[tswartz]

I'm new to OmniFocus, so cut me a break if I'm missing something easy here.

All I'd like to do is sort my contexts by due date (tomorrow, this week, etc.), but also show the context name next to the task name. This is the screen I'm talking about, with the purple showing the area where I want the task's context name to show (click for larger view):



I use the general context view to see a basic picture of what I have due this week, drilling down into different contexts if necessary. I can't see what context a task is in using this format, though (unless I'm in the context, of course).

[whpalmer4]

If you select the actions of interest, then click on the focus button and switch back to project mode, you can see what contexts they fall into as well as any ordering dependancies with other actions.

[MacBerry]

But why? Why be forced to go through convoluted hoops, just to see perfectly reasonable data in your view of choice? In fact, that doesn't take you to your view of choice anyway, as you're now in project mode!

Mark

[brianogilvie]

Originally Posted by MacBerry

But why? Why be forced to go through convoluted hoops, just to see perfectly reasonable data in your view of choice? In fact, that doesn't take you to your view of choice anyway, as you're now in project mode!

Maybe three reasons: because OmniFocus is (1) a version 1.x product (2) whose original inspiration was GTD (Kinkless) and early alpha-testers mostly GTD proponents (3) produced by a company whose primary concern is the stability of the product and security of its data, not adding new features all the time.

Ken Case has stated repeatedly that Omni Group plans future refinements to the data structure and UI--for instance, arbitrary metadata columns. But they have not been as important as syncing. It's clear that Omni listens to user feedback, as witnessed by their quick addition of an option to instantly clean up completed actions.

On the other hand, given that OmniFocus was inspired by GTD, with its distinction between project lists and action lists, I don't think the distinction between modes will disappear any time soon. But I'd be surprised if Omni doesn't add an option to show a context column in context mode by v1.2 or 1.3.

[MacBerry]

I'm afraid that makes no sense to me Brian - I'd expect an early version to be simple, with complexity to be added later on. Instead we have an overly complex programme that needs simplifying!

I've asked elsewhere for an explanation of the benefits of the two modes, which appear to do nothing but confuse new users. I accept the GTD argument, but the UI doesn't have to be confused to achieve that - it can easily have the sort of UI I suggested elsewhere, with "plan" and "do" modes added that take advantage of that UI without restricting the user.

Yes context and project lists are meant to be separate in true GTD, but as it is now I can't create those lists the way I need them to be.

[MacBerry]

Put another way, contrary to concentrating on stability and data security, OG appear to have spent a lot of time second guessing what the user may want to see, and so have ended up restricting those of us who want more flexibility. Not putting a context column in context mode while having one in projects mode undoubtedly took more work than simply making the same choices available in both modes.

If they'd spent less time doing that, and instead said "let the user decide what he/she sees", the programme would be a lot better and more flexible now.

Bottom line Brian is that I keep running into brick walls that appear to have been put in place deliberately, and so far I've seen no explanation of why?

[curt.clifton]

Originally Posted by tswartz

I use the general context view to see a basic picture of what I have due this week, drilling down into different contexts if necessary. I can't see what context a task is in using this format, though (unless I'm in the context, of course).

As you may have gathered from the ensuing discussion, this isn't currently possible. Besides Will's suggestion, two other work-arounds that you might try are:

• Double-click the bullet next to an action to open a new window focused on the actions project and showing context information.
• Leave the inspector open so you can see the details for the selected item.

Both of these are far from ideal, since you can't see the contexts for all the items at once. Be sure to use Help --> Send Feedback to submit your feature request.

[xmas]

I think that people will commonly use the sort, then click on the sidebar to see what is due for each context...

But I'll be honest, this is the first time I've seen this pointed out. So...I guess most people aren't using that particular view very much, or they're getting by some other way.

In the meantime, I'd recommend following the advice of making sure that your actions are sentences, so that even on their own its clear as to what needs to be done.

A bug has been file though, and thanks for pointing this out.

[tswartz]

The main reason I'm asking for this: the print view. When I print the overview of my actions while in the context area (I don't want to print one particular context), I get this output:

Due today:
Name of task - Project - Due Date

Due tomorrow:
Name of task - Project - Due Date

This view is exactly how I have it setup in the Contexts area. Why can't I just add the context name? The whole concept of contexts is useless if I can't see what the context is when I print a list. You can't be saying I'm the only Omni user who prints by due dates. There's no way to tell where the action belongs.

Printing the Projects area is never going to happen either, since it'll place the whole project in the "Due today" area if ONE action is due today. Yes, I can view the context while looking at the project view, but it is not very useful because I have a ton of tasks in the "Miscellaneous" project. If one of them is due today, my whole Misc. project prints on the top of the page (regardless of due date).

And I anticipate this coming up: why do I print the list? I can't use OmniFocus at work (Windows) and don't want to deal with two programs. I don't feel like staring at my iPhone all day either. (This also leads to asking if I can print "due today" and "due within the next week" ONLY? Can't find that option either, so I get a list of every single action I have due date or no due date every time I print.)