[pjb]

Originally Posted by ksrhee

...It's easy to drag a task item from the task pane to calendar pane to create an event within iCal...

True (when OF and iCal are syncing nicely) but dragging from the To Do pane to a day in the hardscape calendar does not delete the task from the To Do list (or even mark it done). I think of the Calendar and the OF tasks to be two separate buckets and a Task can't be in both simultaneously. If I have the meeting, iCal forgets it eventually and I don't want to have to go back and delete the mirror To Do in either application. But if I forget or don't get around to some errand I'd scheduled for a particular day I do want a way to shuffle it back into my Task list, no hard feelings. A toolbar button that would take the selected task, mark it complete, prompt for more info like date, time, and duration and place an Event in iCal would be more useful than a mechanism for Tasks to automatically appear is Events.

[brianogilvie]

Originally Posted by ksrhee

I for one would like to keep the tasks as tasks and only schedule those tasks from iCal into scheduled events as I see fit.

I'm with ksrhee. I find that the due date in tasks suffices for me, especially because iCal sorts tasks due today at the top of the list. If something is truly hard landscape--i.e., it must be done on a particular day--then I'll schedule it in the calendar. Otherwise, for me a due date is a terminus ad quem: something has to be done by a given date, but not necessarily on that date. It wouldn't make sense to schedule such a task as an event in the calendar.

By the way, I had been grouping and sorting actions by due date (saved as a perspective) to keep on top of upcoming deadlines, but the new badges are a nice addition.

[acollins]

Originally Posted by Ken Case

What would the start and end time of the events be on the calendar? Or would they be all-day events?

My vote would be yes to all-day events. Then you could have a "deadlines" context that syncs with a "deadlines" calendar.

At any rate, when using OmniFocus the whole idea of using iCal for tasks seems redundant.

[ksrhee]

Originally Posted by brianogilvie

I'm with ksrhee. I find that the due date in tasks suffices for me, especially because iCal sorts tasks due today at the top of the list. If something is truly hard landscape--i.e., it must be done on a particular day--then I'll schedule it in the calendar. Otherwise, for me a due date is a terminus ad quem: something has to be done by a given date, but not necessarily on that date. It wouldn't make sense to schedule such a task as an event in the calendar.

By the way, I had been grouping and sorting actions by due date (saved as a perspective) to keep on top of upcoming deadlines, but the new badges are a nice addition.

Yes. I still don't see what's the point of syncing the tasks as all day events in iCal. I can see those tasks fine right now in iCal in the task pane, and with iCal's preference you can block out the future tasks if you are in the day view. In fact, it would just crowd my calendar which I keep for actual appointments and events. To me that's the purpose of keeping a calendar anyway.

I think iCal sync is useful for many who wants to get OF tasks into PDA's , iPhone, etc., and also for those of us who like to schedule tasks into "appointments" so that we can schedule our tasks into our calendar.

This method of scheduling your tasks into "hard" appointment has proven quite successful for me since tasks need to get done at some points, and by scheduling them, I know I can devote my time to those tasks during the day.

So, I for one would like to vote "no" for this behavior as a default option. However, if Omni makes this optional for those of you who would find this feature helpful, then I have no objections.

[pjb]

Originally Posted by acollins

...
At any rate, when using OmniFocus the whole idea of using iCal for tasks seems redundant.

I only use the To Do's in iCal as a way to get from OF to my PDA. They're generally not visible the way I use iCal.

[acollins]

Originally Posted by pjb

I only use the To Do's in iCal as a way to get from OF to my PDA. They're generally not visible the way I use iCal.

Good point. I guess I'm dreaming of a day when we're running MobileOmniFocus on our iPhones. :)

[tkaufmann]

Originally Posted by ksrhee

Yes. I still don't see what's the point of syncing the tasks as all day events in iCal. I can see those tasks fine right now in iCal in the task pane

I don't ever have that open, to me it's a waste of space on my screen.

Originally Posted by ksrhee

and with iCal's preference you can block out the future tasks if you are in the day view.

Day view doesn't give me enough overview. Like many (at least that's what I suppose) I work in week view.

Originally Posted by ksrhee

In fact, it would just crowd my calendar which I keep for actual appointments and events.

It's not that I want to sync tasks I intend to do to the calendar view, it's that I want to see those tasks there which *must* be done on a certain date. They are more or less the same as an appointment. I don't want to talk you into this, but you could have multiple calendars and turn them on and off as needed if you feel your calendar get's too crowded.

Originally Posted by ksrhee

So, I for one would like to vote "no" for this behavior as a default option. However, if Omni makes this optional for those of you who would find this feature helpful, then I have no objections.

Glad to hear that ;-)

Tim

[arnthorsnaer]

To be dramatic, I've been aching for the feature to turn my dated actions into events, ever since I got my iPhone.

Pretty please mr OmniFocus sir.

[pictor]

I'd like the option to make them events (even all day events), as I can them have them synch from ical to google calendar using spanning sync. That lets me access those items from almost anywhere, and even enter entries while on the road and see them sync back.

This may be slightly off-topic, but why don't synced tasks with due dates have alarms turned on by default? (AFAIK, you have to turn them on manually in iCal.) I would prefer that synced tasks be calendar events, but I could handle them being to-do items if the alarms were turned on automatically. (For me the point in syncing with iCal is visibility - I look at my calendar, and I don't look at the To-Do items, so I would prefer that tasks show up as all-day events. But if I had an alarm that popped up in my face, I could deal with them not being on the calendar.)