Default due date problem
 

With the change to a 5:00 pm default due time, I find that the default is often just what I want when I add a new task. Unfortunately, just hitting the Save button in the Start & Due Dates screen isn't sufficient; I have to roll one of the date dials away from the default and then back to it to get the default to "take." Shouldn't the default value, rather than None, be preloaded into the due line when the Start & Due Dates screen comes up? The way things stand, having a good default value saves me very little time, because I have to mess with the dials anyway.

[IMG]http://www.leancrew.com/all-this/images/of-iphone-choose-date.png[/IMG]

[URL="http://www.leancrew.com/all-this/2009/07/due-date-bug-in-omnifocus/"]Here's a longer explanation of the problem.[/URL]

Interesting. I find that this problem only happens when I want to set the due date to today. Just tapping any of the Next buttons is sufficient to fill in the due date/time field (as is rolling any of the wheels, as you noted).

Yes, the problem disappears if you change anything: date or time.

I'm not sure that this is a bug. It seems like a design decision to me. The UI lets you tunnel into the Due Date setting without accidentally changing anything. You have to make a conscious decision to set the due date after you've tunneled into the details. Presumably, most of the time the due date will be other than today, in which case the default due time is a time saver.

I agree that it's probably a design decision, I just think it's a poor one. I've already consciously chosen to add a due date by going to the Start & Due Dates screen; if the default date and time are OK with me, why should I have to artificially make a change and then change it back?

And if I were to get to the Start & Due Dates screen by accident, there is a way to back out: tap the Cancel button in the upper left corner.

I´ve already written to OF about this before.
I think that it is a really bad and ilogical decision.

If you press due date it is because you want to set a due date.
Why would it remain blank when I am already showing that I want to pick "some" due date?

If this was logically designed it would automatically pick "today" when you press due date.
People who want to pick some other due date will have to use the "date picker" like always, so for them there would be no difference.

But for people who want to pick "today", it would save them a couple of seconds every single time.

It is such kind of optimation that Apple is known for and I am really puzzled why Omnigroup has changed that yet.
It doens´t take anything away from the functionality and it helps people who want to pick "today".

I'm not an engineer, so I can't comment on the "bug or feature" question. Either way, though, if folks would like to see this changed, they'll want to send email to the [EMAIL="omnifocus-iphone@omnigroup.com"]support ninjas[/EMAIL]. Thanks!

[QUOTE=Nicolas_Thomsen;63375]If you press due date it is because you want to set a due date.
Why would it remain blank when I am already showing that I want to pick "some" due date?
[/QUOTE]

Accidental taps happen, especially on a device with a small screen that's often used one-handed by folks who are multitasking. :-)

I'm not convinced that we're asking for confirmation in the best manner in this case, but I wouldn't agree that we can safely assume that the customer meant to tap there and that it's okay to change their data without asking.

[QUOTE=Brian;63384]Accidental taps happen, especially on a device with a small screen that's often used one-handed by folks who are multitasking. :-)

I'm not convinced that we're asking for confirmation in the best manner in this case, but I wouldn't agree that we can safely assume that the customer meant to tap there and that it's okay to change their data without asking.[/QUOTE]

Hi Brian

You have a clear button right next to the date picked so in that case people can get rid of the date by pressing that.


Then it comes down to what happens more often;

That people by accident press the "due date"
or
That people want to select the due date "today"


I´d personally say that in about 97% of the cases people meant to select "today".

Do you really think that more people by accident hit the "due date" field Brian?
Otherwise it makes no sense not to change it.

It might be worth mentioning that this behavior is not limited to the iPhone. The behavior on the Mac side is even more bizarre. If you create a task on the Mac side by clicking on the small column calendar icon, the pop-up calendar has today's date is highlighted and the due time is pre-filled with the default value. The due date field in the column shows the current date, suggesting that this is the value that will be entered.

Hitting return dismisses the pop-up calendar and the due date field changes back to blank. What's worse, you can bring it up as I just described, change the due time, and the date/time value is still not entered into the due date field unless you also click on a date in the calendar.