[revheck]

Where is the documentation for the pay-version of omnifocus?

I have been following the sneakypeak version of omnifocus since the original announcement. It looks like really great software, and everyday I see new features have been added. But I have never really understood how to use it because there is essentially no documentation or help files in the current version.

I know that I could figure a lot out by reading through all of the posts on this forum. But I just don't have time to do that. That's what omnifocus is supposed to do for me -- save me time, and make me more efficient. Requiring every user to figure it all out by searching through forum posts or other outside forums is very inefficient.

Of course, this is alpha software and it has been free up to now, so I should not expect much. However, that's about to change. Every time I update the latest version I am told that my license will expire within x days, and it is time for me to pay up.

I will gladly pay for good software, but only if I think I can figure out how to actually use it with little effort. How long would it take to write up a few pages of instructions? Maybe one person in a day?

Why should I pay for this software now, when there is no explanation how to use it and I see no evidence that anybody is working on it?

I don't think I am going to buy omnifocus for now until I see some clear, straightforward documentation.

[librarymonkey27]

http://forums.omnigroup.com/showthread.php?t=6060

joelande
Member

created this, and it is pretty helpful

[Lizard]

Parts of the online help system are included with the betas right now (and more will be added as they are completed). Choose 'OmniFocus Help' from the Help menu. The 'Using OmniFocus' section seems to have several short articles that might help you understand.

[Brian]

The quickstart video we posted to the website may also be helpful:
smaller resolution, faster download
and
higher resolution, bigger download

[grillgod]

Originally Posted by revheck

Why should I pay for this software now, when there is no explanation how to use it and I see no evidence that anybody is working on it?

I don't think I am going to buy omnifocus for now until I see some clear, straightforward documentation.

I feel your pain and agree that some docs would have saved me time on the learning curve.

But, taking advantage of being an OOP owner and the pre-release sale I paid $30 instead of $80. Also, you can shape the direction of development by being an early adopter and providing feedback.

Anyway, I'm glad I took advantage of the early adopter pricing, but I do look forward to perusing the documentation once it's released. With the release date coming soon I would seriously consider whether it's not worth saving $40 to $50 to live without docs for a couple weeks.

[revheck]

I saw there is now some better documentation. I purchased yesterday, just before the full release. Thank you Omnifocus.

[joelande]

Omni posted that the final release would include the help documentation in a PDF form as well.

I have not been able to locate that.

Any news?

[Lizard]

I said that it would probably include a PDF manual. (If I stated it with more certainty than that, I apologize.) Turns out that there is no PDF manual yet, and the plan for a PDF manual does not include any info beyond what's already in the online help and the video.

If you feel something's lacking in what's available now, please let us know so that we can answer your question directly and also add it to a future version of the online help.

[joelande]

I just want something I can read comfortably (on the couch, in bed, on the train, etc) from cover to cover, so that I know I haven't missed anything.

Online help is good for exploration, or figuring out how to do a specific thing in real-time, but I have always found online help an uncomfortable format to read from start to finish.

VIdeos are great to.

By the way, your video implies that several (rather cool) additional things will be shown later and then never are shown.

I always kind of assumed the video was first in a series (and I think I saw in these forums that more videos were expected), so I hope more advanced videos are produced as well.

[Lizard]

I think we intended the video to be part one of a series also, but our starring actor has also been juggling a lot of other things right now (like getting us to Macworld next week), so there may yet be more videos, just not in the next few days.