[greybeard40]

Hi there

I really love using omnifocus on my macbook and am seriously thinking of getting a 3g iphone when it comes out primarily to use omnifocus on it. As a busy husband and dad who works in a hectic university dept I think it has the potential to transform my personal and work life. But I have one question about the coming iphone version I can't find an answer anywhere: will I be able just to sync my iphone version with the desktop version WITHOUT using the web/mobile-me?? I am very happy to sync my iphone with my macbook at the start and/or end of the day at home. Will this connected way of syncing be available in the same way as with itunes and ical? Hope someone can answer this.

Thanks

[wheeles]

That's the very same question I asked in another thread, but nobody has answered. As an iPod touch user who just let his .Mac account expire due to insufficient use, and who does not have webDAV-enabled webspace, I would be very happy to see a direct iPod to Desktop syncing method.

The only other solution if this is not available would be to set up a webDAV server on your own Mac and sync to that.

[greybeard40]

I guess for me this is really important and could be deal breaker as to going with omnifocus. Iphone to desktop sync should be there - shouldn't it!? Hopefully someone will come back to us on this before too long!

[greybeard40]

I was just looking at the iphone omnifocus page and noted this "Synchronized with your Mac via .Mac or WebDAV". Does this mean no desktop only sync?
It would be really good if someone could answer this question. For some of us this is really important. We really see the benefits of omnifocus on our macs and can't wait to use them on our iphones - but we want to sync without using the web! If this isn't possible at least be up front about it.

[sfkeydel]

I'm going to go way out on a limb here and speculate that the Omni folks are still recovering from WWDC and may not get around to replying on demand until the upcoming week. Patience, folks!

[Ken Case]

Please bear in mind that we're under a non-disclosure agreement with Apple which limits our ability to talk about the capabilities of the iPhone and iPod touch operating system. So, at this point, we're only allowed to talk about capabilities which Apple has already disclosed to the public (such as location and networking services, camera and voice recording) and how we might leverage those.

But that said, there are lots of advantages to WebDAV. It lets you synchronize when you're not physically connected to your Mac (in case you forgot to do it before you walked out the door) and is widely supported by all kinds of web servers (including the built-in Apache web server that ships with every Mac) and is available through many online hosting services. (That includes Apple with .Mac and presumably Mobile Me, but a quick google search also turns up a number of others that offer gigabytes of WebDAV storage for $5 per month.)

[greybeard40]

Thank you Ken for coming back to me. I appreciate your reply but feel you aren't really being totally up front with us. Perhaps your most immediate competitor at this point in this market is Things. In their forums they have spoken openly about the ability to perform a desktop sync. I know you won't comment on someone elses comments but they (and presumably) apple don't feel they are breaking the NDA is saying this. I feel inclined to believe that 'web-less' syncing is not something omnifocus will provide at least at this point. Can I ask if desktop syncing is important enough to a significant percentage of your customers would you consider implementing it? If I'm right I am really really saddened by this! I will be faced with a very very difficult choice as I think wil many potential omnifocus customers!!

[karlsf]

A parallel question: I can't use an iPhone at work. Can I use OF iPhone with an iTouch? I would prefer hard wire synch, but could live with wi-fi if that was all that is available. Possible? Thx.

[Brian]

Yep, should work fine on the iPod Touch, assuming you have WiFi access to whatever server you're synching to. See the article that Toadling linked to on the previous page for more details.

[acollins]

Sorry to bring back a (slightly) old thread, but I have a question about wireless syncing and security. I can't use MobileMe or another web hosting option (as much as I would like to) because work data needs to be in one of two places, either on the work laptop or on the work server. Having task and calendar information anywhere else is not an option.

I don't really understand what WebDAV is or how it works, but I've been around Macs and Omni long enough to know that someone will eventually make a system for non-technically savvy people (such as myself) to use. Here's the question: how does WebDAV work generally? Where does the data reside and how does it go from point A (the computer) to point B (the iPhone) and back? If I have my OmniFocus data on the laptop, can I have that sent to the iPhone without going through the work server?

Thanks!