I've been using OmniFocus as a makeshift bug database for personal use for a few days, just to see if it can be used that way. So far it's about 80% there, but some things make it a bit of a hassle.
What I did was create a context called Code, and then 4 subcontexts: Feature, Bug, Deferred and Testing. I can add more as I please, which is the best part of this bug database. Great! :-)
Then in my project I have a Bugs group in which I fill in the bugs as actions and assign one of the four above mentioned contexts.
Sorting in Context View
In context view, I view only the current project and the Code context, so it shows all contexts related to the bug database. Then I sort on context, so all four types are arranged in each section and a nice display of the bug entries along with their assigned project. Nice and clean view of things.
But not so nice is the lack of manual sorting in context view, so I can't manipulate with the importance of a bug from the nice and clean view. I read in a different thread that manual sorting is the method for prioritizing in OmniFocus, so not being able to do that inside context view conflicts that feature a bit. I can't sort the bugs and I can't sort the order of the 4 contexts, in case I want Deferred bugs to be at the bottom.
I realize that the context view is a live query, so that is not simple to do other than by stacking new results at the end, removing old ones where they sit and leave existing ones at their current location. Since the sort order displayed in context view is the same as in project view, it might interfere with group display there. Also if you are displaying contexts from multiple projects, how do you handle that?. Nasty mess to maintain, perhaps.
Drop Points for Actions and Groups
Ah, but I could just make the 4 different bug types as groups in project view, and just stuff actions in those groups, right? That's actually even more of a hassle. Each group can be quite big and I would sometimes like to look at bugs from multiple projects inside one bug group in case they are related.
I don't want to sit and drag bugs between contexts manually, since the group is part of a project, and once it scrolls out of view, it's hard to access. If any action or any group anywhere could be made into a drop point in the user interface that is always visible, no matter where you are, this would be simpler, so you are not forced to have something sitting out in the project sidebar for easy access. I think iPhoto does something like that with keywords.
Quick moving of Actions inside one Group
So the way around the lack of sorting manually in context view is to sort manually in project view. However the tools for manual sorting are (I've found anyway): Drag'n'drop (mouse), or single step moving actions up and down with ctrl-cmd-up/down. What I here would like, would be to move an action to the top or bottom of the group in one move. Not sideways in and out, just up and down. If the list is sufficiently big, you have to resort to the slowness of drag'n'drop or a lot of keystrokes.
With one hotkey, that would become significantly easier, since I most of the time, need to either move an entry to the top or the bottom.
Sorting
In context view, it's not possible to sort by project and then sort by context.
Can't see Context
When sorting on project in context view I can't see the context of any of the actions without going to the Action inspector to inspect each single entry.
Sorting per Group
An idea for more sorting features, would be to add live sorting to a single group in project view. Say you want a group to sort all its actions on context. So when you add a new entry, it's automatically sorted inside that group. That would remove some of the shuffling hassle for me.
Sort Rules
A bit more far fetched idea would be to set up manual sort lists for contexts, so you can decide any sort order for a series of chosen contexts. Manually drag'n'drop rearrange the contexts in the sort list to fit your desired sort order. Say I don't want to sort contexts alfabetically, but in my own order: Feature, Bug, Testing, Deferred. Perhaps this could apply to projects as well or just anything that can be sorted, generally. "Sort rules", perhaps?
Hotkeys for Contexts
Assign contexts to hotkeys for use in project view. Click one or more actions, use the hotkey, context is changed.
Easier Drag'n'drop sort
For drag'n'drop fans, holding shift while dragging could avoid highlighting groups as drop areas, so it's easier to just sort simple actions without accidentally creating groups.
With those features in, that would bring OmniFocus up to 95% for me, for a personal bug database.
Thanks and sorry for the long post.
What I did was create a context called Code, and then 4 subcontexts: Feature, Bug, Deferred and Testing. I can add more as I please, which is the best part of this bug database. Great! :-)
Then in my project I have a Bugs group in which I fill in the bugs as actions and assign one of the four above mentioned contexts.
Sorting in Context View
In context view, I view only the current project and the Code context, so it shows all contexts related to the bug database. Then I sort on context, so all four types are arranged in each section and a nice display of the bug entries along with their assigned project. Nice and clean view of things.
But not so nice is the lack of manual sorting in context view, so I can't manipulate with the importance of a bug from the nice and clean view. I read in a different thread that manual sorting is the method for prioritizing in OmniFocus, so not being able to do that inside context view conflicts that feature a bit. I can't sort the bugs and I can't sort the order of the 4 contexts, in case I want Deferred bugs to be at the bottom.
I realize that the context view is a live query, so that is not simple to do other than by stacking new results at the end, removing old ones where they sit and leave existing ones at their current location. Since the sort order displayed in context view is the same as in project view, it might interfere with group display there. Also if you are displaying contexts from multiple projects, how do you handle that?. Nasty mess to maintain, perhaps.
Drop Points for Actions and Groups
Ah, but I could just make the 4 different bug types as groups in project view, and just stuff actions in those groups, right? That's actually even more of a hassle. Each group can be quite big and I would sometimes like to look at bugs from multiple projects inside one bug group in case they are related.
I don't want to sit and drag bugs between contexts manually, since the group is part of a project, and once it scrolls out of view, it's hard to access. If any action or any group anywhere could be made into a drop point in the user interface that is always visible, no matter where you are, this would be simpler, so you are not forced to have something sitting out in the project sidebar for easy access. I think iPhoto does something like that with keywords.
Quick moving of Actions inside one Group
So the way around the lack of sorting manually in context view is to sort manually in project view. However the tools for manual sorting are (I've found anyway): Drag'n'drop (mouse), or single step moving actions up and down with ctrl-cmd-up/down. What I here would like, would be to move an action to the top or bottom of the group in one move. Not sideways in and out, just up and down. If the list is sufficiently big, you have to resort to the slowness of drag'n'drop or a lot of keystrokes.
With one hotkey, that would become significantly easier, since I most of the time, need to either move an entry to the top or the bottom.
Sorting
In context view, it's not possible to sort by project and then sort by context.
Can't see Context
When sorting on project in context view I can't see the context of any of the actions without going to the Action inspector to inspect each single entry.
Sorting per Group
An idea for more sorting features, would be to add live sorting to a single group in project view. Say you want a group to sort all its actions on context. So when you add a new entry, it's automatically sorted inside that group. That would remove some of the shuffling hassle for me.
Sort Rules
A bit more far fetched idea would be to set up manual sort lists for contexts, so you can decide any sort order for a series of chosen contexts. Manually drag'n'drop rearrange the contexts in the sort list to fit your desired sort order. Say I don't want to sort contexts alfabetically, but in my own order: Feature, Bug, Testing, Deferred. Perhaps this could apply to projects as well or just anything that can be sorted, generally. "Sort rules", perhaps?
Hotkeys for Contexts
Assign contexts to hotkeys for use in project view. Click one or more actions, use the hotkey, context is changed.
Easier Drag'n'drop sort
For drag'n'drop fans, holding shift while dragging could avoid highlighting groups as drop areas, so it's easier to just sort simple actions without accidentally creating groups.
With those features in, that would bring OmniFocus up to 95% for me, for a personal bug database.
Thanks and sorry for the long post.
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