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Siri + OmniFocus [Siri support added in OmniFocus for iPhone v1.13] Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
I’m seeing inconsistent behavior: My reminders for my “Home” context are coming into OmniFocus, but reminders for “Work” (configured the same way in OmniFocus) are not.

EDIT: Think I figured out what was causing this. My “Work” address in Contacts was set differently than the context reminder address in OmniFocus. Aligning them seems to have helped.

Last edited by drewwilliams; 2011-11-18 at 02:12 PM.. Reason: New info…
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by drewwilliams View Post
I’m seeing inconsistent behavior: My reminders for my “Home” context are coming into OmniFocus, but reminders for “Work” (configured the same way in OmniFocus) are not.
Siri records its location-based reminders with a specific location, but not a radius: their location is just a single pin on the map, and they presumably always set their reminders geofence using the same radius (but they don't tell us what that might be).

We look up whatever location Siri has set in the reminder, and compare it with the locations of any contexts which you've configured with a matching reminder, i.e. one which has a small radius and which goes in the same direction (arriving or leaving). If the reminder location is within your context's location notification radius and the location direction (arriving or leaving) matches, OmniFocus should capture the task.

Hope this helps demystify the process a little!
 
I downloaded the 1.13 version of OF for iPhone and set up iCloud sync. My default calendar on the iPhone has been changed to "OmniFocus" and I added two reminders so far, both time based. They have both shown up on my iMac iCal, so I know they have synced to iCloud (i yi yi), but after 10-15 minutes I have yet to see them sync with OmniFocus. Any clue as to how often the iCloud OmniFocus sync occurs before I start thinking I have a problem here?

One of the reminders I added was moved from another calendar, the other I added via Siri.

***

Just an update, I tried closing the OmniFocus application (hard close it, not just get out of it), and that seemed to kick start it into synching with iCloud. Reminders all came through and deleted out of Reminders.

Last edited by denrael; 2011-11-18 at 02:58 PM.. Reason: Update
 
It's working here, but there's one interesting thing I've noticed that isn't necessarily documented...

OmniFocus for iPhone seems to give priority to a reminders list named "OmniFocus" so if you have created a reminders list with that name already, only this list will be used, regardless of whatever you have your default list set to. So if you create your reminders in the default "Reminders" list, they won't get sucked into OmniFocus if you also have a list named "OmniFocus." Note that you have to set your default reminders list and not your default calendar -- it's a different setting further down under the Mail, Contacts, Calendars section.

For me that's a good thing, as I prefer to still use the Reminders app for quick one-off alarm-style reminders that really don't need to go into OF. So I leave my default list as "Reminders" and OmniFocus happily ignores this since I also have an "OmniFocus" list. When I want to add something to my OF inbox, I can simply say to Siri "Add Task to OmniFocus" and it will add it to the "OmniFocus" list which will then by synced to the OF app the next time it starts up.

The only downside is that I can't use this to set due dates as there doesn't appear to be a way to use the secondary list phrasing along with a reminder date/time. However, in my case that's not a big deal as I'm mostly just concerned with quickly getting things into the OF inbox for further processing.

As an aside, it would be cool in a future version if OF could be configured to support multiple lists and perhaps assign them to projects/contexts. For example, I was (and still am) using a modification to the Applescript posted earlier in this thread that takes tasks from the "Grocery List" Reminders list and assigns them to the appropriate project and context in OF for my grocery list. This way I can say things like "Add Milk to Grocery List" to Siri and it will end up in my normal shopping list and appear when I get to the grocery store.

Last edited by jdh; 2011-11-18 at 03:25 PM..
 
Good catch, JDH - we set things up that way so folks could do exactly what you describe. Just re-read the in-app help, and we mention both lists, but don't lay out the implications too clearly. I'll file a feature request to clarify that in the help, and file the request about mapping lists to contexts, too. Thanks!

If you want to add a timed item to a specific list, just say "Remind me to <thing to remember> in <name of list>." Siri will do that, then ask you for the time when you want to be reminded. Siri is sometimes a bit picky about what it thinks you meant, but we've gotten it to work often enough we know it's possible. :-)

Last edited by Brian; 2011-11-18 at 03:49 PM.. Reason: filed both feat. req.s, not just one; clarify language
 
Did anyone else notice that setting default list to "OmniFocus" seems to give much faster results than setting default list to "Reminders"?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian View Post
Good catch, JDH - we set things up that way so folks could do exactly what you describe. Just re-read the in-app help, and we mention both lists, but don't lay out the implications too clearly. I'll file a feature request to clarify that in the help, and file the request about mapping lists to contexts, too. Thanks!

If you want to add a timed item to a specific list, just say "Remind me to <thing to remember> in <name of list>." Siri will do that, then ask you for the time when you want to be reminded. Siri is sometimes a bit picky about what it thinks you meant, but we've gotten it to work often enough we know it's possible. :-)
First, thanks for adding this. Great feature!

But . . . whenever I say OmniFocus, Siri seems to think I'm asking about an "omni" hotel. I cannot get it to recognize the OF list. Any chance we could have the option to rename the list that OF syncs with to something more distinctive?

Edit: This is really strange, in a funny kind of way. I kept saying "Omnifocus" and Siri kept transcribing it as "Omni focus" and saying there was no such list. The space between words was throwing it off.

By complete accident, I discovered that Siri thinks the word is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable, so that it rhymes with "Spartucus". Or sounds like "certificate". It's kind of hard to explain, actually. As if you were saying "om NIF a cus". Anyway, works like a charm.

Last edited by Stargazer; 2011-11-18 at 09:08 PM..
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Case View Post
Siri puts things into Reminders; you'll have to sync your Reminders with iCloud and launch OmniFocus so it can capture them from iCloud. (We don't have access to the local Reminders database on the device.)
Thanks, Ken. The problem was that I didn't have the option to set a default Reminders list until I created a new one. Now I have it and it works.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stargazer View Post
But . . . whenever I say OmniFocus, Siri seems to think I'm asking about an "omni" hotel. I cannot get it to recognize the OF list. Any chance we could have the option to rename the list that OF syncs with to something more distinctive?

Edit: This is really strange, in a funny kind of way. I kept saying "Omnifocus" and Siri kept transcribing it as "Omni focus" and saying there was no such list. The space between words was throwing it off.
You can also work around this by creating an address book entry for "OmniFocus" in your contacts, being sure that OmniFocus is in the first or last name field (not the "Company" field). Siri will try to adjust spellings to what it finds in your address book, so by putting "OmniFocus" in there, Siri ends up getting it right most of the time.
 
None of this works at all. I have iCloud reminders enabled on my iPhone and have successfully connected from the OF preferences. Nevertheless, no reminder added to my reminders list is ever synced with OF. Have tried restarting the app and the phone, but nothing.
 
 


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