[nbusse]

After using OF for about a year, I'm finally re-designing the way I approach it; would like some feedback about it.

I work in academics, and my tasks are really tied to what part of the semester it is. I broke it down so that each week is a 'project', then various parts of my tasks are grouped in 'contexts' -- ie, everything having to do with 'registration', or 'textbooks', etc is in a context together.

I don't really understand how repeating events work. I want to have my semester/week events repeat on a yearly basis -- what I do for a May finals project this year, I don't need to think about it until May finals next year. I want to have my project (tasks for the week) running all week, checking off items as I complete it, then have it reset as the following year's due dates. I'd like to be able to see that I've completed it for this year, and after current due dates, see when it's due again.

If I put things on a short repeat cycle, say 5 minutes, as soon as you check something off it jumps back immediately. If I put it on longer cycles, what is the protocol for when it will re-appear? can it automatically change my due dates? In my tests so far, it appears that it will just linger as 'overdue' and annoyingly in red for the whole time.

On another last note, I just got into the ical script, http://www.ptone.com/misc/CreateCalendar.zip, which is immensely helpful (thanks ptone!)

[whpalmer4]

It sounds like you need to add start dates as well as due dates. So, your May finals stuff might have had a start date of perhaps Apr 1, 2009 and a due date of May 25, 2009 (to pick some dates out of the air), and you would set them to repeat yearly from assigned date. As of Apr 1, 2010, your May finals project would again reappear as an available project, but prior to that would be screened from view when using the Available projects selector in the sidebar (and similarly the actions won't be seen if viewing Available actions).

[nbusse]

Originally Posted by whpalmer4

As of Apr 1, 2010, your May finals project would again reappear as an available project, but prior to that would be screened from view when using the Available projects selector in the sidebar (and similarly the actions won't be seen if viewing Available actions).

so the only way I'd be able to see it is if it's in range of its start date?

I'd like to set my start date for when the actual work starts, but want to see it on my projects lists before I start the work.
Is there any way a review function can help? I've never used the review yet...

[Vramin]

You should see everything in the planning view, which is where you should be looking further out. The context views are intended to help you focus on what you can actually do right now, so the start dates help filter out things that are too far out.

[whpalmer4]

Originally Posted by nbusse

so the only way I'd be able to see it is if it's in range of its start date?

I'd like to set my start date for when the actual work starts, but want to see it on my projects lists before I start the work.

Oh, you can see it before the start date if you want, simply by switching the view bar settings. A project with a start date in the future is considered Pending, and will show up in the sidebar in Project mode if you view All projects, or Remaining projects, or Pending projects in the Project selector (over the sidebar). Similarly, actions with a future start date are hidden from view when the Action selector is set to Available, but appear when it is set to Remaining.

In all likelihood, you won't take full advantage of the program's power if you try to do all your work from one view.

[nbusse]

This has been helpful, thanks everyone for input. I'm learning a lot about this program!

One more question arises -
With repeating actions, must I set the repeat for each individual action? Or can I set the repeat for the whole project, and assume that it will repeat each child action within the project?

thanks all....

[whpalmer4]

Originally Posted by nbusse

One more question arises -
With repeating actions, must I set the repeat for each individual action? Or can I set the repeat for the whole project, and assume that it will repeat each child action within the project?

Setting the repeat for the project makes the project repeat after you complete it. Setting a repeat for an action makes the action repeat after you complete it. You have to be a bit careful with repeating actions in projects because the repeat gets inserted right after the spot where you are, so if it is a sequential project, you won't be able to move on to the next task. I typically only use repeating actions in parallel projects or single-action lists for this reason.

Note also that the behavior of repeating a project means that you have to entirely finish the project (or at least mark it complete) before you get the next project instance created, so if you make a project for a weekly meeting, for example, you won't get a new project for the next week until you've done everything in the project for this week's meeting, which may not be a practical arrangement. One way to deal with that sort of situation is to use Curt Clifton's Populate Template Placeholders script to stamp out the projects like cookies as needed, instead of trying to make them repeat (you could set up a reminder that did the repeating, telling you to make another one even though you had tasks still outstanding from the previous one).