[Toadling]

Originally Posted by jasong

As much as I like OmniFocus, it is a muddled application in a few ways:

* columns constantly shift around when you jump between views

* the projects list is unwieldy once you get to more than a couple (because you've been living in it for six months, not six weeks, say).

* searching for stuff is difficult because it's dependent on what's selected

* it feels like an outliner, which, I know, it started life as; the pedigree is still clear in some ways (especially compared to other GTD apps which started life as GTD apps)

Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion, and it looks like there's quite a range just on these forums. But I personally don't have any problems with the points listed here.

(1) Columns shifting: Wasn't it decided that each view should be able to have its own set of columns and widths? This is a good thing, or at least that's what seems to have been decided in these forums, and I agree. I don't think we can have it both ways. Either each view is independent and we gain flexibility and power, or they're not and we gain some consistency.

(2) Unwieldy project list: I assume jasong means the project list in the sidebar, and I agree that it can get quite long and out of control if you're not careful. But I find folders to be invaluable for bringing my list under control again. By carefully breaking up the list and collapsing as necessary (or focusing), I manage hundreds of projects in my sidebar with ease. There can be a lot of data in there, but OG has given us good tools to handle it.

(3) Searching for stuff dependent on selection: Isn't this the way it works in most, if not all, Mac OS X applications? Narrowing a search by selecting item(s) from the sidebar seems to be fairly standard and feels natural to me. If I want to search across the whole database, I just select the Library folder.

(4) Feels like an outliner: Yes, I agree completely on this one, it does feel like an outliner. But I see that as a good thing. In fact, it's one of the reasons I chose OF over several competitors. OF's outlining capabilities help me think and allow me to go into as much detail as I want without cluttering my view. In my mind, any good "to do list" is essentially an outline.

[al_f]

I don't think there's been much of a change of direction with the app either and I've been alpha/beta testing since June. I've never lost any data either and responses to any queries I've sent to Omni have been quick and efficient.

re: the sidebar, the only thing I would like is an option to have automatic alphabetical sorting of projects/contexts in there. I did think that was coming, but it looks like it might not make it into 1.0.

[bigcloits]

The only thing close to a real frustration I’ve had with OF in my first week of usage has been the fairly routine experience of “losing” projects. They are there, but somehow they have become not see-able, and I have to thrash around a bit with filters and selections before — phew — my data is once again visible.

On the one hand, I assume the product is in beta and I still have a learning curve to climb and soon I will quickly, deftly be able to reveal anything I please. On the other hand, why should I ever have to think, “WHERE are my $!%@!!$ PROJECTS?”

I do think there needs to be a way to see everything NOW.

[Ken Case]

Originally Posted by bigcloits

I do think there needs to be a way to see everything NOW.

You can see everything by selecting All Items from the Perspectives menu.