Filter out Projects that have no Start Date
 

Hi. Still trying to get to first base with OFO. I have completed my "brain dump". I have hundreds of Projects neatly organized by Folders. I have set up preliminary contexts along what I understand are standard GTD guidelines.

I am trying to _use_ OFO, and the first thing I need is some kind of "Today" view. I have followed closely the set-up recommended by MacSparky, but without his (to me) overly-fuzzy reliance (as I saw it) of punting Start Dates into the future in order to keep his "Today" Perspective manageable.

Is there any way to filter OFO to not show Projects that do not have a Start Date? (The work-around would be to assign all Projects with no Start Date a distant, arbitrary Start Date, e.g.: 1/1/2100, but that violates my sense of data integrity: it specifies a particular meaning where none is intended. "Start Date is empty" does not equal "Start Date is 1/1/2100")

I have assigned Start Dates to Projects, Actions Groups, and Actions where the Start Date is meaningful. I would now like to see all of them (focus on them) by filtering out those that do not have a Start Date assigned.

Obviously, I have a beginner's perspective. Any thoughts regarding general set-up and use are more than welcome. With thanks. 😊

If you group by Start (choose "Start" from the Grouping dropdown in the View bar), all the projects with no start date will be in a group at the bottom named "Start any time". Click the disclosure triangle to collapse this group, and they're basically filtered out.

Yes! Thanks -- very useful. Appreciate your taking the time to point this out.

Is there any way to customize the ranges used in the "Start Date" grouping?

Is there a GTD or other workflow reason that the simple (afaict) database query "[I]Start Date is not empty[/I]" isn't easily available?