[chestercheeto]

Could not agree with Santra more. Get with it on dropbox sync or those of us who need it will move on to a different solution. It is an outlining program and you dont need attachments. For those that do, have two file types, ie with and without attachments. Without can sync, with cannot. You are putting yourself at an extreme competitive disadvantage by not offering this basic and expected functionality.

[whpalmer4]

Ever stop to consider that the ability to add attachments to the outline is also a competitive advantage, one which is potentially useful to all OmniOutliner users, not just those who have multiple devices and can't be bothered to move files by hand?

If you just want some barebones checklist maker with Dropbox sync, no doubt you can obtain a number of them already. If that's all you need, please go use one of those instead of insisting that Omni dumb down OmniOutliner by removing a feature it has had for the better part of a decade.

[santra]

Originally Posted by whpalmer4

If you just want some barebones checklist maker with Dropbox sync, no doubt you can obtain a number of them already.

OO is NOT a barebones checklist maker. I already have OF, Things, Pomodoro, and Clear for that.

OO is an a phenominal outlining tool for creating knowledge bases. Adding frills like attachments just bogs it down. It DOES have the ability to handle clickable URLs, and that is cool; but that type of code does not take up the enormous storage footprint that attachments do.

You imply attachments has been a core feature of the program for years. I wonder how many people use it. A poll would be informative.

[whpalmer4]

Originally Posted by santra

OO is NOT a barebones checklist maker. I already have OF, Things, Pomodoro, and Clear for that.

I didn't say it was. However, stripping out things like attachments makes it that much closer to being one.

OO is an a phenominal outlining tool for creating knowledge bases. Adding frills like attachments just bogs it down. It DOES have the ability to handle clickable URLs, and that is cool; but that type of code does not take up the enormous storage footprint that attachments do.

The storage footprint is only as big as the attachments you choose to add. Maybe attachments should be removed from OmniFocus, because someone might attach a large file? :rolleyes:

Here's a great use of attachments with outlining: taking notes on a presentation. You record the audio as you outline, and refer back to it later if you missed something. Of course, you're allowed multiple attachments, so you don't have to scrub back and forth through a 90 minute presentation trying to find some point, you just look in the section you recorded for that section of the outline. Potential objection: OmniOutliner for iPad doesn't record audio. Answer: no, but OmniOutliner Pro for Mac does, and OmniOutliner for iPad can play it back.

You imply attachments has been a core feature of the program for years. I wonder how many people use it. A poll would be informative.

It'd only tell you what the people who can be bothered to answer the poll think. I can't remember seeing a poll on the Omni forums that has gotten more than about 2 dozen responses.

Attachments came out in OmniOutliner 3.0, which shipped in January of 2005.

I make extensive use of OmniOutliner and its ability to do attachments in testing all of Omni's products, though that certainly isn't the only use I make of it. It's a better tool for the job than anything on your list. That you characterize OmniOutliner as a simple program suggests you don't use most of its power, and would probably suggest jettisoning other features as well.

[rogbar]

I don't use attachments all the time, but when I do, I'm incredibly glad I have the option. There are times when it extends OO's capabilities for me WAY beyond that of other outliners. So I, for one, would hate to see it gone.

[kparsons]

I remember reading that omni is waiting on apple to resolve something with iCloud and pointed to iWork docs no having full sync (although plenty of 3rd parties app do). Maybe now that it looks like iWork will have a real doc sync with mountain lion, if the issue is resolved.

Frankly, however, I've pretty much abandoned OO. Maybe doc sync will win me back over but I think it is more of a confidence issue now. Plaintext + markdown can provide rudimentary hierarchy (very rudimentary) but at least you're not stuck in a format that does keep up with the tech (or even seem to be in the race).

[dwbrown77]

Hi just wondering if there is any progress on omnioutliner synching. To be honest the present method, using omnisync server, works but I often end up with out of sync copies because I do not have time or am too rushed to do the necessary steps.

[eddiecoyote]

Agree with Santra. I DEARLY love my OF but OO has got to do better with import/export features. Otherwise i'll use another app

[santra]

Originally Posted by eddiecoyote

Agree with Santra. I DEARLY love my OF but OO has got to do better with import/export features. Otherwise i'll use another app

Here we are, one month later, a new version (1.3) comes down the pipeline for our iPads, and STILL no autosync.

What do we get? A "preconfigured option for import and export servers." We're stuck with zip file names, so I have no idea what I'm importing from my Mac since your code creates a zip file name that's in hex or something. Not to mention the fact that this is NOT TRUE SYNC—which we have had with OmniFocus on MULTIPLE platforms for years. Zipping files for import and export? You've got to be kidding me.

You guys KNOW how to do killer sync. Look at the way OF currently handles it straight across the board on ALL devices: Mac, iPhone, iPad... Why can't you give us this for OO? OO is a flat file structure without all the bells and whistles of OF, and it still doesn't have auto sync? You guys already have your own awesome server that works beautifully, and yet you can't use it for OO?

I. Just. Don't. Get. It.

I have been waiting over 2 years for sync to come to OO. This is insane.

I don't care if you force me to use Apple's iCloud and prevent people from using Dropbox. Whatever. I'll move all my files. And I don't care about AirPlay mirroring, either. (Whose idea was it to put that before dev on autosync, anyway?) Oooo...Airplay mirroring to a big flat screen... Wow.

Hey, folks, I'm in the trenches as an employee or a consultant delivering high-level IT services to companies large and small; I need to keep track of data with OO, not watch pictures or a movie on a big TV.

Please. I JUST WANT SYNC!!!

Recently I bought a product from a company, and it didn't work correctly. I notified them by email. Their response was to immediately send me a replacement, free of charge, and additionally include over $200 of extra equipment in the box—for free! This is a company with probably 1/10 the revenue (or less) of OmniGroup. You guys have what...20 or 30 employees? This other company has maybe 2 or 3. This was a company that I had never bought a single product from prior to a few weeks ago. Yet I’ve been buying OG products for years: OF for Mac, iPad, iPhone; OO for Mac and iPad; OmniPlan; OmniGraffle for Mac and iPad; OmniSketcher for my iPad. I’ve spent roughly $500 over the past five years on OG products. This other company...I purchased a $19.99 product from them. It was messed up. So they sent me $200 worth of merchandise for free. They even called me to apologize! What a difference.

Ken, I love ya, man, but this OO issue is really starting to make my teeth grind. All the other OG products work like a dream. Why can't you get us OO sync? If ANY product needs to be cross-device synced, it's a KB app.

When I think of all the dev and QA time and effort that went into adding sexy styles to OO for the iPad at the expense of bringing autosync to the table, it makes me seethe.

EVERYTHING is moving toward unified cloud storage with auto-sync and mirroring to all devices. PLEASE heed the writing on the wall.

I KNOW you know this; I KNOW you see how Apple has brought this type of system architecture to multiple areas: iTunes Match, iCloud documents, iCal, Mail. And I know you can do it yourself, because you've done it with OF!

OO really must be the runt of the litter at OG. That's the only way in my head I can explain why this is taking so long, and why the reasons for delay have been obfuscated at so many junctures by rhetoric from your dev team reps about how "tricky" it is. I know, I know...KB programs are not "sexy" for the consumer. But they are incredibly crucial and valuable for business users.

This is the kind of thing that will in the future steer me away from recommending OG products to clients, and instead recommend products like Things, DEVONThink, PersonalBrain, and Daylite. Ironically, most of those products are far more complicated than OO, and most of those companies have terrible tech support and somewhat buggy releases, AND YET those companies have made cross-device autosync work for far bigger and more complex programs than OO.

My love for OG used to be something like 300%, starting at an all-time high with the rave party alpha release of OF at TekServe in NYC years and years ago. My respect for the company has slowly eroded about 25-50% a year since then. Some things, like customer support, and the beautiful build and power of OF, have been amazing; and they’re even still improving.

But stuff like this OO sync problem have slowly but consistently worn down my faith in the company.

[rogbar]

It is with great sadness that I agree. I loved OmniOutliner, but the stubborn inability to give us true sync - the way OF does - has made it a poor match for my workflow. I'm moving more and more of what used to be in OO over to DevonThink.

It's not what I want to do. It's what lack of true sync in OO has forced me to do.