[Just.Ortiz]

I noticed on twitter that @omnifocus wrote "...Update adds local notifications and support for running in background."

My big concern is that if Omnifocus adds running in the background, it could cause problems with syncing with other devices.

The way it currently works is that Omnifocus forces a sync every time the app is opened, thus ensuring that the task list is the most up to date across all devices that syncs this data (Mac, iPhone, iPod touch, iPad).

With the app running in the background, if I add or complete task X and exit, the app will run in the background. When I reopen the app, there's a possibility that omnifocus won't be forced into the sync, thus allowing the data across your devices to get out of whack.

With another feature that is available on iOS 4 is background task completion, I think this problem isn't a difficult one to fix. If you wonderful code monkeys at Omnigroup could include options to sync at selectable intervals of time and allow that task to be completed in the background, this would not only solve the problem that I've imagined, but could also streamline the app.

I'm not 100% sure this part is possible, but if you have the app sync in the background either almost all the time or exclusively in the background, this could speed up the user's experience when actually interacting with the app. I've read random negative feedback comments here and there talking about how a heavy task list can muck up one's work flow. If you switch the data syncing to the background, I feel like it would make the app have a better overall experience.

[whpalmer4]

OmniFocus syncs automatically 1 minute after you make a change, and hourly thereafter, assuming of course that you have sufficient connectivity to sync. You can always tap the sync button yourself when you switch back to OmniFocus if you are worried about somehow getting out of sync. Not a bad idea when switching devices to do a sync on both old and new, which both makes sure that any changes made on the old device are backed up in the cloud and also that the new device has any changes that have been made elsewhere since the time it last synced.

[CatOne]

I doubt OF can continually run in the background and sync. And it seems like a waste of resources, really.

I'm fairly confident the Omni guys can figure out the right way to do this. If there's stuff that needs to sync, then when you switch to another app they could use background task completion to sync any unsynched tasks. And on restart they could sync again, keeping your place in the app. I doubt it's a problem, and someone with a modicum of experience could handle this, I'm certain :)

[henry]

Originally Posted by Just.Ortiz

I noticed on twitter that @omnifocus wrote "...Update adds local notifications and support for running in background."

My big concern is that if Omnifocus adds running in the background, it could cause problems with syncing with other devices.

That's a new one. Looking for solutions to bugs that haven't happened yet in an unreleased app running on an OS that is less than a day old :)

I don't think running in the background is what you think it is. Multitasking on iOS4 isn't like on a PC, it only allows apps to do a small subset of tasks after it has exited (apart from audio stuff) and allows for quicker restart because the app remains in memory in a 'frozen' state. OF won't actually be running at all.

It is possible that the behavior will be exactly the same. iOS4 sends apps notifications to tell them that they have been suspended or resumed so OF could treat a resume just as though it had just started. Or, as you said, OF could do a sync when it is 'quit' because iOS4 allows certain tasks to be finished in the background. Don't see how this is a "problem" though. In fact I'm having a hard time thinking of a reason why syncing in the background is any different than what we have now.

I guess we'll have to wait and see if Omni are clever enough to catch your bugs :)

There is some more discussion about background stuff here... http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=15926

[derekr]

Originally Posted by Just.Ortiz

I noticed on twitter that @omnifocus wrote "...Update adds local notifications and support for running in background."

My big concern is that if Omnifocus adds running in the background, it could cause problems with syncing with other devices.

So, this was going around the internet today, and it's a great explanation of background 'stuff' that can go on — OF isn't one of the things that will _truly_ benefit from it, but fast-app switching will be a huge plus! (Like, say, Pandora users will benefit from audio streaming. :) )

iPhone Multitasking, furbo.org

[santra]

Originally Posted by whpalmer4

OmniFocus syncs automatically 1 minute after you make a change

Not since I got my iPhone 4. This doesn't work anymore, and I don't really understand why not. I have "auto sync" turned on on my iPhone, but no dice.

And by the way, I'm not talking about backgrounding. I have OF open right on the screen on my iPhone 4, have the device set to stay on forever, and I have OF open on my Mac. But changes made to OF on my Mac no longer sync over automatically, the way they did on my iPhone 2G.

I thought for sure there would be a thread on this in the Syncing forum, but I don't see anything.

[ifonline]

I am also having trouble with the latest version of OF for iPhone running on iOS 4. AutoSync doesn't seem to do anything, and the app doesn't always sync when I start it. So now OF on the iPhone and OF on the desktop are out of whack.

Yeah, I can force OF on the iPhone to sync, but what's the point of AutoSync if it doesn't seem to work? Additionally, what happened to OF on the iPhone syncing when it starts up, and what happened to syncing one minute after changes are made? As santra pointed out, this no longer seems to work right.

[whpalmer4]

I can't help it if they broke it after I described the behavior :)

Send in your bug reports with the Send Feedback command to light a fire under them to get this fixed if it is indeed broken.