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-   -   I don't get the parent/child task behavior in OF (http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=6916)

wfiveash 2008-01-24 11:31 AM

I don't get the parent/child task behavior in OF
 
I don't get the parent/child task behavior in OF. When I create a parent task and assign several child/sub tasks under it, I expect that when I've marked all the child tasks as done, the parent task would then be marked as done but that isn't what OF does. The parent isn't automatically marked as done when all the child tasks are done. This doesn't make sense to me and again differs from how OOutliner behaves in regards to status check boxes.

brianogilvie 2008-01-24 01:06 PM

This behavior has been debated ever since action groups were introduced. Some people want the behavior you describe, thinking action groups are akin to actions. Others think they're more akin to projects, and that the fact that you have completed all the actions in them does not necessarily mean that you have completed them. You might have more planning to do on them.

Me? I wish that they behaved like parent actions in Life Balance, which appear on the task list only after all their children are done. Then you can decide whether to check them off or switch to the outline view and add more children.

wfiveash 2008-01-24 01:19 PM

[QUOTE=brianogilvie;31804]This behavior has been debated ever since action groups were introduced. Some people want the behavior you describe, thinking action groups are akin to actions. Others think they're more akin to projects, and that the fact that you have completed all the actions in them does not necessarily mean that you have completed them. You might have more planning to do on them.

Me? I wish that they behaved like parent actions in Life Balance, which appear on the task list only after all their children are done. Then you can decide whether to check them off or switch to the outline view and add more children.[/QUOTE]

I don't get the OF logic if it's trying to treat parent tasks as projects. If one wants to use a project then create a project. I think the current parent/child task behavior is wrong.

Chris 2008-01-24 01:36 PM

I personally would like to see the behavior wfiveash suggests (action groups autocomplete when all the children are completed), and have told OG this more than once, but also agree that the behavior brian suggests would be a big improvement over the current (badly designed) behavior.

Or, make it a preference, even if it's a hidden one.

brianogilvie 2008-01-24 01:43 PM

[QUOTE=wfiveash;31805]I don't get the OF logic if it's trying to treat parent tasks as projects.[/QUOTE]

An action group is neither a subproject nor a parent task. It is an action group. Some people use them to keep their complex projects organized. Others use them to mix parallel and sequential sets of actions within the same project. If you want to use OmniFocus as it was developed and released, it's best to think of an action group as just that, rather than something that it is not (project or action).

That doesn't preclude sending email feedback to Omni Group suggesting that they change the behavior in version 2.0. I'm not arguing for stasis. I'm just trying to explain the logic behind the current behavior.

Brian 2008-01-25 05:45 PM

[QUOTE=brianogilvie;31807]An action group is neither a subproject nor a parent task. It is an action group. Some people use them to keep their complex projects organized. Others use them to mix parallel and sequential sets of actions within the same project. If you want to use OmniFocus as it was developed and released, it's best to think of an action group as just that, rather than something that it is not (project or action).

That doesn't preclude sending email feedback to Omni Group suggesting that they change the behavior in version 2.0. I'm not arguing for stasis. I'm just trying to explain the logic behind the current behavior.[/QUOTE]

We <3 brianogilvie.

brianogilvie 2008-01-27 03:56 PM

[QUOTE=Brian;31908]We <3 brianogilvie.[/QUOTE]

Aw, shucks!

Captain Tex 2008-01-27 05:50 PM

I would like to see this change as well. -CT

[QUOTE=Chris;31806]I personally would like to see the behavior wfiveash suggests (action groups autocomplete when all the children are completed)[/QUOTE]

Brian 2008-01-29 11:14 PM

We appreciate the feedback, but 'me too' threads on the forums aren't helpful. Locking this thread.


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