project notes in quick-input box
 

I tried to search for an answer this, didn't find anything

Is there no project planning in the "quick-input-box" (or whatever). If not, why? The need for a method to write down all the small steps in a project on the fly (not just the NA) seems to follow pretty clearly from the GTD methodology (for example when you need to buy something online and there are some unusual intermediate steps (registration/postboxes/browsing/refilling debit card) the intermediate steps to completion of the goal should be captured asap with the NA(s) if they aren't completely obvious). Is it really impossible in the little pop-up box?

Did you actually try it? The keyboard shortcuts for Edit->Outlining all seem to work for me in the Quick Entry window...

yes, I did. when editing the title of the next action command' let's you edit a note for the NA, I'd like a similar ability to add a note to the project in the quick entry window.. if you can do this perhaps you'd let me know exactly how

Aiwen,

I'm confused. Your original post is about listing multiple actions for a project. Your reply to Bill is about editing the note field of an existing project. Those are two completely different thing in OF. Subsequent actions are their own items, not notes of the project. Here's what it looks like to do project planning in the quick entry window:
[ATTACH]1720[/ATTACH]

To do that, I hit the quick entry hot key, typed the first item, hit Command-' to add the note. Then I hit Command-] to add the first child and entered its info. Then I hit Control-return to add another line, and so on. Note that the exact behavior here depends on your settings for the OF preferences pane.

I don't actually ever use QuickEntry this way. Instead, I would just brainstorm those actions, using multiple invocations of the QuickEntry hotkey to add four separate items to my inbox. Then I'd organize them into a project later when I was emptying my inbox. If I'm doing serious project planning, I might open the OF inbox and do it there, or even do it in the project tree of OF itself.

Cheers,

Curt

[QUOTE=Aiwen;91110]yes, I did. when editing the title of the next action command' let's you edit a note for the NA, I'd like a similar ability to add a note to the project in the quick entry window.. if you can do this perhaps you'd let me know exactly how[/QUOTE]

You cannot use the Quick Entry window to edit the name or note of a project (or action) which already exists prior to opening the Quick Entry window. That isn't an interesting case, so let's discuss creating a new project, which is.

If you are creating a new project, you have two options:
[LIST][*]Type the actions in the Quick Entry box, and create the project by filling in the project name and pressing cmd-return. (I think this is what Aiwen is doing)[*]Type the actions in the Quick Entry box, using the outlining commands and drag and drop to structure it as an action group (nested actions), then from the Inbox, either outdenting or dragging to the desired spot in the sidebar. (My preferred approach)[/LIST]
The first approach is quite similar to adding actions to an existing project with the Quick Entry box. It has some inconveniences compared to the second approach, however. They include:
[LIST][*]No ability to add comments/notes to project during creation[*]No control over where the project ends up except by manipulating project again[*]Need to enter project name for each action[*]Need to manipulate project again to set parallel/sequential execution[/LIST]
The second approach allows you to add the comments while creating the project, only requires you to specify the project name once, and because everything goes through the Inbox, you have a single place to go to grab the project for any final tweaks (such as the parallel/sequential attribute) prior to putting it exactly where you want it in the sidebar (by dragging). You can also use the same technique directly in the Inbox to avoid a lot of typing of the same project name over and over when converting a bunch of actions into a project—just make the "project" action, drag the others under it, then convert to a project by outdenting or dragging to the sidebar.

[QUOTE=curt.clifton;91406]Instead, I would just brainstorm those actions, using multiple invocations of the QuickEntry hotkey to add four separate items to my inbox. [/QUOTE]
I'm sure Curt knows about this, but for any new users reading this, there's an option to control whether pressing Return in the Quick Entry box immediately saves or gives you an additional row. If most of your Quick Entry work is just a single action, having Return save and close is the way to go (you can press control-Return if you want to add another action instead of closing). If you frequently want to enter more than one new action from Quick Entry, it might be worth it to have to click the Save button (or press cmd-S) when you have only one. See the General preferences, Quick Entry section.