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Very good points, Dennis. I think the discrepancies actually come down to the fact that we've already learned these less efficient behaviors in other, less efficient apps, and when we come upon something like OF that actually streamlines those little tasks, we find it unintuitive and new. Just goes to show that what we're used to isn't necessarily the best way to do it!

I do have a hard time with the row dragging, though. Sometimes I can drag from any point in the row, but other times it goes into editing mode and I end up highlighting the text instead of dragging the row. I can't figure out what causes it to highlight vs drag.
 
I've commented once or twice how OF isn't necessarily the prettiest app visually, but that's compensated 1000x over by its power and flexibility.

The discussion about UI makes me a little nervous because I'd hate to see anything done for surface beauty that compromises what's really important -- that is, how incredibly well OF works. Remember, beauty is only surface deep.

That said, if I was to make a serious cosmetic request, I would probably ask for a wider array of Perspective icons. A few are nice. The blue generic one is actually pretty good and is what I use most (that is, too much). Most of the Perspective icons are plain or ugly little black & white images that I just don't find attractive nor very useful as accurate symbols for what my Perspectives are showing me.

I use Perspectives heavily and have icons lined up along the top for those I use the most. It would be nice to have some more variety and color up there.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RCL View Post
I use Perspectives heavily and have icons lined up along the top for those I use the most. It would be nice to have some more variety and color up there.
You do know that you can use your own icons or even images for perspectives, right? Check out any icon site on the web and pick whatever you like. Many are free.

-Dennis
 
I'm going to chime in about the look of Omnifocus. I know it's not a web app (duh) but my anaology is it feels like web 1.0 - and I agree that Things and The Hit List feel like web 2.0 !

You don't have to lose functionality at all to do this. But what does need looking at is the 'fun factor'

Years ago I wrote a database app in Filemaker because we couldn't find anything off the shelf to do what we wanted. One of the problems was that the off the shelf software we could find was horribly dull.

I created a fairly complex filemaker database which focused on ease of use and fun as much as functionality. It was basically a sales call database. You could write quick notes on clients. You could set yourself targets for the day. You could see if you could beat your record. You could turn noises on and off. It looked 'cool'. When you used it, it made you feel good. It had all kinds of reminders, bells and whistles and fun stuff you could turn on or off.

We were making 300 calls a day each using that system and even though it was hard work, the 'feel' of the system made it much less arduous. Having a UI that makes you feel good has a huge effect on your workflow and efficiency.

Apple knows it or they wouldn't bother making things the way they make them. And if it didn't matter, we wouldn't have Things and The Hit List being created and being taken to heart by so many.

If a UI designer from Apple started working on the OF UI I can't imagine any of us complaining, no matter how much we bang on about the fact that OF is more powerful than the other apps.

OF actually IS more powerful than the other apps. However, we want it all. We want to feel cool when we use it, and have some bells and whistles. Let's face it, to do lists aren't exactly great fun. Anything Omni can do to make the experience a happier more productive one would be warmly received.

I mean Omni have YEARS of experience making this stuff, and they are going to lose customers to these young guns with their cool interfaces. That's ridiculous. They should have it all. And if they think they don't have the UI talent inhouse, they should hire it in.
 
The problem with making the UI look "fun" is that one person's fun is another's horribly distracting.

One of the most important features of OmniFu is that the boring (and minimally changeable) interface makes sure we actually do our listed work, instead of spending endless hours tweaking the interface. [Optima or Gil Sans? Can I make the background match my desktop?]

Some people use keyboard shortcuts exclusively, others prefer the mouse. A UI optimized for key commands is hard to use with a mouse, and vice versa.

It's one thing for a database designer (BTDT) to develop an attractive database for a single function for a small group. But Omni has to create a UI that works for tens of thousands of people, many of whom live in the program.

I think they did a good job.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LizPf View Post
The problem with making the UI look "fun" is that one person's fun is another's horribly distracting.
For me, THL is an example of this, as is NoteTaker, NoteBook and Tags. I've never liked the UI of applications that take an electronic medium and make it look like a physical paper medium. I can see the appeal of this design for some, perhaps many, but it's not for me.
 
@LizPf

It seems like throughout this thread you are simply reiterating that OmniFocus couldn't be better and it's look and feel are perfect.

I use it for its functionality over the others we have mentioned. However, I think OF has a lot to learn from the other products. They are getting attention for a reason.

I would love to see OF develop into something we all like to use EVEN MORE. And actually, I have spent more time trying to tweak the interface of OF than any of the other apps mentioned simply because although I like its functionality, I find it a bit clunky, and nothing like as pleasing to the eye as all the other software I use.

I wish OF looked more like Things and The Hit List, but was still the OF we all use. But you think it's perfect. May as well tell them to stop development now then.

I think it's the best, but to stay the best it needs to lead. If I was OF I would be looking at The Hit List and thinking that was some serious competition right there.
 
While the Things UI is initially quite "pretty," the usability of the program as a whole suffers.

It is a very "clicky" interface, and you need to use the mouse pretty much constantly. After using it for a few weeks, I was just "moused out." It's much easier in OF to get stuff done with the keyboard. In general while OF isn't as "sexy" out of the box, it is possible to get it operate much as you want -- including defining contexts as Today, Someday, Next, etc., if that's your preference. You just can't have multiple contexts (er, "tags") on a particular task :-)

Very frustrating about things is the inability to see all tasks at once. You can use Areas to give visibility to things in Next, Scheduled, and Someday, and maybe subdivide the areas up by sorting based on tags, but there's really a lot you need to do there as well.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Toadling View Post
You do know that you can use your own icons or even images for perspectives, right?

-Dennis
I guess I do now. Thanks! I'll experiment.
 
I know that taste is relatively subjective (relatively), but I don't get the OF ugly, Things Pretty - I'll grant you that Hit List has a pretty slick UI, but Things? Maybe it's just me the whole brushed aluminum thing strikes me as cocoa amateur hour. I think that Omnifocus has a very up to date, and very usable UI. There are still things I'm working out with weekly review, but I don't think that has anything to do with OF. Now that the bugs are worked out of the iphone app OF and iOF makes for a great trusted system, and I like its UI.
 
 


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