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One question - creating an OF task from an email on iPhone Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
One question - creating a task from an email on iPhone.

Is the functionality of creating a task from an email received on an iPhone reduced in any way from doing the same thing on the desktop version of Omnifocus?

Clipping?
Links back to email?

Can someone kindly spell out the differences from the phone method and the desktop method.. and any work-arounds if there ARE differences?

Is OF presently 'shut out' of the mail app via iPhone's 'sandboxing'?

Is there light at the end of the tunnel via the new API hooks of the soon to be released iPhone OS 3.0 ?

Do you experienced users out there have some hopes and wishes for OF and its use with 3.0?

If so what are they?

Many thanks in advance..
 
You must have OF desktop running with Mail.app in order to use email to create OF tasks...

This feature is one of the main reasons I bought OF for mac- I mostly use the iPhone version, but use Windows at work- I can send or forward emails now from work that my mac picks up and creates OF actions.

Because I have OF syncing with MobileMe, the iPhone will pickup the email-created actions a few minutes after sending...
 
So when using the iPhone is that email forward method the only way to add text from an iPhone received email?
 
If that's the case how would you start working on that task on the phone? Would you have to wait until a sync? Sorry I am struggling to grasp the process!
 
Casper-
For the situation you're describing, yes, it sounds like you'd need the email to arrive at your Mac, where OmniFocus would process it and turn it into an action.

It would show up on your phone after the Mac pushed the action to the server and the phone grabbed it.

I can't remember another request we've gotten for the ability to turn an email into an action on the phone; you should email this to the support ninjas so they can add this to the development database.

What I generally do if I get an email on the phone and need to do something about it is just use the "add new inbox item" button in the toolbar to drop a reminder into the phone app, processing things more fully when I'm back at the desk. Not suggesting that's ideal, just letting you know what I do. :-)
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Casper TFG View Post
If that's the case how would you start working on that task on the phone? Would you have to wait until a sync? Sorry I am struggling to grasp the process!
Yes, basically processing the email by forwarding it, I am in "capture" mode. I will organize later, and by then, OF has pushed the new actions to MobileMe. Next sync of OF iPhone will show the new actions in my inbox, where I can organize it into projects and/or contexts. Sometimes I wait until I'm back home to organize.

HTH
 
Note that waiting for a sync might not be as painful as it sounds, either. You can set Mail.app to check for new mail as often as every minute, and OmniFocus will do a sync a minute after a change is made to the database. Forward yourself some new messages, take a two or three minute eyeball health break, then tap the sync button and you've probably got your new actions ready to go.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whpalmer4 View Post
Note that waiting for a sync might not be as painful as it sounds, either. You can set Mail.app to check for new mail as often as every minute, and OmniFocus will do a sync a minute after a change is made to the database. Forward yourself some new messages, take a two or three minute eyeball health break, then tap the sync button and you've probably got your new actions ready to go.
Thanks for the tip!

But I use a laptop, (+ mobile Me) it's not an 'always on' home computer. When I am on my iPhone typically the laptop is shut and off line.

So will this prevent the sync method as described above?

What I really need to be able to do is work on the phone while out of the office.

Otherwise out of the office I would be
reading emails
Know what I want to do with them (file them into OF, set up projects etc)
But would be unable to do it
would have to get back home...
Find email in my OF inbox (having emailed it there?)
Remember what I wanted to do with it..

So to me that seems like the OF app isn't fully featured and doesn't allow the same GTD work flow as the desktop version. I am not throwing rocks here, just trying to get things clear how I will work with it. I am very into the 'office in the back pocket' smartphone ethos so restrictions / 'you will have to do that when you get back to the office' doesn't come as good news to me. (and I have been round the block more than a few times with most of the task apps out there - believe me..!)

Please keep the work around suggestions coming as I am keen to get this to work for me.

The vibe is positive. :)

With the new 'hooks' available to app developers in 3.0 do you power users out there think Omni wil be able to close the gap between the desktop functionality and the phone app?

Should we expect an updated OF when 3.0 goes live?

Last edited by Casper TFG; 2009-04-22 at 01:25 AM..
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian View Post
I can't remember another request we've gotten for the ability to turn an email into an action on the phone; you should email this to the support ninjas so they can add this to the development database.
Just sent:

Hi

As suggested by Brian at Omni (post 5 here

http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthre...8893#post58893 )

Here is a feature request.

If possible can you please make use of any new API' or 'hooks' that iPhone 3.0 offers - to enable the same sort of email import (+ links back to the original email) as you have on the desktop version.

Reason why?

It would allow the same type of GTD work flow as offered by the desktop OF to be actioned remotely using the iPhone OF app.

I think this would be a dynamite update and would really please the 'office in the back pocket' crowd out there..

Many thanks,
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Casper TFG View Post
Thanks for the tip!
Otherwise out of the office I would be
reading emails
Know what I want to do with them (file them into OF, set up projects etc)
But would be unable to do it
would have to get back home...
Find email in my OF inbox (having emailed it there?)
Remember what I wanted to do with it..
So, if you're drinking the OF kool-aid, it is a 3-step process:
1. Capture
2. Plan
3. Act

Forwarding an email (to OF) is capturing, but deciding what to do with it is planning. I gather you prefer planning at the time of capture, and OF does support that very nicely. It is just a personal preference-- I dump em into my inbox without thinking too much about it, so I am not distracted from whatever action I'm already doing.

However, if I already know how to plan something from an email, I can forward it and then change the email subject line to something like this:
-- Buy nails > Remodeling @Errands #friday

That will automatically create the action "Buy nails" in the "Remodeling" project and assign the context "Errands", with a due date of this Friday. The body of the email is put into the action's note.

The things you can do with specially-formatted subject line (or in the body) include:

creating the action (--)
assigning a project (>)
assigning a context (@)
specifying start and due dates (#)
entering time estimates ($)
adding a note (//)

So your style of organizing while capturing will be facilitated by OF's ability to parse the email and decide how to organize.

HTH

Last edited by shhQuiet; 2009-04-22 at 10:18 AM..
 
 


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