[enrvuk]

+1 for dropbox

[santra]

What is going on, Omni? This thread is almost TWO YEARS old, and we STILL don't have Dropbox support?

Penultimate, a far less substantial program with half the features of OmniGraffle, design nowhere near as sophisticated, made by a much smaller company without the stellar rep of OmniGroup has Dropbox AND Evernote linking.

I just don't understand how/why you have made OmniGraffle so rich and sophisticated an app and CRIPPLED it with a lack of file transfer connectivity options.

I can only thank my lucky stars that OmniFocus has cloud sync that works like a dream across all my devices.

But when, oh when, are you going to update the incredibly primitive file handling of OmniGraffle? It's as bad or worse than the terrible Pages and Numbers (lack of) syncing.

It's always a puzzle to me how/why a company races ahead on certain features and ignores or forgets others.

THE WHOLE PICTURE, FOLKS!!! THESE ARE FILES, AND WE WANT TO SYNC THEM. NOW, PLEASE...NOT IN ANOTHER TWO YEARS.

AND THE SAME GOES FOR OMNIOUTLINE!!!

[whpalmer4]

Great, just what I always wanted, a program where I can easily get my files in and out, but there isn't much to do with them once they are there. Sort of like a very expensive USB memory stick :-)

That must not be wholly satisfactory for you, either, because you're here bemoaning the state of affairs with OmniGraffle.

No question about it, direct Dropbox access would make moving files in and out easier. But let's assume that it might be a bit of work to implement that feature. Which feature(s) would you have had them not implement so they could spend the time to do Dropbox instead? I am making an assumption here that they are working hard, not just surfing the web most of the day, but I think that is a good assumption, don't you?

[jpagels]

So, I've recently become addicted to the desktop version of OG (and most of the rest of the Omni lineup). And I've discovered that OG for the iPad has the potential to be my most effective way of brainstorming. But trying to get my quick iPad sketches over to the desktop for refinement slows down the process to the point where all of the advantages over other methods start to get lost.

I very rarely physically connect my iPad to my macbook because it's a really longwinded process that's so rarely necessary. And I don't want to do it everytime I need to move an OG file.

I realize that you support iDisk and webdav, and I hear they work fairly well, but DropBox is ubiquitous and I already have more than enough accounts to keep track of as it is. In the "Send to App" section of the export menu, DropBox comes up as an option, but if you try to feed it an OmniGraffle file it returns the error message, "Unable to Upload - This is not a valid file to upload."

I find both versions of OG to be fantastic, if they'd just talk to each other a little easier they'd be perfect.

[whpalmer4]

Jpagels, given that you have to export the document from the app, it takes no longer to do so to the Omni Sync Server than it would to DropBox. It remembers your login information, so that isn't a big deal either. However, if you want to deny yourself something that you think has the potential to be your most effective means of brainstorming, well, that's your choice. There's no reason to expect DropBox support any time soon, if at all, however. You might see iCloud support, as they've been working on that.

Two other observations: the email transfer is quick and easy, and in my experience, frequently connecting iPad to iTunes makes the process fast, not slow.

Seems silly not to make use of something you've already bought due to theoretical objections...

[gohnjanotis]

japagels, I'm with you. Dropbox support would make OG so much better. I think iCloud would solve this well, too, since it would avoid having multiple copies of each of my OG files floating around.

Whpalmer: I disagree that the other methods you mention are "quick and easy" solutions because they result in duplicate copies of the same file, and there are revision issues. Also, I rarely plug my iPad into the computer, like japagels. Let's get a lower resistance way to have the same documents accessible and up to date on each device!

[whpalmer4]

My mistake, I must have just imagined it was easy. Odd that I don't recall all of the difficulties — repeatedly running my head into the wall must have given me a traumatic amnesia :-)

Fixing the bug where you cannot send a file to the DropBox app for upload will not address the issue of proliferating versions.

[vegaz]

Originally Posted by whpalmer4

Jpagels, given that you have to export the document from the app, it takes no longer to do so to the Omni Sync Server than it would to DropBox.

Not so true, IMHO, at least in a scenario of mixed use of iOS/OSX. Dropbox is integrated with the finder and when a file is changed on the server it gets updated automatically on your machine. On the other side, with a WebDAV server (like OmniSync) you can access your files from the Mac, but they remain on the remote server, except when you are using the now almost dead iDisk.
At least, if I remember correctly. The result is a much slower and cumbersome user experience, at least the last time I tried.
I'm still quite comfortable using iDisk, but these are the last months of life of this service.
I still hope Omni will see the light and add Dropbox support, otherwise I'll search for some software solution to better integrate a generic WebDAV server in OSX.

[whpalmer4]

Leave the files on the OSS and use them there.

[vegaz]

Originally Posted by whpalmer4

Leave the files on the OSS and use them there.

IME, it is not a satisfactory experience. Too much lag. Admittedly my connection is not lightning-fast, but it's not so shabby either...
I need to work on local copies.