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Originally Posted by Falkirk View Post
For example, you show how to create a new action and you then show the options to create a new context, project, start date, due date and flag. But you don't explain why you would want to take these actions and the ramifications of completing these fields. I'm sure that you think it's all "self evident" but this video is for newbies like me. You should assume that nothing is self-evident.
Start dates and due dates are self-explanatory and pretty self-evident for any task manager program. But if you really want help; imagine you are a student with a paper due next Friday and you think you should start working on it in two days. See where start & due dates would help?

Contexts & projects are part of David Allen's "Getting Things Done" approach (GTD) which OmniFocus is based upon. Info here: http://davidco.com/what_is_gtd.php

You really should read the GTD book if you want to make the most out of OmniFocus. I think it's pretty much a given that the majority of users of the software are going to have at least a cursory knowledge of GTD, so that's probably why they did not include explanations in the video. It would be like Ford putting out a video about the new Mustang and telling you why you would want to change gears - they figure most users know how to drive a car.

As for the flags that's entirely up to the user. The way I use them is since there are no priorities in OmniFocus, a flag helps elevate a task to be noticed before the others (e.g. my errands context has "deposit check, get milk, gas up car, pick up cleaning" and I know I need money in my account to get milk, gas, & cleaning; so I flag "deposit check" to bring it to the forefront of my attention).

Hope that helps.
 
I'm looking to purchase both OmniFocus for my MBPro and OmniFocus for my iPhone. Having scoured the internet for info on these products, this is my question: For ease of synching, do you recommend that I create "my world" on my MBPro and later synch it later with my iPhone?
My goal is productivity and synching issues negate that! I look forward to your advice. Many thanks.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by eismile View Post
I'm looking to purchase both OmniFocus for my MBPro and OmniFocus for my iPhone. Having scoured the internet for info on these products, this is my question: For ease of synching, do you recommend that I create "my world" on my MBPro and later synch it later with my iPhone?
My goal is productivity and synching issues negate that! I look forward to your advice. Many thanks.
You can start your database on either your Macbook Pro or your iPhone just remember to pick one or the other. When you first start syncing you can not merge two databases together you'll have to pick one or the other.
 
Okay, so if I input "my world" into my MBPro, then everything will seemlessly synch into iPhone? Any tricks? I only ask because of some posts re:problems. And just to confirm... will I need to download the sneaky peeky version of software as an upgrade to use iPhone synching, too? Or just the basic OF version 1.0.3? Many thanks.
 
You must use OmniFocus 1.1 Sneaky Peeks to sync with the iPhone app. It is a Sneaky Peek, so you need to be okay with some risk to your data in order to use it. If you're not comfortable with that, I recommend using OmniFocus 1.0.3 until 1.1 is declared final. Then update to OmniFocus 1.1 for Mac and purchase OmniFocus for iPhone.

If you're willing to tolerate a little risk to get syncing, you can still avoid the most common syncing pitfalls with a little extra diligence: Every time you leave OmniFocus on your Mac, sync your Mac. Every time you start using OmniFocus on your iPhone, sync it before making any changes. Every time you're about to start using your Mac, sync your iPhone and then sync your Mac. Basically, make sure the changes from the other device are on the one you're about to use before using it.

(We are working to fix this bug.)
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lizard View Post
You must use OmniFocus 1.1 Sneaky Peeks to sync with the iPhone app. It is a Sneaky Peek, so you need to be okay with some risk to your data in order to use it. If you're not comfortable with that, I recommend using OmniFocus 1.0.3 until 1.1 is declared final. Then update to OmniFocus 1.1 for Mac and purchase OmniFocus for iPhone.
The other option would be to just use OmniFocus on your iPhone until 1.1 is final.
 
Thanks, Lizard. Entering "my life" into my Mac will be much easier. Any "guesstimate" for a 1.1 delivery so i can synch w/o fear?
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lizard View Post
The other option would be to just use OmniFocus on your iPhone until 1.1 is final.
Speaking as one who does not have an iPhone but reads every post to any of the Omni forums, I'd be a bit nervous about having any substantial amount of data stored solely on the iPhone with the iPhone app upgrade horror stories. I think one would be well-served to at least turn on iPhone syncing to MobileMe or other WebDAV server to improve the odds of one's data surviving loss of the phone, upgrade incident, etc.

Also, while I haven't had any great difficulty using an iPhone keyboard playing with them in the store, it does seem to me like entering a large list of projects and actions would be a more time-consuming ordeal on the iPhone than with keyboard and mouse, and as I recall, there isn't yet UI support on the iPhone for entering repeating actions. Just some things to consider...
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by eismile View Post
Thanks, Lizard. Entering "my life" into my Mac will be much easier. Any "guesstimate" for a 1.1 delivery so i can synch w/o fear?
It'll be done when it's done. Seriously, we don't have a "guesstimate". I don't think we're planning on adding any more features. We're just tracking down and fixing all these syncing bugs so that syncing OmniFocus can be part of people's trusted system. And it can be hard to know how long it'll take to fix a bug until you've fixed it, sometimes.
 
There's a great Sydney Harris cartoon in "What's So Funny about Science?" which applies to the notion of knowing in advance how long it will take to find and fix a bug.

Group of scientists is standing around a lab bench as another guy reads from a memo:

"Due to a tightening of the budget, we are forced to curtail our overtime and weekend schedule, and request that all major breakthroughs be achieved as early in the week as possible."
 
 


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