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I have been lurking in the forum for several weeks as I learn OmniFocus. I love the program; I have tried many many different task management applications, GTD implementations, etc., and finally settled on OF.

I see many suggestions in the forums and appreciate the excellent community here. Would like to add one thought for a future version of OF, probably 2.0.

When evaluating apps I pay close attention to the number of scripts, add-ons, workarounds, etc. that are in the "ecosystem" of the application. Some developers/companies list or even tout the number of such items, noting that the app has a thriving community and if there is something you need that is not supported you will almost always be able to find a workaround or script or whatnot.

What is often seen as a strength I see as a bit of a weakness. This rule is not hard and fast, just a generalization. While I am a big fan of OF, I do see a lot of suggestions to use an Applescript for this or a workaround for that. Granted, some of this is due to very idiosyncratic or even misguided requests - for instance, I just don't think OF should be used for CRM. But as a developer myself I am concerned when my user base relies a little too much on such things. I try to evaluate why they are doing what they are doing, and usually decide that a) the functionality they are trying to achieve should be provided in the app or b) the functionality is not clear enough or simple enough or c) they are trying to use the app in ways for which it is not intended.

My hope is that the developers are evaluating some of the need for scripts/workarounds and seeing if the next major release (2.0) can eliminate the need for some of them. Oddly enough, I think that the way toward doing this is to simplify/clarify some of OF; it does have a somewhat steep learning curve. I am heartened by OF for the iPAd, which is GREAT. Porting back some features like the outstanding Forecast would be fantastic (and I think that this has been mentioned).

Since I have rambled on so long I might as well mention the three other things that I would like to see, in order of importance (to me of course).

1) Web client. My guess is that because you are supplying your own syncing you may be working toward that. To me this is the biggest piece of the missing puzzle that would take OF to the next level, for several reasons. First, I have to work on a Windows machine all day and really want to stay in that environment when I want to add tasks or get a few things done. Even with an iPad and even with ability to send emails, it is SOO much easier to just keep a web page open. Also, this would help expand the market beyond Macs (a Win client would do that more of course but I don't see that happening) as it would give people without Macs a viable desktop option.

2) This is hard to explain but I will try. In looking at (and reviewing) about a dozen To Do/GTD apps I have noticed that there seems to be a fuzzy line between what I would call Task Managers/To Do apps and full blown GTD apps. Let's ignore the dozens of really bad apps in the first category and focus on some of the very good ones, which I define as allowing me to very quickly enter some tasks or to dos that won't probably last beyond a day but that I really would like to keep track on on something more than paper. I know about Single-Action-Lists but I wish that OF had both the simplicity of a very quick entry app yet maintain the ability to process big projects.

3) Finally, and I know this has been talked to death here in the forums, but better or different calendar integration would be very very nice. I very much like how 2Do and Pocket Informant handle this. I like being able to see due dates for on going major tasks and those little tasks that need to be done that day all on one page.

I understand that this should probably also be sent to the suggestions email address, and I will copy this post and do that, but I wondered what others thought of this; am I missing some way to use OF because I am new at it? Do others think these ideas have merit?

Thanks for putting out such a great product!

Bryan
 
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Originally Posted by Bryan View Post
1) Web client. My guess is that because you are supplying your own syncing you may be working toward that. To me this is the biggest piece of the missing puzzle that would take OF to the next level, for several reasons. First, I have to work on a Windows machine all day and really want to stay in that environment when I want to add tasks or get a few things done. Even with an iPad and even with ability to send emails, it is SOO much easier to just keep a web page open. Also, this would help expand the market beyond Macs (a Win client would do that more of course but I don't see that happening) as it would give people without Macs a viable desktop option.
I don't think that a web client would be useful : an application such as OF must ALWAYS be available, even when disconnected (I do my weekly reviews when I have a train trip).

I have the same problem as you : Mac at home and iPhone in my pocket, but a Windows PC at work. I dream of having OF one day on Windows....
 
I think a web UI would be nice but there are more important things to think about first such as multiple contexts, on hold for actions, better compliance with GTD (not just projects and actions, but actually GTD), someday/maybe management (not a workaround with contexts), checklists, etc.

There are already *much* better GTD apps out there that are much better for a GTD purist if you just want a web based tool, they leave OF in the dust. But the reason I personally want to use OF rather than these is due to the always offline availability, and *real* ipad/iphone apps (rather than using a browser). For that capability I can sacrifice proper GTD management (until someone does one better).
 
 


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