can't set context on some project folders/actions
 

I can't figure it out... I've created some nested folders in Projects and they have some actions. I have "Context" checked in the View->columns menu, and some show the context and allow me to change it. But others don't - there's nothing in the Context column of that task/project folder, and I can't figure out how to assign one or what makes them be different in this way. When I click where the Context is supposed to go on the lines belonging to those tasks/project folders, it simply lets me type into the title. What's going on - why can't I assign a title to them?

Mike

Typing a context name into the Context column works for actions but not for action groups (actions with indented children beneath them).

You can, however, assign a Context to an action group through the Group Inspector. This is really a more powerful route, because you can select several action groups, and apply the same Context to all of them through the inspector.

From the menu [B]Inspectors > Show Inspectors > Group[/B]

or start with the default Cmd-Shift-I shortcut.

Hmmm. When I select a folder in Projects (which contains subfolders and actions), the Group inspector is all grayed out. I have to select it plus all the undelrying subfolders and actions - then the group inspector becomes live. Is that normal? Shouldn't I be able to just grab the top-level folder and use the inspector to work on it and its contents?

Also: when I do select them and the Inspector is live, how do I change the context? I see a dropdown menu called "Default context" and when I change that, the few things under that project folder that don't list a Context still don't list a Context. What am I doing wrong?

thank you,

Mike

[QUOTE=mlevin777;84673]Hmmm. When I select a folder in Projects (which contains subfolders and actions), the Group inspector is all grayed out. I have to select it plus all the undelrying subfolders and actions - then the group inspector becomes live. Is that normal? Shouldn't I be able to just grab the top-level folder and use the inspector to work on it and its contents?
[/quote]
Folders don't have contexts, so that portion of the inspector isn't active. In fact, if you observe closely, when you select a folder in the sidebar, the entire inspector goes to gray, because there is nothing that it can change selected. (You can set a folder to be active or dropped, but that is done via the Edit->Status command, or using control-click or right-click to bring up the contextual menu and choosing Active or Dropped).
[quote]
Also: when I do select them and the Inspector is live, how do I change the context? I see a dropdown menu called "Default context" and when I change that, the few things under that project folder that don't list a Context still don't list a Context. What am I doing wrong?
[/QUOTE]
You are changing the (default) context of the project or group you have selected, [b]not[/b] the context of the contained actions. Changing this field only affects any actions subsequently created where you don't enter a context. To change the context of an existing action, select it, then bring up the inspector and choose the new context, or use Edit->Context, or add the Context column to your view and change it there, or use the Context submenu of the contextual menu. If you select multiple actions, the changes you make will be applied to all of them. As you have discovered, though, if there is an action group or project in the selection, you will only change the default context for those containers, not the context of the actions contained.

Action Group Contexts
 

Folks,

I have a Project with several actions. After processing those actions, I move the Project under a different Project, making it an Action of that second Project.

It now shows up as an Action Group, and I'm unable to assign a Context to it.

Is there any way for me to assign a Context to this Action? (Adding a default Context is not my goal, and doesn't solve the problem of the Action not showing up where it should.)

I know I can delete the previously completed Actions, but I would prefer not losing the history.

Any thoughts?

Use the inspector.

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;99381]Use the inspector.[/QUOTE]

Doesn't that set a Default Context?

The item doesn't show the Context in Planning (Project) mode, so I have no way of seeing the Context without keeping the Inspector open.

Is this limitation by design? If so, what's the rationale?

It's the same thing, as you'll see if you take an action with a context and indent another action without a context underneath it.

I think the inspector is your only option for seeing the value in project mode. But it should show up in context mode, which is usually the preferred place for actually doing tasks (I'm assuming here that you want to see the context in order to know whether you can do that action, and that you haven't disabled the showing of action groups and projects in context mode).

I would guess the intent was to declutter the display a bit.