[elnj]

Hi,

I realize that this is an old thread, but I just started using OF and am running into the same problem (perhaps just a conceptual problem, perhaps a missing feature) that seems to be affecting others. Namely, I'd like to be able to capture tasks on my Palm when I'm out and about, and then get those to appear in my OF Inbox after syncing Palm -> iCal -> OF.

To my mind, the Inbox is the natural place for things that have no context yet - however, OF will currently allow (unless I'm misunderstanding) only assigning of *contexts* to sync with OF. When I create a task while out on the run, I like it to be quick entry - I don't assign a project or context (which is problematic anyway outside of OF, as it would have to be parsed somehow). So quick-entry items in Palm To-dos sync to Unfiled calendar in iCal. I'd like to then sync this calendar to the OF Inbox, and do the work of assigning projects and contexts when I'm back at my computer.

Specifically, then, is there a way to have a new task (created outside of OF) sync from iCal and arrive in OF *without a context* assigned, preferably into my Inbox. I guess I'm looking for a preference item that is something like "Choose iCal calendar to sync to OF Inbox".

Thanks,

Eric

Hi folks,

Same problem and wish list here: being able to add on-the-fly tasks/ideas on my Palmas unfiled (=no context). Then sync Palm->iCal->OF and get these to appear in my OF inbox.

Any update on the matter?

Cheers

Nico

[DataGazetteer]

Originally Posted by Ken Case

If you synchronize an iCal calendar with one or more OmniFocus contexts, then any items you add to the calendar will be pulled into your Inbox.

I'm afraid I'm still confused. I have calendars in iCal that correspond with contexts in OF. These calendars are sync'd with the smartphone via the application "Missing Sync." That way I can slice and dice tasks on my smartphone because the OF contexts -> iCal calendars become smartphone categories. (Admittedly, in this sync, I loose any notion of what the "next action" is, but that is okay for the most part. Until, at least, y'all come up with a Windows Mobile application and partner with Mark/Space to come up with a channel plugin for Missing Sync.)

The problem comes with items created on the smartphone. New items have no category assigned to them (because it is too inconvenient to go through the number of screen taps to assign one -- besides, the smartphone is just used as an inbox capture device, not a processing device). Missing Sync, upon synchronization, assigns them to a default iCal calendar (because Missing Sync has to put them somewhere in the iCal database). That "default iCal calendar" is not known to OF because it isn't really a "context" -- it is an inbox of items. That's why I'm looking for a preference option that says "sweep tasks from the selected iCal calendar(s) into the OF inbox".

Does this explanation help explain the desired workflow? I don't think what you are proposing will work for this case...

[Ken Case]

Originally Posted by DataGazetteer

That's why I'm looking for a preference option that says "sweep tasks from the selected iCal calendar(s) into the OF inbox".

Yes, that makes sense to me. We can't make this change for this Tuesday's 1.0 release, but we can look into this for 1.1.

[DataGazetteer]

Originally Posted by Ken Case

Yes, that makes sense to me. We can't make this change for this Tuesday's 1.0 release, but we can look into this for 1.1.

Okay -- thanks for considering the request. I think I'm going to be spoiled by the great work Omni has done in the beta process for OF leading up to Tuesday. You mean I have to wait for a 1.1 release to see the new feature? :-)

I've only been tracking the OF beta process for about a month now, but in that time I have to say the development team has been great in a) responding to user feedback as the product evolved; and b) pushing on daily stable releases of software. It is a process that admirable and enviable.

[ptone]

Originally Posted by DataGazetteer

That "default iCal calendar" is not known to OF because it isn't really a "context" -- it is an inbox of items. That's why I'm looking for a preference option that says "sweep tasks from the selected iCal calendar(s) into the OF inbox".

This would be relatively easy to do with Applescript, especially if it was OK to delete them from iCal after they were added to the inbox.

-P

[DataGazetteer]

Originally Posted by ptone

This would be relatively easy to do with Applescript, especially if it was OK to delete them from iCal after they were added to the inbox.

That would be okay, but unfortunately I'm inexperienced in Applescript...