[Journey]

I think it would be useful to be able to have more than one Omni Focus file, just as Word can create many documents, Omni Outline can create many outlines, and Omni Plan can create many project plans.

Why limit the program to just one file, when it would be easy to add functionality to create multiple files?

I am hoping that this already is possible and I am just missing how it's done.

[Journey]

I think OF should allow multiple files. There are so many scenarios in which this would be helpful. Just one that comes to mind is that more than one person may be using the computer, and would want a separate file. It would be silly to think that more than one person should keep their data with another person's and use a perspective or contexts to differentiate between them.

Also, some people like to keep work distinctly separate from home activities. That's a valid choice, and therefore it makes sense that they have separate files for each.

[LizPf]

I'm going to come out against this, because I have yet to see a real situation where two files are helpful.

Here's an example I posted over a year ago on why separating work and home doesn't work: You need to call your dentist to schedule a cleaning. This goes in your Non-Work file, since it isn't work. However, the dentist's staff doesn't answer the phone until 8:30, takes lunch from 11:30 to 1:30, and stops answering the phone for the evening at 4:30. [How do they get away with this?] If you don't look at your Personal GTD file when you are working, you will never see this action, and be forced to remember it, breaking GTD Rule #1: Empty Your Head.

As for the different users needing different files, they also need different accounts on the Mac. And each account already gets its own OF file.

I'd love to hears about cases where more than one file really is the best solution. I feel, since I only have one body, and one mind, I need only one GTD file.

[Journey]

Originally Posted by LizPf

As for the different users needing different files, they also need different accounts on the Mac. And each account already gets its own OF file.

I'd love to hears about cases where more than one file really is the best solution. I feel, since I only have one body, and one mind, I need only one GTD file.

There are many cases where more than one file is useful. The different users one is probably the best one. Let's face it -- there are a lot of users who don't even know how to set up more than one account on a computer. There are also many users (husband and wife is the best example) in which they both just use the same account. I am not married, but if I were I would probably just want one account on the computer. Mac's mail program allows one to easily see what's from different e-mail accounts. I guess that's a good example of how a program would allow more than one person to operate within one account.

(by the way, I am a recent Mac returner -- I abandoned the Mac in 1995 after having the very first Mac in '84 with 128k memory. I invested in Apple stock and it did so well that I'd indulge myself with a Mac to play with, and now I find that I like it as my primary computer -- but I really digress!)

In addition to those who don't want to set up different accounts (for a variety of reasons) there are those that don't know how. They buy a Mac for simplicity, and setting up another account isn't within their realm of what they want to have to do to make the computer just simply work.

Almost every other program allows multiple files or databases. One might say that _every_ project a corporate person works on should be in one project plan (ala MS Project or Omni Plan) -- not.

Personally, I would like to use OF not only for my personal life but also for some large volunteer projects I am working on, including relocating a United Way agency. It would be great to be able to have that all in one place, and it would be great to have more than one person use the OF file for that. I don't want them to see my personal information. While I am logged on to my account, I could work on my personal OF database. I could also work on the volunteer agency move OF database. I don't want to create an account for every single major thing I do, and I don't want to add major projects to my personal task management OF database.

One example of a program that uses multiple databases is David RM's The Journal. It's an awesomely flexible program for journaling, but it goes beyond that. In any case, that allows multiple databases, even though one could say "just put it all in one". Many users have found their own reasons for having multiples.

It's easy for a person to say "_I_ don't need multiple databases, so OF shouldn't have them". However when others say they have a use for them, then reality is that the program is limiting _those_ people.

[Ken Case]

Make a copy of your OmniFocus database and open it, and you'll find that OmniFocus already supports multiple documents. You can open multiple windows on each, make edits, drag between them, and so on.

However, there are some features of OmniFocus that only work with the primary document: Quick Entry, Syncing, and Perspectives are the things that come to mind off-hand. (Each of those features needs the continuity of always working with the same document.)

[Journey]

Originally Posted by Ken Case

Make a copy of your OmniFocus database and open it, and you'll find that OmniFocus already supports multiple documents. You can open multiple windows on each, make edits, drag between them, and so on.

However, there are some features of OmniFocus that only work with the primary document: Quick Entry, Syncing, and Perspectives are the things that come to mind off-hand. (Each of those features needs the continuity of always working with the same document.)

Hi Ken -- thank you for this information! It's good to know not only that I can use more than one OF database, but also the things that only work with the primary document (which are not show-stoppers for me).

[Tim Wood]

Quick Entry 'works' with multiple documents, but the hot key configured in preferences always goes to the main document's Quick Entry. You could write an AppleScript to invoke Quick Entry on any document with something like:

-- ... get your document and then ...
tell MyDocument
  activate quick entry
end

and then use something like FastScripts to set up a shortcut for it.