[/QUOTE]

And for another perspective on contexts ...

[url]http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=22277[/url]

--
JJW

[QUOTE=danielcompton;102855]I read this [URL="http://www.macstories.net/news/omni-groups-huge-2011-omnifocus-2-new-omniplan-omnioutliner-for-ipad/"]http://www.macstories.net/news/omni-groups-huge-2011-omnifocus-2-new-omniplan-omnioutliner-for-ipad/[/URL] which seemed to suggest Omnifocus 2 was coming out this year:[/QUOTE]

Wow, interesting, it sure does seem to suggest that! But I'm pretty sure that's not what I would have said—particularly not calling it "OmniFocus 2" (since, again, we haven't even decided yet whether to call it that or something else). I believe I simply said we were busy working on some major updates to OmniFocus—much like I did in my [URL="http://www.omnigroup.com/blog/entry/ipad_or_bust_omnioutliner_for_ipad/"]“iPad or Bust” roadmap update[/URL] in May:
[INDENT]We're planning some major updates to OmniFocus for Mac, polishing up its user experience to match the ease of use and aesthetics of the iPad edition, adding the Forecast and Review modes which we introduced in the iPad app, and adding support for syncing projects with OmniPlan.[/INDENT]
Back in January I was hoping we'd finish this work before the end of the year, and it's possible I said something to that effect at Macworld. But as I noted at the beginning of my first [URL="http://www.omnigroup.com/blog/entry/iPad_or_Bust/"]“iPad or Bust” post[/URL], [B]our plans change over time[/B]—so please don't rely on things happening according to any particular snapshot of those plans.

Our plans definitely did change quite a bit this year, bringing [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?p=98837#post98837"]Forecast[/URL], [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?p=100460#post100460"]Calendar Integration[/URL], and [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?p=102635#post102635"]Location Reminders[/URL] to the iPhone app (in v1.10, v1.11, and v1.12); [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?p=97599#post97599"]Calendar Integration[/URL] and [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?p=102636#post102636"]Location Reminders[/URL] to the iPad app (in v1.3 and v1.4); and support for the [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?p=95795#post95795"]Omni Sync Server[/URL], [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?p=99460#post99460"]Lion compatibility[/URL], and [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?p=101280#post101280"]Lion Full Screen support[/URL] to the Mac app (in v1.9, v1.9.1, v1.9.2, and v1.9.3). I'd love to have Forecast on the Mac right now, of course, but I have no regrets about any of the other things we ended up doing instead.

Thanks for explaining, that makes a lot of sense. Hearing from the CEO explaining things is a neat thing to have with a company. Keep it up!

Ken:

Thank you for your reply. I too appreciate that you take the time to address your customer's concerns. In reference to my "disappointment" I do not intend to be critical, though I understand that it may sound that way. My disappointment is not directed, but simply that, disappointment, because I am so much looking forward to an OF (or whatever product it is) that adapts some of the ideas and features that you have been putting out for the Iphone and Ipad, Forecast in particular.

I am still working on my thoughts about what it is I hope to see. While I certainly understand that Omni is, rightfully, not overly concerned about my thoughts, I hope that they may be of some help to others who are struggling with similar issues.

offer a free upgrade to v2.0 when released?
 

[QUOTE=Ken Case;102910]Wow, interesting, it sure does seem to suggest that! But I'm pretty sure that's not what I would have said—particularly not calling it "OmniFocus 2" (since, again, we haven't even decided yet whether to call it that or something else). I believe I simply said we were busy working on some major updates to OmniFocus—much like I did in my...
[INDENT]We're planning some major updates to OmniFocus for Mac, polishing up its user experience to match the ease of use and aesthetics of the iPad edition, adding the Forecast and Review modes which we introduced in the iPad app, and adding support for syncing projects with OmniPlan.[/INDENT]
Back in January I was hoping we'd finish this work before the end of the year, and it's possible I said something to that effect at Macworld. But as I noted at the beginning of my first...

Our plans ...

I'd love to have Forecast on the Mac right now, of course, but I have no regrets about any of the other things we ended up doing instead.[/QUOTE]


Hi Ken,

I understand that you have plans butare unsure of version 2 release or what it will be called etc. I have held off on purchasing 1.9 due to the fact that i believe, or feel there should be a major update ie. v2.0 coming out. If you were to do what was done with OmniOuliner pro 3, where you can purchase now with a free upgrade when it is released, I know of about 6 people personally who would purchase the licence, and from reading forums, i see there are many posters in the same boat. (i recently bought OmniOutliner pro 3, due to the fact that omni are offering a free upgrade to version 4 when it is released, made the decision a no brainer ;-)

thanks for your consideration.
Dave

I'd be honored to be part of the OmniFocus 2 beta, if you need more testers.

Ken told me on twitter that it probably won't be ready for another 9 months (or even longer) and I'm a little let down by the news. I don't really have any interest or use in the other omni products, but I love omnifocus on my iPad and iPhone.

[QUOTE=Deedubau;107153]Ken told me on twitter that it probably won't be ready for another 9 months (or even longer) .....[/QUOTE]

OUCH! Man, this feels like waiting for the first public beta release back in the days- only that now with ipad and iphone version you have a MUCH BETTER perception of what is awaiting you...argh!
As always, trusting Omni to do the right thing is the most reliable thing to do but...ARGH!-)

I'm just glad they're back working on it :-)

More news here in a recent Ken Case interview:

[url]http://www.macstories.net/stories/interview-the-omni-groups-ken-case/[/url]

[QUOTE]Don: Are there any plans to update OmniFocus for Mac this year?

Ken: Absolutely. There’s an update planned for this quarter for OmniFocus – not OmniFocus 2 to be clear, but we think a lot of customers will be really happy in what’s coming up in this release.

Don: You mentioned on your blog about possibly doing a bit of a visual upgrade to OmniFocus and pull over some of the features of the iPad app.

Ken: That’s not this quarter’s release either, but it’s work that’s in progress. This quarter’s release we thought we’d hop on a feature that is requested a lot and doesn’t require big changes to the user interface, rather than having people wait indefinitely for a feature they’ve been wanting a lot.

Don: Can you give me any more details?

Ken: I will say it is one of our top 3 requests on all 3 platforms.

Since the interview, the OmniGroup released a “sneaky peak” edition of OmniFocus with a new feature: repeating of weekdays or only on specific weekdays.[/QUOTE]

time for omnifocus 2 beta. i want it. everybody wants it.

Update
 

A little info update would be great too. Thanks

It's time for a sneeky peak for version 2.0

yep- so definitely +1

Omni- stop doing what yer doing and hand over Omnifocus 2- I simply can't stand the discrepancy of using my iPad and then going back to the 80's- flavoured OF1 interface on the Mac

Seriously, what is keeping you guys? You already KNOW the ipad/iphone interface is amazing... make it available on Mountain Lion, please...

Oh yes! It is so time for the 2.0 Beta! I can't wait for the Notification Centre support!

Time for OmniFocus 2 or better
 

I am having a hard time justifying using a program that cannot share the same workflow across my mac/ipad/iphone. Sadly OF on the mac falls way behind the utility of OF on iPad/iPhone.

[QUOTE=omni_user;115447]I am having a hard time justifying using a program that cannot share the same workflow across my mac/ipad/iphone. Sadly OF on the mac falls way behind the utility of OF on iPad/iPhone.[/QUOTE]

When you have a moment, could you let me know how to do the following on the iOS apps?
[LIST][*]Construct a perspective[*]Use a perspective based on project view[*]Edit multiple items simultaneously[*]Use a calendar view to choose a date[*]Clip data from email, web browser, and other applications[*]Inject actions via email[*]Use timestamps in notes without purchase of 3rd party software[*]Drag and drop actions from Inbox and projects to any other project[*]View only selected projects or contexts[*]Control whether a project auto-completes when last task completed[*]Apply formatting to note text[*]Review only select classes of projects (stalled, active, pending)[*]Change next review date on one or more projects[*]View notes from multiple actions simultaneously[*]Do a search that also searches contents of notes[*]Customize annunciators to show projects/contexts with actions[*]Customize formatting of projects, actions, etc.[*]Use scripting to extend the program's features[*]Export the database to another app[*]Archive old, completed tasks[*]View archived tasks[/LIST]
Those are all things I've had to do on the Mac in the last week or so because I couldn't do them on the iPad.

Now, there are a few things that can be done more easily on the iOS apps, such as nudging dates around (so long as you don't have too many to do, as you'll be doing each one individually!) and there are a few more things (maps and location configuration) that are only supported on iOS (though some of it only applies if you have sufficiently new hardware). Forecast view can be replicated with a pair of perspectives on the Mac, and I've been doing so since before Forecast view made its first appearance. But make no mistake about it — all of the Omni iOS apps have been created by taking what was viewed as the minimum necessary set of features from the Mac application and building an app with a multitouch user interface to deliver that functionality. In no case does the iOS app surpass the Mac app in overall capability. Frankly, I'm rather worried that OmniFocus 2 will take that same minimalist approach with some hand-waving about how only a few customers wanted the features that were left out. A sporty two-seat convertible is fun to drive, to be sure, but it's not a practical upgrade from or replacement for a truck when you regularly need to move large, heavy cargo.

[QUOTE=Jay6821;115291]It's time for a sneeky peak for version 2.0[/QUOTE]

+1!

(Is this 10 characters yet?)

+1111! Count me too..

+1 Me too!

agreed...let's do it

[QUOTE=omnimonster;115694]agreed...let's do it[/QUOTE]
Ok, you go first.

Thanks for the feedback, folks, but I need to remind you that "+1" and other content-free posts like the ones in this thread are against our [URL="http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?p=77731#post77731"]forum rules[/URL]. Please don't do it.

Buy or wait
 

I have Omni Focus for iPad and iPhone and I am thinking of getting it for Mac. How well does the Mac work with the iPad and iPhone? Should I wait until Omni Focus 2 comes out? I like the Omni Focus iPad interface and I hear that Omni Focus 2 will be more like that.

All three apps sync together pretty harmoniously.* However, there is some variation in the user interface between them. Some of this variation will be removed in OmniFocus 2. (But we might change the Mac app in other ways, and then the iPad app will be waiting to catch up.) If you want to take OmniFocus for Mac out for a test drive, you can download a free 2 week trial here: [url]http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnifocus[/url]



* If you make a lot of changes on one device and then switch to another, it's wise to sync the first device and then sync the second before making edits on the second to avoid a particular bug that can revert those changes.

Aww, man, for a second there I thought you were offering a test drive of OmniFocus 2!

Thank you Lizard for your response. After reviewing the trial version I am leaning towards getting it. I wish OmniFocus 2 was available, but OmniFocus is wonderful product that I know will help me in getting things done.

I just wanted to point out how funny it is that this question was posted over 3 years ago! I think you were safe to buy OF1 ;)

Yes, it was safe! =)