How to add a project focus to a perspective
 

Hi,
in order to mainly focus my attention on specific and very important projects that need several actions during the day, I created a very simple perspective named "Important projects", focused on four or five projects.

When during my weekly review I consider that a project needs more attention in my day-by-day activities, I'd like to "add" it to that perspective, but I can't see how I could simply modify the "Focus on" in a perspective: the only way I found is to select again the projects I want to stay focused on and save again the perspective, but in this way I need to remember the previously selected projects and find them again in my tree: not really fast.
Is there any other way?

Thanks,
Francesco

This is a very good question. We can't work on all project at the same time and the focus menu alouds if i have well understood only but one project. I have found no way to do it exept to make on hold all my project but the one i am working on which is not a good way to do it so sure... I am very interessted by the answer. If you have found a way to focus on a short project list just tell us so... Chears

[QUOTE=Jupiter;77503]This is a very good question. We can't work on all project at the same time and the focus menu alouds if i have well understood only but one project. I have found no way to do it exept to make on hold all my project but the one i am working on which is not a good way to do it so sure... I am very interessted by the answer. If you have found a way to focus on a short project list just tell us so... Chears[/QUOTE]

Use command-click to select multiple projects in the sidebar before running the Focus command.

[QUOTE=magobaol;77501]

When during my weekly review I consider that a project needs more attention in my day-by-day activities, I'd like to "add" it to that perspective, but I can't see how I could simply modify the "Focus on" in a perspective: the only way I found is to select again the projects I want to stay focused on and save again the perspective, but in this way I need to remember the previously selected projects and find them again in my tree: not really fast.
Is there any other way?

[/QUOTE]
Yes, you are on the right track. Go to your perspective, and select all the projects in the sidebar. Now click the Show All button in the toolbar (or do View->Show All Projects) and focus will expand, but you will still only have your selected projects show in the outline panel. Scroll through the sidebar and cmd-click on any projects you wish to add or remove to update the selection. When you are ready, focus again, and save the perspective again. Unfortunately, I don't think it will offer you the option to simply update the old perspective.

Francesco,

Are you using flags for anything else? If not, you could flag the projects that you're interested in, then use a perspective that just shows flagged items. (Tasks inherit flags from their parent project, so you would only need to toggle the flags on the projects themselves.)

[QUOTE=curt.clifton;77510]Francesco,

Are you using flags for anything else? If not, you could flag the projects that you're interested in, then use a perspective that just shows flagged items. (Tasks inherit flags from their parent project, so you would only need to toggle the flags on the projects themselves.)[/QUOTE]

Great !!!! it works perfectly. For me it's OK thanks indeed.

[QUOTE=curt.clifton;77510]Francesco,

Are you using flags for anything else? If not, you could flag the projects that you're interested in, then use a perspective that just shows flagged items. (Tasks inherit flags from their parent project, so you would only need to toggle the flags on the projects themselves.)[/QUOTE]

Hi Curt,
it seems a good hint, but how can I filter the project list using the flag?

Ciao,
Francesco

Just set the status filter in the View Bar to show Flagged:
[ATTACH]1410[/ATTACH]

[QUOTE=curt.clifton;77556]Just set the status filter in the View Bar to show Flagged:
[ATTACH]1410[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]

Hi Curt,
thank you, but what I mean was to filter the projects in the left panel, not just the actions, and I seems there is no way to do this (using the flag status).

Thanks,
Francesco

[QUOTE=whpalmer4;77509]Yes, you are on the right track. Go to your perspective, and select all the projects in the sidebar. Now click the Show All button in the toolbar (or do View->Show All Projects) and focus will expand, but you will still only have your selected projects show in the outline panel.[/QUOTE]

Hi whpalmer4,
thank you for yor hint, but it doesn't work for me. When I click "Show all", just one project remains selected in the sidebar, even if I selected all the projects in my perspective. :-(

Ciao,
Francesco

[QUOTE=magobaol;77581]Hi whpalmer4,
thank you for yor hint, but it doesn't work for me. When I click "Show all", just one project remains selected in the sidebar, even if I selected all the projects in my perspective. :-(
[/QUOTE]

Well, actually... this works.
I've just tried again this procedure and this time the projects remain selected. But sometimes not all of them remain selected.
I will do some other test and in case I will report it as a bug.

Ciao,
Francesco

[QUOTE=magobaol;77559]what I mean was to filter the projects in the left panel, not just the actions, and I seems there is no way to do this (using the flag status)[/QUOTE]

I tend to use a script for re-focusing the sidebar - on my system it seems to run marginally faster than retrieving a stored perspective.

for example, to list only flagged projects in the sidebar:

[CODE]
property pTitle : "Focus on flagged projects"

tell application "OmniFocus"
set oDoc to default document
set lstProjects to my ProjectList(oDoc)
if length of lstProjects > 0 then
set focus of front document window of oDoc to lstProjects
else
set focus of front document window of oDoc to {}
display dialog "No flagged projects found" with title pTitle
end if
end tell

on ProjectList(oParent)
using terms from application "OmniFocus"
tell oParent
-- ADJUST THE WHERE QUERIES TO MATCH
--THE TYPE OF PROJECTS YOU WANT TO LIST
set lstProjects to projects where (flagged is true) and ((status is active) or (status is on hold))
set lstFolders to folders where hidden is false
end tell
repeat with oFolder in lstFolders
set lstProjects to lstProjects & my ProjectList(oFolder)
end repeat
return lstProjects
end using terms from
end ProjectList
[/CODE]

[QUOTE=RobTrew;78388]I tend to use a script for re-focusing the sidebar - on my system it seems to run marginally faster than retrieving a stored perspective.

for example, to list only flagged projects in the sidebar:

[CODE]
property pTitle : "Focus on flagged projects"

tell application "OmniFocus"
set oDoc to default document
set lstProjects to my ProjectList(oDoc)
if length of lstProjects > 0 then
set focus of front document window of oDoc to lstProjects
else
set focus of front document window of oDoc to {}
display dialog "No flagged projects found" with title pTitle
end if
end tell

on ProjectList(oParent)
using terms from application "OmniFocus"
tell oParent
-- ADJUST THE WHERE QUERIES TO MATCH
--THE TYPE OF PROJECTS YOU WANT TO LIST
set lstProjects to projects where (flagged is true) and ((status is active) or (status is on hold))
set lstFolders to folders where hidden is false
end tell
repeat with oFolder in lstFolders
set lstProjects to lstProjects & my ProjectList(oFolder)
end repeat
return lstProjects
end using terms from
end ProjectList
[/CODE][/QUOTE]



Hi Rob,

Thanks very much for posting the "Focus on flagged projects" Script. I had been trying to fathom a workaround for this in OmniFocus until I found the script.

I was wondering; Is there a way of getting the script to also enable the prioritization of flagged projects in the sidebar? (without effecting the position of those projects within their Projects Folders)

After applying the Script, I tried prioritizing the focused Projects in the Sidebar and they just jumped to the top of the Sidebar (and out of their Project folders - in Library view).

This function would be a great help!

I don't think that there is any way of avoiding the fact that dragging focused projects to new relative positions will drag them out of their folders.

Might be worth a request to the Ninjas through Help > Send Feedback ...

In the meanwhile, I think you can probably make the script a bit simpler and faster by rewriting it along these lines:

[CODE]property pTitle : "Focus on flagged projects"

tell application id "OFOC"
tell default document
set refProjects to a reference to (flattened projects where (flagged is true) and ((status is active) or (status is on hold)) and ((its folder is missing value) or ((effectively hidden of its folder) is false)))
set {lstID, lstName} to {id, name} of refProjects
set lstProjects to contents of refProjects
set focus of front document window to lstProjects

if length of lstProjects < 1 then
display dialog "No flagged projects found" buttons "OK" default button "OK" with title pTitle
else -- Place linked MarkDown text in Clipboard
set strMK to ""
repeat with i from 1 to length of lstID
set strMK to strMK & "*" & tab & "[" & item i of lstName & "](omnifocus:///task/" & item i of lstID & ")" & return & return
end repeat
tell application id "MACS" to set the clipboard to strMK
end if
end tell
end tell[/CODE]

Edited the code in the previous post to:[LIST][*]Correct the handling of flagged projects which are not inside folders[*]Place a linked text list of the projects (Markdown format) in the clipboard.[/LIST]
(You could at least use this script paste a text list somewhere and reorder that. If you drop the text into a Markdown processor you will get clickable hyperlinks back to the projects in OF).