[Tim Wood]

The number rendering is a little more refined as of this morning (not sure when the build will go out, but it should be soon). There are still definitely some visual glitches, so mail in bug reports if you see anything.

Stuff we already know about:

- the numbers get clipped if you have a scroller in the sidebar
- expanded contexts don't show any number even if they have a locally assigned overdue task (getting rid of the number on expanded rows was an experiment from this morning to lower the number of numbers displayed).

[ksrhee]

I too like having the numbers displayed. If you don't like to see the red #'s displayed in the sidebar, then get the stuff done on time. Then you will never see those numbers in red. Sorry to be blunt. I also like I can assign # of days for the warning bells to go off as far as displaying #'s are concerned.

[Chris]

Does anyone else see weirdness with the vertical scroll bar in the sidebar since the numbers have appeared? If I make the vertical height of my OF window just barely smaller than the height of my list of projects, then I can make the scroll bar appear and disappear by scrolling with the middle button of my mighty mouse. OF seems unsure of whether a scrollbar is necessary and alternatively puts it in and takes it out, reflowing the contents of the window as it does so.

[Baurryman]

Originally Posted by BwanaZulia

Those numbers help me big time as one of my stuggles with OF was the right visability into what needed to be done NOW and perspectives were not cutting it.

BZ

Ditto! I finished several items just to lower the count.

Originally Posted by Ethan Schoonover

Red numbers are the equivalent of DANGER: ROCKS FALLING AHEAD signs when you're driving. If you have overdue tasks, we want them to really stand out and hit you over the head.

Anyhow, they are *highly* visible intentionally.

Well ... This is weak graphic design - the geeks getting over-excited and taking over from the designers.

It's pretty clear from various comments that the red is visually grating to a degree that people find gratuitous, and Schoonover's rationalization teeters on the edge of being patronising.

Fine to make them visible, but the minimum effective difference is (as ever) all you need. A more saturated level of the background color would give just as much signal for much less noise.

Phrases like "we want them to really stand out and hit you over the head" are symptomatic of things going slightly off the rails ... Hit yourself over the head if you wish, but let others make their own choices.

[curt.clifton]

I like the more muted badges that showed up today. While jarring in the initial incarnation, they've already proved effective. A colleague came by this afternoon with just "one more little thing" for me to do. I pointed at the sea of red and orange numbers, told him what they meant, and he decided that the "one more little thing" didn't need to be done after all. Thanks!

[Tim Wood]

So you want a 'Burninate!' hot key to make all your projects red on demand, Curt? =)

[jasong]

I don't want any numbers on my folders.

None.

Zero.

I don't need to know that I have 32 items in my inbox. GTD tells you to process at your speed. I don't need the guilt trip of not processing fast enough by OmniFocus' timeframe. I process at my own speed.

Get rid of them or give me a preference to do so.

Blunt enough?

[jasong]

I'm not usually that blunt on this forum, but between Ethan's and ksrhee's comments, and the apparent lack of a preference to stop this behavior, I'm extremely frustrated. One of the reasons GTD, and OF, worked for me is because I didn't feel like I was getting hit over the head with "priorities" and "due dates" and "unprocessed counts".

In Mail when I see 32 unread messages, it means I have actions to take care of. In OmniFocus when I see 32 unprocessed items, it means nothing. It's useless information for me, and does nothing but raise my stress level.

These badges make me feel like I'm supposed to be doing something about them RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE and thats just bull.

[tastiger]

Originally Posted by ksrhee

I too like having the numbers displayed. If you don't like to see the red #'s displayed in the sidebar, then get the stuff done on time. Then you will never see those numbers in red. Sorry to be blunt. I also like I can assign # of days for the warning bells to go off as far as displaying #'s are concerned.

I like them too. Just today it has helped me tackle and complete about a dozen overlooked items. I also like the sense of satisfaction in trying to get them down to zero.

I like that I can focus on overdue items and then take action.